History UsefulNotes / Montreal

[[GratuitousIambicPentameter Did, we, MENtion, that it's]] [[DramaticPause .....]] [[LargeHam ALso]], Creator/WilliamShatner's, [[LargeHam BIRTHPLACE]]?[[note]]Shatner is an Anglophone Conservative Hungarian Jewish Montrealer.[[/note]]

Montreal is Canada's second-largest city. It is also the second-largest French-speaking city in the world (after, of course, UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}). Its most famous structure, the Olympic Stadium, was home to the Expos baseball team until they [[strike:got a timeshare in Puerto Rico]] became the Washington Nationals. The Bell Centre (formerly the Molson Centre) is the home of the Montreal Canadiens (who previously called the storied Montreal Forum home), the oldest hockey team in the NHL and the team that has won the most Stanley Cups (24 in all, one of which predates the NHL -- though they haven't been doing so well in the last two decades). While not as big a filming centre as UsefulNotes/{{Vancouver}}, quite a few movies are still filmed in Montreal. Its wide range of architecture allows the city to act as a cheap stand-in for many European cities. Montreal is also the home of a few VideoGame design studios: Creator/{{Ubisoft}} Montreal (''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' series and ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''); Creator/ElectronicArts Montreal (''ArmyOfTwo''); [[Creator/SquareEnix Eidos Montreal]] (''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'') and the late Creator/{{THQ}} Montreal.

* ''TheScore''

* ''UnGarsUneFille''

* ''JesusOfMontreal''

Montreal is Canada's second-largest city. It is also the second-largest French-speaking city in the world (after, of course, UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}). Its most famous structure, the Olympic Stadium, was home to the Expos baseball team until they [[strike:got a timeshare in Puerto Rico]] became the Washington Nationals. The Bell Centre (Formerly the Molson Centre) is the home of the Montreal Canadiens (who previously called the storied Montreal Forum home), the oldest hockey team in the NHL and the team that has won the most Stanley Cups (though they haven't been doing so well in the last two decades). While not as big a filming centre as {{Vancouver}}, quite a few movies are still filmed in Montreal. Its wide range of architecture allows the city to act as a cheap stand-in for many European cities. Montreal is also the home of a few VideoGame design studios: Creator/{{Ubisoft}} Montreal (''Franchise/PrinceOfPersia'' series and ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''); Creator/ElectronicArts Montreal (''ArmyOfTwo''); [[Creator/SquareEnix Eidos Montreal]] (''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'') and the late Creator/{{THQ}} Montreal.

Montreal is not an unequivocally French city. Especially in the downtown area around Ste. Catherine Street even more so when approaching the largely English suburb of Westmount, quite a few of its inhabitants are native English-speakers (often [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish]]), who often adopt a culture closer to American/English Canadian culture than their French compatriots. The city also plays host to two predominantly English universities ([=McGill=] and Concordia). On top of all this, the city attracts quite a few immigrants; overall, it's a cultural mosaic similar to other major Canadian cities.

One unique aspect of the local media market is that, while most other large Canadian cities receive the major US broadcast {{networks}} through affiliates based in cities at least as large as they are (much of southern Ontario gets the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState Buffalo]] or UsefulNotes/{{Detroit}} stations, [[StargateCity Vancouver]] gets the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} ones, etc.), the closest American cities to Montreal are [[HollywoodNewEngland Burlington, Vermont]] and [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState Plattsburgh, New York]], whose combined metropolitan areas (city and suburbs together) are less than ''one-twelfth'' the population of the Montreal area. Consequently, stations in this media market both have the largest city in their broadcast areas in another country. It leads to the strange situation where American TV stations carry large amounts of advertising for foreign businesses -- a good percentage of English-language advertising for Montreal businesses aimed at Montrealers is carried on Burlington and Plattsburgh stations, and ads in French are not unheard of (although satellite services' carrying the main East Coast feeds out of NewYorkCity has put a dent in this in recent years).

Close proximity to Quebec has another interesting effect on Vermont and far northern New York. As they sit right next to a French-speaking area that has far more people than they do (and which sends a lot of tourists their way), it is one of the few regions of the country where French, not Spanish, is the default second language. Road signage on parts of the Adirondack Northway is in English and French while I-89 in Vermont has signs with distances in kilometers, the tourist guides at Fort Ticonderoga (or Fort Carillon, the French name for it) are printed in both languages, and it's not uncommon to hear people on the street speaking in French.

