Vancouver: The business partnership that most industry insiders consider the catalyzing agent for the current success of Peace Arch Entertainment on the West Coast has come to an end….

The 15th annual Gemini Awards will both celebrate its past and embrace the future….

Top directing prospects are introduced to the industry through these exciting (and valuable) rookie cards. We look at a fresh director’s career up till now, along with their special skills and vital stats…

Although Vancouver-based Peace Arch Entertainment’s new Toolshed Media facilities are ‘still in boxes,’ the team has been very productive since its reshaping in July and has already produced spots for three clients….

While Alliance Atlantis Communications, perhaps Canada’s most delicious takeover target, is positioning itself for some major acquisitions, talks, if any, are being kept firmly under wraps….

I wish there were a smart, funny, and especially cheeky word that rhymed with ‘convergence’, so I could smugly rhyme away, sapping the sauce from that self-important trisyllabic monstrosity. But I can’t think of one….

Vancouver: Writers of Canadian one-hour dramas with per-episode budgets of $1 million will get a raise of almost $2,600 starting Nov. 1 if members of the Writers Guild of Canada approve a new contract….

Richard Stursberg, president and ceo of Cancom, has resigned from his short-standing position with the satellite company, which, as part of the recent wic-split transaction, has become part of the Shaw Communications group of companies….

In the last issue of Playback (Sept. 18, pp. 10-11), we examined some issues around iatse’s plans to organize commercial technicians in Toronto. Time to offer a little more info….

Toolshed Media director William Morrison spun gold at this year’s MuchMusic Video Awards, with his clip for Matthew Good Band’s Load Me Up scoring best video and best rock video honors….

Gemini nominee for best direction in a dramatic series (Mentors) Fred Frame comes from a solid commercial background – in fact he says he was ‘almost exclusively commercial until three years ago.’…

Ken Finkleman, nominated for a Gemini in the best direction in a dramatic series category for his work on cbc’s Foolish Heart, is sure he doesn’t stand a chance. ‘I don’t think I’ll win. I think [that episode] is a comedy….