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Art imitates resort life

Lake Louise featured in TV series The Mountain

"An escapist playground for wealthy tourists and extreme sports enthusiasts…" Sound familiar? Well, actually that line’s a direct lift from the synopsis of the new Warner Bros. series, The Mountain .

The Canadian connection is that the new one-hour, eight-episode series is shot in Lake Louise, Alta. and at various locations in Vancouver. (The Crowne Plaza, located right downtown at the corner of Howe and Georgia, impersonates a ski lodge.)

Warner Bros. shot the pilot episode and exteriors necessary for the series on location at Lake Louise.

"We were extremely proud to be chosen. Warner Bros. had the goal of finding the No. 1 mountain resort scenery for the series and they picked us," says Matt Mosteller of Resorts of the Canadian Rockies.

While neither Mosteller nor Film Commission offices in B.C. or Alberta could quantify a dollar amount, the senior business development officer was positive about the economic impact of the series’ shoot.

"Film or TV work is always beneficial to the local economy. Canmore, Banff and Lake Louise certainly all benefited," Mosteller said.

The Mountain

is a youth-oriented soap opera in the same vein of The OC or Dawson’s Creek . However, this time the angst-ridden small town happens to be next to a mountain resort. The story focuses on the saga of the Carver clan, founders of the aforementioned small town and its adjacent Boundary Mountain resort.

According to the back-story, the senior Carver won the land for the resort in a poker game. Clearly, this is Melrose Place on snowboards. Any doubt? Check out the soundtrack: Blink 182, Ryan Adams, Justin Timberlake, Death Cab for Cutie and The Von Bondies.

With a young cast headed by Oliver Hudson (brother of Kate, son of Goldie Hawn) as the reluctant heir to the Carver fortune, complicated story line involving convoluted family relations, business dealings that call for souls as down payments and plenty of aprés romping, The Mountain should do well.

Mitch Pileggi (Skinner on X-Files) and Barbara Hershey ( Beaches ) appear thrown in for the parents who will find it impossible to wrench the remote away from their offspring. As an extra bonus, ’70s popstar Shaun Cassidy both writes and produces on the series, offering hope to all of us over 35 that life can go on once you’ve peaked.

Weary of living the dream? Sooner or later, The Mountain is sure to show up on a station near you.