Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (North): Canada in the Movies

Ever notice how many movies look like Canada? Of course you didn’t, movies are designed to lie to you. The whole industry is an elaborate conspiracy to fool you. That’s why you think Superman can fly, dinosaurs want to eat Jeff Goldblum, and Stockard Channing is a high school senior.

It’s also why you may have thought that Mean Girls, Brokeback Mountain, and Hairspray were filmed anywhere other than our neighbor to the north. But American productions set up shop in Canada all the time, and it’s not just because directors like Tim Hortons. It’s because, between the currency exchange and tax incentives, shooting in Canada can be pretty cheap. As a result, locations like Vancouver, Toronto, and Alberta get to play the roles of locations like Chicago, Baltimore, and Wyoming. That’s why Canada’s film hubs have acquired the nickname “Hollywood North.”

But as much fun as playacting can be, Canada probably gets weary of pretending to be other places all the time. Just like I’m sure Pablo Pascal probably gets tired of always having to play attractive people. Fortunately, every once in a while, Canada gets to play itself in a movie, as in the titles listed below. Not gonna lie, it’s a little weird how many of these movies set in this scenic and affable nation are about things like werewolves and psychotic gynecologists, but hey — maybe watching all that DeGrassi gets to you after a while, who knows.