Nelvana’s Hirsh steps down

Michael Hirsh is stepping down as CEO of Nelvana, the animation company’s parent Corus has announced. He will remain with the company as founder and advisor.

‘I am extremely proud of our many achievements and of the treasure trove of valuable character rights that have helped make Nelvana the world’s leading independent animation producer,’ Hirsh said in a statement. ‘No other company is better positioned to lead the industry into the next decade and I look forward to working with my successor to ensure Nelvana’s continued success.’

Hirsh’s new role will see him develop new animated series and help ‘to implement a plan to meet the challenges presented by the recent structural changes in our industry.’

Corus will announce executive appointments for Nelvana in the coming weeks.

McQueen tackles drama

CBC and CTV alum Trina McQueen has teamed with the CRTC to try to boost Canadian dramatic TV, CRTC chairperson Charles Dalfen announced last week in a speech at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual conference in Vancouver, B.C.

‘Trina has agreed to develop a proposal on how we can bring more Canadian drama to our television screens,’ Dalfen told the assembled broadcasters. ‘She will consult with a number of you and with other stakeholders in the industry. She will also be coordinating her efforts in cooperation with the Canadian Television Fund, including both the Licence Fee Program and the Equity Investment Program.’

McQueen retired as CTV president and COO in January and sits on the CTF’s board of directors.

CRTC probes ITV

The CRTC has released its Report on Interactive Television, part of a fact-finding inquiry into the state of ITV in Canada, and is calling for comments from the industry, the public and other broadcasting stakeholders.

Of particular interest to the federal regulator is the possible impact of new broadcast technologies on traditional concepts of ownership, copyright and consumer acceptance. The CRTC is also working to distinguish ‘program-related’ from other ITV services. (Refer to Broadcasting Public Notice 2002-63 for full details.)

CRTC chairperson Charles Dalfen addressed the matter in a speech at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters annual conference, held Oct. 20-22 in Vancouver. ‘Are interactive services broadcasting?…Is an interactive service program-related or not? We would like to explore this issue as a starting point for the next phase of public dialogue about ITV,’ Dalfen said.

The CRTC says it wants to deal with the questions quickly, as some producers and broadcasters are already at work on ITV productions. Comments can be emailed to procedure@crtc.gc.ca before Dec. 20, 2002.

Have Broom, will not travel

The verdict is in: Canucks’ quirky predilection for curling and buck-toothed rodents does not sell south of the border. At least that would appear to be the case with Men with Brooms, the Alliance Atlantis/Serendipity Point Films comedy produced by Robert Lantos, directed by Paul Gross and starring Gross, Molly Parker and Leslie Nielsen. The film has vanished off the U.S. box-office charts after opening Sept. 20 on 27 screens through Artisan Entertainment.

The movie’s opening weekend gross in the U.S. was US$14,765, for a per-screen average of just US$546.85, placing the film at number 80 on Variety’s box-office chart. These results are disappointing for its makers, who had expressed hopes of making another The Full Monty, the U.K. comedy that enjoyed box office well into the hundreds of millions and garnered Academy Award nominations.

The film did, however, have substantial success in Canada. Opening March 8 and buoyed by strong promotion from distributor Alliance Atlantis and wide release on 213 screens, Men with Brooms set a record for highest-grossing domestic opening for an English-Canadian film, garnering box office of $1,040,000 in its first weekend. Variety reports the total box office for the film thus far at $4,239,767. The movie’s Canadian box office alone was enough to place it at number 13 on Variety’s list of highest-grossing limited release films in the first half of 2002.

Fireworks secures credit facility

Fireworks Entertainment, the production and distribution division of CanWest Global, has secured a standalone credit facility that gives it considerable independent capacity for financing the development, production, acquisition and distribution of new film and TV projects.

The facility, valued at US$110 million ($172 million), was secured from a syndicate led by Comerica Bank-California, marking one of that bank’s largest ever credit lines. The syndicate also includes the participation of WestLB AG (New York branch), Vereins-Und Westbank AG, General Electric Capital Corporation, the Bank of Nova Scotia and the U.S. Bank National Association.

In a statement, Jay Firestone, chairman and CEO of Fireworks, said, ‘This standalone credit facility reflects the confidence of our lenders in Fireworks’ business strategy and in the underlying value of our substantial existing library of television program and feature film properties.’

Morin film draws protests

The release poster and title of the new Robert Morin film Le Neg’ has stirred up a lot of media coverage and controversy, including protests from black community groups and anti-racist organizations in Montreal. The poster features an image of a black plaster lawn statue holding a fishing rod. The term ‘Le Neg’ in Quebecois street parlance is a derogatory term for a black person.

In print and TV interviews, the filmmaker said he understood the objections over the poster, describing the situation as ‘very delicate.’

At press time, distributor Christal Films said it had no plans to change the poster.

Morin, who has made 30 films and videos, says Le Neg’ is a denunciation of bigotry in small-town Quebec, focusing on a violent incident and the subsequent police investigation.

Le Neg’ opened on 13 screens across Quebec Oct. 25 including two screens in downtown Montreal, two in Quebec City and in nine other regional centers.

Christal’s marketing budget is in the order of $150,000.

Le Neg’ was produced on a budget of $1.3 million by Lorraine Dufour of Coop Video de Montreal/Les Productions 23.

ACT Media-Jeunes confab

The Alliance for Children and Television conference and workshop program Media-Jeunes 2002 takes place Nov. 8-9 at Maison de Radio-Canada in Montreal.

The general two-day program looks at innovation issues in French- and English-language youth broadcasting and features programming and producer panelists from SRC, Tele-Quebec, VRAK-TV, Teletoon, Telefiction, CBC, Family Channel, YTV, BBC Kids, TVOntario, Zone3 and Snap Media. Simultaneous translation is available.

Guest speakers include author Gerard Jones and youth culture experts Max Valiquette, president of Youthography, and Nathalie Rivard, president, Indigo Communication.

The program also includes screenings of the 2002 winners of the Prix Jeunesse in Munich and the International Festival of Animated Films in Annecy, France.

ACT, a national non-profit organization headed by executive director Caroline Fortier, will hold its annual general meeting Friday evening, Nov. 8.

My Big Fat Greek box office

Mediterranean matrimony broke box-office records in Canada last week as indie smash My Big Fat Greek Wedding passed the $20-million mark after just 10 weeks in theatres – making it the highest-grossing independent picture, beating Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, which brought in $16.5 million in 2000.

‘We are thrilled that Canadian audiences are embracing My Big Fat Greek Wedding,’ said Michael Mosca, president of distributor Equinox Films, in a statement. ‘We had expectations for the film but this success has delighted everyone.’

Shot in Toronto and Chicago by director Joel Zwick, the comedy opened strong in the U.S. in April, and arrived in Canada on Aug. 16 – bringing in a hefty $3 million after 10 days on 122 screens. The sleeper continues to draw audiences and banked another $1 million in Canada over the Oct. 18 weekend.