Canadian screenwriters and producers have agreed to extend the current agreement governing English-language screenwriting in Canada. The Writers Guild of Canada (WGC), the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA), and the Association Québécoise de la Production Médiatique (AQPM) have ratified an 18-month extension to the Independent Production Agreement (IPA), which will come into effect Jan. 1. It maintains the current terms, with a one per cent script fee increase in 2018, and now expires on June 30, 2019. In a press release, WGC president Jill Golick says between contentious CRTC decisions and the Canadian Content in a Digital World policy review, industry uncertainty makes it a less than ideal time for labour negotiations.
CBC announced Monday that it has ended the collection of both profit participation and retransmission royalties on all projects pre-licensed from Canadian independent producers, regardless of its level of investment. A statement says the move is the result of ongoing efforts by CBC and the Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) to ensure business terms better reflect the needs of creators and producers, balanced with the needs of the public broadcaster. CBC will apply the change retroactively to all deals signed after April 1, 2017.
CBC Sports has renewed its agreement with Spruce Meadows through the 2020 season that will see the network continue to offer coverage of The National, The North American and The Masters – part of the Rolex Grand Slam of Show Jumping – over the next three years. In addition, CBC Sports will continue to provide broadcast and live-streaming coverage of the three other events – CHIO Aachen, CHI Geneva and The Dutch Masters.
The CBC Breaking Barriers Film Fund, in support of underrepresented, experienced filmmakers, has selected the next three feature films for funding: An Audience Of Chairs from Deanne Foley and Rosemary House, an unflinching look at a woman’s struggle with mental illness; Level 16 by Danishka Esterhazy, a sci-fi thriller that uncovers the dark side of the beauty business; and Red Snow by Marie Clements, an epic international love story following a Gwich’in soldier in Afghanistan. All three films are also financially supported by Telefilm Canada.
Donald Sutherland will receive an honorary Oscar from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences on Nov. 11. Over Sutherland’s six-decade career, he’s already earned two Golden Globes, an Emmy Award, a Governor General’s Performing Arts Award and an officer of the Order of Canada distinction. The 82-year-old actor was born in Saint John, N.B., but spent his teen years in Bridgewater, NS, working part-time at CKBW-AM Bridgewater, before leaving for university in Toronto to study drama
Double Negative has announced it will be opening a new studio in Montréal. Due to open in early 2018, it will be the visual effects company’s sixth international facility, joining its network of studios in London, Vancouver, Los Angeles, Mumbai and Chennai, India. The Academy Award-winning company’s recent VFX credits include Blade Runner 2049, Dunkirk, Wonder Woman and The Mummy. The first film to be completed at the new Montréal studio will be The Kid Who Would Be King for director Joe Cornish, Twentieth Century Fox, Working Title and Big Talk.
TSN’s The Reporters has relaunched with a new half-hour format at 9 a.m. ET Sundays on TSN2. Broadcast live from the TSN 1050 (CHUM-AM) studio in Toronto, the show is simulcast on TSN 1200 (CFGO-AM) Ottawa and TSN 690 (CKGM-AM) Montreal, and available the same morning on TSN 1260 (CFRN-AM) Edmonton, TSN 1150 (CKOC-AM) Hamilton, TSN 1290 (CFRW-AM) Winnipeg and TSN 1040 (CKST-AM) Vancouver. Hosted by Dave Hodge with panellists Steve Simmons and Bruce Arthur, the previous iteration of the show premiered on TSN in Oct. 2002 on Sunday mornings, before moving to a Monday timeslot in Jan. 2016.
WWE and TVA Sports have announced a multi-year agreement to televise a weekly, one-hour edition of WWE’s flagship program Raw, in French, beginning Oct. 18. It will be called by Patric Laprade, joined on commentary by Kevin Raphael.
CHCH-TV Hamilton has picked up five seasons of Netflix series House Of Cards in a first for a conventional broadcaster in North America. The channel will air two episodes back-to-back each week. The CHCH fall schedule also includes FX series’ The Americans, Sleepy Hollow, Empire and The Strain.
CBC ombudsman Esther Enkin has sounded off on the bounds of good taste after a complaint about a film review on CBC Ottawa’s All in a Day. In reviewing Australian film Hounds of Love earlier this year, there was talk of rape, torture and violence, which the complainant found inappropriate to be broadcast at a time children might be listening. The review began with a warning, however the complainant also objected to the tone used by the reviewer and the host, Alan Neal as “light hearted.” Enkin says the language used and the framing of the review, while unsettling for some listeners, did not violate the journalistic standards of CBC.
The Canadian Media Producers Association (CMPA) has announced the winners of the 2017 Indiescreen Awards. Kim McCraw and Luc Déry (micro_scope) received the CMPA Indiescreen Award in the Established Producer category for their collective body of work, including Incendies (2010), Monsieur Lazhar (2011) and A Worthy Companion, debuting in the TIFF Discovery Program. Kristy Neville and Matt Code (Wildling Pictures) received the CMPA Indiescreen Award in the Emerging Producer category, recognizing their early-career accomplishments, including first feature film Mary Goes Round, also premiering at TIFF.
Bell Media Studios and Motion Content Group, GroupM’s global content investment and rights management company, have struck a strategic development and production partnership that will create new original programming for international markets. The initiative will be led by Nanci MacLean, VP and head of Bell Media Studios and Tony Moulsdale, director of programming for Motion Content Group.
Filmatique, the New York-based video streaming platform championing international cinema, has expanded to Canada. Launched in 2016, the OTT service releases one film every week, with films available to subscribers for six months following their release. The Canadian service will run $4.95 USD/month, with a one-month free trial. The first 1,000 users to sign up in Canada will get 25 per cent discount for the first three months, using code FLMTQCANADA. http://www.filmatique.com/library
The Canada Media Fund (CMF) and the National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Arts and Culture of the Republic of South Africa, have signed an agreement to establish a dedicated incentive for the codevelopment of audiovisual projects between Canadian and South African producers. Meantime, CMF and NZ On Air have announced the renewal of their partnership, now in its fourth year, to encourage the coproduction of digital media content between Canadian and New Zealand creators.
The CRTC has approved Canadian distribution of six new international TV channels, following applications by Ethnic Channels Group Limited. The channels include U.S.-based FashionBox and FunboxUHD and four offerings originating from Poland, including Polish-language Kino Polska International and English-language Gametoon Box. Multi-language Filmbox Arthouse features international independent cinema.
