‘Spinning Gold’ is a biopic musical on the life of Neil Bogart, the founder of the world-famous Casablanca Records. Neil Bogart’s son, Timothy Scott Bogart, takes the helm as both the writer and director of the film. In his stint as the chief of Casablanca Records, Bogart launched the careers of a generation of superstars, including Curtis Mayfield, Bill Withers, Gladys Knight, KISS, Parliament, Donna Summer, and the Village People, all of whom are associated with the rise of disco in the United States.
Jeremy Jordan takes on the role of Neil Bogart in ‘Spinning Gold.’ Joining him in the film are Wiz Khalifa, Jason Derulo, Jay Pharoah, Michelle Monaghan, Dan Folger, and Sebastian Maniscalco. Biographical films are always interesting to watch, but a biographical musical is certainly rare. Aside from the obvious questions about the story and music, the location where the filming took place also becomes an important topic of discussion as biopics rely in part on historical accuracy for their success. If you are curious about the same, here’s everything you need to know!
Spinning Gold: Where Was it Filmed?
‘Spinning Gold’ was filmed entirely on location in Montreal, Quebec. The music for the film is likely recorded in Kearney, New Jersey. Though the film was initially announced in September 2011 and was slated to start filming in 2014, production was unfortunately delayed. In June 2019, the film’s production was announced once again, and filming began on the same sometime in April 2021. Let us have a closer look at the specific filming locations!
Montreal, Quebec
The film is primarily captured in Montreal, Quebec. One of the favorites of production companies in the whole of the entertainment industry, Montreal was likely chosen due to the fact that parts of Montreal have architectural styles that filmmakers prefer. Films set in western European cities, for example, have been shot in Old Montreal due to the similarities it shares with cities such as Paris and London. This also makes it easier for the cast and crew to move on top of preserving a lot of the production budget.
A few of the districts in Montreal even stand in for the US in the 70s. ‘Spinning Gold,’ which is set in the 60s and 70s, when during which Casablanca Records was founded, is definitely using these districts to inject some authenticity into the film. Other locations such as City Hall, the Olympic Stadium, Old Montreal (especially Rue Saint Paul), and Parc Lafontaine have also been used for foreign and local productions.
Montreal is also the home of a lot of qualified studios and audiovisual professionals whose expertise has been invaluable in the success of a wide range of critically acclaimed and award-winning productions. This way, production houses do not have to bring in resources that could very well be obtained in Montreal only.
Last but not least, the financial incentives provided by the government of the Great White North, such as tax breaks, for films and television shows produced in Montreal and other places in Canada could also be one of the reasons for the filming of ‘Spinning Gold’ in Montreal. Other films which were captured in Montreal include ‘Source Code’, ‘Warm Bodies’, ‘John Wick 2’, ‘Riddick’, and most recently ‘Scream VI‘.
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