Trudeau: The Prequel, initially intended to be a fall 2003 shoot with Colm Feore in the lead and Jerry Ciccoritti helming both an English- and French-language version, ended up going to camera in Montreal May 16 as an English-only production without either talent.

Trudeau, CBC’s highest rated drama in 2002, drew 2 million viewers.

According to executive producer Wayne Grigsby of Halifax-based Big Motion Pictures, it was primarily a matter of timing.

Grigsby contacted Ciccoritti in January 2003 with tentative plans to shoot The Prequel the following summer. By that time, Ciccoritti says he was already involved with Lives of the Saints, which was a definite go at the time. The two-part miniseries is based on the Nino Ricci novel about the experiences of young Italians coming to North America, a story the Italian-Canadian director had always wanted to work on.

‘Lives of the Saints was literally a dream come true,’ says Ciccoritti. ‘I had wanted to option the book myself back in 1990, but [Martinelli] beat me to the punch. For the last decade it was like the film that got away and I thought I’d never be able to do it, so when I got the chance I jumped in.’

Only a week after Lives of the Saints wrapped in February, Ciccoritti started work on Blood, an MOW based on the Tom Walmsley play, from producers Joel Awerbuck and Anna Gerb, which is currently in post.

Feore and Ciccoritti won best actor and best director, respectively, at the 2002 Geminis for their work on the original Trudeau miniseries.

Scheduling was also the primary conflict for Feore. He stars in The Chronicles of Riddick, a $120-million Universal Pictures sci-fi adventure pic directed by David Twohy, which shot June through October 2003 in Vancouver, clashing with the intended summer production schedule of The Prequel.

However, according to Grigsby, Feore’s original enthusiasm for the project also may have been hurt by the decision not to shoot both a French and English version.

Radio-Canada, the first to get on board the project in February 2002, was excited about the double shoot and the story of Trudeau’s early life in Quebec.

‘[SRC] was quite interested in Trudeau as the Quebecker who became this national figure,’ says Grigsby.

However, Grigsby says, ‘the CTF had very tangled rules about double shoots. Radio-Canada bailed on us at the last minute.’

While things may not have turned out exactly as Grigsby and his producing partner David MacLeod thought they would, they nonetheless remain enthusiastic.

Tim Southam is signed on to direct The Prequel, which stars Quebec actor Stephane Demers (The Aviator) as Trudeau in the years before he entered politics.

It was while casting for Snakes & Ladders, BMP’s dramatic series for CBC, that Grigsby watched Southam’s The Bay of Love and Sorrows and says he was ‘struck by the sensibility of the film.’ After calling the director out of the blue, Grigsby says it was clear Southam was a perfect fit.

‘[Southam] is in his early 40s, was educated in both French and English and his upbringing totally embraced what the Trudeau dream was – a citizen who was comfortable in both languages and both cultures,’ Grigsby continues. ‘He’s a good filmmaker who understands Quebec as well as anybody that I know and I was confident he would get the context.’

Having a bilingual director is a definite advantage, says Grigsby, especially considering that he is working with a lot of Quebec actors, who, in many cases, are making their debuts in English Canada. Additional cast include Michele-Barbara Pelletier as one of Trudeau’s early romantic interests and Tobie Pelletier, who plays Trudeau from ages 18 to 25.

After a week of shooting in Montreal – where Grigsby had to get shots including local icons such as McGill University and the University of Montreal – the production moved to Halifax where it will continue until July 12, with plans to air on CBC in spring 2005.

Grigsby and Guy Fournier penned the $8-million miniseries (2 x 120). The pair had wanted to write together on the first Trudeau miniseries, but previous commitments restricted Fournier’s role to that of story editor. Grigsby welcomed the opportunity to work closely with Fournier, not just because they are old friends, but also because Fournier knew Trudeau personally from 1957 on, a big advantage considering that the story of Trudeau’s early life is not as easy to tell as that of his life as PM.

Grigsby adds that this story ‘covers more time and Trudeau is not as defined a character. He’s essentially a man looking for himself and trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life in a rapidly evolving Quebec.’

-www.bigmotionpictures.com