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Gems show needs to give more hype to Canuck shows
There were certainly things to like about the Gemini Awards’ Regina telecast on Oct. 28, but as a vehicle to promote Canadian television, it fell short of the mark.
How Brian De Palma’s Redacted got… well, redacted
Jennifer Weiss and Simone Urdl are known for protecting a director’s creative control on films they produce.
MindHabits ready to roll prize-winning game
Playing MindHabits’ Trainer can make you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and company execs insist their game is good for your state of mind.
Venturing into the blogosphere
Blogs are one of today’s most popular forms of online communication. Technorati, a social media search engine, currently tracks 97.7 million blogs, with more than 175,000 new ones being created daily.
Frank, Chellas and crew reteam for Knife
The team that brought The Eleventh Hour to Canadian screens is wrapping the Toronto shoot of its CTV MOW Who Named the Knife. A fictional adaptation of the 2007 book by Linda Spalding, the $4-million two-hour drama (set to also bow on Lifetime in the States) follows the budding relationship between a woman and a female convict who she believes is wrongfully imprisoned.
E! orders Emily
CanWest Global has ordered 13 half-hours of Producing Emily from Breakthrough Animation, with plans to air the adult-aimed toon on E! in primetime.
X-Files returns
The X-Files is coming back to Vancouver and will shoot a sequel to its 1998 feature starting next month. The movie for 20th Century Fox reunites creator Chris Carter with stars David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson, who will reprise their roles as FBI agents Fox Mulder and Dana Scully.
Headbanger duo feels Rush
Boutique Toronto distributor Grindstone Media is hoping to have a hit on its hands with Rush: The Documentary. The $1.5-million feature doc about the famed rock band is produced and directed by Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn (Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey) and executive produced by Grindstone president Paul Zimic.
Sci-fi redo settles in B.C.
Keanu Reeves will be in B.C. this winter, starring in the remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still for Twentieth Century Fox, which has settled on the West Coast after some delays. The picture has set up production offices at Vancouver Film Studios, but has yet to finalize its locations and soundstages. VFS is full.
Coltrane voices Gooby
Wilson Coneybeare (Monster Warriors) is making his feature directorial debut with Gooby, a children’s film shooting in Barrie, ON under his shingle Coneybeare Stories. The film, which Coneybeare also penned, features Scottish veteran Robbie Coltrane (the Harry Potter movies) as the voice of the titular creature who poses as a teddy bear and befriends a lonely young boy, played by Canuck actor Matthew Knight (The Greatest Game Ever Played).
CCI goes to the Dogs
CCI Entertainment and Scholastic Media are teaming up for the new CGI comedy series Racer Dogs. The Toronto production house is looking after worldwide distribution outside of the U.S., while Scholastic works stateside. The series, based on a book by illustrator Bob Kolar, is aimed at kids four to eight, with the goal of imparting relatable life lessons and social messages. It tells the story of a dog-filled town that is just wild about racing. Broadcast partners for the series are expected to be announced soon.
Worth the Weight
The Movie Network and Movie Central have ordered another eight scripts of the crime series The Weight, produced by Toronto’s The Nightingale Company, just as production on its first 8 x 60 run wraps in Toronto. Ron White (Lie with Me) and Daniel Kash (Fugitive Pieces) star as two cops, working with director Gail Harvey and writers/exec producers George F. Walker and Dani Romain
Laughing all the way to the bank
If Ed Robinson was a stand-up comic, he could be billed as a ‘one-man riot’.
Flagship series Corner Gas was a two-line pitch
Million-plus audiences for 70 consecutive original broadcasts make Corner Gas the hands-down success story on English-Canadian TV.
Funding Canuck hits is no laughing matter
There’s nothing funny about Brent Haynes’ new office. It’s black. It’s small. It’s almost entirely empty. There’s a laptop (black) on his desk (black), where the VP of The Comedy Network sits with his back to an immense bookcase which is empty (and again, black), but for a single box of DVDs. Season one of the sci-fi series Eureka.
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