Billy Madison is a 1995 comedy film starring Adam Sandler, Norm MacDonald, and Bridgette Wilson under the direction of Tamra Davis. With a script penned by Adam Sandler and Tim Herlihy, it wasn’t that much of a hit when it came out despite having in the cast great comedy names of their time that came from that breeding pool of comedy talent that was the late 1980s and mid-1990s Lorne Michael’s Saturday Night Live.
The film tells the story of a dumb mid-20s heir to a chain of hotels who has no interest in fostering his future, but instead to drink and party away. So, the moment the estate goes down to him, he thinks he is a huge wad of cash, but instead, he must commit to certain things to get access to the estate of his dead relative.
That condition sets off a series of comedic conditions and settings that encapsulate the heart of Billy Madison’s story. But today, instead of focusing on how it slowly became a cult film with Adam Sandler, and how badly it did at the box office, we’re going to cover where did Tamra Davis and producer Robert Simonds chose to bring this movie’s scenes to life.
Billy Madison Filming Locations
Billy Madison was filmed between late June to late August 1994 in Canada. The entire movie was filmed in that region. Ontario, Canada, is a region whose authorities foster foreign investment while bolstering local arts and film talent by giving tax exemptions and incentives to production companies to set up shop there to film and produce high-quality movies: From Guillermo del Toro’s Best Picture Oscar “The Shape of Water”, to science fiction classics like Total Recall, to action movies like The Incredible Hulk or Resident Evil.
Now, let’s put under the microscope lens a bit more of the Billy Madison filming locations.
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Northern Secondary School, Toronto
Founded in 1930 at located at 851 Mount Pleasant Rd., this building has Collegiate Gothic style and has over 100,000 sq ft of space. Decorated with gargoyles, hidden rooms, vast auditoriums, and beautiful green spaces, this school stands out from others in the region, and it was chosen by the crew to film several indoor and outdoor scenes for Billy Madison.
Bowmanville Zoo, Ontario
The Bowmanville Zoo was the oldest private zoo in the North American subcontinent up until its closure back in 2016. For 97 years, the zoo worked closely with the film industry as a major animal supplier, and that activity sparked a bit of controversy, having its then owner Michael Hackenberger being slapped with criminal charges.
John Ross Robertson Junior Public School, Ontario
This is the location chosen to put into scene the famous dodgeball game scenes where Adam Sandler blasts off the kids with his brute force, as well as serving as the location for Billy’s school.
This elementary public school has a small group of students, around 450 for a region that size, and serves grades ranging from JK-6. It is one school in the district that offers a robust French Immersion program for young students, and served as the scenes for gym class practice as well as some indoor dialogues.
Parkwood Estate
Parkwood Estate served as the exterior for Billy’s mansion’s exterior shots and the grounds. Located in Oshawa, it is a National Historic Site, a special place in Canadian legislation. This estate served as the home to the founder of General Motors in Canada. It is a lavish 15,000 sq ft. mansion with 55 rooms that was built between 1915 and 1917.
Open to the public, the estate has beautiful gardens, a bowling alley, and beautiful sights to see, from its architectural style and interior designs that showcase how posh and fancy the roaring 1920s were in Canada.
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