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TV
Ellis stars in new CMT series
Two new original comedies are hitting CMT this winter…
Playback’s Person of the Year: E1’s Darren Throop
Back in ’73, when Jim Croce was figuring out how to save time in a bottle, a small music retailer named Records on Wheels was revving up its engine for the very first time. Few might have guessed that one day the humble record shop would become a mini-major – Entertainment One – with a powerhouse management group and assets in Canada, the U.K., the U.S. and the Benelux region.
The Small Screen: Private nets hope CRTC will show them the money
The cost-cutters are restless.
Damnfx latest Montreal post shop to shutter
MONTREAL — Right in the middle of working on a $1-million post-production job for Red Cliff: Part II, the sequel to John Woo’s third-century Chinese epic Red Cliff: Part I, post shop damnfx has officially shut its doors, leaving a trail of unemployed workers.
Q&A: Michel Arpin reflects on critical year and road ahead
There was an unprecedented flurry of activity in Gatineau, QC over the past 12 months, what with the CRTC’s approval of the Canwest Global takeover of Alliance Atlantis, hearings on the Canadian Television Fund and the BDUs, and decisions that rewrite the entire Canadian broadcasting system. The coming year looks to be no less momentous, with broadcasters up for licence renewals, terms of trade to be ironed out between producers and casters, and the regulatory role in new media needing to be defined.
Op-Ed: Who will inherit the airwaves?
Dr. Rita Shelton Deverell has had a long, varied career in Canadian broadcasting. She was one of the founders of VisionTV, as well as being the face of the channel as on-air host. She later served as director of news and current affairs for the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. She is a journalism teacher as well as a theater writer and performer, and a TV producer/director, with credits including ‘Solo Flight: International’ (OMNI) and ‘Solo Flight: West’ (SCN). Her many honors include a Quebecor Banff Mentorship Award, and she is a member of the Order of Canada and the CAB Hall of Fame.
Industry remembers Ted Rogers
Over the decades Ted Rogers ended every pitch to impatient investors with the words ‘the best is yet to come.’
Defendor takes flight at Darius
Putting together an A-list cast with an unknown director can be tricky, but Nicholas Tabarrok insists a top-notch script helped pull in talent such as Woody Harrelson and Sandra Oh for Defendor, currently shooting in Toronto and Hamilton, ON.
Quebec comics star in Peepers
A band of voyeurs who rove the rooftops of Montreal peering through windows is the basis for Peepers. The comedy is the latest creative endeavor by Automatic Vaudeville, a local comedy troupe. It’s also the first-time feature effort by producer Andi State, who has worked primarily in talent management with her company Encore Entertainment, handling such actors as Jessica Paré and Tim Post.
Boll, Brightlight pair up again
Brightlight Pictures and Uwe Boll (Dungeon Siege) are back at it, shooting The Storm in Vancouver with former Beverly Hills, 90210 star Luke Perry and The Guard’s Steve Bacic. Perry plays a mysterious stranger who takes refuge with a couple, played by Bacic and Lauren Holly of Navy NCIS, and their young son.
Muse hires Marsters
Muse Entertainment went back to Romania in November with Alien Western, an MOW about giant bugs in the Old West. James Marsters of Buffy the Vampire Slayer fame stars as an outlaw who leads a small gang of survivors against the alien creatures. Muse, which was in Romania earlier this fall with Sand Serpents, and Media Pro are producing for Sci-Fi Channel and Super Channel.
Let’s make a Dealership
Canwest has ordered a pilot for the one-hour The Dealership, giving the green light to producers Virginia Thompson and Robert de Lint (Corner Gas) and Jeff Beesley (Borderline Normal). The project, to be showrun by Andrew Wreggitt (Mayerthorpe, Shades of Black), is billed as a comedic drama about a family-run used car lot stricken by such topical problems as the credit crunch and the world’s economic woes.
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