All articles by Agnes Poirier – Page 6
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Monopoly worries force sale of Canadian cinema stake
Anti-trust concerns by Canada's Competition Bureau has forced the sale of exhibitor Famous Players' minority stake in regional cinema circuit Galaxy Entertainment.Viacom's Canadian exhibition subsidiary Famous Players actually sold its stake in Galaxy Entertainment three weeks ago, appeasing monopoly concerns raised by the Competition Bureau. The public confirmation, however, was ...
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SAG faces cross-border legal assault over Global Rule One
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) will face legal challengesin both the US and Canada if it tries to stamp its authority beyond USterritory through its controversial Global Rule One, according to producersassociations in those two countries.Last week, the US-basedAlliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers (AMPTP) and the CanadianFilm and ...
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Turkish website protests against Egoyan's Ararat
A Turkish website is protesting against Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's new film Ararat claiming it distorts history and misrepresents Turkish actions. Tipped to premiere in competition at Cannes, the film tells the story of a present-day ethnic Armenian director filming an historical drama about the 1915 uprising of Armenians and ...
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Canadian animation series funded by Scottish bank
Ottawa-based animation studio Amberwood Entertainment will produce two animated series with gap financing provided by the Royal Bank of Scotland.It's the first time the RBS has arranged the financing for a Canadian company. The productions covered by the arrangement include 13 half-hour episodes of preschool series Katie And Orbie narrated ...
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Imax set for widest ever release with Space Station 3D
Imax Corp. is set for the widest release yet of one of its giant-screen films. The company said Space Station 3D, with narration by Tom Cruise, has commitments from more than 100 IMAX theatres. The film, its first space-related 3D picture, opens in North America April 19 in 24 theatres. ...
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TVA saves distribution arm through Christal alliance
Montreal-based TVA Group will merge the administration of its distribution arm, TVA International, with that of fellow Montreal distributor, Christal Films, breathing new life into an organisation TVA Group had considered abandoning. Under the terms of the service agreement, the new entity will operate under the name Topaze Communications. Both ...
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Telefilm Canada backs four Quebecois films
Four Quebecois features have received the backing of Telefilm Canada, as the federal film and television support agency announced its first set of investment decisions through the Selective Component of the Canada Feature Film Fund (CFFF). 100% Bio. Directed by Claude Fortin and backed by Cinema Libre. A low-budget ...
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Canada builds on its production capacity
Canada is poised for a massive boost to its production capacity with four major studios having been announced in less than three months.Two of the new projects are in Toronto, one in Quebec and one in Regina, in the province of Saskatchewan, with the backers of the Toronto and Quebec ...
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Canada's Remstar acquires new package
Montreal-based distributor Remstar has picked up Canadian rights to Jacob Berger's Aime Ton Pere (Honour Thy Father), currently in post-production. The feature debut of writer-director Berger, the $5m suspense drama sees the reunion of father and son actors Gerard and Guillaume Depardieu in starring roles. The story follows the plan ...
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Canadian film board launches co-production unit
Canada's National Film Board (NFB) will launch an International Co-production Unit (ICU) with the goal of developing key partnerships and framework agreements with international broadcasters and other organisations. NFB chairman Jacques Bensimon said that the move was precipitated by cutbacks at public-sector institutions internationally. "The NFB has a duty to ...
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Alliance Atlantis posts 66% distribution increase
Alliance Atlantis Communications' film distribution business jumped 66% in the third quarter ended Dec. 31, 2001, with revenues up $25m (C$40.2m) to $62.6m (C$100.7m) from $37.6m (C$60.5m) in the prior year's period, boosted by the strong performance of Lord Of The Rings:, increased video and DVD demand and sales to ...
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Canada's first VOD service launched by Rogers
Rogers Communications will launch Canada's first video-on-demand service. The company's cable subsidiary, Canada's largest operator, has signed a long-term pact with Alliance Atlantis Communications (AAC) to distribute its films over the new service in the VOD window, which follows the home video window by approximately 45-60 days. The initial phase ...
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World's largest film studio to be built in Quebec
Two weeks after the announcement of plans to build a massive studio in Toronto, another facility is going forward in the province of Quebec. The backers of Studio Bromont plan to convert a 1.2 million sq. ft automobile plant north of Montreal into the largest film production studio in the ...
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Lions Gate's gross profits turn to net loss
Vancouver-based Lions Gate Entertainment recorded a third quarter loss of $3.1m for 2001-2002 as increasing distribution and marketing costs ate into revenue. It was the second consecutive losing quarter. Although gross profits were up 59% from the same period a year ago, distribution and marketing costs more than tripled.Motion picture ...
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Horowitz returns to AAC to sell Double Down
One month after laying him off, Alliance Atlantis has contracted former international sales head Mark Horowitz to finish the job of selling Double Down, the Neil Jordan-directed remake of Bob Le Flambeur, starring Nick Nolte. Ted Riley, President, Distribution for Alliance Atlantis' newly formed Entertainment Group told ScreenDaily, "The contract ...
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Canada's Genies snatched by The Fast Runner
To the surprise of no one, Atanarjuat (The Fast Runner) continued its winning ways, taking Best Picture and Best Direction at Canada's 22nd Genie Awards on Feb. 7. The Inuit-language feature, which is Canada's submission for the Foreign-language Academy Award, also won the Genies for Screenplay, Editing and Original Score. ...
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Canada enjoys 17% rise in 'runaway productions'
Canadian film and television production increased to $3.3bn in 2000-2001 against $2.84bn in 1999-2000, driven in large part by a 17% increase in foreign location shooting - often referred to as "runaway production" by US film industry lobbyists. According to figures released today (Feb 7) by the Canadian Film and ...
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Pinewood Shepperton backs new Toronto studio
A major film and television production facility is set to be built in Toronto with the participation of the UK's Pinewood Shepperton Studios and its partners including Ridley Scott and Tony Scott. If approved for land-use permits, the 1.2m sq. ft. studio will feature as many as 16 sound stages ...
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Disney to open Treasure day-date in 35mm, Imax
Walt Disney Pictures will release its 2002 animation Treasure Planet simultaneously in 35mm venues and in Imax and other large-format cinemas, the first time a studio feature has been specifically formatted for the giant screen to receive a day-and-date release. Based on Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island", the digitally-produced space ...
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Quebec Jutra awards finalists announced
Nominees for Quebec's Fourth Annual Jutra Awards were announced on Wednesday with Andre Turpin's Soft Shell Man (Un Crabe Dans La Tete) leading the pack with 10 nominations. Close behind are Pierre Falardeau's 15 February 1839 with nine nominations and Denis Chouinard's Berlin-bound Tar Angel (L'Ange De Goudron) with eight. ...