Major Toronto street turned into Chicago in the '80s for Neil Patrick Harris movie
A stretch of University Avenue was completely closed to cars on Saturday due to a film shoot for Neil Patrick Harris' new movie, and photos from production show the area completely transformed into early 1980s Chicago.
The city announced Friday that University would be closed between Queen Street West and Dundas Street on April 10 from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. for filming, and Toronto Filming later revealed that the movie 8-Bit Christmas would be taking over the downtown stretch.
Filming Update#8BitChristmas starring Neil Patrick Harris was filming on University between Queen St W & Dundas St today! More photos!! https://t.co/jHAfCfZyVa
— Toronto Filming (@TOFilming_EM) April 11, 2021
But while the area was closed to cars and pedestrians, some local photographers managed to snap a few shots of all the excitement.
Photos from the day show several old cars dating back to the late '70s and early '80s lining the streets, including a light green Ford Thunderbird and others.
A vintage checkered cab could also be seen parked on the street, as well as a lineup of modern-day yellow taxis.
Filming Update#8BitChristmas starring Neil Patrick Harris was filming at University between Queen St W & Dundas St today! Photos- part 5!🎄🎥🎬 https://t.co/pEhj9VvmmO
— Toronto Filming (@TOFilming_EM) April 11, 2021
Street signs in the area were also altered to look like Chicago, as were license plates and taxi signs.
Filming Update!#8BitChristmas starring Neil Patrick Harris was busy filming on University between Queen St W & Dundas St today! 🎄🎥🎬 https://t.co/vFzhqBMC0N
— Toronto Filming (@TOFilming_EM) April 11, 2021
And while the majority of photos from Saturday show the vehicles being used in the film, one passerby also managed to capture a photo of Harris himself in action.
Filming Update!
— Toronto Filming (@TOFilming_EM) April 11, 2021
We had our first Neil Patrick Harris sighting in Toronto! Downtown on University Street to film a little Christmas scene with 🎅 for #8BitChristmas 🎄🎥🎬 https://t.co/fjw0cXKin7
8-Bit Christmas is set to tell the story of "a ten-year-old [who] sets out on a quest to get the Christmas gift of his generation - the latest and greatest video game system."
