The late actor anthony Quinn and Canada Free Press have something in common. avenging angelo was the last movie we both starred in.
In opening shots of avenging angelo, the plaque for 49 Elm Street fleetingly flashes crosses the screen in the 2002 film directed by Martyn Burke. Forty-nine Elm is home to the politicians' "Nightmare on Elm Street", canadafreepress.com.
The day we looked down from our second floor offices to see Sylvester Stallone, lounging up against an expensive car, came as quite a surprise. We had rushed to the windows to check out the clamour coming from the street, thinking our competition was raiding our newspaper box again, only to find-- Rocky in the flesh.
"Wow, he looks smaller in person, but he's so cool," gushed one of our always nearby, highschool co-op students.
Relaxed and standing with his arms crossed, Rocky flashed up one of his million dollar smiles at us.
The din that drew us to the windows was coming from dozens of passersby, who had stopped to watch one of the film's scenes being shot.
Stallone played angelo's (anthony Quinn's bodyguard) in avenging angelo.
CFP was not, of course the real location starring in the film. Oro's, one of Toronto's finest restaurants, was.
The camera merely panned across the front of our building, which happens to directly next door to Oro's.
Everybody in Toronto goes to Oro's. On slow news days when CFP was still Toronto Free Press, we used to stand outside our office to watch the bigwigs climbing out of their limos.
It was even more fun watching some of the politicians lurching out to their cars after their three martini-lunches. Because we sometimes lunch at Oro's with clients, we took no pictures.
It is definitely the food that lures lunching politicians to our next-door neighbour, and we weren't surprised to hear that the worldly anthony Quinn who supped there, raved about the magic of the restaurant's dishes.
With its striking, out of the norm décor, including crackling fireplaces on cold winter days, Oro's would make the perfect backdrop for any Hollywood film.
During the filming of avenging angelo, we were pleasantly surprised by members of the filming crew, who showed us every courtesy when we were going to and from our office.
Returning late one afternoon with office mascot Kiko on his leash, I worried the 12-lb. canine would be inadvertently trampled by cameramen in front of our building's door. as I was stooping to pick the pooch up, Stallone seemed to appear out of nowhere, holding back the crew and demanding, "Let her through!"
For the rest of that day, the students were offering to fetch my cups of tea. We discussed how it was no act when a critter-loving Rocky was hanging out at the pet store in Rocky 1.
On another occasion, I was racing along Elm Street, trying to duck the rain, when I spilled some papers I was carrying onto the wet sidewalk. as I was trying to gather the wet papers and my even damper dignity, someone intervened. Picking up the papers and proffering them to me with a flourish was the gentlemanly anthony Quinn!
There's been a revolving student population through CFP since the filming of avenging angelo, and since I caught a late-night replay of the film on television, every one of them has heard the story.
We don't know if Stallone will ever pass this way again, or if CFP headquarters will ever make it back to the silver screen.
But on those certain rainy days made for dreaming, we sometimes catch our students peering longingly down from the windows.
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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