Dan Hughes is producer of Startv and The 2004 Genie Awards

Following are the 2004 Genie nominees as provided by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

There are many theories as to why English-Canadian movies languish at the box office: cash-strapped or indifferent marketing, greedy exhibitors, and/or the insurmountable competition of Hollywood product. Some say you can’t compare the situation to that in Quebec, where the French language gives films a built-in audience.
But Gerald Pratley, Canada’s longest-serving film critic, lays the blame elsewhere. ‘Clearly, it’s in the films themselves,’ he says.

Analog specialty television services in Canada continue to grow and cover the substantial operating losses of the new digital channels, says a new revenue survey of Canadian specialty, pay and pay-per-view television services published by the CRTC on March 2.

The bullets keep coming but The Eleventh Hour keeps dodging. Despite some ratings dips and awkward scheduling by the network, the newsy drama has been greenlit for a third season on CTV, proving yet again that reports of its death had been greatly exaggerated.

The third time proved a charm for Montreal filmmaker Denys Arcand, as his internationally acclaimed drama The Barbarian Invasions won the Academy Award for best foreign-language film at the annual Oscar ceremony at Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre, Feb. 29.

The door to Alberta closed on CHUM Television last month when federal regulators denied the Toronto media giant’s application to launch stations in Calgary and Edmonton, setting back the company’s expansion efforts while throwing a bone to its troubled rival Craig Media.

Vancouver: Leaders at major British Columbia film and television production unions have until June 1 to consult with members and voluntarily implement a series of recommendations laid out in a report by B.C. Supreme Court Justice David Tysoe or face potential legislation.

After the SARS outbreak last spring, production spending in Hollywood North went south, dropping 18.5% from $1.06 billion in 2002 to just $864 million, according to numbers recently released by the City of Toronto. Feature film and television spending fell to roughly $723 million, down 18.4% from the previous year, while commercials, music videos and other small shoots also dropped, down 20% and 3%, respectively.

While feature films in English Canada continue to struggle even with big P&A spends and promotional campaigns, the Quebec industry pumps out success stories in both languages.

Toronto distributor ThinkFilm may have finally figured out how to get English-Canadians into theaters to watch domestic films; you have to pay them.

Redekopp signs off