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Actor from Indiana Jones, Lord of the Rings stars in film shooting here

Scenes will be shot at Boniferro Mill Works, Purvis Marine, Gates College and Sault Multimodal
John Rhys Davies
John Rhys-Davies voiced the roles of the Brine King in Aquaman, Man Ray in SpongeBob SquarePants, and Gnarlybeard in Scooby-Doo! Adventures: The Mystery Map

A feature film starring Welsh character actor John Rhys-Davies from Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) and the Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003) will be shooting in Sault Ste. Marie starting Monday through March 15.

Produced by Borga Dorter and written and directed by Brent Cole, Tainted is the story of a former mob enforcer whose neighbour's son is targeted by the killers he formerly ran with.

The production by Toronto's Gearshift Films has its share of gunfights and is expected to be granted an exemption from the city's noise and gunfire bylaws at Monday's meeting of City Council.

A firearms wrangler, Stefano Beninati, "will be handling the guns when they are not filming," says Tom Vair, the city's deputy chief administrative officer for community development and enterprise services.

"The guns will only be loaded with blanks. No ammunition will be fired," Vair says in a memorandum to Mayor Provenzano and city councillors.

"The City of Sault Ste. Marie Police Service will be notified in advance of the gunfire scenes, locations, dates and times. The production team will be notifying all neighbouring residences and businesses three days in advance of the filming."

Jennifer Mathewson, FutureSSM's film, television and digital media coordinator, will work with the production crew to ensure proper protcols are observed during the firing scenes.

Here's the shooting schedule:

  • Monday, Mar. 4 - noon to 8 p.m. - Purvis Marine (1 Pim St.) exterior
  • Thursday, Mar. 7 - 5:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. - Boniferro Mill Works (45 Third Line West) interior
  • Friday, Mar. 8 - 5:30 p.m. to 5:30 a.m. - Boniferro Mill Works (45 Third Line West) interior
  • Tuesday, Mar. 12 - 3:30 p.m. to midnight - Gates College (138 East St.) interior
  • Friday, Mar. 15 - 1:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. - Sault Multimodal (530 Cathcart St.) exterior

This will be the second production that Gearshift Films has shot in Sault Ste. Marie.

The first was Lost and Found (2016).

Tainted is the fourth shoot Dorter has done here.

Also appearing in Tainted are:

  • Alan Van Sprang - Immortals (2011), Diary of the Dead (2007) and Saw III (2006)
  • Sara Waisglass - played Frankie Hollingsworth over six seasons in various incarnations of the Degrassi franchise.
  • John Ralston - Living in Your Car (2010), portrayed Miles Hollingsworth II in Degrassi: The Next Generation
  • Aaron Poole - Strange Empire (2014) and This Beautiful City (2007)

John Rhys-Davies played Sallah in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) and Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989).

He was Gimli the dwarf in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002), and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003).

Monday's City Council meeting will be livestreamed on SooToday starting at 4:30 p.m.


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David Helwig

About the Author: David Helwig

David Helwig's journalism career spans seven decades beginning in the 1960s. His work has been recognized with national and international awards.
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