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Maurice Richard rockets to top of box office
Quebecers turned out to see Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm’s hockey biopic Maurice Richard, which had a big if not spectacular opening weekend in Quebec on Nov. 25.
It’s good… but not great for Grey Cup
CBC’s broadcast of what is being hailed as one of the most exciting Grey Cup championship games in CFL history brought in nearly 3.2 million viewers, according to the broadcaster. This is a huge number by CBC’s post-lockout standards, but the ratings for the game – which saw the Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes in overtime 38 to 35 – dipped from last year, when the Toronto Argonauts defeated the B.C. Lions before an average of four million viewers.
Hot Sheet
The Hot Sheet tracks Canadian box-office results for the period Nov. 18-24 and television ratings for the period Nov. 21-27.
Jump Cuts
Strong year for Astral
High spirits at Saskatchewan conference
Regina: The mood was jubilant as the Saskatchewan production community gathered Nov. 16-18 for Showcase 2005, a conference and awards gala hosted by the Saskatchewan Motion Picture Association to honor the best film, TV and new media projects made in the province.
Rookie doc makers gain Momentum
Aspiring documentary filmmakers again have an opportunity to participate in the National Film Board’s Momentum program. The program, now in its fourth year, provides emerging filmmakers with the creative and technical tools to craft quality, low-budget, short docs under the guidance of industry professionals.
Canadian docmakers troop off to Amsterdam
A contingent of Canadian nonfiction producers and broadcasters made the trip to the Netherlands late last month for the International Documentary Filmfestival Amsterdam.
2005 Gemini Winners
Following are the winners of the 2005 Gemini Awards
Eleventh Hour goes out on top at Geminis
It was a bittersweet final bow for a cancelled drama, redemption for an underwatched miniseries, and a night as notable for its star power as its no-shows, as the 2005 Gemini Awards were handed out at the event’s Nov. 19 closing-night gala in Toronto.
Winners and losers in the fight for eyeballs
As a bittersweet year for scripted TV winds down, the Canadian industry is still struggling to get people to watch its shows.
CBC and Discovery have a cow
Toronto: A cow from San Diego is getting his own series on CBC thanks to producers in Vancouver and animators in Ottawa.
Chilco Productions and Mercury Filmworks have partnered to turn out a 52 x 11 run of Wilbur for the Ceeb’s kids programming block – putting the pro-literacy bovine on the little screen for two- to four-year-olds by spring. It will also run in the Ready Set Learn! block on Discovery Kids.
Broadcast
Rowan comes home for Eight Days
Service
Dog starts Fire
Revenge of the psychotic birds
Hamilton, ON: A veteran of feathered-foe movies is shooting a new MOW, Kaw, about birds run amuck. Rod Taylor, remembered for his roles in The Time Machine (1960) and Alfred Hitchcock’s classic The Birds (1963), plays a rural doctor who begins to understand why the birds surrounding his town are suddenly wreaking havoc and killing people.
Features
Rampage’s Foursome tees off
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