Hamilton stands in for Hollywood in new David Bowie biopic streaming Friday

Los Angeles - night: the young David Bowie and publicist Ron Oberman stand on a hotel balcony, looking out over the glittering sprawl. A '70s housing block dominates the view. The year is 1971, post-Space Oddity" but pre-Hunky Dory," and Oberman tells Bowie, If you can't be yourself, well then, be someone else."

In this scene from Stardust," the new Bowie biopic, the audience sees L.A., but the view is of Durand, with Caroline Street stretching past Central Presbyterian into the distance. Despite reports naming Toronto as the filming location, Stardust" was shot mainly in Hamilton.

Directed by Gabriel Range, Stardust" tells the story of Bowie's American media tour in early 1971, and stars the actor/musician Johnny Flynn (Clouds of Sils Maria," Emma"), with Marc Maron (GLOW") as Ron Oberman, the artist's Mercury Records publicist. Jena Malone (The Hunger Games") also stars as Bowie's wife, Angie. It's all leading up to the icon's first Rolling Stone interview, which the film combines with a legendary house-party performance.

During filming during the summer of 2019, Flynn found time to visit the Playhouse Cinema (where the Hamilton premiere would have been if not for the pandemic). Funny enough, (the actor who played) David Bowie came to the Playhouse last summer to catch a flick between takes!" said manager Jacob Tutt. (Flynn was there to see Jim Jarmusch's horror-comedy The Dead Don't Die.") Before the renewal of COVID-19 restrictions, Stardust" was booked for a week-long run at the Playhouse to coincide with its streaming premiere Friday across all digital platforms and cable providers.

Johnny (Flynn) actually stayed in Hamilton while filming, and both he and his family really enjoyed the city," says producer Matt Code. Wildling Pictures has filmed in Hamilton numerous times and we're always impressed with how welcoming Hamiltonians are. There are so many well-preserved buildings," Code said. The city provides a wonderful canvas for our team to build a world from."

Punctuating Bowie's American tour are two Modernist residences. Kyles House plays the Oberman family home, while Markson House hosts a party thrown by RCA producer Tom Ayers (played by Burlington's Paulino Nunes). We found some wonderful '50s-built homes with immaculate period details preserved," Code said. This allowed us to achieve a much richer and more authentic look in the sets than our budget might have afforded had we been forced to construct everything."

Hamilton also plays early-'70s London in Stardust." Production designer Aidan Leroux used the Scottish Rite for the offices of Bowie's manager Tony Defries (cult actor Julian Richings). For the Bowies' bohemian home in Haddon Hall, Leroux combined the Scottish Rite and Auchmar, the city-owned Gothic manor.

Auchmar appears in Stardust" thanks to a tip from the city. Auchmar was too beautiful to not use," Code said, but was challenging because it was completely empty. Our team had a lot of work to do, but between the architecture of the building and Aidan's clever design, we were able to create some beautiful sets there."

Together with the Germania Club, Auchmar also plays backstage at Friars Aylesbury, the launch pad for Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - making Hamilton Malone's only stop during filming. As John Summers, the city's head of Heritage Resource Management, says, the new glam-rock connection is now part of the secret life" of the storied Mountain estate.

Perhaps, for Hamiltonians, Stardust" is about two chameleons, both using art to reinvent themselves.

All the Hamilton locations in Stardust"

• Scottish Rite Club (4 Queen St. S.)

• Auchmar (88 Fennell Ave. W.)

• The Studio at Hamilton Place (1 Summers Ln.)

• Kyles House (632 Harvest Rd.)

• Admiral Inn Hotel (149 Dundurn St. N.)

• Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen's (1 Summer's Ln.)

• Breezy Corners Freelton (1480 Hwy #6 N.)

• Lawson Lumber (260 Dunsmure Rd.)

• LIUNA Station (360 James St. N.)

• Germania Club (863 King St. E.)

• Markson House (45 Amelia St.)

• Fontainebleau Apartments (121 Hunter St. W.)

• Bay 100 Apartments (100 Bay St. S.)

Sarah Sheehan writes about culture, heritage, and cities. Twitter: @DrSarahSheehan