Viacom Canada Inc. has announced a $50 million slate of productions over the next 12 months for u.s. specialty network Showtime. The news comes just weeks after American media conglomerate Viacom International set up vci with $1 million a year over five years to spend on national cultural imperatives.

While the Showtime announcement came out of vci, a Viacom International spokesperson in New York claims the deal has nothing to do with the Canadian outfit, outside of Viacom’s ownership of Showtime. He says vci is simply ‘flagging’ the deal north of the border.

vci president Allan Gregg says as a corporate voice representing Viacom operations, it is fitting that he made the announcement. ‘There is no Showtime person here,’ he adds.

With Viacom’s recent successful takeover of Paramount in the u.s. and Investment Canada approval of its acquisition of Paramount Canada still pending, there is some suspicion in the Canadian film and television production community that Viacom is merely painting a pretty picture of itself for the sake of federal government officials.

Credit finagling aside, the good news is that the Toronto production community has a multi-million-dollar booty to play with over the next year. Canadian producer Patrick Whitley (sctv) has set up a Toronto-based production company – Dufferin Gate Productions – to oversee all Showtime productions under this banner (Showtime is developing other productions in Canada – some with Atlantis Communications – that are separate from this deal).

The deal between Whitley and Showtime is to produce 15 to 20 movies – with budgets ranging from us$2.5 million to us$5 million, on which Whitley will either line produce or act as supervising producer. Showtime will hold all rights to the films.

Ready to roll

The first four projects are ready to roll. Bloodknot goes before the cameras later this month with Jorge Montesi directing, Lewis Chesler and Tab Baird producing and Patrick Dempsey starring. Crosses will shoot from late July to early August; Mrs Munck, a Diane Ladd-directed vehicle for Ladd and costar Bruce Dern, goes in August; and Down Came a Blackbird starring Raul Julia will shoot in September. With the exception of Bloodknot, all have above-the-line American teams.

Showtime president of programming Jerry Offsay says the decision to set up shop with a Canadian producer came about six months ago when Showtime firmed up plans to shoot a number of films in Canada. ‘We ultimately came to the conclusion that there was not a way we could supervise and run these productions ourselves properly. We needed Showtime North.’

Showtime

Whitley was approached in April, after years of a healthy relationship with Showtime (Taking the Heat, As Is and others).

Whitley says he and Showtime ‘hope that there will be the opportunity to do some Canadian films,’ but he could not be more specific at this point. One hopeful is Move Over, I’ll Drive, a film starring Dave Thomas and Catherine O’Hara to be coproduced with Carol Reynolds Productions. It was supposed to be the first film on the Showtime/Whitley slate, but was postponed when Thomas became busy with Grace Under Fire.

Offsay says he has worked in Canada pretty steadily for the last five years, and his ‘first instinct for anything is to say, `Can it be produced in Canada?’ ‘ He says Canadians are a hardworking lot: ‘(their) work ethic reminds people that they are still in the ’50s or ’60s.’

Offsay says Showtime is looking to develop an ongoing relationship with the Canadian production community and hopes to be thought of as a company which is ‘there for the long run.’

With about 40 projects to develop over the next year and, according to Offsay, ‘somewhere between two-thirds and 80% to end up (being produced) in Canada,’ it looks as though the company’s wish may come true.

Showtime has an established distribution arrangement with Malofilm and is currently talking to a number of Canadian distributors regarding the new titles.