St. John’s City Council awarded its 2020 Tourism Award to Hudson & Rex producer, Paul Pope for his work in the film, television, and arts community in St. John’s for more than 40 years.
Tourism is a far-reaching industry in this province and one part of that sector is the film and television industry, which brings millions of dollars to Newfoundland and Labrador each year.
Pope says it was an honour, but also a bit of a surprise to receive the Legend Award, the city’s pinnacle award for contribution to the enhancement of tourism.
(Behind the scenes during a filming of Hudson & Rex.)
He says he didn’t really think of himself as a tourism promoter, but he supposes that is true considering that Hudson and Rex has 6.5-million viewers in Europe each week, which Pope says is a big ad for St. John’s.
Councillor Debbie Hanlon presented Pope with the award at yesterday’s city council meeting—a statue made by local artist Brian Power—which unfortunately took a tumble.
Hanlon assures the award will be fixed.
Industry Continues to Build Momentum
Awards aside, Pope says the industry has been steadily growing.
Pope says last year was a milestone and the industry’s biggest year yet as two major shows—Hudson & Rex and SurrealEstate—were filming at the same time.
Pope says the momentum is continuing and that the upcoming year will be the biggest for the province so far.
That’s why Pope Productions is launching the ‘Technical Training Boot Camp for Crew’ to help residents of Newfoundland and Labrador who identify as Black, Indigenous or as a Person of Colour to work on this upcoming season of Hudson & Rex.
He says it’s a good time to look for more talented people to get involved in this line of work—whether that be the art, grip and electric, or wardrobe department.
Today, the 2020 Tourism Award (The Legend Award) was presented to Paul Pope of Pope Productions.
“We are pleased to present the 2020 Legend Award to Mr. Paul Pope, who is a community leader in film, television and arts,” said Mayor Danny Breen.
Details: https://t.co/Q80pjPx2ep pic.twitter.com/VLpb86HqYN
— Connect St. John's (@ConnectStJohns) May 25, 2021
