If you happen to see this year’s holiday commercial by the supermarket chain Maxi, you may recognize a street, or a shop, where the festivities take place. In October, a film crew contacted Zoë Gillies, owner of the second-hand clothing store Le Grenier de Zoë, to see if she would consider letting them use her shop.
The producers wanted an “Old American-style street, and Ormstown gave that feel,” Gillies says. When the location scouts first contacted her, they had a few towns in mind; the short list was pitched to the producer, who made the final choice. They liked the setup of her shop.
“They decided it would be here; then two weeks later they showed up the day before filming to decorate the streets. Then they spent the day filming, and it was as if they were never here. It went so fast,” Gillies says. She adds that “A commercial is really quick, so they only shot two little scenes here and some on the street, and the rest was on green screen.”
A few years ago, Gillies was cast in the Mégantic series that was filmed in Ormstown; however, “That was a much different experience,” she says. This time, she enjoyed watching and was well taken care of by the team. “It was quite impressive; there were about 25 people in the store at once, different producers and people doing makeup and hair and moving stuff. It was quite something.”
The commercial starring Martin Matte is scheduled to come out around November 24 – just in time for the holidays.