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New Montreal FilmFest admits defeat
September’s inaugural edition of the New Montreal FilmFestival might also turn out to be the last if its rival, the Festival du Nouveau Cinéma, does not accept an olive branch.
NMFF organizers issued a statement on Oct. 29 that, while acknowledging their event’s failure, put forward an ambitious proposal for next year – a merger with the 34-year-old FNC.
CFTPA blasts broadcasters
Angling for regulatory changes and more public subsidies, independent producers are urging Ottawa to re-impose Canadian-content spending quotas on private broadcasters – pointing to a new study that shows lagging support for domestic programming despite rising profits among private broadcasters.
The study by Nordicity Group was commissioned by the CFTPA and arrives ahead of this month’s broadcaster convention in Winnipeg.
Gemini 20 turns over a new leaf
While it likely won’t beat Hockey Night in Canada in the ratings, this year’s Gemini Awards on Global Television could position the national TV awards ceremony more in step with Canuck pop culture and help put names to the faces on Canadian primetime.
Pay-TV applicants go to Ottawa – unprepared
Applicants looking to launch Canada’s next pay-TV channels had apparently not finished their homework by the time they arrived in Ottawa to plead their cases to the CRTC. Except for one, the Canadian Film Channel, none of the bidders had their programming grids completely ready.
The other bidders – Spotlight Entertainment, Allarco Entertainment and Groupe Archambault – were given two extra days to get caught up.
CHUM’s Waters steps down
Allan Waters has stepped down from the board of directors at CHUM Limited, ending more than 50 years atop a media empire he founded back in the fledgling days of rock ‘n’ roll and AM radio.
Cornered by Butt
Viewers tuning in to CTV at 8 p.m. on Oct. 31 expecting to see Corner Gas instead got Prime Minister Paul Martin, apparently addressing the nation. But this was mere Hallowe’en trickery on the part of the broadcaster, as Brent Butt interrupted the proceedings to demand his airtime back. The Corner Gas episode that followed was watched by 1.9 million (2+, according to BBM), making it the top show of the night in Canada, and the most-watched in the series’ history
Toronto mayor asks CTF to level playing fi eld
The mayor of Toronto, together with area stakeholders, is calling on the Canadian Television Fund to end what they call discrimination against producers in Ontario and its capital.
They just didn’t watch him
CBC may be drumming up big ratings with Hockey Night in Canada, but post-lockout viewers are slower to return to the net’s big-ticket dramas, with its two-part prequel mini Trudeau II: Maverick in the Making receiving just a quarter of the ratings garnered by its 2002 predecessor.
Egoyan film facing a sad Truth in the States
After two weeks in limited release in the U.S., Atom Egoyan’s thriller Where the Truth Lies widened to 38 theaters on Oct. 28, but still failed to attract American audiences, and interest in the flick is also dissipating in Canada.
Deals for toons, docs at MIPCOM
Torrential rain may have washed away the MTV booth, but not the spirits of Canadian producers and broadcasters who, by most accounts, did brisk business at last month’s MIPCOM in Cannes, France.
‘A super-duper festival,’ says FNC boss
Montreal: When Montreal’s Festival du Nouveau Cinéma held its final press conference on Oct. 23, it brought an end to the city’s strangest fall festival season ever.
Karla making a comeback
The U.S.-made biopic about Karla Homolka is again closing in on Canadian theaters and, according to its producer, is close to signing deals that will put Karla into theaters on both sides of the border sometime in the next two months.
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