All articles by Agnes Poirier – Page 15
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Canada launches documentary market
This year's edition of North America's largest documentary film festival, the Canadian International Documentary Festival (May 1-7), marks the launch of a documentary financing market, the Toronto Documentary Forum.The two-day event, modelled on the successful Forum for International Co-Financing of Documentaries in Amsterdam, will see 36 production teams pitching their ...
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Telefilm advised to quit television
Telefilm Canada, the country's principal source of production subsidy, has been advised to pull out of television and concentrate on film in two separate reports, by the Canadian Television Fund (CTF) and consultancy KPMG.The reports suggest that the federal agency should no longer administer the $200m CTF, citing bureaucratic inefficiency ...
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CanWest dubs new US distribution venture IDP
Canada's CanWest Entertainment has confirmed a joint venture with Samuel Goldwyn Jr. and Carl Icahn, the billionaire backer of Stratosphere Entertainment, to launch an independent distribution outfit, IDP Distribution, to be based in New York. IDP will acquire North American rights to smaller-budget films in a model similar to Lions ...
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Doroniuk exits post as Lions Gate chief
Roman Doroniuk has resigned from his post as president and chief operating officer of Lions Gate Entertainment.Doroniuk's departure is the latest to hit Lions Gate following the March 21 appointment of former Sony Pictures chief Jon Feltheimer to the position of vice chairman and CEO.Lions Gate founder Frank Giustra stepped ...
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Alliance, TV-Loonland strike $75m children's pact
Canada's Alliance Atlantis Communications (AAC) and Germany's TV-Loonland have sealed a $75m (C$110m) children's content deal covering production, distribution, home video, merchandising, ecommerce and webcasting. As part of the deal, the German children's specialist will sub-distribute or co-produce up to nine children's and animation series with AAC's kids division into ...
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Alliance seeks licence for joint venture with BBC
Several Canadian entertainment companies including Alliance Atlantis Broadcasting, have applied for licences to operate digital specialty channels in the latest request for proposals by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. Among Alliance's proposals, which include channels devoted to independent film, books and biographical documentaries, is a partnership with BBC Worldwide ...
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Quebec duo launch $4bn counter-bid for Videotron
The gloves truly came off this weekend in the high-stakes battle for Canadian media domination.Just as shareholders in the Quebec-based cable company Groupe Videotron were preparing to vote on a proposed C$5.6bn ($3.8bn) takeover by the nation's largest cable operator, a rival hostile bid was suddenly tabled that only complicated ...
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Intractor appointed Imax Enterprises president
Imax Corporation has appointed Richard Intrator to the newly created position of president, Imax Enterprises and executive vice president, Imax Ltd. New York-based Imax Ltd handles the administrative side of the giant-screen company's business. Imax Enterprises, a new subsidiary, will be devoted to new business development. Intractor was ...
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US, Canadian producers agree BC labour pact
Three years of harmony is assured in Canada's west coast film production sector as producer representatives from the US and Canada ratified a collective agreement with the British Columbia Council of Film Unions. The agreement provides a 3.5% salary increase in the first year followed by 3% increases in the ...
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Rogers, Shaw unite against BCE
In a case of "my enemy's enemy is my friend", Canada's two rival cable providers have cut a $2.7bn (C$4bn) deal, swapping cable assets and merging their high-speed Internet access services, to prepare for battle against the nation's principal telco, BCE. The swap sees both companies consolidating their territorial fortresses. ...
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TVA in talks to acquire Montreal's Motion
Quebec-based broadcaster TVA is in takeover talks with Montreal production and distribution company Motion International. If it goes ahead, the $85m (C$125m) union would create Canada's second largest production company after Alliance Atlantis Communications. TVA, a subsidiary of cable operator Group Videotron before that company was taken over by Rogers ...
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Shaw Communications takes fibre-optic stake
Canadian cable operator Shaw Communications has signed a $270m (C$400m) deal with 360networks, the high-speed fibre-optic network headed up by former Microsoft CFO Greg Maffei. The agreement, which sees Shaw take an $100m equity stake in 360networks, gives the company a significant boost as a high-speed provider to its 1.8 ...
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Nelvana launches new media arm as earnings surge
The situation at Cinar may be dire but Canada''s other major children''s entertainment player is in robust health. Toronto-based Nelvana Limited posted strong fourth quarter results as it announced the creation of a new media division and several attendant projects, including the world''s first TV series in Flash Animation.Total revenue ...
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Biondi, Chen tip in for Reelplay financing
US virtual market player Reelplay.com has raised $4.5m from Hollywood and Silicon Valley as it closed a second round of financing led by Japan''s Softbank Venture Capital. Amongst the equity investors are former Viacom chief Frank Biondi''s Waterview Advisors and Pehong Chen, president and CEO of Broadvision. Launched last year ...
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Lions Gate brings home Canadian distribution
Lions Gate Entertainment has restructured its television division as well as the Canadian arms of its production and theatrical distribution outfits, where the company has brought sales functions back in-house after a two-year service agreement with Alliance Atlantis'' distribution subsidiary, Odeon Films. The following personnel were promoted in the restructuring: ...
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Canada's CTV accepts BCE takeover
Canada''s largest broadcaster CTV has accepted a takeover offer from telco giant BCE in a deal worth approximately $1.57bn (C$2.3bn) having held out for an extra $20m. The factor clinching the deal was BCE''s offer to buy outright CTV shareholder Electrohome Broadcasting, which owns a 12% stake, for $185m. Electrohome ...
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Damon takes control of Behaviour
International sales specialist Mark Damon is taking control of troubled Montreal production and distribution entity Behaviour Communications, potentially halting the piece-meal disintegration of what was once one of Canada''s leading entertainment companies. In a last-ditch rescue operation, Damon, who heads of LA-based Behaviour Worldwide, is converting $5.7m owed him by ...
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CTV shareholders resist takeover
CanWest Global Communications and Electrohome Broadcasting, both shareholders in Canada's biggest broadcaster CTV, are resisting telco BCE's proposed $2.3bn takeover of the company.CanWest, Canada's second-largest private broadcaster which holds nearly 10% of CTV and Electrohome, which holds 12.1%, have both indicated they would prefer a stock swap over BCE's proposed ...
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Lions Gates teams with Ellis for E-Psycho site
The North American release of American Psycho will be ushered in by the psycho himself. In an innovative web-based promotional campaign called Pseudo Psycho, author Brett Easton Ellis, who penned the source novel, will unleash his creation Patrick Bateman once again. Lions Gate Films and netcaster Pseudo Programs will co-present ...
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Blair Witch video sales propel Alliance to profit
Alliance Atlantis Communications boosted its third quarter earnings by 123% thanks in part to brisk video sales of The Blair Witch Project and Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me. Net earnings for the third quarter ended December 31 were C$14.3m (US$9.9m) compared to last year's C$5.3m. That trend is ...