FILE - Film crews take over downtown Agassiz for the CBS pilot “The Republic of Sarah.” (Grace Kennedy/The Observer)

FILE - Film crews take over downtown Agassiz for the CBS pilot “The Republic of Sarah.” (Grace Kennedy/The Observer)

‘They had to pull the plug in the end:’ Film crew cancels Agassiz shoot due to weather

Gravity Productions says planned road closures are no longer in effect

Gravity Productions Inc. will no longer be filming in Agassiz, the North Vancouver-based company has confirmed.

The company had originally planned to film in the 7000 and 7100-blocks of Pioneer Avenue on Thursday (Jan. 16), then postponed the shoot until Friday (Jan. 17) due to snowfall and road conditions.

However, since conditions had not significantly improved on Jan. 16, assistant location manager Mike Garvey told the Observer they decided to cancel the shoot altogether.

“Due to safety concerns, we are not going to be filming in Agassiz,” Garvey said on Thursday. “It’s all for safety concerns and travelling up to the location. It would have been too unsafe to make the trip, so they had to pull the plug in the end.”

Garvey also said people were out scouting for new locations to shoot the necessary scenes.

“Most likely we’re going to be shooting in Vancouver instead,” he said.

SEE ALSO: Surrey’s ‘Pink Palace’ being used for Stephen King horror shoot

As a result of the cancellation, Garvey confirmed there will no longer be a road closure on Pioneer Avenue.

If filming had gone forward, Pioneer Avenue would have been closed for an entire day, from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., with traffic diverted around the stretch of road. Locals would have been asked to park in a section of the Agassiz Elementary Secondary parking lot off Cheam Avenue as an alternative.

SEE ALSO: Film crews descend on Agassiz for ‘Republic of Sarah’

A Jan. 10 notification letter circulated by Gravity Productions did not provide much detail about what would have been filmed — other than the fact that there would be no loud noises, stunts or special effects. However, Gravity Productions is known to have been filming the “Bonzo” television series last year.

Bonzo is the working title of “The Twilight Zone” series hosted by Jordan Peele that premiered in April 2019 on CBS All Access. The anthology series is based on the original 1959 television show that featured tales of science fiction, horror and mystery.


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