Producers Mike Frislev and Chad Oakes of Calgary-based Nomadic Pictures are not accustomed to profiting from the likes of Hollywood’s most famous madame, but as producers of the recent US$5-million TV movie based on the life of Heidi Fleiss, they were willing to make an exception.

‘It’s a controversial subject, obviously,’ says Oakes, ‘but it’s not just about drugs, sex and power. It’s really about deception more than anything else.’

It’s not exactly the most Canadian of stories, but thanks to Oakes and Frislev, Going Down: The Rise and Fall of Heidi Fleiss is a Canadian content picture, scoring 7/10 on the CAVCO scale.

In addition to having Alberta producers, the movie shot in Calgary and was written and lensed by Canadians. Toronto’s Norman Snider (Dead Ringers) penned the story, with Montreal-born David Franco (The Whole Nine Yards) behind the camera.

Principal photography wrapped in late December, with 15 of 20 shoot days completed in Calgary. Directed by Charles McDougall (Queer as Folk – U.K.), the movie boasts a star-studded cast that includes Jamie-Lynn DiScala (The Sopranos) as Fleiss, Saul Rubinek (Unforgiven, Wall Street), Brenda Fricker (My Left Foot), Corbin Bernsen (L.A. Law) and Robert Davi (Licence to Kill).

Oakes and Frislev produced with Stanley M. Brooks and Damian Ganczewski of L.A.-based Once Upon a Time Films, with presales to Movie Central and The Movie Network in Canada and USA Network south of the border. Additional financing came from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

Nomadic and Once Upon a Time teamed up last year to shoot The Legend of Butch and Sundance, which premiered on NBC in January.

Frantic captures flying bandit

After completing work on its latest reality series, Quest for the Sea, which premiered to very positive reviews on History Television in January, Winnipeg’s Frantic Films now has its sights set on infamous bank robber Ken Leishman.

Frantic CEO and executive producer Jamie Brown reached an agreement with Seattle-based producer/director David Rabinovitch of Fleetwood Films in December to coproduce the one-hour documentary Ken Leishman: The Flying Bandit. Production is set to begin this summer, with funding from History. Although no director is signed on to the project yet, Brown says Rabinovitch is considering helming the doc himself.

Leishman, a folk hero who spent much of his life in Winnipeg, gained fame as a gentlemanly thief in the 1960s and 1970s by orchestrating entirely non-violent bank robberies, then literally fleeing the scene of the crime in a getaway plane. In addition, he pulled off two daring prison escapes before finally serving his time.

Brown and Rabinovitch will have access to some extraordinary audio footage of Leishman recorded before he met his death in a small plane accident. Shelia Rabinovitch, an 81-year-old retired Winnipeg writer and radio broadcaster, who also happens to be the producer’s mother, recorded the tapes years ago. Using the never-before-heard audio, Brown hopes to tell the story entirely in Leishman’s voice.

International distribution deals are still in the works, but Brown says they have had strong interest from Court TV in the U.S. and Australia’s Beyond Distribution.

In early February, Frantic received the green light from Global to start work on Last Chance For Romance, a 13-part half-hour doc series that will shoot in the Caribbean over March and April. Marriage therapist Joe Rich will accompany troubled couples to help them save their relationships.

The $1-million-plus series will be directed by Stephen Hall (Designer Guys). Brown will produce and executive produce with Loren Mawhinney, Global’s VP, Canadian production.

Frantic also has several dramatic projects in the works. Brown will be producing and executive producing Lucid, a $2.3-million feature from director Sean Garrity, whose film Inertia won best Canadian first feature at the 2001 Toronto International Film Festival. Garrity will cowrite with The Eleventh Hour’s Jonas Chernick, who will also star in the supernatural mystery to be shot this summer in Winnipeg.

Slasher Santa hits Edmonton

L.A. producers Matt Leonetti and Brett Ratner came to Alberta in search of snow to shoot their latest feature Santa’s Slay, a Christmas horror flick about an evil Santa who comes to town spreading holiday fear.

The $4.5-million film went to camera Feb. 16 and will wrap March 26. Directed and written by David Steiman, Santa’s Slay stars wrestler Bill Goldberg as the bad Santa.

The film is produced by L.A.-based Media 8 Entertainment and Ratner’s Rat Entertainment.

In addition to the winter wonderland setting and financial incentives, Leonetti says it was Edmonton Film Commissioner Patti Tucker who really cemented their decision to shoot in Alberta. Although no distributor is attached at this time, the producers are planning for a Christmas 2004 release.

Mystery franchise hits Sask.

Regina’s Time Code Pictures is about to wrap on The Cradle Will Fall, the third of three MOWs based on stories by mystery writer Mary Higgins Clark. TCP founder Stephen Onda produces and executive produces the three movies. Ten movies based on Higgins Clark stories have already been produced and L.A.-based executive producers Bruce Cohn Curtis and Lance Robbins are responsible for bringing the current round to Saskatchewan.

With a budget of $2 million each, the MOWs were financed through provincial and federal tax credits, as well as presale deals arranged by international distributor Rigel Entertainment. The movies will air on CanWest Global in Canada, PAX TV in the U.S., ZDF in Germany and France 2 in France.

The Cradle Will Fall, adapted from Higgins Clark’s novel of the same name, started a 14-day shoot in Regina Feb. 4. From local director Rob King, it tells the story of a county prosecutor’s investigation into the apparent suicide of a pregnant woman.

Lensed by Regina resident Mark Dobrescu, the movie stars Angie Everhart (The Real Deal), Philippe Brenninkmeyer (Super Troopers) and John Ralston (Bar Life), with a guest appearance by William B. Davis (The X-Files).

The second in the series, I’ll Be Seeing You, shot in Moose Jaw, SK Jan. 11-29, with Will Dixon directing and Ken Krawczyk as director of photography. Alison Eastwood (Lost Angel) stars as Patricia Collins, whose investigation into her father’s death makes her the murderer’s next target. Bo Svenson (Kill Bill) and Richy Muller (Die Kirschenkonigin) also star, with a guest appearance by Margot Kidder (Chicks with Sticks).

The first in the series, Try to Remember, is the story of a forensic detective who joins her hometown police force to help solve a murder. It shot in and around Moose Jaw Dec. 3-21, with local director Jeff Beesley helming and Dobrescu lensing. Gabrielle Anwar (Scent of a Woman), Max Martini (Saving Private Ryan) and Diego Wallraff (Unleashed) star.