Savath turns to hard-hitting MOW about kids committing crimes

Vancouver: Writer/producer Phil Savath’s career has spanned the spectrum this year, from executive producing the hard-hitting cbc mow Little Criminals, to penning an episode of Beverly Hills 90210. Savath proudly reports, ‘Yep, I got to write, `Claire, if it moves, dis it,’ before I turned 50.’

Savath (Liar Liar) resumed his scripting career after completing production on 52 episodes of the Atlantis Films series African Skies last year, picking up a writing credit on the upcoming cbc movie Net Worth about Canadian hockey players’ attempt to form a union in the 1950s, along the way.

Now on to meatier material. Savath has just started shooting in b.c. on Little Criminals, which he developed with Vancouver-based playwright and screenwriter Dennis Foon, winner of the 1995 Chalmers Award for playwrighting.

Savath says the film deals with the horrifying reality that a growing number of serious crimes are being committed by kids under the age of 12, ‘kids like the 11-year-old car thief from Surrey or the nine-year-old heroin dealer in Nanaimo who, when caught by the police, cannot be prosecuted. The police can do little more than take them home to their parents.’

Little Criminals explores the relationship between two boys about to turn 12, one a prepubescent little Caesar who ensnares kids into his gang, and the other, a youngster with problems at home who’s attracted to the gang by the danger.

The film is directed by Stephen Surjik, whose credits on successful comedies like Wayne’s World II and Kids In The Hall make him seem an unlikely choice for this uncompromising look at young offenders.

‘Actually, Surjik was perfect for the job,’ says Savath. ‘He had a real personal connection to the material, having been a tough kid himself who could have easily gone the other way, and he speaks the language kids understand – be that in comedy or drama.

‘Besides,’ he adds, ‘we didn’t want to make a moralistic, lugubrious document but a movie. Look, these kids live in an urban rock and roll world; we didn’t want to sacrifice the excitement and energy of that reality.’

Raffle winner

Up-and-coming director Gavin Wilding thinks he’s died and gone to heaven. He’s just been signed to direct a theatrical feature starring rapidly rising talent Elizabeth Hurley (the new Estee Lauder face and actor Hugh Grant’s fine-looking girlfriend). The Intruder is a psychological ghost story being coproduced by London, Eng.-based Jamie Brown of Steve Walsh Productions and Vancouver’s Westcom Entertainment.

Brown, a Canadian citizen who used to be a partner in Toronto’s Telecine Productions, says he still doesn’t want to reveal any details of the film, which is being distributed by Polygram in the u.s. However, he does say he’s been watching Wilding’s career since he was 19, and thinks he’s a ‘major Canadian talent that could really go places given a quality production team. I think this is the break he needs.’

Production on The Intruder gets underway in Vancouver this summer.

Wilding, who recently formed his own ‘alternative’ commercial production house, produced, directed and independently financed his own theatrical feature, The Raffle, which was completed last year.

Not true

Government film czar Michael Francis called the other day to let us know there’s no truth to the rumor that the government is considering consolidating all the government film agencies under one roof. ‘We think it’s just perfect the way it is, and if it’s not broke, don’t fix it,’ says Francis. Amen!

It’s a New World

Cannell Films employees are keeping their fingers crossed that new owner, New World Communications Group of l.a., will help fill the gap left when abc pulled the plug on the long-running The Commish series starring Michael Chicklis and Teresa Saldana after four years in production.

Burning the candle

When most production crew members get a day off they head for the beach or up to Whistler or just kick back at home. Not Shawn McLaughlin, a 29-year-old iatse lighting technician who’s currently working on the mgm feature Unforgettable starring Ray Liotta. Evidently he prefers to jump from the frying pan into the fire. McLaughlin spent two weekends in May directing his first short feature, Three Rings, which he also wrote.

Shot in just four days, the low, low-budget film is about a successful man who accidentally slips and falls on a marble floor in his house. While he lies helpless, unable to reach the telephone and his answering machine just a few feet away, he listens as his life miraculously continues on without him.

Produced by Shayne Wilson and Mar Andersons and shot by dop Dana Barnaby with a volunteer cast and crew, Three Rings will be posted in Vancouver and hopefully ready for the festival circuit later this fall.

Hang ten

It was only a matter of time: the b.c. film industry is about to start surfing on the net. Vancouver-based promotional production company Northpoint has launched Entertainment B.C. Online (ebc) on the World Wide Web at // info.hlp.com/ebc (e-mail at: 76302. 3244@compuserve.com).

Jim Chapman, who is helping to launch ebc, says his service is intended to serve as a big bottle floating on the Internet seas. By linking up users with similar needs, that bottle will be easier to find.

Chapman says ebc will cater to the film, television, live performance and new-media professional. Designed to be the ‘ultimate entertainment business tool,’ users will have access to all b.c. industry-related organizations and the latest word on union goings-on, production listings, funding agency guidelines, etc. Cool!

Thank you so much

While the b.c. film industry has been taking some flack lately for its union blues and lack of activity in the indigenous sector, the B.C. Motion Picture Association has launched its first Motion Picture Industry Appreciation Week, running June 5-11.

According to Connie Moffat, communications director for the event, the bcmpa, now in its 30th year of operation, wanted to ‘thank all the people in the industry who’ve helped the industry succeed.’

So I guess all those restaurants, hotels and car rental companies which benefited by the $400 million in production spent here last year will be offering discounts, huh? Well not exactly. But the B.C. Film Commission is giving free public lectures on how to get into the biz.