Lurie Puts Up His Dukes

Another report from the Calgary Sun on the filming of Resurrecting the Champ:

Any acclaim will undoubtedly translate to good news for the Calgary film community.

Unlike the vast majority of projects shot here, including last year’s Brokeback Mountain, Champ is an urban drama. No cowboy hats or hard-bitten actors sluicing tobacco as they head towards the final shootout (or pup tent, in the case of Brokeback).

It wasn’t an easy sell at first. Calgary film commissioner Beth Thompson remembers when she first approached the producers, they were surprised there was even a city here.

Now, she hopes more Hollywood filmmakers will view the city as a viable urban location.

“It’s a great opportunity for us and there’s optimism right now that it will mean more productions shooting downtown … Everybody (involved with Champ) has been very complimentary.”

Helping to sway Lurie’s opinion was Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee.

“Ang talked to me about the quality of the crew — the crew base and the actor base. And he was absolutely right.

“Normally speaking, you shoot at least 12 hours a day and this crew is working with such efficiency they’re getting me out at nine, 10 hours.

“I think it’s really part of … the Canadian work ethic. ‘Get the job and get the job done without complaint,’ which I love.

“I’m really tempted to try to shoot everything I can up here, because I’ve just had a really good time and Calgary, in particular, is very interesting because not a lot of movies have been shot downtown.”

While the script was originally set in L.A., the story will now take place in Denver, which more closely matches Calgary’s topography.

“I chose (to set it in) Denver because I chose (to film it in) Calgary,” says Lurie. “I don’t know if that’s ever been done before.”

Cameras will soon relocate to the Deerfoot Inn and Casino for a scene with Teri Hatcher. The Desperate Housewives star is flying in for one day to film her role.

Her involvement is a coup — it’s her first film role since Desperate Housewives.

By all accounts, Jackson and Hartnett (who brought along girlfriend Scarlett Johansson) enjoyed themselves in Calgary

Jackson, an avid golfer, took to the links. Among restaurants and bars cast members frequented, Lurie cites the Metropolitan Grill as well as Mynt Ultralounge and the Ship & Anchor. “We were just there last night, in fact.”

Full article at the link above.

Photo: Chris Large for the Calgary Sun.