Netflix fantasy film starring Jason Momoa filming in Hamilton
Keep an eye out for Aquaman in Hamilton.
A Netflix fantasy film starring Jason Momoa will be filming in Hamilton.
Slumberland" has finished a week of filming at Mohawk College but the production is expected back in the city before June.
The production left the Joyce Centre for Partnership and Innovation on Feb. 23. College spokesperson Bill Steinburg said it was an appropriate time for Mohawk to host a film because students are off campus due to the pandemic.
Momoa, 41, is best known for his role as Arthur, the half man/half beast Atlantean in the DC Comics film series. He started playing the character in 2016 but got his own film, Aquaman," in 2018. A sequel is planned.
He is also well-known for playing a warlord in the first season of Games of Throne" in 2011. His character was killed off but he has joked that people still recognize him for that role.
Slumberland" is based on a 1905 comic strip called Little Nemo in Slumberland." It was made into an animated film in 1989.
According to Whats-on-netflix.com, Momoa is playing the role of Flip, a nine-foot tall creature that is half man, half beast. Slumberland publicist Lisa Shamata said the film concerns a young girl (Nema) who discovers a secret map to the dream world of Slumberland and, with the help of an eccentric outlaw, travels through dreams and nightmares with the hope she will be granted one wish - to see her father.
Nema is played by Marlow Barkley and the show also stars Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) and Chris O'Dowd (Bridesmaids). The director is Francis Lawrence (The Hunger Games).
Momoa has also been in Toronto shooting See' for Apple+ TV. In that, he plays the leader of a tribe who takes his family on the run because they are viewed as witches.
Steinburg said Mohawk has hosted 40 film and TV productions in the last 10 years.
*****
Did you know Cary Grant owed a debt of gratitude to Hamilton? Or at least The Hamilton Spectator.
The story comes to mind after the passing of celebrated TV/movie critic James Bawden. He died Jan. 24 at age 75.
He spent the bulk of his career at the Toronto Star but wrote books and had a blog which he posted on up until his death. He was at The Spectator 1971-1980.
The Star said in its obituary he was passionate about movie stars. He cowrote a book called Conversations with Classic Film Stars."
Which brings us to Cary Grant. Bawden liked to tell the tale (he did write about it) of getting a call from a Faberge PR person in 1980 saying Cary Grant wanted to meet with someone from The Spectator. Grant worked for the company and was in Toronto for a plant opening.
Bawden recounted how he had a one-hour interview in a Toronto boardroom with Grant while worried PR people kept poking their heads in the room. He said the actor introduced himself, Hello, I'm Cary Grant. Your paper once gave me a fine review. That was in 1923 when I was in Vaudeville and doing a tumbling routine. I've wanted to thank you ever since."
Bawden returned to The Spectator, went to its files and, sure enough, he found it. Grant, whose real name was Archie Leach, was at the Lyric (later Century) Theatre.
Archie Leach was ever so funny and fast," the newspaper reported.
RIP, Mr. Bawden.
*****
The former King George Public School has not yet materialized into a community arts hub, but some artists are finding a use for it.
The Gage Avenue North school, next to Tim Hortons Field, saw a film crew earlier this month.
A neighbour said it was The Umbrella Academy." The sci-fi superhero Netflix show has filmed in Hamilton many times. Another neighbour reported seeing a pile of American flags at the school.
King George closed in 2012. It is owned by the city and there is a proposal to convert it into an arts-focused educational hub. "The Handmaid's Tale" has also filmed at the school.
Daniel Nolan is a freelance writer who writes about film for The Hamilton Spectator. He can be reached at dannolanwrites@gmail.com