I was driving along Bay Street at about 03:30 in the morning on Thursday when I was stopped at Richmond Street West. A movie crew was shooting a scene and there were automobiles from the 1930s driving along Richmond Street while people walked about dressed in outfits from that era. When I looked East from this vantage point, I saw something I never expected to see in Toronto. I saw Madison Square Gardens.
The complete exterior of Madison Square Gardens has been duplicated, complete with a marquee that indicates there's a scheduled hockey game between the New York Americans and Ottawa Senators. I've investigated further to see what's being filmed there and it turns out it's no small potatoes. It's a major motion picture starring A-list celebrities. Ron Howard is directing Russell Crowe and Renee Zellweger in The Cinderella Man, the story of Depression-era fighter and folk hero Jim Braddock, who defeated heavyweight champ Max Baer in a 15-round slugfest in 1935.
I'm rooting for this flick to be great. Not just because it's being filmed in my fair city, but because it brought me back to 1935 in the wee hours following the birth of my daughter. Start spreading the news...
