Amazing to see Paris transformed for film shoot

Amazing to see Paris transformed for film shoot

With Paris’ Stephen L A CHILD’S PERSPECTIVE

Many film and TV productions have been filmed here in the past few years from Hallmark movies like ‘Let It Snow’ to horror films like ‘Silent Hill’ have been filmed here on location in Paris. But, not once has a sitcom ever been filmed here, and it has poked the interest of nearby audiences and local residents.

A couple of weeks ago on a Wednesday, you might’ve gone downtown and seen a movie set blocking the entire street spanning from Mechanic St. to William St. This is due to production of an upcoming Amazon Prime Video series titled ‘Motorheads’, in which the plot is about random people

forming a friendship and bonding over their love and interests in automobiles and “muscle cars,” according to Ashley Shields-Muir, the production manager for the show She was born and raised in nearby Brantford. She stated in front of council that she “was born and raised in Brantford and have spent countless summer days of my life working as a camp counselor at the Syl Apps Community Centre, attending the Paris Fair and swimming at the Paris pool… ” and that she’s very proud of the crew of after scouring various towns choosing the picturesque location of Paris, ticking all of the qualities they wanted

Because of the filming, most of the storefronts in downtown Paris have been transformed with new signs fitting the scenes filmed and the atmosphere. For example, where the old Home Hardware

building (the red brick building on the corner of Mechanic St. and Grand River St North) is now a new sign for a fictional restaurant called ‘Wade’s Diner’. Unfortunately, it won’t turn out to be a real diner and there isn’t any interior walls, so therefore I got my hopes up for nothing! They have also managed to turn the Paris customer services office sign to read ‘Allegheny County’ with the slogan "always inspiring” . Even Paris Flowers had a makeover with a beautiful vintage sign titled ‘Ironwood Flower Shop’.

Even though these signs won’t last beyond July of this year, some residents of Paris are pleading for the town to keep at least some of the signs because “they simply look better.” This according to one mother of two who I interviewed on the street recently. Continued on page 24

Stephen shares his insight in the downtown transformation into Ironwood PA for Amazon TV series Motorheads. Crews return this week to film more scenes. Photos by Casandra Turnbull

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I asked her what she thought about the new signs and she told me that the town is in dire need of a makeover and this is only step one. But when I told her that they were only doing this for a TV show that they’re filming here on several different occasions, she was sad to hear the news saying quote “Ah, that’s a shame. It would’ve been really nice for Paris to look this pretty permanently. When the temporary signs go, the storefronts will look like they’re lacking something, but that’smy opinion.”

And if I’m going to be genuinely honest with you, I completely agree Before the signs even went up, everyone was fine and happy with it because we never really had or experienced the change of signs until now, so when they go, we might miss them. And I’m telling you, they look really nice It’s a wonderful change to the town even though it’s temporary and I believe that it might even look a little more attractive to tourists and people who are passing through the town or even staying for a little while It might not be the actual Paris, but it sure is interesting.

Most of the residents and nearby people started to realize that there were new signs in the town during the town’s Maple Syrup Festival as the street was crowded with festival enjoyers line dancing and buying products from vendors. Some signs had very similar names to the stores that are there while others were quite different (going back to the Paris customer services office sign as many Paris residents were puzzled

wondering what or where ‘Allegheny County’ was) Since the show is called ‘Motorheads’ and the term “muscle cars” has been used, there must have been at least some snazzy cars on the road, right? Correct! A bunch of old vintage cars have been seen on the road from old Jaguars to Harley-Davidson motorcycles. For people who are absolute fanatics for cars, you should totally visit the set while they’re filming one day! According to multiple sources, The County of Brant and Amazon MGM Studios have been talking about filming here for a long time and they made their final decision to film it here in Paris at a council meeting on March the 26th

Since then, set workers and stage managers have been working hard getting everything ready for the five planned visits spanning between April to July Paris, Ontario, has undergone a remarkable change with the arrival of the sitcom 'Motorheads.' As storefronts adopt new looks and the town buzzes with excitement, locals and visitors are drawn to its unique charm I’m very happy that this is happening, and I cannot wait for the end result and for the sitcom to eventually come out!

-Stephen L.

Opinions in this column are that of the writer. Do you have an opinion on the filming downtown? Email stories@theparisindependent.com

Speed limit on 403 Brantford to increase this summer

HAMILTON – The Ontario government is raising the speed limit permanently from 100 km/h to 110 km/h on 10 additional sections of provincial highways in northern and southern Ontario, including the stretch from Woodstock to Hamilton. The change builds on the safe and successful increase to six sections of provincial highways in

2022 and aligns with posted speed limits in other jurisdictions across Canada.

“Most of Ontario’s highways were originally designed to safely accommodate speed limits of 110 km/h and the data from our changes in 2022 shows they do just that,” said Prabmeet Sarkaria, Minister of Transportation

“These evidence-based increases

are a common-sense change to make life more convenient for Ontario drivers while bringing our highway speed limits in line with other Canadian provinces.” The increased speed limit to 110 km/h on the 403 between Woodstock and Hamilton will start effective July 12, 2024.