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Ricky Gervais to star in ‘Office’ spinoff movie ‘Life on the Road’

Ricky Gervais is making a movie based on his David Brent character from "The Office."
(Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)
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Ricky Gervais is taking his “Office” act on the road.

The star and co-creator of the hit British sitcom is developing “Life on the Road,” a movie based on his character David Brent, BBC Films announced Tuesday.

The movie, which is set to start production next year, will take place 15 years after “The Office” and find Brent working as a traveling salesman who hasn’t given up on his dream of being a rock star. To fulfill that dream, he heads off on a self-funded tour of the United Kingdom with a documentary (or rather, mockumentary) crew in tow.

“He thinks it’ll be like [Martin] Scorsese filming the Rolling Stones, but it turns out to be a ‘Where are they now?’ documentary,” BBC Films said in a statement. “He has to take a few weeks off work and cash in a couple of pensions, because the session musicians in the band are costing him more than he’s getting in ticket sales. Tragic.”

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On his Twitter account, Gervais said of the project, “Just to be clear, I am not making an ‘Office’ movie. I’m doing a documentary film about David Brent trying to be rock star. Just Sayin :)”

“Life on the Road” will be shot in the U.K. and distributed worldwide, the BBC statement said, though it hasn’t been announced whether the movie will be released in theaters or play solely on television.

Gervais created the original “Office” with Stephen Merchant, and the popular, cringe-inducing comedy series ran for two seasons (plus a two-part Christmas special). It inspired remakes in eight countries, including Chile, the Czech Republic and the U.S., in which Steve Carell played the equivalent of the Gervais role.

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