Yaffe blames slip on high tax bill, looks ahead to ”stronger’ future with CanWest

Despite stern words from U.S. studio heads and politicians, the future of copyright reform remains foggy

Discovery Channel prepares the multimillion-dollar Mars programs for its fall schedule

Following the successful debut of daily podcasts from the Financial Post, the media giant readies celebrity and entertainment reports from its dose.ca

Feel free to unbuckle your seatbelts.
The roller-coaster ride that was the ACTRA strike has seemingly ended, and jobs are now sliding into Toronto from upcoming guest shoots The Incredible Hulk, Saw 4 and American Pie 6.

The projected number of HDTVs in the Canadian marketplace by 2010 – a year after the analog shutoff date in the U.S. – is 11 million.

The recent Independent Production Agreement talks between performers and producers were bungled, and as a result it may be slim pickings this summer for the service sector.

It’s business as usual at the Canadian Television Fund, but Bev Oda still has something of a black eye. Some say the heritage minister was too quiet during the two-month dispute, that the feds’ CTF renewal came late and that she is either unable – because of Tory indifference – or unwilling to defend programs in her portfolio. So we ask:

A short film was the big winner among Canadian entries at this year’s Oscars, which on Feb. 25 handed the hardware for best animated short to Montreal filmmaker Torill Kove for The Danish Poet.

Renowned animator Ryan Larkin, whose tumultuous life played out in Chris Landreth’s Oscar-winning short Ryan, died on Feb. 14 in St- Hyacinthe, QC following a battle with cancer. He was 63.

Robert Lantos and former Tri-Star Pictures president Jeff Sagansky made an unspecified multi-million-dollar investment in Blueprint Entertainment, closing a deal on Feb. 28 that will see the L.A.- and Toronto-based prodco expand its operations and production efforts.