Ready or Not, Insight is heading

into another batch of episodes

The second season of Ready or Not will be up and running soon, according to producer John Brunton. Showtime in the u.s. and Global Television have ordered 26 new episodes of the Insight Productions youth series and international sales are going extremely well. Germany, France, Australia and Italy have picked it up and there is a possibility of a window for a mainstream broadcaster, says Brunton.

abc actually offered Brunton and Alyse Rosenberg a deal for Ready or Not, but Brunton says they turned it down because they weren’t prepared to make the creative sacrifices they knew the network would want. ‘We felt it would have turned into tv pap,’ he says.

But now with the critical success of the show, a network may be more amenable to stories showing a homosexual smooch session or a frank episode about a young girl dealing with getting her first period.

Insight definitely has a hectic year planned. In addition to Ready or Not, Brunton says the company will be producing next year’s Juno Awards, will be heading into production in December on a Prairie Oyster special for the CTV Television Network and, in May, will start shooting two 90-minute specials for cbc called Comedy Gold. Labatt Breweries is already in as a sponsor.

Martial artist

martial arts expert-turned-filmmaker, Jalal Merhi, was tired of ‘fighting for every penny’ from his world distributor sge on his last three pictures, so he has teamed up with John Freems to create his own distribution label, Le Monde. ‘I got my money back eventually, but it took a long time and there was a lot that fell through the cracks,’ says Merhi.

As a result, Merhi and partner Freems are doing the rounds of feature film markets to sell his fifth action picture, Operation: Golden Phoenix The film, which stars Merhi, James Hong (Blade Runner, The Two Jakes), Al Waxman and Karen Sheperd (Mission of Justice), wrapped Nov. 19 in Toronto after a whirlwind six-day shoot in Beirut followed by 12 days in Toronto. The shoots were gruelling. Production call was 5 p.m. and the crew shot all night until 10 a.m., but on the second to last day of shooting, the crew was still keeping pace.

The budget on Golden Phoenix is a mere $1.3 million, but Merhi has been able to cut costs by using his own soundstage, production office and cutting room. Back in the early ’80s, after he completed his first picture, Merhi purchased the old Donlands Theatre in Toronto and converted it to a film centre of sorts.

Having everything in one location saves a lot of time and expense. The only drawbacks are parking space for crew and such and cranky neighbors who complain about the cars.

The largest markets for martial arts pictures are North America, Germany, Hungary, Poland and Latin America, says Merhi, who explains that Asians make their own high-calibre pictures of this genre and therefore aren’t really interested in his flicks. Nevertheless, the demand here is so great Merhi says he can’t make his pictures fast enough. He has two more already presold.

But if there’s such demand, why aren’t more people doing them? According to Merhi, it’s because not many people can do it right. ‘Buyers know the difference between something that is a formula and something that has heart and is worthy of watching.’

Merhi began in the biz in the ’80s working in stunts. After spending a few months working as a stunt co-ordinator, he says he was surprised at how incompetent most producers of this genre were: ‘I thought I could do better than what they could do if that’s what this takes as a business.’

Although martial arts flicks are Merhi’s bread and butter, he is also putting together a deal for an erotic thriller, Tangled, starring Anne Archer. He has signed an international deal, excluding North America, with Trimark and is negotiating for u.s. and Canadian rights.

Lee’s at it again

damian Lee headed back into production Dec. 4 for his latest feature, The Killing Machine, starring Jeff Wincott and Michael Ironside. C/FP Distribution, the Canadian distributor which regularly picks up Lee’s stuff, is on board once again.

The Killing Machine is yet another story about a killer who almost dies – this one in a fire after being set up – and is reconstructed by the government for use as a lethal weapon. Lee’s anti-hero of the ’90s tries to uncover a sinister plot which has aids the product of a warped u.s. administration. David Mitchell is directing and Julian Grant is production manager on set.

Fortune hunting

nasty Burgers, an independent flick produced for $49,000 by Jack Cruikshank and James Motluk, is screening Dec. 13 at Toronto’s Bloor Cinema. Motluck in the meantime is trying to raise financing for another feature entitled Taking Care of Pola, the tale of a young writer who chases the legendary Hollywood star Pola Negri. He is also directing a film adaptation of the Toronto Fringe Festival play Cafe Naked.

Take note

notice to independent feature filmmakers: Melanny Distribution (the resurrected Cine Plus Distribution company) is looking to distribute Canadian features already produced. If you have a feature and no distributor, call Rudy Rupack at (514) 270-6170.

– When production wraps mid-December on Darkman II, rumor has it the sets won’t be coming down because the producers will be prepping for Darkman III in January.