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.

The breakdown of last month’s talks between ACTRA, the CFTPA and APFTQ has at least one notable producer scouting locations in B.C. – just in case the angry talk from both sides leads to a strike.

Vancouver: The opening of the Canadian Association of Broadcasters’ 80th anniversary convention set the stage for the coming CRTC review of over-the-air television, with the conflicting interests of private broadcasters and the production community immediately coming to the fore.

Alliance Atlantis will next year tear down and rebuild one of its cornerstone channels when its Life Network is relaunched in March as Slice, a ‘guilty pleasure’ lifestyle channel aimed at women aged 18-49.

Montreal: The Festival du Nouveau Cinéma enjoyed a 38% boost in attendance and favorable reviews this year, which founder and director Claude Chamberlan is crediting to its lineup.

The Rick Mercer Report enjoyed its highest ratings of the season Oct. 31 when 945,000 tuned in to CBC for his tête-à-tête with Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The PM invited Mercer to sleep over at 24 Sussex Drive, with bedtime reading from the federal Accountability Act.

The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2006 and DVD sales in Canada for the period Oct. 16-22, 2006.

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.

Death of a President – the controversial mock doc from director Gabriel Range – may have bombed in the U.S., but its fictionalized assassination of George W. Bush has fared better in Canada where Maple Pictures distributes.

Vancouver: When was the last time the Toronto press referred to the Gemini Awards as a ‘historic and dazzling ceremony?’

Top 20 TV Programs tracks ratings for the top 20 television shows in Canada for the period Oct. 23-29, 2006.

Montreal: It’s not just English Canadians who aren’t watching this country’s public broadcaster. Nearly two months into the fall TV season, most French-speaking Canadians aren’t tuning in to Radio-Canada’s latest slate of homegrown drama, either.