BRON has filed for bankruptcy. Based in Vancouver, the finance and production company behind films like Joker and Licorice Pizza, has filed for creditor protection in B.C. Supreme Court. CEO Aaron J. Gilbert wrote, in a letter to studio partners obtained by Deadline, that “BRON had no choice but to take this step in light of its financial circumstances.” “The last few years have been incredibly difficult for BRON, and things have only gotten more complicated over these past months,” continued Gilbert. “Covid and the many other issues affecting the media industry the last few years, most recently the strikes, have made BRON’s ability to continue its existing business impossible.”
WildBrain has closed on its previously-announced acquisition of animation pre-production house House of Cool. WildBrain says the acquisition significantly expands and enhances its pre-production capabilities for premium animated series, specials and features. Under the agreement, WildBrain has acquired full ownership of House of Cool for $15.5 million, with $10.25 million through the issuance of 4,479,406 WildBrain shares and the remainder in cash. Additionally, there is a potential earn-out of up to $6 million based on tax credits earned by House of Cool up to closing. House of Cool executives and co-founders, Wes Lui and Ricardo Curtis, have joined the WildBrain Studios senior management team in the newly-created roles of Co-General Managers of House of Cool.
Crave has launched new ad-supported plan options as the Bell Media-owned streaming service secures a roster of advertising partners that include Google Canada, Canadian Tire, adidas Canada, Hyundai Auto Canada, Maybelline New York, McDonald’s Canada, Royal Bank of Canada, and Bell flanker brand Virgin Plus, among others. The home for HBO and Max Originals in Canada, in addition to Crave Original programming like Canada’s Drag Race, Letterkenny and its spinoff Shoresy, Crave also features numerous series from the CTV network and Bell Media’s specialty channels. Subscribers now have the option to sign up for Crave Basic with Ads for $9.99/month, offering viewers one concurrent stream, 720p video quality, casting with Chromecast, and unlimited registered devices. Crave Standard with Ads for $14.99/month offers subscribers four concurrent streams in up to 4K quality. The ad-free option remains available at $19.99/month as Crave Premium Ad-Free, which also offers casting via AirPlay, as well as Chromecast, in addition to livestreaming and downloading. Read more here.
Corus Entertainment’s Nelvana has produced its second original short film entitled Jelly, created and directed by Emmy Award-winning director Robin Budd (Beetlejuice, Hotel Transylvania: The Series). Featuring music from composer Daniel Lanois, Jelly is a 2D animated short film exploring the universal reality that life is too precious to be unhappy at work and encourages the pursuit of one’s true passion. The 13-minute film is making its world premiere at the 27th Edition of Fantasia International Film Festival this month, and has started to receive interest from other festivals internationally.
Les Contes interdits (Forbidden Tales), the Quebecois book series that adapts popular tales like Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast into horror novels for adults, will be adapted into a television series. Publisher Éditions AdA and Attraction have signed an agreement that would see an initial five to eight-episode season produced, with filming to take place primarily in Quebec.
CBC Sports is the exclusive Canadian broadcast and streaming home of the third edition of Global T20 Canada, North America’s first professional Twenty20 cricket league. The tournament takes place at TD Cricket Arena in Brampton until Aug. 6. Recognizing the growing momentum for cricket in Canada, CBC Sports will stream all 25 league matches on CBC Gem, cbcsports.ca and the CBC Sports App. The championship final will be broadcast live on CBC and CBC Gem. CBC Sports joins a roster of international broadcast partners that will carry Global T20 Canada to viewers around the world, including Fox Sports (Australia), Free Sports (United Kingdom), beIN SPORTS (Middle East), Sportsmax (Caribbean), Star Sports (India), FanCode (India) and SuperSport (South Africa).
ACTRA Toronto has released its Best Practices for Working with Animals guide, designed to improve workplace safety on set. The guide was created to assist performers and productions to ensure the most positive and creative interactions when working with animals.
TIFF has announced 60 official selections in the Gala and Special Presentations programmes for this year’s festival, with films representing 70 countries. The first wave of the 2023 Official Selection features 37 World Premieres, seven International Premieres, 12 North American Premieres, and four Canadian Premieres. Among the highlights are Craig Gillespie’s Dumb Money, Anna Kendrick’s Woman of the Hour, Viggo Mortensen’s The Dead Don’t Hurt, Ning Hao’s The Movie Emperor, Maggie Betts’ The Burial, Alexander Payne’s The Holdovers, Richard Linklater’s Hit Man, Michael Keaton’s Knox Goes Away, Ethan Hawke’s Wildcat, Jonathan Glazer’s The Zone of Interest, and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Monster. The TIFF Docs programme will open with the World Premiere of Copa 71 from Rachel Ramsay and James Erskine, which serves to restore the lost legacy of a 1971 international women’s soccer tournament that had record setting crowds in Mexico City but was largely erased from sports history.
Telefilm Canada is currently accepting entries for Canadian production and distribution companies wishing to join the Canada Pavilion at MIPCOM 2023, Oct. 16-19, and benefit from a discounted rate on accreditation. The Canada Pavilion will return to Riviera 8, providing better visibility for Canadian companies and more outdoor space for meeting clients. The pavilion can host up to 80 companies, making it one of the largest national pavilions at MIPCOM.
