HOT

There are certain things that the Brits do very, very well. But breathing new life into a wheezing, white elephant of a studio isn’t as simple as naval warfare or drinking three pints of stout at lunch. Now that the storied U.K. company is running the troubled Toronto mega-studio, we can’t help but wonder: Can Pinewood turn Filmport around?

+ Quebec actor Pierre Lebeau will receive a special tribute at the 33rd Montreal World Film Festival (Aug. 27 to Sept. 7). The actor, who sprang to fame after appearing in the four Les Boys movies, will be given the festival’s highest honor, the Grand Prize of the Americas.

In the July 6 issue of Playback, new Canada Media Fund board member Ron Osborne was inaccurately credited with a previous leadership role at Southam. Osborne has had leadership roles at Ontario Hydro, Ontario Power Generation and Maclean Hunter, as well as a number of boards.

Canwest Global Communications has begun to shift its struggling E!-branded stations, with specialty and pay broadcaster Channel Zero picking up CHCH in Hamilton and CJNT in Montreal. Channel Zero and Canwest did not specify a selling price as part of their sales agreement.

Bell TV indicated it will increase the price of its TV packages as early as September, while Rogers Communications predicted that Canadians will pay between $50 million and $100 million more per year for conventional TV signals as fallout continued in light of the CRTC’s change of heart on fee-for-carriage.

ACTRA members have ratified a new agreement with the CFTPA and the APFTQ, taking a 2% pay increase each year for the next three years. The remaining terms of the Independent Production Agreement remain unchanged, following generally co-operative talks between the union and the producers associations in the spring. The actors union says its members voted 98.3% in favor of the new deal.

Famed directors split ‘creative’ category as Playback names inductees to its annual honors. Plummer, Topalovich also to be cheered during TIFF

CKX to run both ‘extremely local’ and ‘wow television’ following purchase by Toronto ad man Bruce Claassen

Docs and other titles made available to airlines outside Canada

Ten movies from 2006 tying up financial reports for ’08 and ’09 says company

Telepathic medic sidelined in the U.S. Second season still possible, says Jennings