After taking over Toronto to shoot Suicide Squad last summer, Will Smith, Margot Robbie and director David Ayer returned on Tuesday to open up the Belle Reve Penitentiary Fan Experience, an immersive marketing initiative ahead of next week’s release of the film.
The installation at the Distillery District’s Fermenting Cellar takes its name from the dank prison in Suicide Squad that contains super villains like Smith’s Deadshot and Robbie’s Harley Quinn. On July 27 and 28, fans can take a close look at props from the movie, like Katana’s mask, the Joker’s cane and Harley Quinn’s signature baseball bat. You can even step inside a recreation of Deadshot’s prison cell.
(In case you were wondering, we didn’t find any Pokémon in there.)
The main event is Harley Quinn’s smash room, a miniature version of the psychiatrist-turned-psycho’s cage, where anyone eager to expel pent up rage can suit up in protective gear and swing a bat at bottles, vases and typewriters.
At the ribbon cutting ceremony, the talent joined Mayor John Tory to thank the city for putting up with the traffic snarls created by the massive production, which periodically shut down major routes like the Lakeshore, Bloor and Yonge Street.
Smith, a constant hype man on stage, talked about how even his star power couldn’t compete with the Batmobile. That’s what drew massive crowds from as far out as Newmarket people who would plant lawn chairs on Yonge Street to witness the action.
What Smith didn’t mention is that the street got so congested that onlookers started spilling off the curb and onto the street, posing a risk in the middle of a car chase shoot. Eventually the film’s unit publicist trotted out the Batmobile to take a couple of spins up and down the block. Everyone got their selfie and cleared out so that the production could safely continue in the wee hours.
While the talent was recollecting their time in Toronto onstage, I couldn’t help but approach them about my fond memories of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I’m in the demographic where that show had a bigger influence than Star Wars. It was a light-hearted way to digest class, race and getting pulled over by the cops (see the episode where Will and Carlton venture off to Palm Springs).
Smith recently celebrated his 30th anniversary. As the Fresh Prince, he dropped his first single with DJ Jazzy Jeff in the summer of ’86 and to this day he could be heard regularly rapping his iconic show’s theme song – whether on Ellen or the Suicide Squad set.
Watch below:
Suicide Squad comes out in Toronto on August 5.
website@nowtoronto.com | @FreshAndFrowsy
