IT was with incredulity that I read your story about the pending sale of Craig Media in the Feb. 2 issue of Playback (p. 2). In it your reporter quotes unnamed ‘observers’ who say the sale of Craig Media ‘means an end to Western Canada’s role in broadcasting’ and the end of ‘the era of the family-run [broadcasting] business.’

It isn’t easy to produce a movie based on a video game. Not only are you competing with blockbusters such as the Tomb Raider and Resident Evil franchises, but also the very nature of these games demands an action-packed, FX-rich film.

The Motion Picture Sound Editors organization has announced its 2003 Golden Reel Awards nominations, and several Canucks figure among them.

Vancouver: Omni Film Productions in Vancouver has put out the welcome mat for emerging writers and directors with the new CTV series Robson Arms (formerly Keys Cut Here).
The drama/comedy series – which is a B.C./Nova Scotia coproduction with Creative Atlantic Communications (Janice Evans and Greg Jones) in Halifax – tells the stories of the residents of Robson Arms, an apartment building in Vancouver’s urban West End neighborhood.

Producers Mike Frislev and Chad Oakes of Calgary-based Nomadic Pictures are not accustomed to profiting from the likes of Hollywood’s most famous madame, but as producers of the recent US$5-million TV movie based on the life of Heidi Fleiss, they were willing to make an exception.

If their stack of research papers is any indication, Jack Blum and Sharon Corder are clearly very ‘into’ writing their new project. The husband and wife team, who previously put in time at Traders and Power Play, and whose short DNA played last year’s festival circuit, showed up at a recent lunch meeting proudly showing off a phonebook-sized heap of newspapers and clippings – all from the 1930s, all about a forgotten natural disaster that killed hundreds and knocked this city on its collective, post-Victorian ass.

The Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Arts’ 60th anniversary in 2003 marked a distinct change in direction for the performers union, as it reorganized to address new challenges facing its 21,000 members in an increasingly uncertain domestic production industry.

In addition to presenting Sonja Smits with its award of excellence (see story, p.19), ACTRA Toronto will also be honoring Canada’s top talent with its 2004 awards for outstanding performance.

Sonja Smits is being presented with ACTRA Toronto’s Award of Excellence at a Feb. 20 ceremony. And while the actor’s impressive volume of work has made her one of Canada’s most recognizable talents, the award also acknowledges her lesser-known role as a passionate activist for indigenous film and television production, which has seen her involved with several ACTRA initiatives.

Private funding will contribute more to the film, TV and new media industries this year than the federal government will to the Canadian Television Fund.

The following is the 2004 edition of Playback’s annual digest of regional funding and investment sources available for Canadian independent film and television program development, production and/or distribution.

Domestic production plateaued in 2002 and 2003 and is likely in the midst of its first marked decline in over a decade, according to the CFTPA/APFTQ’s comprehensive production study Profile 2004.
According to research in the 54-page study, published annually by the CFTPA and APFTQ, production grew by 4% in 2002/03 to $4.93 billion, up from $4.75 billion the previous year.