TV & Film News – Hasbro to acquire eOne

Hasbro will acquire Entertainment One (eOne) in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $4.0 billion USD. Hasbro chairman Brian Goldner said the acquisition will add story-led global family brands with strong operating returns to Hasbro’s portfolio and provide a pipeline of new brand creation driven by family-oriented storytelling. Among those brands are Peppa Pig, PJ Masks, and Ricky Zoom (in development). eOne’s Canadian TV and film operations will continue as a distinct Canadian-controlled business within the combined business.

Birks and Telefilm Canada have announced the honourees for the annual Birks Diamond Tribute to the Year’s Women in Film. This year’s list includes director Micheline Lanctôt; actors Wendy Crewson and Jean Yoon; screenwriter Marie Clements; and emerging directors Jasmin Mozaffari and Sophie Dupuis. Set to be honoured at a Sept. 4 luncheon at Toronto’s Four Seasons, each honouree in the directing, acting, screenwriting and emerging talent categories receives an honourarium from Birks to support their next project. Read more here.

DHX Media-produced animated series Carmen Sandiego is among the juried award winners for the 71st Emmy Awards. Awarded in categories including Animation, Choreography, Interactive Programming and Motion Design, juried entries are screened by a panel of professionals in the appropriate peer group with the possibility of one, more than one, or no entry being awarded. Carmen Sandiego won in the Outstanding Individual Achievement In Animation category where there were seven first-time winners and one second-time winner from programs across two platforms, YouTube and Netflix. The Twitch platform received its first Emmy for Outstanding Innovation In Interactive Media. Find the full list of winners here.

Bell Media’s The Harold Greenberg Fund and Creative BC have revealed this year’s selections for the BC Shorts Program. The initiative finances short films from BC filmmaking teams, showcasing new creative visions and furthering the careers of writers, producers, and directors as they move towards feature filmmaking. The short film projects receiving $20,000 from this year’s program are: A Pregnant Woman from director/writer Ana Carrizales, producer Lori Watt; Hatha from writer/director Asia Youngman and producer Kaayla Whachell; The Unicorn Code from writer/director Martin Glegg and producer Katherine Koniecki; and Freya from writer Rhona Rees, director Camille Hollett-French and producers Athena Russell and Willan Leung.

The Pacific Screenwriting Program is still accepting applications for its Scripted Series Lab, running Jan. 6 – Apr. 17, 2020. The full-time 15-week curriculum polishes and prepares candidates for an entry-level writer position on a series. Every term, up to six committed writers are chosen to hone their craft, strengthen their collaboration and presentation skills, and obtain a deeper understanding of BC’s television industry and how to market themselves within it. The deadline for applications is Sept. 1.

Youth Media Alliance (YMA) is looking for promising entrepreneurial Canadian students at the university level who show a talent and passion for creating innovative children’s content. Two Canadian students planning to pursue a career in children’s television (animation or live action) or digital media production will be selected to receive the YMA Andra Sheffer Scholarship. The award gives recipients the opportunity to attend the Kidscreen Summit in Miami and Banff World Media Festival, in addition to mentorship resources throughout the year. The online application form must be submitted by Oct. 4.

The Newfoundland and Labrador Film Development Corporation (NLFDC) and CBC have announced a new funding partnership that will support the creation of short-form digital content developed by Newfoundland and Labrador creators. The two organizations will each contribute up to $50,000, for $100,000 in total funding, towards digital content projects which will be showcased on the public broadcaster’s digital platforms, including CBC Gem. Applications can be made for short-length projects of various genres. The deadline is Sept. 20.

Rust Valley Restorers is the first Corus Studios original production to be released worldwide on Netflix. Ranked among HISTORY’s top five programs last fall, the car-flipping series profiles the “Rust Valley” vehicle restoration community in the B.C Interior as they transform rusted wrecks into collectible cars. Corus Studios previously struck a deal with Netflix to stream unscripted series Cheer Squad which features Cambridge, ON-based all-star cheerleading squad The Great White Sharks, however the Rust Valley Restorers (8×60) agreement marks the first worldwide release (excluding Canada).

VICE Studios and OUTtv are partnering to produce a makeover series that celebrates the transgender and gender non-conforming community. Clothes Minded will centre around young adults who are nervous to attend an upcoming up in their lives (a job interview, a wedding, a prom) because they are still working to feel comfortable with their identity. The series marks the first production partnership between VICE Studios and OUTtv. VICE Studios will handle global distribution of the series outside of OUTtv’s territories, which include Canada, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and India.

