Industry insider/displaced regional Bulgarian producer/resurrected satirist Dan Pierce shares his wit, savvy and front-line experiences dealing in the Canadian film and television community. On a semi-regular basis, Dan will highlight some of the more telling moments of his everyday life -…

* On the heels of a pink slip frenzy that saw 130 Imax Corp. workers lose their jobs, the large-format company has hired former MGM/UA executive Greg Foster to develop and produce large-format movies for the Toronto-based exhibition chain. He will…

Just weeks after Corus conceded to sell its stake in Family Channel, CTV has chosen a trustee to effect the sale of its interest in Sportsnet.
In approving CTV’s acquisition of NetStar, which included the top-rated sports channel TSN, the CRTC ruled in March 2000 that the broadcaster must divest its 40% interest in Sportsnet within a year.
The concern was, of course, that, with the acquisition of TSN, CTV would have an unfair competitive advantage in the sports programming arena.
However, with Rogers Broadcasting (BCE’s foremost cable competitor) holding a 29% interest in the channel (with an additional 10% in trust), as well as first right of refusal on its sale, CTV has waited until the final hour before surrendering the channel.

Vancouver: The Okanagan Film Commission and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District have each received $60,000 from the B.C. government to help attract film and television productions….

Recent Oscar winners are making space on their mantelpieces for their latest piece of hardware, and to some extent they can thank Vancouver’s Leader Cinema Systems for its part in the overall process. The company installed its Leader Hollywood Format (LHF)…

Vancouver: Pinewood Sound in Vancouver was among the thankees in Jon Johnson’s Oscar acceptance speech as winner of best sound editing for Universal’s submarine movie U571….

To some, Angel Films director Aubrey Singer’s ‘Lightning Strikes Again’ spot for the Canadian National Institute for the Blind is shocking. The 30-second PSA for the CNIB’s first lottery fundraiser is currently airing across Canada and is generating some great response…

Workers Compensation …

The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences has nominated a small but significant number of Canadian programs and talent for the 28th annual Daytime Emmy Awards, to be broadcast from Radio City Music Hall on May 18….

The Local Heroes International Film Festival in Edmonton wound up its 15th anniversary year with the sellout of the international premiere screening of Lyndon Chubbuck’s The War Bride, starring Molly Parker. However, some of the eight-day festival’s biggest moments came from…

Demand is increasing for the 36 preselected pitch slots at Hot Docs’ second annual Toronto Documentary Forum, May 2-3….

Andy Keen’s Toronto commercial production start-up, The Horse’s Mouth, must have had a line in the launch budget for carrots. To promote the new shop, Keen shipped fresh carrots all over Toronto along with the company’s demo reel.
The Horse’s Mouth describes itself as ‘a unique company specializing in independent commercial production with budgets under $40,000.’ The company’s doors opened in mid-March, coinciding with the mass shipment of carrots and reels. ‘The package went out to 45 or 50 agencies,’ Keen says.
Whether the carrots improve the vision of those viewing the company reel remains to be seen. However, Keen is confident there is a market for his new-style company.