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Netflix hits 10M
Online movie rental service Netflix has topped the 10-million subscriber mark, thanks to the addition of 600,000 new subscribers since the beginning of January. The company says it is on track for 11.3 million subscribers by the end of the year.
Jumbo studio opening in N.C.
North Carolina will pump $15 million into building a 37,500-square-foot soundstage, falling short of Filmport’s 45,900-square-foot cavern. The EUE/Screen Gems Studios in Wilmington, already the largest North American studio complex outside of Los Angeles, will open its 10th soundstage this spring.
U.K. casters cut back
In the U.K., ITV has joined the ranks of Channel 4 and the BBC in freezing the pay of its top execs. All ITV employees earning over £60,000 ($108,500) will receive no pay increase in 2009. The move will affect about 10% of ITV staff. Staff making less than £25,000 ($44,500) will see raises under the inflation threshold.
U.S. filmmakers get their green on
The Filmmakers for Conservation, the American University’s Center for Social Media and the Center for Environmental Filmmaking have put forth a guide to help doc filmmakers be green behind the lens. The Code of Best Practices in Sustainable Filmmaking is a guide for small and large independent doc filmmakers, complete with checklists and carbon dioxide trackers. An array of small and simple activities and considerations are included in the checklist, from encouraging the use of SKYPE instead of traveling to meetings, to replacing disposable cups with refillable ones. The publication is available at www.centerforsocialmedia.org.
Survivorman extinct
Interviewed at the RealScreen Summit, Survivorman Les Stroud talked about the end of his popular OLN series after three successful seasons. Stroud admitted he doesn’t want audiences to get tired of the show, and suggested the series was taking a toll. ‘I’ve slept on the rocks, in the mud and I’m not getting any younger,’ he said. Although Survivorman has run its course, Stroud will remain in the entertainment space with books and other media.
Four get Rocket power
Shaw Communications has put four shows in the running for its $50,000 annual Rocket Prize. The company nodded to Spectra Animation’s Fred’s Head, Sienna Films’ How She Move, seasons three and four of Instant Star from Epitome Pictures, and the CTV MOW Sticks & Stones, produced through Cirrus Communications and Dream Street Pictures. A jury of about 800 grade school students from the Royal Conservatory of Music in Toronto will vote on a winner, to be announced on May 6.
Network profits plunge
The poor financial showing of Canada’s private conventional networks will likely set the tone of the upcoming licence renewal hearings, as new CRTC data shows profits declined by more than 90% last year. Broadcasters including CTV, Canwest Global, Rogers’ Citytv and Quebec’s TVA saw profits slide from $112 million in 2007 to $8 million before interest and taxes, according to a recent report released by the federal regulator.
Peace Arch leans further into TV
Veteran TV producer and webcaster Robert Essery became the sole chairman of Peace Arch Entertainment after former co-chairman and major shareholders Jeff Sagansky and Drew Craig completed their separate boardroom departures. Essery, who is currently CEO of publicly traded How To Web TV and has been a director of Peace Arch since 2005, became co-chairman alongside Sagansky last July. Both Craig and Sagansky remain major investors in Peace Arch.
Arab network to try again with CRTC
Al-Jazeera’s English service has launched a bid to air in Canada and will seek approval from the CRTC for cable and satellite carriage, the Qatar-based network has announced. It is the first push by Al-Jazeera English for a spot on Canadian airwaves, though its Arab-language counterpart was okayed amid great controversy in 2004, but in the end distributors refused to pick up the channel.
Corus cuts some Trax
Corus Entertainment is stepping back from Max Trax, its pay audio service, selling the assets of the service to Stingray Digital Group in a deal valued at approximately $16 million. Stingray secured a licence to operate a national pay audio programming undertaking from the CRTC in December of last year.
Dinosaurs hit the road
CCI Entertainment has linked with live-event producer Sphere Entertainment to take its preschooler show Harry and His Bucket Full of Dinosaurs on the road as a live musical. CCI and Sphere – a Toronto outfit that has staged similar adaptations of kiddie shows, including Max & Ruby and Bananas in Pyjamas – said that they will take Harry across Canada this year.
Enter the Dragon
Breakthrough Films & Television is dusting off Dudley the Dragon. The Toronto company says it will bring back its once-signature character in a new CGI-animated series, along with original cast member Graham Greene. Executive producer Joan Lambur is attached, and development is underway. The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon – produced for TVOntario and fronted by an eight-foot-tall green dragon – debuted in 1993 and went on to air in more than 180 territories.
TVO salutes King with contest
A two-phase tribute to acclaimed documentarian Allan King is in the works at TVOntario, which last month launched a documentary contest, to be followed by a retrospective of his work, as part of its Allan King Film Festival. TVO called on students and would-be filmmakers to submit an original five-minute doc to the fest, for an opportunity to have King evaluate their work.
Cineplex boosted by action, expansion
The numbers were up across the board at Cineplex last year. The company has reported record-setting numbers on the strength of adult-skewing action films and expansion beyond movies. The country’s largest exhibitor ‘experienced its best year ever in 2008,’ said president and CEO Ellis Jacob in the fourth-quarter and year-end report. ‘We achieved new all-time records in key metrics including attendance, box office, concession, other revenue and total revenue.’
Governor General fetes Walker, Gross
Writer George F. Walker and filmmaker Paul Gross will each add a Governor General prize to their list of achievements, having been…
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