First maybe a bit of background. Up until the eighties or early nineties, whatever, most tv and stuff was made in Hollywood. Well, I don't really know, I'm just assuming. Anyways, I guess labour costs in Hollywood started going up, so they started to look elsewhere for locations. Vancouver happened to be a prime destination, for a number of reasons. Labour costs were cheaper, but people still had the know-how. Good diverse scenery, everything from forests to mountains to beaches. Any other reasons? Probably, but I don't really know them. Anyways, so after that, the industry has just been building up and building up, until now it's one of the biggest film centers in North America or something like that.
And what are the results? Economically, they say that these films bring in millions to the British Columbian economy. Who knows if they're right or not, or what the exact figures are. But I mean, it's true I guess. They do spend money, first to pay the crew, who is native to BC. Then they build stuff, or rent places and stuff. There's a big chunk of money there. And then there's name recognition. Since Vancouver is becoming more well known for its movie stuff, maybe more tourists come to spend their money? Don't know if I believe that one too much, but that's what they say. So that's one good thing. What's another? You get to watch movies where you say "Hey! I know that place!" That can be fun sometimes. What else? There's some negative side effects. Sometimes they block off traffic. Sometimes they take over your school. Sometimes they take over your house. Sometimes they take all available parking. They often make a big nuisance out of themselves.
So what is the verdict? I wouldn't mind if they stayed out of my way. In fact, up until they started filming at SFU I didn't mind one bit. But when they started taking away classrooms, and my study spaces, and crawling around in the ceiling when I was trying to study, and wrecking the outside of the school, that's what I don't like. And to boot, they were all jerks. They walked around as if they owned the school, as if they were doing us all a favour by filming their little movie there. Well, I'll tell you what. If it were up to me, I would not let them up there again, or any film crew. I mean, this is a school, and institution of learning. Not a film set. And that goes for the rest of Vancouver as well. It is a city. Not a film set. As long as the film crew respects that, I have no problem with that. It's when they don't care (as is often the case) that I have a problem. So please, film crews, have a care.