However, United States custom officers on the US-Canada border often have a reputation of being overreacting, trigger-happy insulting {{jerkass}}es who don't bother learning French and get angry when you address them in French. This may or may not be true, but this a widely-believed myth. Even officials believe it - for example, after a string of illegal immigrant getting caught crossing the US-Canada border in a Quebec border town, the local Member of Parliament declared that something had to be done before the Americans took the matters into their own hands, because they don't care for the population very much when they decide to do so.

Montreal is known for its epic music scene. Having been hailed as the most creative city in North America in the early 2000's it has produced such bands as ArcadeFire, Malajube, Young Galaxy (recent Polaris prize shortlisters), Stars, Coeur de Pirate, Wolf Parade, The Stills, and The Dears. As well it is home to music royalty LeonardCohen and RufusWainwright, among others.

[[GratuitousIambicPentameter Did, we, MENtion, that it's]] [[DramaticPause .....]] [[LargeHam ALso]], WilliamShatner's, [[LargeHam BIRTHPLACE]]? [[note]]Shatner is an Anglophone Conservative Jewish Montrealer.[[/note]]

* ''[[Film/ThreeHundred 300]]''
* ''{{The Adventures of Pluto Nash}}''

* ''[[NightAtTheMuseum Night at the Museum 2]]''

* ''TheTerminal'' (exterior shots; interior shots were flimed on a purpose-built set in L.A.)

* ''BeingHumanRemake'', doubling for Boston

* ''TheDeadZone''

* ''TheSpiderwickChronicles''

Tourists are advised to stay in the downtown area, cars and all; not only is English widely accepted downtown but there's bars everywhere and a strip club every other block on St. Catherine's (we're quite serious: St. Catherine's goes bar, restaurant, bar, strip club, interesting shops (''that'' kind and not), museum, bar, strip club, etc.). Also, the Montreal {{Gayborhood}} is centered on St. Catherine's just east of Downtown. Generally a good deal.

Montreal is Canada's second-largest city. It is also the second-largest French-speaking city in the world (after, of course, UsefulNotes/{{Paris}}). Its most famous structure, the Olympic Stadium, was home to the Expos baseball team until they [[strike:got a timeshare in Puerto Rico]] became the Washington Nationals. The Bell Centre (Formerly the Molson Centre) is the home of the Montreal Canadiens (who previously called the storied Montreal Forum home), the oldest hockey team in the NHL and the team that has won the most Stanley Cups (though they haven't been doing so well in the last two decades). While not as big a filming centre as {{Vancouver}}, quite a few movies are still filmed in Montreal. Its wide range of architecture allows the city to act as a cheap stand-in for many European cities. Montreal is also the home of a few VideoGame design studios: {{Ubisoft}} Montreal (''PrinceOfPersia'' series and ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''); ElectronicArts Montreal (''ArmyOfTwo''); {{Eidos}} Montreal (''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'') and now {{THQ}}.

* ''Le Declin de l'Empire Américain'' (''{{The Decline of the American Empire}}'') and its sequel ''Les Invasions Barbares'' (''TheBarbarianInvasions'', winner of an Oscar for Best Foreign Picture). ''L'Age Des Ténèbres'' (''{{The Age of Ignorance}}'', by the same director) also took place in Montreal.

Montreal is Canada's second-largest city. It is also the second-largest French-speaking city in the world (after, of course, [[TheCityOfLight Paris]]). Its most famous structure, the Olympic Stadium, was home to the Expos baseball team until they [[strike:got a timeshare in Puerto Rico]] became the Washington Nationals. The Bell Centre (Formerly the Molson Centre) is the home of the Montreal Canadiens (who previously called the storied Montreal Forum home), the oldest hockey team in the NHL and the team that has won the most Stanley Cups (though they haven't been doing so well in the last two decades). While not as big a filming centre as {{Vancouver}}, quite a few movies are still filmed in Montreal. Its wide range of architecture allows the city to act as a cheap stand-in for many European cities. Montreal is also the home of a few VideoGame design studios: {{Ubisoft}} Montreal (''PrinceOfPersia'' series and ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''); ElectronicArts Montreal (''ArmyOfTwo''); {{Eidos}} Montreal (''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'') and now {{THQ}}.

