Montreal: American sitcom stars Tim Allen and Kevin James, Canadian sci-fi icon William Shatner, comic ace Louie Anderson and Eric Idle of Monty Python notoriety are among the headliners at the 18th edition of the Just For Laughs comedy festival. The fest unfolds in 14 various Montreal locales July 13-23.

jfl coo Bruce Hills says this year’s edition includes more than 1,500 events of all kinds, including 100 English gala presentations performed by 800 artists from 20 countries. jfl is also expanding its comedy film section following a merger with action-fantasy festival organizer Fantasia.

This year, the industry event program puts the accent on entertainment. The lineup includes an Industry Roast on July 21 produced by Jeff Ross, producer of the legendary Friars Roast for Comedy Central, and a ‘State of the Industry Address’ by venomous comedy insider Andy Kindler, also on July 21.

On July 22, industry execs are to have ‘A Chat with The Farrelly Brothers.’

‘They are renowned for using a lot of Canadians in their movies so we thought they’d be the perfect pair to talk about their trade. They are very funny and very down to earth,’ says Hills. Peter and Bobby Farrelly’s very successful films include Dumb and Dumber, There’s Something About Mary, Kingpin and the upcoming Me, Myself and Irene, starring the brilliant but scarry Jim Carrey.

jfl always draws a large number of Canadian and international industry guests from the broadcasting, production and talent sectors. This year’s rallying point for the industry is again the downtown Delta Hotel.

For ‘people who are here purely to work, in other words, buyers or people in development or casting,’ the festival offers express passes guaranteeing seats at every major event. ‘We only sell 60 of them and they sell out,’ says Hills. ‘But nobody bitches because the industry wants their acts to be seen.’

Among confirmed festival guests to date are Brian Dorfman, director of casting – comedy at ABC Entertainment; Bob Huber, vp casting at Fox Broadcasting; Michael Katcher, vp of casting – comedy at cbs; and Julie Pernworth, director of casting and development at nbc.

Also making the trip to Montreal are Lisa Harrison, director of development – comedy at Twentieth Century Fox; Keli Lee, vp casting and development at Touchstone and Disney; Kathleen Letterie, senior vp casting at Warner Bros.; and Eric Mathre, director of casting at DreamWorks.

Broadcast production by Rozon Distribution – the festival’s production and distribution arm – at this year’s fest includes 13 new Just For Laughs shows for cbc, the Improv series sold to The Comedy Network, a new showcase for Reseau tva, and a 19-show order of Just For Laughs Variety series for Bravo!

‘This season we had a very highly rated eight-episode commitment (The Full Monty) from the bbc in primetime so we are in a good position for Britain, right now,’ says Hills, adding a deal with the u.k. for the 2000 festival will be finalized shortly.

Hills says u.s. tv offers haven’t quite worked out. ‘It’s a major investment in time and money and it’s very hard to do the kind of special we’d like purely with a licence fee. We are not rushing, but between this summer and next we will defintely have a u.s. broadcast. The way it’s being negotiated, I think we are going to be very happy.’

Some of Rozon’s most lucrative distribution activity is with international airlines.

jfl’s private-sector sponsors include Loto-Quebec, which has taken over from Craven a as principal sponsor, Labatt Blue and Bell Canada.

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