Film crews will take up residence in Gibsons starting July 16 to work on A Beachcombers Christmas, a made-for-TV movie to air in December 2004 on CBC television.
Producer Nick Orchard confirmed the shooting schedule and a little more about the movie plans in an interview this week with Coast Reporter.
Orchard said filming would take approximately four weeks with the last shooting day Aug. 13.
"We're very excited to be coming back," Orchard said. "We love it in Gibsons - everyone is so nice to us."
Orchard said funding for the film has now been secured through Telefilm Canada, and Soapbox Productions is currently putting together a crew for the shoot.
"We plan to have a casting session for small parts and extras on the Sunshine Coast," Orchard said. "This will be announced in the next few weeks, but most likely it will be towards the end of June."
Orchard said he is also looking to secure accommodations for the cast and crew.
Anyone wishing more information about billeting should email [email protected].
"We're looking for something a little more upscale for a couple of our cast members and some basic accommodations for the crew," Orchard said, adding the time commitment would be from mid-June to August.
This Christmas movie is a sequel to The New Beachcombers that CBC aired last November, which drew an impressive 723,000 viewers, making it the highest-rated CBC TV premier movie of the fall season.
The same cast from The New Beachcombers will be back again for the Christmas movie, directed by Anne Wheeler.
The cast includes Jackson Davies, who is also executive producer, Dave Thomas, Deanna Milligan, Cameron Bancroft, Graham Greene and Kendall Cross.
"It is a Christmas movie and has a hockey story line," Orchard said. "I don't want to give away all our secrets, but we have a number of ex-NHL players lined up to do some filming. We'll have more information as we near closer to our shooting dates."
