Halifax’s imX communications has officially started production on its ambitious series of five digital feature films known as Seats 3a and 3c. Production began at the end of April on the first of the five, Dragonwheel, which producer Dean Perlmutter says should be wrapped by the end of May.
The premise of the series is the relationships born of a chance meeting of two people on an airplane. In Dragonwheel, Gloria, the manager of a boy band, is seated next to Sherman, a soon-to-be-married custodian and supposedly the band’s biggest fan. A relationship develops between the two in the air and on the ground as they travel to Mexico, Barcelona and Tokyo. What unfolds between credits, as with each of the films, changes the lives of both principal characters.

Vancouver: Up to a half-dozen more local feature filmmakers will get British Columbia Film funding assistance in the next 12 months now that the board of directors has decided how to dole out new money given by the province in March. The NDP government, prior to the election call this month, gave B.C. Film $5 million to support more production over the next three years.
In fiscal 2001/02, which began April 1, B.C. Film will use $2 million to bolster its equity-financing envelope by $1.75 million and its development/marketing/skills development programs by $250,000.

Eleven months after the merger of Tattersall Sound and Casablanca Sound & Picture, Toronto post facility Tattersall Casablanca is glowing about its recent success on the awards circuit.
At press time, the shop was keeping its fingers crossed that it would take home the award for outstanding achievement in sound editing at the 28th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards for its work on The Sandy Bottom Orchestra. The recently aired Showtime MOW tells the story of a musically inclined family (Glenne Headly, Tom Irwin and Madeline Zima) that feels stifled in a rural U.S. town. They plan a classical concert to bring both themselves and the community together.

AXYZ is making a canine character talk for producer Carsey-Werner-Mandabach and ABC on the pilot for a live-action series tentatively titled Speak. The program follows a nerdy career student who, along with his roommate brother, buys a dog that turns out to have the gift of the gab, which inevitably alters their lives. Think of it as Frasier with a talking Eddy.
The job represents a branching out toward long form for the Toronto editing and effects house whose emphasis in its six years has been on commercials, with a couple of handfuls of Bessie, Mobius, New York Film Festival and Bob Mann awards to show for it.
Axyz senior animator TV, Mario Marengo, led a production team of 12 in the completion of 152 effects shots. Andres Kirejew headed the compositing team and Neil Durie produced the pilot for Axyz.

Montreal: Montreal’s Cinelande turns 15 this month, and with its anniversary comes a number of changes for the veteran spot shop. A breakthrough in the Toronto market, a new website, a short film contest and a new alternative media company, 401, highlight what has been an eventful period at what executive producer Alex Sliman calls ‘the new Cinelande.’

Walking around director Eddy Chu’s Doritos set can best be described as ‘explosive.’ The three-day, mid-April shoot in downtown Toronto for Hostess’ signature tortilla chip line is an effects-heavy, mega-job. And, although there is little bull, the china shop Radke Films created for the shoot still rings out with the ‘bang, bang, bang’ of shattering crystal and flying breakaway glass.
The shoot actually takes place in two ‘shops’ along King Street East in Toronto’s old town. One store is set up as the china shop while the other, right next door, is acting as the production office. A makeshift terrace overhangs both, housing makeup, cameras and special-effects gear.

Beverly Cornish is touting herself as the Canadian commercial production industry’s new head cheerleader, and looking at her resume, there may be few people more qualified for the job.
Through her newly launched company, A White Dog Productions, Cornish will spin her 26 years in the Canadian advertising biz into a consulting service for Canadian commercial production.

Vancouver: Funding demand was hugely up in the spring 2001 Equity Investment Program results announced April 24.
According to rough estimates from a source at Telefilm Canada, applications from drama productions were up 30%, while requests from children’s productions were up 40% and variety and performing arts productions were up perhaps 200%.
Ninety-two English-language projects applied for EIP funding for spring 2001 in the three genres and only 40 were accepted, many of which received less than requested.
On the French side, 50 applications were submitted and 29 received funding.

Amid the cross-media ownership hullabaloo of the CTV and Global licence renewal hearings, CanWest has announced the conclusion of two highly anticipated deals: the selling off of its interest in Montreal’s CFCF and the sale of ROBtv to rivalcaster CTV for a combined sum of $120 million.
In addition to using the proceeds to pay down corporate debt, selling off the sought-after assets to CTV paves the way for the fall launch of Financial Post Television, a new digital specialty, says Leonard Asper, CanWest president and CEO.

Montreal: The industry is deeply shocked and saddened by the death of motion picture and television producer Nicolas Clermont. He lost his life to cancer on April 11. He was 59.
Clermont was a highly private individual, and according to colleagues closest to him, never let on about his illness or pain.
At the well-attended funeral on April 16, Clermont was remembered as a loving husband and father, for his unique contribution to independent Canadian film and television production, for his worldly sophistication, humor and modesty, and for his high standard of professional conduct.

Established commercial directors are the subject of this regular feature. Each issue we will profile their careers, accomplishments and the ideas that propel them to new advertising heights….

Vancouver: CHUM Ltd. is hoping the CRTC overlooks its own policies yet again when it comes to the broadcaster’s $125-million purchase of Vancouver station CKVU announced this month.
Technically, the regulator still doesn’t allow broadcasters to own two stations in a single market such as Vancouver/Victoria. But historically, the now-defunct WIC Western International Communications operated BCTV in Vancouver and CHEK-TV in Victoria for years, disregarding demands from the commission to offload one. The thorny issue arose again when the CRTC allowed CanWest Global Communications, the former owner of CKVU, to keep both BCTV and CHEK in its acquisition of WIC’s television assets last year.
It seems the precedent is set for CHUM to add CKVU to its roster of stations including CIVI, its new station in Victoria that goes live in mid-September.

Montreal: The Quebec operations office of Telefilm Canada has given the green light to eight French-language feature film projects.
The projects, all evaluated under the selective component of the Canada Feature Film Fund, were filed with Telefilm by Jan. 30, the first CFFF deadline for the 2001/02 fiscal year.
Most of the new films are d’auteur-style projects with budgets ranging from a low of $1.3 million up to $6 million.
Joelle Levie, Telefilm’s director of operations for Quebec, says it was important to stay with the Jan. 30 submission deadline because many of the new projects will begin principal photography this spring and summer.

The 38th annual Bessie Awards are on for May 24. The website of the Television Bureau of Canada, which manages the show, proclaims the Bessies ‘salute the best in Canadian advertising.’ The awards come seven months after On The Spot’s Top…

When Jenny Montford went to England in March, it was for more than boiled meat and a family birthday party as originally planned. Bedlam’s executive producer also went fishing for British directors. …