Hamilton's quiet movie boom

Would-be superhero Arthur Poppington (Woody Harrelson) tries to save the world in Defendor, opening Feb. 19. And the place he wages his onscreen campaign isn't a sound stage in Los Angeles or on location in Toronto. It's in the gritty streets of Hamilton.

Thanks to a mix of favourable tax credits, an enthusiasm for making filmmakers welcome and a chameleon face that lets the city stand in for anywhere from the Middle East to Washington, D.C., the Hammer is turning a tidy profit making movies, TV shows and music videos. All of it, of course, amid a serious industry-wide downturn that has seen many Toronto film and TV workers idled.

While it may be a while before the city erects a Hammerwood sign on Hamilton Mountain, there were some 100 productions in the city in the past two years, including about 800 prep, shoot and wrap working days in 2009, says Hamilton's Film and Television Office manager, Jacqueline Norton.