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TV
Getting from page to screen
‘Mandate creep’ is an insidious bureaucratic disease whereby an institution draws more and more elements into its orbit, until it can’t keep track of them anymore…
Quick exit for CFTPA’s Guy Mayson
Guy Mayson has left the CFTPA, stepping down from his post as head of the producers’ association after 12 years with the organization. Mayson says his term as president and CEO, which began in 2004, expired in March and that, with the recent conclusion of the Prime Time conference and the CRTC’s new media hearing, it seemed like ‘it was time to go.’
Where are the women directors?
Why do so few women direct feature films in Canada?
Hot Sheet: Maverick U.S. producer shoots Lullaby for Pi in Canada
Alternately dubbed the ‘American indie super-producer’ or the ‘Queen of the New Queer Cinema’, Christine Vachon is not above the conflicts that plague other indies – namely the struggle between art and commerce. At a recent master class in Montreal, the American indie (I’m Not There, Boys Don’t Cry) told Playback that government subsidies tend to make ‘flabby’ films. But that hasn’t stopped her from using Canadian loonies and French Euros on the romantic drama Lullaby for Pi, her $7.7-million copro with Kevin DeWalt currently shooting in Regina.
B.C. booms in ’08
Foreign location shooting in B.C. bounced back last year as the province enjoyed a 30% increase in total movie production spending versus 2007. According to recent data from the B.C. Film Commission, production spending, which includes film and television, rose to $1.2 billion in 2008, with the bulk of the gain in foreign feature film activity. The sector generated $442 million – an increase of 146% over 2007.
Bold move raises questions
The CBC is being hauled before the CRTC to explain how rebranding Country Canada as bold did not violate its terms of licence. The regulator will hold a June 2 public hearing to determine if bold, which relaunched last March, airs programming that ‘provides information, interaction and entertainment from a rural perspective.’ Country Canada, initially called Land and Sea, was licensed in 2000 under these conditions.
Network quiet on new budget
CBC’s board has approved a new, leaner budget, but won’t confirm if layoffs are imminent, says a pubcaster spokesman. ‘We will inform our staff before we go to the media,’ CBC spokesman Marco Dubé told Playback.
Canwest’s Aussie network not for sale
Canwest Global Communications denied Australian reports it has begun to shop its controlling stake in Network Ten to potential buyers. Canwest spokesman John Douglas said the March 16 report in the Australian Financial Review was ‘sheer speculation’ and that the Winnipeg-based broadcaster will remain an investor in the network and
Lenders cut Canwest some slack
Canwest Media has secured an April 7 extension on talks with its bankers to rejig its $300-million credit facility, as it opens up a second channel of talks with lenders to recapitalize the company. In February, lenders cut Canwest’s access to the credit facility to $112 million. The latest extension will allow the Canwest Global subsidiary to continue shopping assets to raise cash to rework its balance sheet.
Pact responds to ad ban
Pact, the U.K. producer body, has called for a re-evaluation of the recent government ban of product placement. Says the group: ‘Relaxing the usage of product placement would inject more than £72m [$128 million] into the UK television market in the short term, while creating more opportunities for UK production companies to compete worldwide and attract overseas investment, at a time when UK broadcasters are reeling from the effects of the recession… We believe the main issue is not whether or not it should be allowed, but how it is governed, to ensure transparency and restrict it from being overtly prominent.’
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