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Grace Cianciotta 1964-2008
Film marketing expert Grace Cianciotta succumbed to breast cancer on Jan. 7 at Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto. She was 43.
People
• At Alliance Films, Mark Slone has been upped to SVP of Odeon Films. Formerly SVP of marketing and publicity, he is now responsible for U.S., Canadian and international theatrical releases.
Sold!
• Naked News has struck a series of franchise agreements that will see its clothing-free coverage produced in Spanish, Italian and Korean. The Toronto-based netcaster, which boasts viewers in 172 nations, says it is looking to be a more international service, ‘much like CNN or BBC World.’
Hot Not Next
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The Burning Question
Ho-hum. Another January, another week in Vegas. NATPE is back at its usual digs this month and, call it a hunch, but something tells us that there’ll be big demand for anything made outside the reach of the WGA. (‘Cops! Get yer reruns of Cops here! Booth 11-A!’)
Toronto picture has plans – for Toronto
Toronto filmmakers David Weaver, Sudz Sutherland, Aaron Woodley and Sook-Yin Lee are putting the finishing touches on their ensemble feature Toronto Stories, for distributor Christal Films, and have set their sights on the Toronto International Film Festival to launch the project.
Fox, Abrams bring Fringe
Toronto Film Studios is hosting the two-hour pilot for Fringe, putting up the big-budget effort from J.J. Abrams until March. The supernatural series for Fox arrives with a reported budget of US$10 million, exec produced by Abrams (Lost) with Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, his cohorts in the new Star Trek movie, plus Bryan Burk (Cloverfield) and Alex Graves (The West Wing). Graves will also direct.
Halifax hosts Circle
An MOW starring Kelly Preston has begun shooting in Halifax and Windsor, NS. An adaptation of the Jodi Picoult novel The Tenth Circle, the picture of the same name went to camera on Jan. 12 for a 19-day shoot.
Wahlberg to the Max
Twentieth Century Fox and director John Moore (Behind Enemy Lines) are booked at Toronto Film Studios through May to shoot Max Payne, a redo of the action-heavy video game. Mark Wahlberg has signed on for the title role, playing a DEA agent out to avenge the murder of his wife and child. Fred Baron exec produces with Tom Karnowski, Julie Yorn and Scott Faye.
Emily renamed, moved to cable
Canwest has changed its mind about Producing Emily, though only slightly. The series from Breakthrough Animation, about the harried producer of a daytime talk show, has been retitled and shifted from E! to TVtropolis. It’s now called Producing Parker, but is otherwise unchanged, according to a Breakthrough spokesperson.
Ceeb orders Animals
Decode Entertainment has landed distribution rights for the new preschool series Animal Mechanicals, from creator Jeff Rosen (Poko) and DHX Media, its sister company under Halifax Film.
Industry bullish despite challenges
No one is predicting a banner year, but the industry in the Prairies is optimistic about the pending season despite bleak production forecasts elsewhere for 2008.
Calgary closer to new studio
Calgary is one step closer to getting a much-needed studio complex.
What’s on the go in the Prairies
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