New Line and Paramount vet posted to L.A., choosing titles for U.S. distribution arm

Beijing pic The Everlasting Flame among 400 titles. Losique snubs, then praises reporters at one-sided press conference

Indie startup Apparition plans to release biopic of British monarch in November, following TIFF bow

Filmmakers see silver lining in death of ’80s directing sensation, following a handshake deal for its world rights

TIFF lays out details for new urban-minded program. Yodeling concert, roller derby set for outdoor site

Trailer Park Boys: Countdown to Liquor Day to open Halifax fete in September

Home team picks at festival include Vallée’s bio of British monarch, Stefaniuk’s Suck and Sweeney’s Excited

Two years ago, Ottawa enacted legislation criminalizing camcording in cinemas. And yet in May, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative placed Canada on its Priority Watch List – claiming ‘estimated trade losses due to copyright piracy’ in Canada in 2008 of US$742 million.

Maple Pictures has found the Holy Grail, and a dead parrot. The Toronto distributor has signed a multi-year deal to represent the Monty Python Film Collection. The sales agent rights for Canadian television puts Maple in charge of cult titles including 1975’s Monty Python & the Holy Grail, The Life of Brian and all 45 episodes of Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

KinoSmith has partnered with Hot Docs on a new line of DVDs. The distributor will launch The Hot Docs Collection, a joint effort that will include films seen at the festival and others chosen in consultation with its programmers. Kino will donate a portion of the revenues to Hot Docs’ education programs, while the festival will help promote the sale of the DVDs.

The world premiere of Ricardo Trogi’s 1981 will open the Montreal World Film Festival on Aug. 27. The autobiographical movie chronicles the Trogi family arriving in a new home in a Quebec City community. Ricardo, the sixth-grader of the family, promises all his more affluent classmates Playboy magazines to gain acceptance.

Call it evolution, a snub to Canadian film, or just clever programming as the Toronto International Film Festival picks the British-made Charles Darwin biopic Creation to open its 34th installment on Sept. 10.