Why your favorite movies fake their locations

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Movie magic is what makes our favorite films so good: actors flawlessly inhabiting the personalities of totally made-up characters, visual effects transforming a green screen to an otherworldly setting, musical scores making us feel every emotion under the sun. But there’s another kind of magic we don’t talk about as much: one physical location masquerading as another. And it happens all the time.

When filmmakers are trying to make a movie, deciding where to shoot isn’t as straightforward as choosing the location described in the script. They need to find a place with cooperative weather, a few landscapes to choose from, a big enough workforce, and — perhaps most importantly — one that fits their budget.

All these factors mean that locations with downtowns, country landscapes, mountain ranges, and water features within a drivable distance are highly sought after, especially when they also have good tax credits. While Hollywood might be the legendary film capital of the world, places like Vancouver are becoming more and more popular thanks to the flexible landscapes and tax breaks.

This is especially true for holiday movies — many of which are filmed in Canada. In this video, we talk to a prolific Christmas movie producer — who has worked on films like the 2024 Netflix hit Hot Frosty — about shooting movies in Canada.