Production Diary

By Janice Lee

Late 1991: Principal photography wraps on School’s Out!, the last chapter in the Degrassi chronicles. Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler, executive producers of Toronto-based Playing With Time, feel they have told all the stories they had to tell about the Degrassi characters.

Schuyler’s fascination with the teen generation, however, does not end with the series. She wonders about following these ‘inexperienced adults’ as they mature and live on their own for the first time. She thinks an apartment building would make a great forum for this idea.

Early 1992: Having recently completed Degrassi Talks, a six-part, half-hour primetime documentary series for cbc, Hood and Schuyler embark on yet another project. They pitch a two-hour feature documentary, Degrassi TalksÉOn the Future, about the offspring of the flower children. cbc gives them the go-ahead and signs on as the broadcaster.

Mid 1992: Knee-deep in research for the documentary, Schuyler begins to feel the material dictates a different genre. Using the information they have uncovered, the pwt partners put the documentary on hold to develop a one-hour dramatic series, X-Rated.

As creative producer, Schuyler begins to develop the initial characters and outline of the series, which is set against the overeducated and underemployed tapestry of the twentysomething generation. Telefilm Canada kicks in $310,000 from the Canadian Broadcasters Program Development Fund and the Production Revenue Sharing Program for development. Much of the money will be invested in actor’s workshops.

Late 1992: It is becoming more and more apparent that, professionally, the longtime partners are going in different directions. Hood wants to concentrate on one-offs while Schuyler is committed to producing dramatic episodic television.

The first three episodes of the X-Rated series are almost completed. Hood and Schuyler amalgamate them into a two-hour mow. This works well as a last project for the pair – Hood gets to work on a one-off mow and Schuyler gets to see her characters on screen. They form Epitome Pictures for the purpose of making the mow and begin their search for ‘The Pit’ – the apartment building that will house the twentysomethings.

June 1993: A good omen: they find the perfect Pit!

July 1993: Epitome holds a series of actor’s workshops before shooting begins.

August 1993: Principal photography begins on X-Rated, budgeted at $2.2 million. Schuyler develops the series as one-hour episodes concurrently with the mow.

September 1993: Schuyler buys the rights to the series and Epitome. She begins talks with cbs for an American presale of the series.

February 1994: cbc broadcasts X-Rated.

March 1994: After X-Rated airs, Schuyler and cbc focus test the mow, taking out the bits that didn’t work and finding out which ones did. The series will be based on some of the characters from the movie and will be called Liberty Street. Creative players for the series are Susin Nielson, Barry Stevens and Yan Moore.

cbc informs Schuyler that its 1994/95 primetime schedule will not have room for a one-hour dramatic series. Schuyler is resistant at first, but redesigns the series and the scripts to fit a half-hour format. She realizes that the new format will make getting an American network impossible – it has already cost Epitome the potential of an American presale to cbs. Creatively, however, Schuyler sees the change as a blessing in disguise – American sales are often accompanied with a lot of creative interference.

Funding for the series comes from the Telefilm Broadcast Fund, Schuyler’s share of the prsp, cbc, Health Canada, tax shelters, the Ontario Film Investment Program and Schuyler’s own personal investment.

Outside of North America, Atlantis Releasing will handle distribution.

July 1994: Schuyler holds an intensive three-week workshop for the actors.

Principal photography begins on Liberty Street, budgeted at $450,000 per episode. Although the schedule is hectic (11 episodes by mid-October), the cast and crew are very enthusiastic about this project. Two weeks into the shoot, Schuyler has started to screen cuts for the first two episodes.

The first three episodes of Liberty Street will be directed by Paul Lynch. Other directors for subsequent episodes include Gail Harvey, Canadian Film Centre director trainee Alex Chapple, Bruce McDonald and Nick Kendall.

Ann-Marie MacDonald and Paul Aitken have also joined Epitome’s writing team.

The 11 episodes of Liberty Street will air on cbc beginning January 1995. Schuyler hopes to use the episodes, which only have a Canadian broadcaster, as an extended pilot.