On Dec. 17, Jacques Bensimon will walk out the front door of the National Film Board’s offices in Montreal, ending a five-year run as commissioner during which he – and, he is quick to remind, his staff and colleagues – have pulled the dear old board back from the brink of oblivion.

Asked for his favorite National Film Board movies made during his time as commissioner, Jacques Bensimon had a long list. These were the first 10.

The National Film Board has teamed up with St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto for its Filmmaker-in-Residence initiative, which promotes the use of media and film to affect social change.

Keep it Canuck, say our readers. In a recent online Playback poll asking ‘Should the Gemini Awards show incorporate U.S.-based talent?’, 68% of respondents said ‘No – it’s about the Canadian industry,’ while 32% voted ‘Yes – it attracts public interest.’

Dean Hamilton is directing the comedy feature Blonde & Blonder, not Bob Clark, as stated in the Oct. 30 issue.

You may recall a piece a couple of issues ago in which I addressed the across-the-board low ratings for the CBC’s new fall programs.
Well, the network wasn’t too happy about it.

Meagan Follows, Howie Mandel, Don Cherry and others lend their voices to the one-hour family special The Great Canadian Polar Bear Adventure, airing Dec. 10 on CBC. The Media Headquarters production, with animation by Optix Digital Pictures, is a bear’s eye view of life in the Artic, directed by Robert Cohen (The Big Show)

Making Across the River to Motor City posed several problems, according to creator and showrunner Bob Wertheimer – due mainly to its multiple storylines that take place in two different time periods in cities on opposite sides of the Canada/U.S. border.

A sequel to Bon Cop, Bad Cop is ‘stupidly inevitable’ given its runaway success and could go forward if cast and crew can find the time, according to producer Kevin Tierney.

Director Vanessa Parise (Kiss the Bride) has sent Freddie Prinze Jr. and Taryn Manning home, ending their 18-day stay in Toronto for Jack and Jill vs. The World.

Warner Bros. has sent Bryan Singer and first-time director Michael Dougherty north to Vancouver’s Lionsgate Studios for the two-month shoot of the horror comedy Trick ‘r Treat. Dougherty, who cowrote both Superman Returns and X-Men 2 for Singer, is working from his own script on this one, with Anna Paquin and Brian Cox heading the cast. Singer produces through his Bad Hat Harry Productions.

USA Network is shooting a 90-minute pilot for To Love and Die in L.A. until Dec. 1 in Vancouver. The would-be series stars Shiri Appleby (Six Degrees) as a young woman reunited with her contract killer father, played by Tim Matheson (The West Wing).