The Canadian Film Centre (CFC) has announced that director, producer and writer Brad Peyton is the recipient of its seventh annual CFC Award for Creative Excellence. The award celebrates the accomplishments of CFC alumni who have made significant creative and entrepreneurial contributions to the international screen industry. Born in Gander, Newfoundland, Peyton first garnered critical acclaim in 2002 for his CFC short Evelyn: The Cutest Evil Dead Girl. He eventually became known for ambitious action adventure blockbusters, including San Andreas and Rampage, both collaborations with Dwayne Johnson. Peyton’s prodco with partner Jeff Fierson, ASAP Entertainment, recently completed the third season of Netflix/Discovery series Frontier and the first season of Netflix series, Daybreak. CFC founder Norman Jewison will present the award to Peyton at an invitation-only reception in Los Angeles on Mar. 18.
Schitt’s Creek leads this year’s Canadian Screen Award nominations with 26 nods, including Best Comedy Series; Best Writing, Comedy; and Best Direction, Comedy, as well as multiple acting nominations. Leading the film categories, François Girard’s The Song of Names received nine nominations in total, including Achievement in Art Direction/Production Design, Achievement in Costume Design, and Achievement in Visual Effects. CBC Gem offerings dominate the Digital Media categories with its web series Detention Adventure, How To Buy A Baby, Calgary-based hip-hop series Ming’s Dynasty, comedy-drama Save Me, and The 410 receiving nominations for Best Web Program or Series, Fiction. Find the full list of nominations here. The Awards will be presented in Toronto over five days during Canadian Screen Week, including the Canadian Screen Awards Broadcast Gala, which airs live on CBC and CBC Gem on Sunday, Mar. 29.
New York Festivals TV & Film Awards competition has announced the 2020 competition finalists. Content submitted from over 50 countries advances to the medal round including documentaries, entertainment, broadcast journalism, sports coverage, streaming media and brand image. Among the Canadian nominees, Corus Entertainment earned seven nominations, CBC/Radio-Canada earned five nods, while Discovery Channel Canada earned two nominations for Disasters at Sea: Marine Electric. Two East Productions and Cineflix Studios also earned two nominations for Pure. The 2020 NYF TV & Film Awards Storytellers Gala will take place at the annual NAB Show in Las Vegas, Apr. 21. View the complete list of Canadian finalists, here.
The 2020 Kidscreen Awards were handed out Feb. 11 at the Kidscreen Summit in Miami. Canadian-owned Irish animation production studio Brown Bag Films, was among the multiple award winners, taking two awards in the Programming-Kids category for Angela’s Christmas (Best One-off Special or TV Movie, Best in Class). Edmonton’s Mosaic Entertainment won Best Special in the Programming-Tweens/Teens Category for #ROXY. Sinking Ship Entertainment’s Dino Dana claimed three awards including Best Directing, Best Acting, and Best Game App. In the Broadcasting category, TVO Kids won Best Programming Block, while the YTV team of Suki, Meisha, Jesse, Duhin, Spencer and RikiMisu claimed the award for Best On-Air Host or Hosting Team. Find the full list of winners here.
Stingray has launched Stingray Country, a music video television channel for Canadian cable subscribers, dedicated to country music. The channel becomes the only dedicated country music channel in Canada, following CMT Canada’s move to drop country music programming in 2017, in favour of airing family-friendly sitcoms, talk, game and reality shows, and movies. Stingray Country is currently being offered to Bell, Cogeco, Telus, Shaw and Videotron TV subscribers. Read more here.
The CRTC has approved French-language Israeli TV channel Heritage 4K for distribution in Canada. The channel’s sponsor, THEMA Canada, says Heritage 4K’s audience is anyone “impassioned by archaeology, history and travel.” Its programming is largely devoted to documentaries on monuments, sacred places and other sites.
LCN will join hundreds of thousands of Quebecers in Florida for spring break, Mar. 1-4. Jean-François Guérin, Brigitte Bédard, Pierre-Olivier Zappa and TVANouvelles.ca reporter Gabrielle Rondy will meet up with French-Canadian expats to explore the southeastern coast of the Florida peninsula, from Pompano to Miami. They’ll share their stories across the station’s regular programming from Québec matin to TVA 22 heures – as well as on TVANouvelles.ca and social media. They’ll also take a look at daily life for Quebecers who have made Florida their home, including Quebec businesspeople who have moved there in the past few years looking for opportunity and prosperity.
HGTV Canada’s new Corus Studios original series Family Home Overhaul (8×60), premieres Apr. 26. Hosted by ET Canada’s Cheryl Hickey, the debut season will see 14 of the network’s top contractors and designers pair up in each episode to transform the homes of eight inspirational families nominated by their communities. They include Kate Campbell, Sebastian Clovis, Dave Coleman, Joey Fletcher, Sarah Keenleyside, Dave Kenney, Brian McCourt, Scott McGillivray, Mia Parres, Tiffany Pratt, Samantha Pynn, Tommy Smythe, Kortney Wilson and Dave Wilson.
American Standard has been named the official supplier of kitchen and bath plumbing fixtures for multiple television series on Corus Entertainment’s HGTV Canada. The partnership includes popular series $ave My Reno, which premieres Feb. 18, and Family Home Overhaul. Products will be featured throughout the series, in addition to social and digital integrations. The new partnership builds on American Standard’s current collaboration with longtime HGTV guest star and contractor Kate Campbell.
Family Channel’s new series My Perfect Landing premieres as a one-hour television event Mar. 1. Filmed in Toronto and Miami last summer, the family friendly drama stars real-life competitive gymnast Morgan Wigle as Jenny Cortez, an aspiring young gymnast who moves with her family to Toronto to open their own gymnastics club.
Open Screenplay, the free, online platform for screenwriters struggling to break into the business, has successfully patented its collaborative authoring system. The patent facilitates the collaboration of multiple authors on a single work, and provides a process for the selection of the best contributions. Although Open Screenplay currently uses the system for screenplays, it can be used on other collaborative works ranging from essays, novels, and textbooks to music and architectural designs. Open Screenplay’s founder and CEO is Canadian entrepreneur Khaled Sabawi.
CTV’s Sault Ste. Marie broadcast headquarters is up for sale. The historic building at 119 East Street houses local news and sales, however regional newscasts have been broadcast out of Sudbury since 2001. The downtown building was originally home to the Northern Ontario city’s Bell telephone office, before CJIC-TV took over the space, going to air in 1955.
CBC Nova Scotia’s historic Bell Road building is set for imminent demolition to make way for expansion of the neighbouring Halifax Infirmary. Over the years, the Bell Road studios were the production centre for national programs including Don Messer’s Jubilee, Street Cents and This Hour Has 22 Minutes.
Subscribe Now – Free!
Broadcast Dialogue has been required reading in the Canadian broadcast media for 25 years. When you subscribe, you join a community of connected professionals from media and broadcast related sectors from across the country.
The Weekly Briefing from Broadcast Dialogue is delivered exclusively to subscribers by email every Thursday. It’s your link to critical industry news, timely people moves, and excellent career advancement opportunities.
Let’s get started right now.
