* Director: Anne Wheeler * Writer: Elyse Friedman * Producer: Gavin Wilding * Cinematographer: David Frazee * Diary by: Kathy Barthel

Acclaimed Vancouver director Anne Wheeler turns her lens from quirky family relationships (Marine Life) to quirky love stories with her new film Suddenly Naked, premiering as part of this year’s Perspective Canada series at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The movie, produced by Rampage Entertainment, was originally called Show and Tell, and is the story of 39-year-old Jackie and her 20-year-old lover, Patrick. ‘There are elements of The Emperor’s New Clothes,’ says Wheeler, ‘but the emperor is a talented bitter woman, a writer, who is hiding behind her reputation, her beauty and her clever tongue. And the child [her lover] is a straight-talking, romantic genius who challenges her with the naked truth.’

Producer Gavin Wilding of Vancouver-based White Rock Film International, describes Suddenly Naked as a Canadian Bridget Jones’s Diary, and a throwback to the films of John Hughes. ‘What’s wrong with 90 minutes with two quirky people that you relate to, get a kick out of, and care about?’ asks Wilding. ‘We have such a sense of humor built into our subtext as a culture. I really wanted to make a fun Canadian movie.’

White Rock development scout Cam McLellan had been looking for projects since the fall of 1999, and found the script, by first-time Toronto writer Elyse Friedman, in early spring 2000. Friedman had written it on spec while attending the Canadian Film Centre. McLellan brought it to Wilding, who shortly after reading it, happened to meet Wheeler at a rough-cut of her film Marine Life. He thought the combination of script and director might make a good Telefilm Canada-type project that could sell internationally. ‘I was looking for something that was a hybrid of commercial and Canadiana,’ he says.

McLellan pitched the script to Wheeler, who accepted. ‘A lot of people claim to have access to great scripts,’ says Wheeler. ‘I have been disappointed by most, but this one was engaging and witty and insightful.’ For his efforts, McLellan is promoted to coproducer. He and Wheeler discuss the evolution of the film.

March/April 2000: The Harold Greenberg Group comes on board for eight weeks with $8,000 toward script development, Montreal’s Remstar Corporation agrees to handle Canadian distribution, and Wilding shops his script-director package to prospective funding sources.

May 2000: Movie Central in the U.S. and The Movie Network in Canada sign on.

June 2000: Funding commitments are inked with Telefilm ($1.2 million), B.C. Film ($200,000) and Remstar ($200,000). Wilding brings in private funding from a B.C. venture capital group for one-quarter of the total funding, and international distributor White Rock contributes a foreign distribution advance of around $750,000. Tax credits complete the $3.5-million budget.

Casting begins and runs until the end of the year, postponing shooting from September until December. The problem is finding good, high-profile, yet affordable actors. ‘No matter how good a small movie is, it’s limited by cast, and cast limits its exposure,’ says Wilding. ‘If you build a bicycle you know you can only travel so far; if you build an airplane, you can go a lot farther.’

Fortunately, Wendy Crewson, with whom Wheeler had worked on Better Than Chocolate, is available, as is Peter Coyote. ‘I thought I could never afford him, but he agreed knowing the parameters of the shoot,’ says Wheeler. After a cross-country search they find the young lover, Montreal actor Joe Cobden. ‘He’s been doing street theatre for years,’ says Wheeler, ‘and his timing is fantastic. He made me laugh.’

Late fall: Prep takes three or four weeks.

December 2000 to mid-January 2001: Casting ends and a very brief shooting period begins. ‘It’s like a 23-day Gestalt group,’ says Wheeler.

February 2001 to July 2001: Post-production runs well, but is somewhat delayed due to test screenings which are held concurrently. ‘It was intense and fun,’ says Wheeler. ‘There are between 35 to 40 songs in the show…the movie is a musical feast.’ Among them are two tracks by independent Vancouver singer Laura Doyle. The film’s name is changed to Suddenly Naked.

‘Because it was a bit of an odd type of film, we were very careful to do test screenings before we locked in the movie,’ says Wilding. As a result, the last third of the film is altered because the audience thinks it’s too slow. The filmmakers also discover that they have more of a sexy comedy than a goofy one, so the ad campaign changes too. ‘It’s guesswork unless you take it to the people,’ says Wilding.

April 2001: Uber agency ICM signs on to represent the film in the U.S.

July 2001: The film is delivered. The marketing campaign begins, focusing on the film’s Bridget Jones’s flavor, and subsequent commercial appeal.

Sept 8, 2001: Suddenly Naked premiers as part of the Perspective Canada series at TIFF. ‘Because Toronto’s such a powerful market now, everything’s predicated on what happens there,’ says Wilding. ‘A couple of good reviews and some decent audience response will change everything.’

Oct. 5, 2001: Suddenly Naked has its Canadian theatrical release in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

Oct. 12, 2001: The film opens wider, in Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Regina and Halifax.