Montreal: Remstar Distribution is backing the 70-screen Canadian release of Lord Richard Attenborough’s Grey Owl, which opened theatrically Oct. 1, with a massive p&a campaign valued at close to $1 million.

President Julien Remillard says the investment includes funding from Telefilm Canada and the Exhibitor Fund, specifically, Cineplex Odeon and Viacom, and includes radio, tv, print and the cost of promotional visits in Montreal, Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver by Attenborough and leads Pierce Brosnan and Annie Galipeau.

Remillard says the cost of acquiring and releasing the movie also represents a long-term branding investment for Remstar. ‘It shows we can handle a major picture,’ he says.

He says the film has received page one coverage in the Ottawa Citizen, the National Post, Chatelaine magazine and the Sept. 27 issue of Maclean’s magazine. ‘You can’t buy that kind of publicity,’ he adds.

Remstar paid a big $900,000 for the Canadian rights to Grey Owl.

Citytv purchased extended Canadian tv rights after a screening at the Cannes Film Festival, and Remillard says negotiations are underway with Radio-Canada. Remstar will release the film on video through Universal Home Video sometime in early 2000.

Grey Owl was produced at a cost of $45 million by Attenborough, Jake Eberts and Claude Leger.

Eberts heads up the newly launched Grey Owl Nature Trust, a national foundation dedicated to education, community projects and the protection of endangered species.

Remillard says the distrib had hoped for a u.s. sale sometime this past spring and in time for a simultaneous North American release, but that sale has not happened.

Remstar expects to release four to eight films nationally next year.