– Lind to exit CTCPF

Following the departure of former executive director Bill Mustos, chairman Phil Lind has too handed his resignation in to the board of the Canada Television and Cable Production Fund.

At press time no official announcement had been made, but it had been confirmed that tvo’s Peter Herrndorf will head the search committee for a new chair. Lind will likely leave early in the summer, after the ctcpf’s first agm.

Meanwhile, the crtc is accepting final comments on whether contributions from all broadcast distribution undertakings should be siphoned to the ctcpf. Despite arguments from the telecos, Aboriginal broadcasters, b.c.-based producers and some multimedia interests that new distribution systems should pay into funds of their choice, the crtc has proposed that all contributions by new broadcasting distribution undertakings be directed to the ctcpf. The income from new distribs for Canadian programming is projected at some $300 million over the next five years.

Comments must be submitted by Friday, April 25.

-PolyGram picks up Roddenberry series

Dutch entertainment giant PolyGram Filmed Entertainment has invested almost $14 million to acquire the extensive video and tv rights to Atlantis Communications property Gene Roddenberry’s Battleground Earth (working title).

The series, produced by Atlantis and u.s. syndicator Tribune Entertainment and estimated to cost over $1 million per episode, begins production in Toronto next month.

The deal gives PolyGram worldwide home video rights outside of Canada and Japan, as well as tv rights in Europe (excluding German-speaking territories, which Tele-munchen Gruppe holds), Latin America, Africa, the Middle East and Australia.

PolyGram’s home video experience is expected to help boost the show’s money-making ability, and Atlantis still has a firm grip on merchandising rights, a potential cash cow should the show come anywhere near the success of its Star Trek predecessors.

Baton has Canadian tv rights. The program will premier this fall.

-Alliance series for Showtime

Alliance Television is teaming with executive producers Arnie Gelbart (m*a*s*h) and Gary Markowitz (The Mary Tyler Moore Show) to produce a 22-hour series for u.s. cable net Showtime. Fast Track (working title), a dramatic behind-the-scenes look at the world of stock car racing, will launch with a two-hour premiere in August. A Canadian broadcaster will be announced later this week at mip-tv where Alliance will launch the series.

-CBC pilot in production in Newfoundland

Cameras are rolling in St. John’s, Nfld. on Dooley Gardens, a $500,000 half-hour pilot for a new cbc comedy series produced by Rink Rat Productions.

This Hour Has 22 Minutes’ Mary Walsh and Kids In The Hall’s Andy Jones are starring in the series, which follows the trials and tribulations of the staff of an old hockey rink, dubbed ‘the rink of last resort in St. John’s.’

The cast also includes British comedian Ken Campbell (Mike Jones’ Secret Nation).

Penned by Edward Riche (co-creator of CBC Radio’s The Great Eastern) and satirical commentator Andrew Young, six scripts have been developed but the cbc has yet to commit to the series.

This Hour’s Henry Sarwer-Foner is directing and Mary Sexton (Lazybank Production’s documentary Eye of the Storm) is producing. Nigel Markam is dop.

Shooting wrapped April 3 at the cbc studio and continues on location at Feildian Gardens in St. John’s. The majority of cast and crew hail from the province, including eight of the nine talent and the 37-member crew.

-Tom Waits narrates film on Guy Maddin

Singer Tom Waits recorded the narration in San Francisco in late March for Marble Island Pictures’ one-hour documentary on filmmaker Guy Maddin, Guy Maddin: Waiting for Twilight.

Waits is a big fan of Maddin’s, says Waiting for Twilight director Noam Gonick, who followed the Winnipeg filmmaker as he made his latest feature, Twilight of the Ice Nymphs.

On a budget of $100,000, Waiting for Twilight chronicles the childhood experiences, odd films and career successes and failures of Maddin, who directed cult classics Tales From The Gimli Hospital, Archangel and Careful, and received a Telluride Lifetime Achievement Award for contribution to cinema two years ago.

Winnipeg Film Group legend John Paizs and Australian director Paul Cox are interviewed in the doc, as are the actors from Ice Nymphs including Shelley Duvall, Alice Krige and Pascale Bussieres.

Waiting for Twilight is slated for completion this summer for air on Bravo! in the fall. CanWest Television, CFCF-12 and scn have second windows.

Laura Michalchyshyn is producing with Richard Findlay as exec producer.

-Cinram ups CD capacity

Toronto-based multimedia product manufacturer Cinram has, through a u.s. subsidiary, completed the us$80 million acquisition of Disc Manufacturing (DMI), a subsidiary of Quixote Corporation in Chicago.

dmi manufactures and distributes optical discs, including audio cds and cd-roms.

With the acquisition, Cinram’s disc manufacturing capacity is almost doubled to 400 million discs per year.

-A-Channel headquarters

With Craig Broadcast System’s A-Channel set to go to air in September, the broadcaster has firmed up the location for its Edmonton operations – the Hudson’s Bay building in downtown Edmonton. Craig recently purchased the Northstar Building to operate its Calgary station. Capital expenditures for the two facilities will exceed $15 million.

-Rainmaker on TSE

Common shares of Vancouver-based Rainmaker Digital Pictures commenced trading on the Toronto Stock Exchange April 2. Rainmaker, which includes Gastown Post, Rainmaker Digital Imaging, Rainmaker Interactive and an l.a. effects facility, currently has 9,939,519 common shares issued and outstanding. Total revenue for the company for fiscal year ending Dec. 31, 1996 was $16.1 million, an increase of 61% over the same period last year.

Rainmaker will continue to be listed on the Montreal Stock Exchange, the locus of its trading since going public in May 1995.

-People

In a surprise career twist, David Ferguson, director of international coproduction with Nelvana Enterprises, has joined Cinar Films as the company’s vp Europe.

Ferguson spent four years with Nelvana in London and will be responsible for Cinar’s coproduction and expanding distribution slate in Europe. He also takes on the role of managing director at FilmFair, a London animation production studio with a 232 half-hour library.

Cinar’s agm takes place in Montreal Tuesday, April 8.

– Ted Gold has signed on with Alliance Television as vp of creative affairs. Gold hails from New World Entertainment where he was director of development, drama and longform. Gold has joined Alliance as part of a move to step up development and production of network and cable series.

– At Life Network, Rita Middleton (nee Bodde) has been promoted to vp finance from financial controller. Susan Henderson has been promoted to director of communications from manager, public relations.

– Former Quebec cabinet minister and Radio-Quebec president Michel Page and veteran exporter and Telefilm Canada analyst Di-Ann Laurier have joined Les Productions et Distributions Imavision 21 as first vp and director, program acquisitions and sales, respectively.

– Helen du Toit has joined the Perspective Canada program committee for the Toronto International Film Festival, completing a three-person team consisting of Liz Czach and David McIntosh. Screenings for this year’s Perspective Canada series begin in May.

– Sheila Mombouquette is the new coordinator of the b.c. branch of the Canadian Film and Television Production Association, replacing Dee Dee Pincott.

Also new at the b.c. office of the cftpa is labor advisor Linda Kinney. Formerly with the cbc, Kinney will work on projects such as b.c.’s master agreement with the B.C. Council. Pincott remains chair of Vancouver trade association Women in Film.

– Ana Serrano has been named director of MediaLinx h@bitat, the Canadian Film Centre’s new media training facility, slated to open in June.

– Steve Wakefield has been hired as Dufferin Gate’s production supervisor. Sheila Hockin is Temple Street’s new director of development.