VANCOUVER — Sim Group’s PS Production Services (www.simgroup.com provided lighting, power, dolly and grip equipment for Deadpool, the comic book thriller from 20th Century Fox, which opened internationally this month. PS supported the production during two and a half months of shooting on location in Vancouver. The shoot included a spectacular crash sequence staged on the Georgia Viaduct near the city’s downtown.
Deadpool smashed records, garnering $260 million at the box office worldwide for its opening weekend.
Based upon the Marvel Comics anti-hero, Deadpool tells the origin story of former Special Forces operative turned mercenary Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds, a Vancouver native. The movie marks the feature debut of Director Tim Miller, an Academy Award-nominee for the animated short Gopher Broke.
Deadpool production manager Michael Williams says that despite a production schedule that included a two-week closure of one of Vancouver’s major arteries, the shoot came off without a hitch. “The production community and the city really got behind this movie…far beyond what you’d expect,” he says. “There were a lot of like-minded people who contributed to making the shoot a success.”
Among them was PS Production Services. “PS is terrifically supportive and a pleasure to deal with,” observes Williams, who had previously worked with PS on numerous film and television projects.
“It was an ambitious, logistically challenging production, run with skill and efficiency adds PS Production Services GM Jeff Ramsay. “They had some massive set ups on the viaduct. It was a pleasure to work with the production team of John Kelly (executive producer), Thane Watkins (associate producer) and Michael Williams (production manager).”
Other key members of the crew included production supervisor Thane Watkins, gaffer Drew Davidson, rigging gaffer Keith Woods, production coordinator Bliss McDonald, key grip Finn King. The cinematographer was Ken Seng.