Since the early 80’s, when Hollywood ventured north to BC, the Fort Langley Community Hall has graced the screen with her beauty, usually taking centre stage as a Town Hall in small town America. The classic revival building, set back on the spacious property on Fort Langley’s main street Glover Road, makes a perfect setting as the main square where community gathers in the centre of town. Decked out in red, white and blue more than once, the wooden classic revival building has appeared as a fictitious Town Hall celebrating the US centennial or the return of a local Olympian as in the recent fil
ming of CBS pilot CAL FIRE set in northern California wild fire country.
Since being featured in the Air Bud franchise about a sports playing Golden Retriever, Buddy in the nineties, the hall and the village of Fort Langley have become the go-to film location for film scouts.
Recent reoccurring roles include the Riverdale Community Hall hosting Jubilees and major election events in the Archie comic-book inspired teen drama, Riverdale, heading into it’s 7th season in 2023 and as the Storybrooke Town Hall in the fantasy drama series, Once Upon a Time set in Maine, USA ending in 2018 after a seven year run.
From fairy tales to science fiction, the Fort Langley Community Hall has been transformed in many different genres, most recently featured as the Green Hills Town Hall in the second instalment of Sonic the Hedgehog, set in fictitious town Green Hills, Montana, The Little Town with the Big Heart. The false front set depicting the Mean Bean Café across the street and the hall became the centre for much of the filming in the heart of the village with a shell of a helicopter blowing up on the front driveway of the hall. The chopper didn’t actually blow up, just a bit of special effects and Hollywood magic in post-production. Check out the trailer and take a look at the hall on the big screen at a theatre near you. Watch SONIC 2 trailer HERE
The historic town was littered with broken pavement, tanks, rockets, army men, machine-wielding goons and a mad scientist all chasing a tiny blue hedgehog. As the title character was created in post, local visitors did not spot the little blue fellow till a year later in April 2022 when the film was released, but they did witness Canadian Jim Carrey as Dr. Robotnik swinging from a crane in front of the Mean Bean.
The old world charm and symmetry of the Fort Langley Community Hall, together with the sweeping approach of the circular drive lend itself well to the addition of a fountain or historic statue centre front as seen in the 2005 supernatural horror film, The Fog, a remake of the 1980’s classic of the same name where a bronze statue of the founding fathers of fictitious town Antonia Bay, Oregon was placed centre front. To give a more eerie feel for the film, the hall was painted, blue approved by the Board of the day.
Unfortunately there were a few hiccups to restore the colour back to the original yellow, so the board of directors made a motion to never let a film production change the colour at any price. If a different colour is desired, it will have to be achieved in post production, as when the production team of the series Big Sky proposed that the Lewis & Clark Sheriff’s Office be a bit more subdued in a beige rather than the golden yellow that the hall is now.
Whatever set changes are done at the historic site, the production team always restores the venue back to pre-production condition or better. Many of the productions will take the time to spruce up the location before leaving, as the crew of Big Sky did when re-painting the Fort Langley Community Hall sign and changing the date to the correct year of 1931, the year the opening dance was held on March 6th. Years ago the Fort Langley Community Hall sign had been erected by the Board of Directors of the day, but unfortunately the wrong date of 1932 had been painted on.
If ever you see a picture of the hall, notice the date. If it is 1932, the picture was taken prior to fall 2020, when the production of Big Sky filmed at the hall for a couple weeks building an entire sheriff’s office in the ballroom with detailing to match the lower hallway. Before leaving they had restored everything back and put a fresh coat of paint on the peeling flagpoles and concrete plinths at the base of the wood pilasters and Doric columns on the front façade, in addition to refreshing the faded signage. In the first year of the pandemic when everything had been shut down, the filming at the hall helped the society pay the bills to keep the heritage building sparkling.
Sometimes the hall just stood in for another community hall, but in another town such as Cedar Ridge as in many a Hallmark Christmas movie decorated up with snow and winter cheer.
And in the ballroom on the upper level, whether the scenes were for a community dance, village meeting or court room, the historic horse-hair sprung wood floor and the proscenium arch stage, balanced with the painted wood paneling added an element of grandeur and formality, but with warmth and authenticity. The neutral backdrop of the elegant ballroom was a pleasure to work with, said many a set decorator when planning the set.
When Hollywood comes to town, many locals are excited. While a few folks may be annoyed at the inconvenience the production may bring to town, for the Fort Langley Community Hall, it is a blessing. As the
heritage building is a privately owned building, soon turning 100 years old, there is continuous funding required to maintain the historic wood building. The income generated from movie rentals keeps the grand ol’ dame shining like the star she is, gracious and welcoming, in order to be here for the next generation of community to play alongside her.
The show must go on. And the Fort Langley Community Hall will go on for many years to come as reflected in the many miles of screen footage that she’s embraced. As the filming wraps in Fort Langley for the summer, plans are in the works for an exciting new series setting the stage in the village this fall. I wonder what character our hall will be next…….?
If you have any pictures of past film productions that feature the Fort Langley Community Hall, we’d love to add them to our archives. Contact us at [email protected]. We’d love to hear from you!
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