* ''{{Alone in the Dark}}''

* ''TheDayAfterTomorrow''

* ''JohnnyMnemonic''
* ''[[ThreeHundred 300]]''

* ''{{Screamers}}''

* ''TwelveMonkeys''

* ''WarmBodies''

One unique aspect of the local media market is that, while most other large Canadian cities receive the major US broadcast {{networks}} through affiliates based in cities at least as large as they are (much of southern Ontario gets the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState Buffalo]] or [[MotorCity Detroit]] stations, [[StargateCity Vancouver]] gets the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} ones, etc.), the closest American cities to Montreal are [[HollywoodNewEngland Burlington, Vermont]] and [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkState Plattsburgh, New York]], whose combined metropolitan areas (city and suburbs together) are less than ''one-twelfth'' the population of the Montreal area. Consequently, stations in this media market both have the largest city in their broadcast areas in another country. It leads to the strange situation where American TV stations carry large amounts of advertising for foreign businesses -- a good percentage of English-language advertising for Montreal businesses aimed at Montrealers is carried on Burlington and Plattsburgh stations, and ads in French are not unheard of (although satellite services' carrying the main East Coast feeds out of NewYorkCity has put a dent in this in recent years).

However, United States custom officers on the US-Canada border often have reputation of being overreacting,trigger happy insulting Jerkass who don't bother learning French and gets angry when you address them in French. This may or may not be true, but this a widely-believed myth. Even officials believe it - for example, after a string of illegal immigrant getting caught crossing the US-Canada border in a Quebec border town, the local Member of Parliament declared that something had to be done before the Americans took the matters into their own hands, because they don't care for the population very much when they decide to do so.

* ''Le Declin de l'Empire Américain'' (''{{The Decline of the American Empire}}'') and its sequel ''Les Invasions Barbares'' (''TheBarbarianInvasions'', winner of the Oscar for Best Foreign Picture).''L'Age Des Ténèbres'' (''{{The Age of Ignorance}}'' by the same director also took place in Montreal.).

Tourists are advised to stay in the downtown area, cars and all; not only is English widely accepted downtown but there's bars everywhere and a strip club every other block on St. Catherine's (we're quite serious: St. Catherine's goes bar, restaurant, bar, strip club, interesting shops (''that'' kind and not), museum, bar, strip club, etc.). Generally a good deal.

As in all of the province of Quebec, Montreal's administration is fiercely protective of its French culture.[[note]]A common misconception is that most French-speaking people in Montreal, and in Quebec in general, share this mindset; while it is quite common among the general populace, many French Quebecers ''not'' in political office just don't see what the big deal is about.[[/note]] There are indeed "language police" whose job requirements include, for example, ensuring that English signs are no larger than French signs. (They don't patrol, though. They only respond to citizen complaints.) That said, Montreal is not an unequivocally French city, much to said language police's chagrin. Especially in the downtown area around Ste. Catherine Street[[note]]even more so when approaching the largely English suburb of Westmount[[/note]], quite a few of its inhabitants are native English-speakers (often [[UsefulNotes/{{Judaism}} Jewish]]), who often adopt a culture closer to American/English Canadian culture than their French compatriots. The city also plays host to two predominantly English universities ([=McGill=] and Concordia), and the Canadiens are mostly English-speaking (a '''''huge''''' point of contention for French purists; [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment don't ask]]). On top of all this, the city attracts quite a few immigrants; overall, it's a cultural mosaic similar to other major Canadian cities.

Tourists are advised to stay in the downtown area, cars and all; not only is English widely accepted downtown but there's bars everywhere and a strip club every other block on St. Catherine's (we're quite serious: St. Catherine's goes bar, restaurant, bar, strip club, interesting shops (''that'' kind and not), museum, bar, strip club, etc.). Generally a good deal. Should English-speakers wish to leave this bubble, it is best, when requesting assistance, to plaintively say, in bad French or humble English, "I don't speak French. Do you speak English?" This is a general rule for traveling in Quebec, but you're more likely to get friendly service with this trick in Montreal than anywhere else in the province.

Close proximity to Quebec has another interesting effect on Vermont and far northern New York. As they sit right next to a French-speaking area that has far more people than they do (and which sends a lot of tourists their way), it is one of the few regions of the country where French, not Spanish, is the default second language. Road signage on parts of the Adirondack Northway is in English and French while I-89 in Vermont has signs with distances in kilometers, the tourist guides at Fort Ticonderoga (or Fort Carillon, the French name for it) are printed in both languages, and it's not uncommon to hear people on the street speaking in French. On the flip side, rural ''Quebecois'' respond much more politely to being addressed in English by people who pulled up in a car with green or yellow license plates than they do to Ontarians or Montreal Anglophones...[[note]]This might be less politeness and more pity: the stereotype of the dumb uni-lingual American is very strong in Quebec.[[/note]]

* ''LaPetiteVie''

