Creative team nearly ran out of Gas
Corner Gas: The Movie almost didn’t make it to the big screen.
The film, which hit theatres across Canada this week, was a challenge that was almost too much for the creative team. After the series ended in 2009, Brent Butt — the creator, star, writer and executive producer of the sitcom — was adamant that a Corner Gas movie would happen only if a quality project could be produced.
He began writing a script for the movie a few years ago, but as the process went forward, the creative team, which included executive producers David Storey and Virginia Thompson, wasn’t feeling the love for the project.
“We definitely felt that we were on a bit of a tight rope to get this done and get it out and have it done well. There was a point there, I can say, where we were on the verge of saying we’re not going to do it because creatively we all didn’t feel that it was there,” Storey said. “We weren’t going to put out a crappy movie. There was a point there where we just about pulled the plug on it.
“I made one more trip out to Vancouver and we had one more kick at the script and sent it back. Virginia read it and loved it, her husband Rob read it and loved it, so we thought we had something, so we decided to move forward.”
Butt was writing the script with Andrew Carr, who wrote for the sitcom, and Andrew Wreggitt, a prolific screenwriter.
The biggest challenge the writers faced was allowing the Corner Gas characters to evolve into the magnitude of a theatrical presentation while maintaining the integrity of the series. And yes, that was as difficult as it sounds.
“There were lots of times as we were writing this that we could feel that it was one of two things,” Butt said. “It was either, ‘ We’re getting good and cinematic but we’re losing what made Corner Gas what it was,’ but then other times you’d be far down the road and you’d say, ‘ It feels like Corner Gas but there’s nothing cinematic about this. It feels like another television episode.’
“It was tricky and tough and we wanted to do it right or not at all, so we took the time. We weren’t on a schedule. We weren’t saying it had to be done by a specific year. It was about a year and a half of writing before I felt the script was getting good and that we should start thinking about reaching out to the cast.”
The entire main cast of the series, which ran for six seasons on CTV, signed up for the film. When it was announced in June that the film was going forward, the news thrilled the legion of Corner Gas fans, many of which Butt said are protective of the series.
“I heard from some fans of the show ( before the screenings) that they were nervous going into this,” Butt said. “They were scared because they felt so close to the series and there was almost — almost — the assumption that this wasn’t going to work. It was like, ‘ Oh, I think this is going to damage the series.’
“They’re so jubilant after seeing the movie because it’s like the series, but then some. I think there’s a relief from some people because they’re glad I didn’t screw up what they liked about Corner Gas.”
With the movie bringing the Corner Gas franchise to an end — Storey said there isn’t going to be a movie sequel — it’s a time of mixed emotions for the cast and creative team.
“We ended the series and the last episode was very good. We as a group were tired after six years and a little beat up, just from the process,” Storey said. “This was a chance for us all to get back together one more time as a team and take a fresh perspective on everything.”