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Briefs
BGM deal complete
Silent Hill scores on DVD
Silent Hill is continuing to make noise, this time in homes, where it has earned some US$11 million from the rental market since its Aug. 22 release on DVD – placing high on charts at Nielsen, Rogers and Blockbuster.
Hot Sheet
The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period Sept. 1-7, 2006 and DVD sales in Canada for the period Aug. 21-27, 2006.
English Canada says ‘Non’ to Lévesque
CBC’s fall season got off to a dismal start on Sept. 7 when the first of the three-part miniseries René Lévesque, about the late Quebec separatist leader, premiered to a weak 158,000 viewers, losing the highly competitive slot to reruns of Grey’s Anatomy and CSI on CTV and My Name Is Earl on Global.
Top 20 TV Programs
Top 20 TV Programs tracks ratings for the top 20 television shows in Canada for the period Aug. 28-Sept. 3, 2006.
Lionsgate, Maple busy in average TIFF market
Right on schedule, business at the Toronto International Film Festival picked up around the halfway mark – with Lionsgate Films acquiring the U.S. rights for Sarah Polley’s critically acclaimed drama Away from Her, and its Canadian subsidiary Maple Pictures landing the Canuck rights to the highly contentious Death of a President. Meanwhile, TVA Films scooped the CGI Ugly Duckling and Me, a copro from Ireland, Denmark, France and Germany.
Obituaries
Joan Donaldson 1946-2006
Praise for Polley, Journals slow yet moving
The Journals of Knud Rasmussen: The follow-up feature from Zacharias Kunuk and Norman Cohn is described by critics as both a ‘brave’ and ‘curious’ choice for the TIFF gala opener. Geoff Pevere of the Toronto Star says the Inuit epic is accomplished and intelligent, but as a result of its slow pace, definitely not a crowd-pleaser. ‘Admirers of Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner may have to brace themselves for a mild disappointment,’ agrees the Globe and Mail, calling it a good, but not a great movie. On the other hand, Jason Anderson with Eye Weekly gives it four stars, noting the film is a ‘richer work of art’ than its predecessor, while NOW Magazine agrees there’s no denying its hypnotic pull.
Playback Poll Results
In response to a recent online Playback poll question asking ‘Which of the following films is most likely to make noise at TIFF?’, the favorite was The Journals of Knud Rasmussen, with 28% of the votes. This was followed by Everything’s Gone Green with 22%, Away from Her with 20%, Fido with 17%, Congorama with 9%, and Brand Upon the Brain! with 4%.
Copro Babel
For many who attend the Toronto International Film Festival, there is a single event or film that seems to crystallize the experience for them or best illustrate where the film biz is at.
Corrections
Episodes 118-130 of Comedy Now! from Hi Guys Ten Productions received $217,000 from the Canadian Television Fund, not $4.2 million as stated in the Sept. 4 story ‘CTF gives face time to stakeholders.’
Cirrus takes Nitro
Montreal: Cirrus Communications is billing Nitro, the French-language feature now shooting in Montreal, as a Quebec version of The Fast and the Furious.
Robert and Louis turn Yellow
Montreal: Shooting commences in Montreal this month on The Yellow Woman, the $5.3-million film directed by Émile Gaudreault and written by Steve Galluccio who previously collaborated on Mambo Italiano. The comedic drama follows a woman’s efforts to reconnect with her dying mother.
Muse closes Door
Toronto: Muse Entertainment and Lifetime have wrapped the MOW The House Next Door after a four-week stay at Toronto Film Studios – sending stars Lara Flynn Boyle and Colin Ferguson home and the footage into post for an airdate sometime in October.
Merasty stars as Harper
Winnipeg: The political punch-out that was the Meech Lake Accord will be revisited in Elijah, the dramatized story of native leader Elijah Harper, now in the works at Vancouver’s Anagram Pictures and Winnipeg’s Eagle Vision.
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