Vancouver: Despite the regular patronage of local producers such as Prophecy Pictures, Mulberry Films and Keystone Entertainment, Greater Victoria still needs better budgetary perks to attract Canadian producers, says the regional commissioner, claiming Film Incentive b.c.’s 12.5% regional credits aren’t cutting it.

‘The regional tax credit hasn’t worked – at least not as well as it should,’ says Tom Crowe, director of the Greater Victoria Film Commission for the past six months. ‘The intent is good, it just needs some tweaking.’

He says Victoria is getting consistent work, but it isn’t the kind of business that elevates the capital above being a pretty backdrop. ‘By nature, Canadian feature budgets are small and producers are less willing to take a risk in maintaining production infrastructure [in smaller markets like Victoria],’ says Crowe. ‘That risk eats up the benefits that the regional tax credit provides.’

fibc has been the subject of an overall review that started in April, says Rob Egan, president and ceo at British Columbia Film, which processes the tax credit. He agrees the ‘uptake’ of the regional tax credit is not as great as B.C. Film had anticipated.

‘We are looking at options to make the regional incentive more attractive,’ says Egan, who stresses fibc has been a general success in generating domestic production. ‘Raising the regional tax credit [from 12.5%] may not be the issue.’

One change may be to add an additional bonus to television series – which promise more volume and longer-term employment – that want to relocate outside of the Vancouver area. Egan says no decisions have been made and he wasn’t certain any substantive changes would be made prior to the start of the government’s next fiscal year April 1, 2001.

Prophecy wrapped a month of production in Victoria Oct. 24 on the German coproduction Ripper. Actor Jurgen Prochnow stars in the modern retelling of the Jack the Ripper story.

Bill Vince’s Mulberry is surveying for the feature I Fought the Law, which may have a December start. After some casting and scheduling problems, Robert Vince’s Keystone is resurrecting the feature Pillow Fight. Victoria is also busy with car commercials, says Crowe.

Even with a problematic tax credit, Victoria and Vancouver Island are getting ready for an influx of production money from civi, the new Citytv licence starting in Victoria next spring. In its successful application, civi promised to spend $3.5 million in Island-based production over a seven-year term. The Greater Victoria Film Commission, alone, is getting $50,000 from civi.

Crowe says Victoria is enjoying the work offered by ‘pioneers’ such as Prophecy, Mulberry and Keystone. He says it’s time for ‘settlers’ of the stature of Sugar Entertainment (Peace Arch Entertainment), Shavick Entertainment and Dogwood Pictures.

*Production watch

the Lone Gunmen – the series that really puts Vancouver talent on the map in u.s. television – went into production Oct. 23. If it gets the full season run from Fox, the X-Files spin-off and its Vancouver stars will be in front of the cameras until March 21, 2001. Tom Braidwood, Dean Haglund and Bruce Harwood play the conspiracy theorists. Chris Carter and l.a.-transplant John Kousakis are executive producer and coproducer, respectively.

* 40 Days and 40 Nights is a Working Title feature (for Miramax and Universal) that stars Josh Hartnett (Pearl Harbour, Virgin Suicides) and newcomer Shannyn Sassamon, most famous thus far for being a dj at Gwyneth Paltrow’s birthday party. The romantic comedy for twentysomethings is in production in Vancouver until mid-December. Michael Lehmann (Truth about Cats and Dogs) directs.

*Score cards

cbc British Columbia’s Improv Comedy Games, produced by Vancouver’s PS Films and Side Entertainment, debuted the first of six half-hour episodes Oct. 21 after Hockey Night in Canada. A network launch will be announced later, say producers.

In this improv format, two teams battle it out toe-to-toe to be the funniest and quickest. Ellie Harvie, Rod Crawford, Peter Kelamis, Dan Joffre, Gerry McAteer, Shawn MacDonald, Randy Schooley, Chris Casillan and music director Bill Sample contribute their comedic talents. Host is Roman Danylo, who emceed last year’s variety series V on vtv.

*Blushing big time

the Blanche Macdonald Centre for Applied Design, called the largest makeup effects training facility in North America, is getting bigger still, adding 4,000 square feet to its exiting 26,000-square-foot facility in Vancouver by March 2001. That’s when the centre will launch its new prosthetics and airbrushing programs.

Alumni include Todd McIntosh, who won an Emmy award for his work on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and Jonathan Hennessey, who was the online makeup commentator for the 2000 Academy Awards. Graduates Holland Miller, Devyn Griffith, Michelle Pedersen and Faye von Schroeder are nominated for Gemini Awards in the makeup category.

‘Four of the six shows nominated at the Gemini Awards this year have at least one Blanche Macdonald graduate on their staff,’ says Lillian Lim, president of the Blanche Macdonald Centre. ‘That says a lot about how far we’ve come in the entertainment industry in Vancouver. As the film community has continued to grow in Vancouver, we’ve grown with it.’

*Big changes

frank van Keeken, a writer and executive producer with Big Sound, left b.c.’s first sitcom around the mid-production weeklong hiatus. ‘We mutually agreed to end the relationship,’ says Michele White, a remaining executive producer with David Steinberg, Sam Feldman and Tim Gamble.

When van Keeken left, the series was two-thirds of the way through a 22-episode order that wraps production Dec. 5.

*Year of the Dragon

the fourth annual Vancouver Asian Film Festival goes Nov. 3-5 and features the West Coast premiere of Yellow Wedding at its opening gala. All films are in English. *

-www.vaff.org