Anthrax plagues MacEwan Hall

By Еvan Osentоn

What does a film need to be successful in these exciting, heady times in the movie industry? If you said deadly bovine diseases, a High River RCMP officer and nudity, you’d either be insane or somehow affiliated with Anthrax.

The latest big-budget movie to use Calgary as a backdrop, Anthrax tells the, um, unique story of an RCMP officer who tries to stop a terrorist from unleashing the deadly virus on the sleepy citizens of Calgary. A daring premise, yes, but what should really set Anthrax apart–at least in students’ minds–is the amount of film that was shot on the U of C campus. The crew spent three days filming in MacEwan Student Centre, the lawn on the south side of MSC, and the tunnel underneath the Olympic Oval ice surface. Over 100 students and local lay-abouts responded to a call for extras on Sun., June 18.

Anthrax publicist Gordon Imlach explained that the U of C was used for the finale of the movie and described the movie as "exciting."

"It’s a thriller," he said. "There’s a Canadian agricultural research facility that does studies of the Anthrax virus. When cows in the area start dying, ranchers think it has to do with the facility."

As if this was not exciting enough, at this point ranchers riot outside the facility, and a terrorist masking as a reporter sneaks into the facility to steal the virus.

"A vial of anthrax gets broken," Imlach continued. "We have somebody who dies, and everybody has to be quarantined."

Speaking of the quarantine, of particular interest to U of C students might be a nude scene where humans possibly infected with Anthrax are hosed with bleach. One of the nude characters is a prominent Calgary musician and U of C alumnus. We can’t say who will bare all at this point (as his or her mom might find out) but rest assured, this is a scene not to be missed.

The RCMP officer who tries to save Calgary’s bacon is played by Cameron Daddo, last seen in FX: The Series. David Keith, most recently of U-571, plays the bad guy and Joanna Cassidy (Blade Runner, Who Framed Roger Rabbit) plays a rancher whose cows may have contracted the deadly virus, and may or may not (this is unconfirmed) mutate and go on a deadly rampage through Westbrook Mall.

7 comments

  1. Normally I don’t learn post on blogs, however I would like to say that this write-up very pressured me to try and do it!

    Your writing style has been surprised me. Thank you, quite nice post.

Leave a comment