"CINDERELLA MAN" IN QUEEN/SAULTER LIBRARY

"CINDERELLA MAN" IN QUEEN/SAULTER LIBRARY

On August 2004, some snow covered the vicinity of the Queen/Saulter library which Miguelita manages.
"Come over" she said to me on the phone.'You would not believe how beautiful it is here.."

  Indeed, the place  was beautiful . It was winter in August, complete with artificial snow. The whole block was lined up with old cars circa 1920.The business signs were changed with vintage billboards used during the Depression era. Two blocks from Saulter street to Broadview along Queen street became a movie set for the movie CINDERELLA MAN. It is a Ron Howard movie which stars Russel Crowe and Renee Zwelweger.The movie, which finally arrived at  North American theatres  last June 2005, tells the story of Jim Braddock, a down- on-his- luck boxer and a father who tried to keep his family together during the Depression. Russel played the boxer and his wife is played by Renee.    I arrived just on time to watch Renee and 3 kids do the billboard scene where she and her 3 children supposedly stole some wooden slats so they have wood to burn in their stove. In the movie they have no money to pay their electric bills, so their power supply was cut off.    On that hot summer  day, Renee was wearing a sweater inside a winter jacket plus a scarf and a toque. The sun was mercilessly out shining on full blast. The camera crew did three takes. I saw Ron Howard congratulate her for a job well done as she was removing her toque and her jacket. The scene took about 30 mins to shoot. On the screen, it took only about 10 seconds out of the movie's playing time.
An April 2005 issue of SHELF LIFE, a periodical of the Toronto Public Library says: "Queen/Saulter is a favorite of movie location agents, the building has been featured in IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS, a horror movie by John Carpenter; CINDERELLA MAN a period movie blockbuster by Ron Howard ( to be released in early 2005 ) and two Canadian TV Shows: SUE THOMAS, F.B. EYE and PUPPETS WHO KILL.