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MPD on the block
Alliance Atlantis has made its long-awaited move and put its film distribution arm on the block, announcing on Oct. 20 that it had completed a strategic review of its 51%-owned Motion Picture Distribution and given it the green light ‘to explore ownership alternatives.’
Lindalee Tracey, 1957-2006
Noted documentarian Lindalee Tracey lost her long battle with cancer earlier this month and died at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Hospital just as a long-developing pet project went to camera for CBC.
TP Boys still on top, Tideland washes out
Trailer Park Boys The Movie was still going strong more than two weeks into its theatrical run – and had grossed $3 million-plus at the box office by the end of the Oct. 20 weekend.
Only Quebec gets Mon Oncle Antoine
Despite at one time being hailed the best-ever Canadian film, Claude Jutra’s Mon Oncle Antoine will get a Quebec-only DVD release of just 2,500 to 3,000 units on Nov. 7 from Christal Films. Marketing will selectively target video shops in la belle province. Special features include A Chairy Tale, a 10-minute short Jutra did with animator Norman McLaren.
Hot Sheet
The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period Oct. 13-19, 2006 and DVD sales in Canada for the period Oct. 2-8, 2006.
Beach, Pepper hold Flags high in WWII epic
For the second time, Adam Beach seems poised to break out in Hollywood. His turn as a troubled U.S. Marine in director Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, which opened Oct. 20, is already generating Oscar buzz, and could see Beach trading his Ottawa digs for the Hollywood Hills.
Mystic Ball top Canuck film at Vancouver fest
Vancouver: Mystic Ball, a sports doc by director Greg Hamilton, edged out the competition at the close of the Vancouver International Film Festival on Oct. 13, winning the prize for most popular Canadian feature over heavy contenders Fido, by B.C.-based Andrew Currie, and Away from Her, Sarah Polley’s feature directorial debut.
Small audiences for CBC’s Intelligence, Jozi-H
New CBC shows were slow out of the gate as the end of fall looms and the networks gear up for November sweeps.
Top 20 TV programs
Top 20 TV Programs tracks ratings for the top 20 television shows in Canada for the period Oct. 9-15, 2006.
CAB readies for Vancouver meet
With a major CRTC review on their doorstep and new technologies still on the rise, 2006 is going out as a watershed year for Canada’s private broadcasters, and will see both developments front and center at the Canadian Association of Broadcasters convention in Vancouver, Nov. 5-7.
Lister Sinclair 1921-2006
Veteran broadcaster Lister Sinclair died in Toronto on Oct. 16, leaving behind an unparalleled legacy of radio and TV work at CBC. He was 85.
Daryl Duke 1929-2006
Emmy-winning director and broadcaster Daryl Duke died in Vancouver on Oct. 21 at age 77, following a struggle with pulmonary fibrosis.
Avanti and Lepage settle Un gars dispute
Montreal: Guy A. Lepage and his producers at Montreal’s Avanti Ciné Vidéo have reached an out-of-court deal with JWTwo Entertainment in their dispute over Love Bites, the U.S. adaptation of Avanti’s hit sitcom Un gars, une fille.
Sold!
* SABC in South Africa and some 80 Hallmark channels have in separate deals purchased season one of Intelligence from Daro Film and Thunderbird Films. The Chris Haddock crime series will air on Hallmark outlets in Australia, Scandinavia, Italy, the U.K., Israel and elsewhere.
CBC in ratings tailspin
The numbers are in on CBC’s new fall shows, and, despite some typically high-quality programs, the ratings are disastrous.
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