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Moves & Signings
MOVES
Straight Up & Down
+ Alliance Vivafilm’s De père en flic made an appearance on Parliament Hill, where Heritage Minister James Moore and other MPs screened the Quebec box-office hit. The high-flying Père has grossed almost $11 million since its release in July. Moore himself arranged a similar event in the spring, putting his colleagues in front of One Week.
Rethinking the federal tax credit
‘The federal tax credit is laughable,’ says Arnie Gelbart, founder and president of Galafilm. The Montreal company has produced such features as Thom Fitzgerald’s The Hanging Garden and Lea Poole’s The Blue Butterfly as well as several major TV documentary series including The Great War and The Valour and the Horror.
Claude Chamberlan shoots for film mecca in Montreal
It is debatable whether Claude Chamberlan is a lunatic or a genius.
Fee-for-carriage demands should raise questions
When I was growing up, my father much preferred listening to hockey games on radio rather than watch them on television. It took him years to convert. He seemed to connect more with the play-by-play announcers on radio than TV, and cherished the experience of visualizing the play instead of actually seeing it.
Quebec production on the upswing in both languages
‘It’s harder and easier at the same time,’ says Hans Fraikin, film commissioner for the Quebec Film and Television Council, referring to the state of film production in his province. The good news first: there is a lot more soft money available.
Quebec service production poised to pounce
There’s been a virtual frenzy of phone activity at the Quebec Film and Television Council, but almost no new deals are inked for service shoots in Quebec, despite the loonie-busting 25% ‘everything counts’ tax incentive introduced by the province in June.
Half the population watches Quebec TV on sundays
On a recent Sunday night in Quebec, over three million viewers were watching homegrown television on a conventional network.
Writers, producers agree to 2% raise
Echoing sentiments heard earlier this year from actors, the Writers Guild of Canada says an atmosphere of co-operation, in light of ‘uncertainty’ in the industry, has led to a new two-year deal with film and TV producers.
‘Modest’ pay hike for B.C. actors
Actors in British Columbia have shaken hands with Canadian and U.S. producers on a new three-year performers contract.
New deal for gamemakers
Ontario is again tinkering with its tax credit for video game developers, proposing a 35% break for companies that rack up at least $1 million in labor expenses per year. The proposed changes, part of a fall economic outlook tabled by Finance Minister Dwight Duncan, fall under the Ontario Interactive Digital Media Tax Credit which was reworked earlier this year – granting breaks of 35% and 40%, respectively, for service companies and those that develop their own products.
More gaming money from Ontario
Ontario is spending another $605,000 to spur video game development and production. The provincial government is steering the dollars towards producers through three new training programs at Interactive Ontario, a not-for-profit trade group.
CRTC puts brakes on throttling
The CRTC has put the brakes on Internet throttling, laying down new guidelines for Internet service providers that allow the controversial practice only as ‘a last resort.’ The federal regulator is also calling for greater transparency from ISPs, requiring them to provide more information about their services to consumers.
Media companies announce results
As a fall chill descends on the Canadian landscape and holiday parties begin to be penciled into the calendar, a young media mogul’s mind turns to one thing: quarterly results. And they are largely positive.
Canwest bows DIY Canada
DIY Canada has arrived. The ‘hard-core home improvement’ channel bowed in October, offering viewers ways to ‘cut costs and increase the value of their homes,’ in light of the current economic slump, says Canwest’s lifestyle SVP Karen Gelbart.
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