Days ahead of the Dec. 19 DVD release of Bon Cop, Bad Cop – expected by distributor Alliance Atlantis to eclipse the recent success of kids show phenom Passe-Partout – star Colm Feore talked with Playback about building buzz, making sandwiches and ditching Denzel Washington.

In 2006, Alliance Atlantis’ Bon Cop, Bad Cop became the all-time highest-grossing domestic film at the local box office, but overall market share for Canuck films stood below Canadian Heritage’s 5% target and Quebec’s New Wave stalled for the first time in five years.

Apart from the dozen television screens broadcasting CTV content, the first thing you notice in Ivan Fecan’s office is his desk. It’s oval – and there’s enough room around the marble tabletop for a small platoon. The typical oak coffin separating the leader from his minions is definitely not Fecan’s style.

Ivan Fecan’s multimedia clan will have to wait a while for the arrival of CHUM, the latest addition to its fast-growing family, as the CRTC and the Competition Bureau analyze their way through two regulatory processes geared around media concentration that might be the most complex broadcast deal either has yet faced.

In Ivan Fecan’s recent one-on-one with Playback, he addressed a wide-ranging number of topics, including the future of digital distribution, the CBC, and the matter of Cancon. Below are some excerpts.

If you were to venture past a Wal-Mart in Quebec in the wee hours of Nov. 21, you might have guessed that Sony had airdropped replenishments of the PS3 gaming console.

People who know producer Christina Jennings joke that she’s a lot like a bulldog terrier.

A funny thing happened to Creative Excellence Award winner Jennifer Baichwal on the way to her PhD and life as an academic.

Telefilm Canada’s sweeping changes to both the English- and French-language components of its Canada Feature Film Fund lower the bar for performance envelopes on the English side while making access to funds more equitable on the French.

Canada’s recently dethroned box-office champ Porky’s – which saw its $11.2-million domestic box office take surpassed last month by Bon Cop, Bad Cop – celebrates its 25th anniversary with a modest splash on home video Nov. 21.

Carol Whiteman had a revelation while serving as chair of ACTRA B.C.’s women’s committee in 1995. She was involved in a series of panel discussions with successful women in the industry, when a survey of the participants after the fact yielded some interesting results.

The Actors’ Fund of Canada reports that demand for its services has nearly doubled over the past five years. The industry-supported charitable organization – a resource for unemployed entertainment workers – is delivering about $400,000 per year in emergency aid, for a total of $3 million over the past 10 years.