‘Corner Gas: The Movie’ turns to Kickstarter for ‘enhanced’ experience

When the award-winning sitcom “Corner Gas” ended back in 2009, it left a gaping hole in Canadian airwaves that still hasn’t been filled.

The Brent Butt-created comedy series about the strange and hilarious town of Dog River, Sask. certainly wasn’t for everyone. But it was a rare bird for Canadian television, lasting an impressive six seasons (107 episodes) and gaining legions of fans around the world in the process.

Though it's been off the air for five years, there's good news for “Gas” fans this week. Butt and friends are set to return to Dog River next month when production on “Corner Gas: The Movie” begins - and they want fans of the show to get in on the action.

“Corner Gas: The Movie” already has all of its financing in place, but Butt and the producers wanted to find a way to engage with longtime fans of the show -- so they've turned to the crowdfunding service Kickstarter to do just that. Backers of the project will earn all manner of "Corner Gas"-related swag and get exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the movie. According to Butt, any money raised on Kickstarter will go directly to enhancing the low-budget film -- it is a Canadian production after all.

Will the “Corner Gas” movie be able to replicate the crowdfunding success of American TV-to-film projects like “Veronica Mars”? Probably not. Any Kickstarter campaign would be hard pressed to match the $5.7 million raised by the “Veronica Mars” movie (which was originally trying to raise $2 million), but “Corner Gas” is well on its way to meeting and exceeding its $100,000 (CAD) goal. Within hours of its May 20th launch, the project had already raised a fifth of its goal (more than $20,000) and there’s almost a month left to go.

While it's definitely a different story for new filmmakers and unknown projects, crowdfunding is a perfect avenue for for established Canadian television properties like “Corner Gas” to make the leap to the big screen. With a built-in fanbase both at home and abroad, "Corner Gas: The Movie" is almost certain to be a great Canadian crowdfunding story.

"Corner Gas: The Movie" is due in theatres sometime around the end of 2014.