This summer saw Lauder and St Clair turned into Hollywood and Vine as film crews were shooting scenes for the mega-budget movie 'The Cinderella Man.'

Based on the true story of Depression-era boxer Jim Braddock, the film stars Russell Crowe and Rene Zellweiger and is directed by Ron Howard. It is due for release in spring of 2005.

The production company 'Colder Than Jersey' took over the courtyard behind the building on the northeast corner for the better part of the summer to prepare the location for five days of shooting.

While chosen because it is reminescent of the late 20's/early 30's, the location required a lot of preparation. The stairs and porches in the courtyard were rebuilt to give it a look of disrepair while ensuring the safety of the actors and crew.

The street side of the building was also transformed, including the creation of two period storefronts and an advertisement for Arm & Hammer painted onto the wall. (One of the storefronts is now Caffee 163, which has retained the feel of that era).

In addition, modern streetlights were wrapped to look like wooden poles and the light fixtures were temporarily replaced with antiques from that era.

There were two periods of shooting, one for two days the other for three. Each time, over 200 people swarmed onto St Clair, accompanied by trucks, cranes - and classic cars.

The stars were also on scene - 'hanging out' between shoots at their new favourite coffee spot, the Palermo Bakery. Russell even posed for a photo with Palermo's own Barbara Oliveira, quite something given his reputation for not wanting to have his picture taken.

The folks from "Colder Than Jersey" are to be thanked for their efforts to keep the disruption to the commuinty to a minimum. The 'big trailers' were parked at the St Clair School and No Frills parking lots and crew were encouraged to support the local businesses.

It was noted that other location crews have scouted the location and so we have other productions in the future.

Of course it will be tough to beat having 'The Gladiator', 'Bridget Jones' and 'Opee of Mayberry' in the 'hood' - not to mention Dave.

(Note: Earlier in the year, The Toronto Star reported Russell Crowe being on St Clair to buy soccer jerseys - which he purchased from the Sports Centre, across from Oakwood Collegiate - if you have that clipping please pass it along so that we can post it on the site).