!!Movies and TV Series filmed in Montreal

Close proximity to Quebec has another interesting effect on Vermont and far northern New York. As they sit right next to a French-speaking area that has far more people than they do (and which sends a lot of tourists their way), it is one of the few regions of the country where French, not Spanish, is the default second language. Road signage on parts of the Adirondack Northway is in English and French while I-89 in Vermont has signs with distances in kilometers, the tourist guides at Fort Ticonderoga (or Fort Carillon, the French name for it) are printed in both languages, and it's not uncommon to hear people on the street speaking in French. On the flip side, rural ''Quebecois'' respond much more politely to being addressed in English by people who pulled up in a car with green or yellow license plates than they do to Ontarians or Montreal Anglophones...[[note]]This politeness might not be so polite: the stereotype of the dumb American is very strong in Quebec.[[/note]]

Close proximity to Quebec has another interesting effect on Vermont and far northern New York. As they sit right next to a French-speaking area that has far more people than they do (and which sends a lot of tourists their way), it is one of the few regions of the country where French, not Spanish, is the default second language. Road signage on parts of the Adirondack Northway is in English and French while I-89 in Vermont has signs with distances in kilometers, the tourist guides at Fort Ticonderoga (or Fort Carillon, the French name for it) are printed in both languages, and it's not uncommon to hear people on the street speaking in French. On the flip side, rural ''Quebecois'' respond much more politely to being addressed in English by people who pulled up in a car with green or yellow license plates than they do to Ontarians or Montreal Anglophones...

One unique aspect of the local media market is that, while most other large Canadian cities receive the major US broadcast {{networks}} through affiliates based in cities at least as large as they are (much of southern Ontario gets the [[NewYorkState Buffalo]] or [[MotorCity Detroit]] stations, [[StargateCity Vancouver]] gets the UsefulNotes/{{Seattle}} ones, etc.), the closest American cities to Montreal are [[HollywoodNewEngland Burlington, Vermont]] and [[NewYorkState Plattsburgh, New York]], whose combined metropolitan areas (city and suburbs together) are less than ''one-twelfth'' the population of the Montreal area. Consequently, stations in this media market both have the largest city in their broadcast areas in another country. It leads to the strange situation where American TV stations carry large amounts of advertising for foreign businesses -- a good percentage of English-language advertising for Montreal businesses aimed at Montrealers is carried on Burlington and Plattsburgh stations, and ads in French are not unheard of (although satellite services' carrying the main East Coast feeds out of New York City has put a dent in this in recent years).

As in all of the province of Quebec, Montreal's administration is fiercely protective of its French culture.[[hottip:*:A common misconception is that most French-speaking people in Montreal, and in Quebec in general, share this mindset; while it is quite common among the general populace, many French Quebecers ''not'' in political office just don't see what the big deal is about.]] There are indeed "language police" whose job requirements include, for example, ensuring that English signs are no larger than French signs. (They don't patrol, though. They only respond to citizen complaints.) That said, Montreal is not an unequivocally French city, much to said language police's chagrin. Especially in the downtown area around Ste. Catherine Street[[hottip:*:even more so when approaching the largely English suburb of Westmount]], quite a few of its inhabitants are native English-speakers (often [[{{Judaism}} Jewish]]), who often adopt a culture closer to American/English Canadian culture than their French compatriots. The city also plays host to two predominantly English universities ([=McGill=] and Concordia), and the Canadiens are mostly English-speaking (a '''''huge''''' point of contention for French purists; [[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment don't ask]]). On top of all this, the city attracts quite a few immigrants; overall, it's a cultural mosaic similar to other major Canadian cities.

Montreal is Canada's second-largest city. It is also the second-largest French-speaking city in the world (after, of course, [[TheCityOfLight Paris]]). Its most famous structure, the Olympic Stadium, was home to the Expos baseball team until they [[strike:got a timeshare in Puerto Rico]] became the Washington Nationals. The Bell Centre (Formerly the Molson Centre) is the home of the Montreal Canadiens (who previously called the storied Montreal Forum home), the oldest hockey team in the NHL and the team that has won the most Stanley Cups (though they haven't been doing so well in the last two decades). While not as big a filming centre as {{Vancouver}}, quite a few movies are still filmed in Montreal. Its wide range of architecture allows the city to act as a cheap stand-in for many European cities. Montreal is also the home of a few VideoGame design studios: {{Ubisoft}} Montreal (''PrinceOfPersia'' series and ''Franchise/AssassinsCreed''); ElectronicArts Montreal (''{{Army of Two}}''); {{Eidos}} Montreal (''VideoGame/DeusExHumanRevolution'') and now {{THQ}}.