Kings of the Yukon: Brian (Luke Kirby) and Stevie (Brian Fidler) disagree, unnoticed by Meadows (John Cassini) and Bernie (Dave Lawrence), in the television series, Northern Town. Photo CBC.
Unlike lightning, meteorites can strike twice. At least, they can in the Yukon.
In January of 2000, writer-musician Daniel Janke was at home in Whitehorse when a streaking meteor detonated overhead with the force of 3,000 tonnes of dynamite. The search for fragments, thought to be worth a fortune, created a sensation among locals, especially the city’s marginal, hemmed-in dreamers. Janke figured he had the basis for a good comedy-drama.
As is evident in the six-part series Northern Town (premiering July 24 on CBC), Janke was fortunate to get director Gary Burns interested. After all, the Calgary filmmaker has been chronicling the lives of marginal, hemmed-in dreamers for more than a decade in smart, scruffy social comedies like The Suburbanators (1995), Kitchen Party (1997), and his most celebrated film, waydowntown (2000).
The arrival of Burns and company to film Northern Town in the winter of 2005 was the second meteorite to hit Whitehorse. “Everyone wanted to see what we were doing. The place really came alive, though I’m pretty sure people there didn’t need us to have a good time,” Burns says. The location had a beneficial effect on the filmmaker as well. With a cast led by Luke Kirby, Jessica Greco and Tom McMamus, and an eclectic soundtrack from Janke that includes a bossa nova shuffle alongside Poppy Family karaoke tearjerkers, Burns has produced his most engaging work in years.
CBC.ca spoke to the filmmaker about his visit way up north.Q: The bars and rinks that serve as community centres in Northern Town seem more people-friendly than the suburban mall-office tower settings of your Calgary films. What did you make of the Yukon?
Northern Town director Gary Burns. Photo Tannis Toohey/Canadian Press
A: I loved it. I’d just done a movie for U.S. TV I’m not particularly proud of [Cool Money] and got a call last minute to come to Whitehorse to shoot the thing. I took the crew I’d been working with in Toronto — we were all friends by then — and had a blast. We were, like, flying all over, shooting in different locations. We used dogsled, snowmobiles [and] took a helicopter to the White Pass, where prospectors crawled up the mountain to get to the Klondike. It’s beautiful there — I think that comes through in Luc’s [Montpellier] cinematography — and the people were great. Danny [Janke], who created the story, lives in Whitehorse and knows everyone. We had some interesting extras — one guy lived in a cave. There was a party atmosphere at night that carried through filming. The crew, and some of these guys had been around the block, said it was the most fun they had on a shoot.
Q: You shot in a bar that has a sign saying, “Happy Hour, 10:30 — 1.”
A: That’s 10:30 in the morning to one at night, by the way. That’s a real Whitehorse bar, the Breakfast Club, [the] second bar in Canada to get a liquor license, apparently. It’s jammed at 10 in the morning. Drinking is a real issue up there. You can smell 100 years of beer spills and worse as you walk in the Breakfast Club.
A: Nah, they’re pretty big boys up there. This isn’t North of 60, where they shoot the North from a park outside Calgary. We were in Whitehorse and Dawson City. I mean, the story is about real people. [Lead actor] Luke Kirby, who plays Brian, the guy who will do anything to find the meteor, was reluctant to go. I phoned him and said, “Look, man, you’ve got a terrific character. He’s a mess — flawed, driven, selfish. Think of all the fun!”
A: I’d rather watch someone I feel sorry for than someone I envy.
A: Nope, no time. And I don’t watch anything I’m supposed to. Haven’t even seen The Office yet. It’s pretty embarrassing. My wife and I still watch West Wing.
A: I’m not sure I had a real TV experience. It’s supposed to be a producer’s medium, [with] rotating directors, but I did all six episodes, and the producer, Danny [Irons] is an old friend. He gave me free rein. The CBC showed up, like, one day. There was no producer presence. It felt like another Canadian movie, man. You get the actors the day before. The dialogue doesn’t feel right coming out of their mouths, so you re-write, making it up as you go.
A: I’m talking about how I make my own movies. The story and structure on Northern Town were good. Maybe I’m talking about the nature of Canadian filmmaking — there’s never enough time.
A: Probably would be, for a while anyway. People are flawed though, that’s what makes 'em interesting.
A: CGI in Toronto. Took two months.
A: You’re reaching. Danny and I have written three more episodes, hoping for CBC to approve a second season. Right now, Brian has split up with Mona and is sitting on the shore of a lake, staring out at nothing, depressed [and] wondering how he got there. I really hope we get to do a second season. Could be lots of fun finding out why he messed up.
Stephen Cole writes about the arts for CBC.ca.
CBC
does not endorse and is not responsible
for the content of external sites
- links will open in new window.
More from this Author
Stephen Cole
- Homeland Insecurity
- October 1970 revisits the terror of Canada's FLQ crisis
- Vancouver Complication
- TV auteur Chris Haddock returns with Intelligence
- Bad Vibrations
- Beatles + Beach Boys = one headache-inducing remix album
- Black Hearted
- Brian De Palma's The Black Dahlia is one nasty noir
- Yukon Gold
- Director Gary Burns's engaging chronicle of life in a Northern Town
