– The death of David Carradine has dealt a blow to the indie feature Portland, from Vancouver/L.A.-based Random Bench Productions, which was set to star the veteran actor and begin shooting in July. ‘David’s character is pivotal to our film,’ says Adrian Salpeter executive producer and co-principal at Random Bench, which is producing the film with L.A.-based Iconoclastic Features. ‘We are just weeks from production, so it is a big loss for us. David brought real star power to this movie.’

+ Mongrel Media’s One Week got a special screening for VIPs at the National Gallery of Canada in Ottawa recently, an event put together by Heritage Minister James Moore. About 300 attended, including director Michael McGowan and stars Liane Balaban and Campbell Scott. One Week was released on DVD June 16.

– Numbers for Atom Egoyan’s Adoration are softer than expected out of the gate, with about $100,000 in box office in the first four weeks. ‘While we are somewhat disappointed in the grosses to date, we are extremely proud of Adoration, in terms of its critical reception and positive audience reaction that we have received in both North America and Europe,’ says Bryan Gliserman, co-president of E1 Entertainment, adding that the distributor expects ‘a long theatrical life from this picture before it goes to ancillary markets.’