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NFB partners with Toronto hospital
The National Film Board has teamed up with St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto for its Filmmaker-in-Residence initiative, which promotes the use of media and film to affect social change.
Readership Poll Results
Keep it Canuck, say our readers. In a recent online Playback poll asking ‘Should the Gemini Awards show incorporate U.S.-based talent?’, 68% of respondents said ‘No – it’s about the Canadian industry,’ while 32% voted ‘Yes – it attracts public interest.’
Correction
Dean Hamilton is directing the comedy feature Blonde & Blonder, not Bob Clark, as stated in the Oct. 30 issue.
Comment: CBC at the crossroads
You may recall a piece a couple of issues ago in which I addressed the across-the-board low ratings for the CBC’s new fall programs.
Well, the network wasn’t too happy about it.
White out
Meagan Follows, Howie Mandel, Don Cherry and others lend their voices to the one-hour family special The Great Canadian Polar Bear Adventure, airing Dec. 10 on CBC. The Media Headquarters production, with animation by Optix Digital Pictures, is a bear’s eye view of life in the Artic, directed by Robert Cohen (The Big Show)
Wertheimer revs Motor City
Making Across the River to Motor City posed several problems, according to creator and showrunner Bob Wertheimer – due mainly to its multiple storylines that take place in two different time periods in cities on opposite sides of the Canada/U.S. border.
Tierney eyes Bon Cop sequel
A sequel to Bon Cop, Bad Cop is ‘stupidly inevitable’ given its runaway success and could go forward if cast and crew can find the time, according to producer Kevin Tierney.
Toronto hosts indie helmer Parise
Director Vanessa Parise (Kiss the Bride) has sent Freddie Prinze Jr. and Taryn Manning home, ending their 18-day stay in Toronto for Jack and Jill vs. The World.
Paquin does Trick
Warner Bros. has sent Bryan Singer and first-time director Michael Dougherty north to Vancouver’s Lionsgate Studios for the two-month shoot of the horror comedy Trick ‘r Treat. Dougherty, who cowrote both Superman Returns and X-Men 2 for Singer, is working from his own script on this one, with Anna Paquin and Brian Cox heading the cast. Singer produces through his Bad Hat Harry Productions.
L.A. pilot in Vancouver
USA Network is shooting a 90-minute pilot for To Love and Die in L.A. until Dec. 1 in Vancouver. The would-be series stars Shiri Appleby (Six Degrees) as a young woman reunited with her contract killer father, played by Tim Matheson (The West Wing).
Kimmel gets Real
Producer Sidney Kimmel (Breach) will wrap his latest, Lars and the Real Girl, this month, ending six weeks of shooting across southern Ontario with stars Ryan Gosling and Patricia Clarkson. The romantic comedy – also produced by John Cameron, Sarah Aubrey and Bill Hornberg – comes from former commercial director Craig Gillespie and is due through MGM sometime next year. Local comics Boyd Banks and Aurora Brown also star.
Mehta reteams with Filmblanc
Deepa Mehta plans to revisit the topic of widowhood in India with a feature documentary now in development with Filmblanc. Much like Mehta’s 2005 drama Water, The Forgotten Woman will look at the poverty and isolation that plague Indian widows, according to producer Noemi Weis. The project is in the works with Weis’ Filmblanc in Toronto and Hamilton Mehta Productions.
Briefly
* Atomic Cartoons, Breakthrough Films and Television and Teleimages France are at work on a third season (26 x 30) of the animated Atomic Betty, at the Atomic studio in Vancouver.
Honoring women at ‘top of their game’
The latest group of trailblazing women who have made their mark on the Canadian film and television industry will be honored at Women in Film and Television – Toronto’s 19th annual Crystal Awards, Dec. 4.
Shaftesbury head masters her own destiny
People who know producer Christina Jennings joke that she’s a lot like a bulldog terrier.
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