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Bad-news triple bill at the box office
November has been a tough month at the box office for Canadian films, with three newly released domestic films bringing in a combined box-office take of less than $11,000.
CBC an election winner, but CTV has Jon Stewart
CBC came out as the ratings winner in the coverage of the U.S. presidential election on Nov. 2, with an average of nearly 820,000 (2+) viewers for The National between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to Nielsen Media Research, beating out Global Television, which had 797,000 viewers tuning into Global National at 11 p.m., while CTV drew 690,000 viewers for its news program at 11 p.m.
Gemini Special Awards winners announced
The Gemini Special Awards, honoring outstanding individuals in the fields of broadcast journalism, writing, creative excellence and technical achievement, will be handed out at the Documentary, News and Sports Gala and the Industry Gala on Dec. 11 and 12, respectively.
John Morgan, 1930-2004
Funnyman John Morgan, a founding member of Royal Canadian Air Farce and a 40-year veteran at CBC, died on Nov. 15. He was 74.
One-two punch to CBC’s budget
CBC’s budget took two hits in one week, suffering its second $10-million budgetary cut in two years on Nov. 4 when the federal government tabled its estimates for 2004, and is now facing another $46-million cut, suggested by Minister of Canadian Heritage Liza Frulla a few days later, that could hit the network on April 1, 2005.
Rabinovitch’s term extended
Robert Rabinovitch is set to run CBC as its president for another three years, following a Nov. 4 recommendation from Prime Minister Paul Martin that extends what had been a five-year contract into 2007.
People
* Mark Prior is the new president of Comweb Group; Robert Bruce is now CFO of both Comweb and William F. White International; and Kevin Gordon is the new president of Entertainment Partners Canada. WFW and Entertainment Partners are part of the Comweb group of companies.
Playback Readership Poll Results
Readers put service sector on high alert
Quebec doc makers under the gun
Pepita Ferrari is a Montreal-based producer/director (Joseph Giunta: A Silent Triumph, The Unsexing of Emma Edmonds) and member of the executive of the Documentary Organization of Canada-Quebec. Montreal filmmaker and DOC exec Malcolm Guy (Turbulent Waters, Musiques Rebelles) contributed to this article.
Not-so-silver lining
I agreed with most of what you said regarding the potential silver lining in a higher dollar, except for the last paragraph (Playback, Nov. 8, p. 14). I see the potential for a slightly different and darker picture.
The story of three solitudes
To borrow from Hugh MacLennan, I propose we rebrand Playback and call it Two Solitudes magazine. Any random issue can be neatly divided in its references to the successes of French-Canadian production viewed against the struggles of English-Canadian production. Then there is the equally elegant application of the phrase to the diverging realities between Canadian broadcasters and producers. ‘Three Solitudes’ might be more to the point.
Smooth shooting for Gilliam in Saskatchewan
Regina: Starting to shoot a feature in Saskatchewan at the end of September can be a little risky, but two snow days and one Indian summer later, Terry Gilliam’s Tideland is enjoying a blessed shoot.
Principal photography began in and around Regina on Sept. 27. Things started to look grim when, several weeks in, the feature’s nine-year-old star, Vancouver native Jodelle Ferland (Kingdom Hospital, Wolf Lake) suffered a bug bite that left her lip too swollen to work. Then the area was hit with an incredible snowfall.
Features
Montreal film tackles child abuse
Docs
A doc for all seasons
Who loves Toronto, baby?
Toronto: Ving Rhames will be back in Toronto in January for more Kojak – having been re-upped by USA Network for a series version of the recent MOW, which shot here in August. The two-hour MOW will be repackaged as the pilot for the nine-week series – with Rhames reprising the role of the tough, titular New York cop played by Telly Savalas on CBS in the ’70s.
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