James Caan, Louis Gossett Jr. and Michael Ironside are three big Hollywood names not usually associated with Sudbury — until now.
All three actors joined Sudbury MPP Rick Bartolucci on April 26 for the latest film funding announcement from the province. A Fighting Man, directed by Damian Lee, was given $1 million through the Northern Ontario Heritage Fund Corporation's Emerging Technology Program.
The boxing drama, which portrays two men who meet head to head in the ring for a fight that will change their lives, is currently being filmed at The Grand on Elgin Street. One man fights for redemption and forgiveness, while the other fights for hope and change.
Adam Beach, Dominic Purcell, Kim Coates, Sheila McCarthy and Izaak Smith star, as does Sudbury's own boxing coach, Gord Apolloni of Top Glove Boxing Academy.
Gossett Jr. plays a trainer and father figure to one of the fighters in the film.
“It's cleverly written,” said the Academy Award-winning actor.
There are flashbacks between each round that delve deeper and deeper into each fighters' past, he said.
He didn't want to give away more of the story, but he said coming back to work in Northern Ontario had been a “breath of fresh air.”
“Thank God for the Canadian film industry – it is what lifted me up.”
Gossett Jr. said he has filmed more than 25 movies in Ontario, and there will be more.
“Canadians aren't jaded,” he said. “You are appreciative, you work hard and it's a pleasure to have come to work every morning to work with these people.”
He commended the province for coming up with new incentives to entice business north of the U.S. border, and not just the film industry.
“Canadians do great work, and I've made some lifetime friends across the country,” he said.
Likewise, Caan said while he has only been in Sudbury a few days, things have been “fairly easy.”
“I'm not the fighting man, I'm too old,” Caan said. “So is Dominic, but he's playing the fighting man anyway. I haven't had the grand tour of Sudbury, yet. We work all day, try to get a drink in, then go to bed. But on set, everyone is great. If they can put up with us, they've got a career ahead of them.”
Producers Bill Marks and Gary Howsam are no strangers to Greater Sudbury. They have produced other film projects here including The Truth, The Returned and Cas & Dylan. And, like those films, a portion of the cast and crew are from Northern Ontario.
A Fighting Man employs 66 people from Northern Ontario, 24 of which were hired under the Mentorship program, where they receive training and guidance from senior technicians. Employment for background performers is equal to 455 person days.
“We've made eight movies in Northern Ontario now,” said Marks. “Not only do I make my living off the film industry as a Northerner, but hundreds of full-time professional people are making their living exclusively off of their work in film and television in Northern Ontario.
“We now see consistent work coming to northern communities like Sault Ste. Marie and Sudbury. And, because of the foresight of generations of the government of Ontario and current policy, we have a viable, sustainable future here in our community.”