APTN has announced it will premiere the second season of documentary series First Contact in a three-night television event, starting Sept. 17. Produced in association with Animiki See Digital Production, Nüman Films and Indios Productions, Season 2 takes six Canadians, all with varied opinions about Indigenous peoples, on a unique 28-day exploration of Indigenous communities. Narrated by George Stroumboulopoulos, this season will see participants travel to Kanesatake, QC; Natuashish, Labrador; Thunder Bay; northern Saskatchewan; and Yukon. Among those who’ll appear are Ian Campeau, formerly of A Tribe Called Red; Ellen Gabriel and Elder John Cree, front line community members at the Oka Siege; and Debbie Baptiste, the mother of Colten Boushie. Following the third episode Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. ET/CT/MT, the travelers and some of the Indigenous hosts and producers will sit down in an interactive panel, live on Facebook.

marblemedia has greenlit its latest unscripted kids and family series, All-Round Champion for TVO and Knowledge Network in Canada, and BYUtv in the U.S. Set to air in early 2020, All-Round Champion is an 11-episode, 60-minute series that features 10 of North America’s most decorated young athletes who compete in sports like wakeboarding, gymnastics and skateboarding. The series hook is they won’t be competing in their own sports. Scored on skill, sportsmanship and improvement, one athlete will be crowned the All-Round Champion. Originally created by Norwegian public broadcaster NRK, “Best i mest” saw huge success in Norway, winning an International Emmy Kids Award for Non-Scripted Entertainment, as well as a Prix Jeunesse. marblemedia was granted format rights to create a North American version from Beta Film. Hosted by Olympian and World Champion hurdler Perdita Felicien, the non-elimination serialized format also features a new ‘Sports Star’ in each episode including Darin Shapiro – the first athlete to land a double-flip on a wakeboard. Producers for the series include Matt Hornburg, Mark Bishop and Steve Sloan of marblemedia, alongside Michael Dunn, Andra Johnson Duke, and Jim Bell from BYUtv, and Marney Malabar from TVO.

CBC’s Battle of the Blades will be taping live in and around the Greater Toronto Area from Sept. 19 to Oct. 31. Fans are invited to book tickets for the high-stakes figure skating competition that partners athletes from the world’s of hockey and figure skating. Produced by Insight Productions, Battle of the Blades will launch with a special two-hour premiere Thursday, Sept. 19 at 8 p.m. (8:30 NT) on CBC and CBC Gem.

Sportsnet’s Calgary Flames regional broadcast team will feature veteran play-by-play announcer Rick Ball, game analysts Kelly Hrudey and Cassie Campbell-Pascall, and reporter Ryan Leslie. Sportsnet will deliver coverage of all 82 Flames matchups, starting Oct. 3. on Sportsnet West, Sportsnet 960 The FAN, Sportsnet NOW, Sportsnet NOW+ and NHL Live. Sportsnet West is the home of regional Calgary Flames broadcasts this season, with four additional games available on Sportsnet Flames, the Sportsnet ONE companion channel. On radio, Derek Wills will handle play-by-play, alongside game analyst Peter Loubardias. Pat Steinberg will host pre- and post-game analysis.

Sportsnet hits the ice for NHL opening night in Edmonton Oct. 2. as the Oilers open their 2019-20 season against the Vancouver Canucks on Sportsnet, Sportsnet NOW,Sportsnet NOW+ and NHL Live. Sportsnet is also set to air two Oilers pre-season matchups on Sportsnet ONE, beginning Sept. 17. Sportsnet West will be the home of regional Oilers games this season, in addition to two matchups exclusive to Sportsnet Oilers, the Sportsnet ONE companion channel. The regional Oilers broadcast team features play-by-play announcer Kevin Quinn, game analyst Louie DeBrusk, reporter Gene Principe, and in-game contributions from Oilers analyst Drew Remenda.

The Vancouver Canucks regular season campaign begins Oct. 2 on Sportsnet, Sportsnet 650, Sportsnet NOW, Sportsnet NOW+ and NHL Live with Sportsnet also broadcasting Canucks pre-season matchups on Sportsnet ONE and Sportsnet Pacific. Sportsnet’s Canucks television broadcast team features play-by-play announcer John Shorthouse and game analyst John Garrett, panel discussions live from Rogers Arena hosted by Dan Murphy, and contributions from NHL on Sportsnet insider Iain MacIntyre. Sportsnet 650 (CISL-AM) is set to deliver all 82 games this season. Returning to the broadcast booth are play-by-play announcer Brendan Batchelor, who will have the call alongside game analyst Corey Hirsch.

Discovery and Crave will premiere documentary special 9/11: Cleared For Chaos on Sept. 11. It tells the story of a group of Gander, NL-based Nav Canada air traffic controllers tasked with safely landing over 200 planes when U.S. airspace was closed in the aftermath of the terror attack. The doc uses live news footage from 2001 and features emotional interviews with air traffic control staff, pilots, flight attendants, and passengers.

Capilano University and Vancouver Film School (VFS) are partnering on four new accelerated pathways that will allow students to complete both a diploma at VFS and a bachelor degree at CapU in three years of full-time study. Both institutions deliver film and entertainment art programs driven by a cross-section of industries in the creative arts. The four new pathway programs launching in September include: VFS Digital Design (1 year) → CapU Bachelor of Design in Visual Communication (2 years); VFS Acting for Film and Television (1 year) → CapU Bachelor of Performing Arts (2 years); VFS Writing for Film, Television & Games (1 year) → CapU Bachelor of Performing Arts (2 years); VFS Film Production (1 year) → CapU Bachelor of Performing Arts (2 years). These degree pathways also provide international students the opportunity to apply for a work permit in Canada following their studies.