Tax shelter axing ‘pulls the rug out from under’ many companies

Vancouver: There were a lot of zombified Canadian producers and business affairs types wandering the hallways of the American Film Market in Santa Monica earlier this month following the devastating announcement that tax shelters for the film industry had been wiped out in the latest federal budget.

Producer Colleen Nystedt of Vancouver-based New City Productions is one of the many producers caught completely off guard by the sweeping changes. She says her whole business strategy has been based on partnering with American companies and using the various tax-shelter mechanisms for deficit financing, and that all her projects in development have been structured around Canadian content.

‘These changes have completely pulled the rug out from underneath our entire business plan,’ says Nystedt. ‘We’ve been told for years this is the system. We came up with a business plan – which went through the federal Business Development Bank and the federal Department of Communications – predicated on using these types of tax structures, and in one fell swoop, without any advance notice, they do away with them. It’s ludicrous.’

Nystedt, who claims she’s lost over $250,000 worth of business as a result of the tax-shelter eliminations, is one of many producers who say they had no indication from the government these radical kinds of changes were in the works.

Richard Biscaro, acting director general of the ruling directorate from Revenue Canada was the guest speaker at the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television’s Breakfast Club in Vancouver the day before the budget came down. His first comment that morning was ominous: ‘Don’t shoot the messenger.’

Straight leaves Trade Forum

meanwhile, word back from the afm this year is that a number of new and somewhat unlikely working relationships were established.

Apparently Rob Straight, who has produced the Vancouver International Film Festival Annual Trade Forum for the last three years, has moved on to scale ‘new horizons.’ Straight and John Curtis, formerly president of North American Releasing, have linked up to form a new Vancouver-based feature film distribution company, Everest Entertainment. (see story, p. 1).

Straight dramatically raised the profile and industry support of the Trade Forum. He says he resigned because he realized that the Trade Forum required a full-time commitment if it is to evolve into a full-fledged international event. Straight suggested various structures whereby he could combine the festival with his new distribution activities; however, Alan Franey, director of the viff, says those structures did not meet with the festival’s needs or budget.

Melanie Friesen has been hired as Straight’s successor. Friesen, who recently returned to Vancouver after an extended absence, has held a number of high-powered posts in recent years: vice-president of development for Scorsese Productions (now Cappa Productions) in New York; vice-president of creative affairs for Cineplex Odeon Films; and director of creative affairs for mgm/ua in London, Eng.

And in another unexpected pairing, word has it producer/production manager Mary Eidlts has been having discussions with writer/ producer Coralee Testar (The Little Kidnappers) about forming a new production company. At press time, both were still in l.a. and could not be reached for comment; however, Testar’s husband Gerry confirms the two have been chatting, but says nothing formal has been signed.

Better later than never

in other distribution news, it appears Montreal-based Astral Communications is trying to make inroads into the West Coast film industry. Vice-president of communications Stephen Greenberg recently announced the acquisition of four b.c.-made films for theatrical distribution: Max, directed by Charles Wilkinson; Starlight, directed by Jonathon Kay; The Burning Season, directed by Harvey Crossland; and Flinch, directed by George Erschbamer.

Astral has also entered into development deals with two b.c. producers, Chris Bruyere and Robert Chesterman, to develop two feature films. Stay tuned.

Together again

director Sturla Gunnarsson and producer Maryke McEwen (the original creator of Street Legal), who collaborated on the tv movie The Diary of Evelyn Lau, which aired last month on the cbc, have joined forces again to work on two hot properties.

The first, Big Bear, is in development with coproducers Gil Cardinal (Half Breed) and Dorothy Schrieber of Great Plains Productions in Edmonton, who originally brought the project to cbc. It’s based on the Governor General Award-winning novel, The Temptations of Big Bear, written by Edmonton author Rudy Wiebe who is also writing the screenplay.

Gunnarsson and McEwen have also optioned the rights to Such A Good Boy, the best-selling book by Lisa Hobbs-Birney. It’s the chilling true story of a Victoria, b.c. boy, Darren Huenemann, who was recently convicted of hiring two other school boys to murder his wealthy mother and grandmother. Such A Good Boy is now also in development with cbc as a tv movie.

They keep coming

on the service front, l.a.-based writer James Lawton (Pretty Woman) was in town scouting for locations to make his directorial debut on the feature film Kirina. Christopher Lambert of Greystoke fame has been signed for the lead in this action/thriller. Shooting in Vancouver is scheduled for mid-June.

Last month, Playback reported that producers for the Nancy Kerrigan Story had been scouting Vancouver as a possible location. Now it seems Vancouver will be giving equal time to the other side of the skater’s knee-bashing saga; Citadel Films of l.a. came to check out the town for the Tonya Harding story. Gosh, after the Olympic wash-out, you’d think it was all yesterday’s news.