-eXistenZ delayed

Lensing on David Cronenberg’s latest feature film project eXistenZ has been put on hold until spring ’98 due to casting glitches.

Hollywood names are reportedly being approached for the project, and although speculation has it Alliance Communications is seeking to cast Jodie Foster and turned down Jennifer Jason Leigh in the process, Rose Mangone, director of promotions and publicity for Alliance, says Alliance has full control over casting and that neither one has been approached.

eXistenZ was to have started shooting this month with a budget of around $25 million for a summer ’98 release.

-Two Gemini Awards in ’98

In an attempt to make the Gemini Awards more current and relevant to the viewing public, the Canadian English-language television awards are being moved from the spring to the fall.

This will result in two Gemini Awards held next year ­ the 12th annual awards taking place Feb. 27, 28 and March 1, 1998 and the 13th annual awards occurring on Oct. 2, 3 and 4, 1998.

For the October 1998 awards date, shows aired between Sept. 1, 1997 and May 31, 1998 will be eligible for competition. Entry forms will be available in February.

-Davis heads B.C. Film

Lauren Davis has been named executive director of funding agency British Columbia Film, a role she has filled since former ceo Wayne Sterloff left a few months ago. A graduate of ubc’s film program and a holder of a master’s degree in applied economics, Davis has been with B.C. Film since 1995.

As an independent filmmaker, her work includes producing the documentary Chore Wars and line producing the feature Live Bait. She’s now responsible for the daily operations of B.C. Film.

-Cineplex gets Cube

Cineplex Odeon Films has acquired Canadian distribution rights to director Vincenzo Natali’s feature film Cube.

A psychological thriller, Cube is a production of the Canadian Film Centre’s Feature Film Project and Cube Libre. Natali’s feature directorial debut was cowritten with Andre Bijelic and Graeme Manson and produced by Mehra Meh and Betty Orr.

Cube will make its world premiere at the 1997 Toronto International Film Festival and is slated for Canadian theatrical release in January 1998.

-Tele-Action into distrib

Productions Tele-Action, Montreal, coproducer on The Boys of St. Vincent and Margaret’s Museum, has opened a tv distribution division, Distribution Cine Tele-Action.

Michelle Stratford, a former sales executive with Mediamax International and The Multimedia Group of Canada, is the division’s new director.

-Vidatron’s First Wave

With the exit of Greenlight Communications and Everest Entertainment from the project, Vancouver-based Sugar Entertainment, a subsidiary of Vidatron, is set to produce a full 22-episode season of the hour-long drama First Wave with Francis Ford Coppola’s American Z’etrope, Chris Brancato and Pearson Television International.

Under Greenlight and Everest, shooting was to happen in Toronto but will now take place in Vancouver. First Wave will begin production in late December or early January with a $30-million budget.

Coppola will serve as executive producer together with Brancato and Vidatron’s Larry Sugar.

Vidatron and Pearson will coproduce First Wave, with Vidatron holding North American distribution rights and Pearson distributing internationally.

-New $5,000 prize at AFF

The Motion Picture Bond Company is sponsoring a new $5,000 award for the best Atlantic feature or video over 60 minutes at this year’s 17th annual Atlantic Film Festival, Sept. 19-27 in Halifax.

-Paddington partners

cinar Films has named Protecrea/ Canal J, a subsidiary of France’s leading broadcaster TF1, as its coproduction partner on the first 13 episodes of the new animated FilmFair series The Adventures of Paddington Bear.

Production is underway on the $6.6 million series, with more episodes planned. Paddington airs in September on teletoon in Canada, itv in the u.k, and Canal J and TF1 in France.

A number of major publishing initiatives are being planned including a 12-book series this year.

-Restored Oncle at TIFF

A fully restored print of Mon Oncle Antoine, Claude Jutra’s 1971 Canadian cinematic masterpiece, will be screened at The Masters series at the Toronto International Film Festival.

The Alliance for Canada’s Audio-Visual Heritage is sponsoring the screening that will take place at the Cumberland Cinema on Sept. 6. The alliance will also be holding a panel discussion that will examine Canada’s audiovisual history, the process of restoration, and the need for a national strategy for the preservation of and access to our audio-visual collections.

The restored 35mm Mon Oncle Antoine print is the result of $70,000 in laboratory work by the nfb.

-HGTV licenses original Cdn. productions to U.S.

HGTV (Home and Garden Television) Canada has licensed six original Canadian productions for broadcast to its u.s. counterpart hgtv u.s., penetration 35 million.

The shows are Building Additions from The Caber Production Company of Brampton, Ont., Garden Architecture by Toronto’s AJE Productions, Gardener’s Journal from Gardener’s Journal Productions of Hamilton, Same House, Two Looks from LMNOP Productions of Toronto, Savoir Faire from Toronto-based Primevista Television, and This Small Space, produced by Film Crew Productions of Regina.

-Headline Sports in Nfld.

Specialty cable service Headline Sports has scored carriage on Cable Atlantic servicing St. John’s, Grand Falls, Gander and Cornerbrook, Nfld., pushing its total distribution tally to two million households in six provinces.

-TIFF alternatives

L.A.-based trade Black Talent News and Toronto’s Black Film and Video Network are teaming up to host Infotainment ’97: Toronto, scheduled to run concurrent with the Toronto International Film Festival.

The one-day conference, to be held Sept. 8, will offer film and video makers the opportunity to meet professional colleagues and assist film and video makers in finding resources to develop, produce and distribute projects.

On the short film side, The Toronto Minifest 1997 will take place Sept. 11 and 12.

Poised as a forum for the short films that were rejected by the programmers at tiff, some of the films that will be featured include the award-winning Jules (Chicago International Festival, 1997), the winner of the Golden Sheaf Award at Yorkton, The Hangman’s Bride and the spoof William Shatner Lent me His Hairpiece.

-Jane exits Vancouver

The $8-million feature Jane, featuring Melanie Griffith and Howard Stern, has pulled out of Vancouver for parts unknown.

The development comes after efforts to change script settings from the American bayous to the Pacific Northwest were made so Griffith could be closer to husband Antonio Banderas, currently shooting Disney’s $100-million Eaters of the Dead in Campbell River, B.C. Apparently iffy from the start, the project was put on hold two weeks ago when the production schedule began to slide past Griffith’s availability. The delay means the Ministry of Film show could still go ahead, but with no location established as of yet.

-People

– Guy Mayson is the new senior vp, operations and member services at the cftpa. He assumes the newly created position Sept. 29. Mayson is currently head of film and video policy and programs, English market, for Canadian Heritage. Mayson is also the former head of cavco.

– L’Association quebecoise des realisateurs et realisatrices du cinema et de television, representing French-language film and tv directors, has named Lucette Lupin as its new full-time director general and Rachel Archambault as the association’s coordinator.

– Labatt Breweries of Canada has named Lynn Douglas director of consumer communication.

– Brett Gannon is the new cfo at Mainframe Entertainment in Vancouver and will be responsible for all financial operations of the company, investor relations and public reporting.

– Yves Dion has left his position as president of Malofilm Distribution.

Malofilm’s distribution division will now be directed by Andy Myers, vp managing director of distribution at the Toronto office, and Pierre Brousseau, who joined Malofilm two weeks ago as vp (Quebec/France) in charge of Canadian theatrical marketing, international coproductions and European acquisitions.