september - october 2010 : reel west magazine

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EYE ON THE FESTIVAL:Terry Miles takes A Night for Dying Tigers to Vancouver’s fi lm fest

Eleven years of making fi lms withCARL BESSAI

Q & A with directorADAM MCKAY

Reel West Profi les featuringMICHAEL FRENCH and PETER MURRAY

New!

VIFF 20

10

3 REEL WEST SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2010

4 PRODUCTION UPDATE

5 BITS AND BYTES

10 BEGINNINGS

11 REEL WEST PROFILE #1

12 BEHIND THE SCENES

13 REEL WEST PROFILE #2

14 QUESTION AND ANSWER

15 EXPERT WITNESS

28 LEGAL BRIEFS

30 FINAL EDIT

16 DIGITAL MASTERS One would assume that people working in the third largest production centre in North

America would be savvy when it came to multi-platform strategies. However, panellists for the Trade Forum’s session on digital strategies say that few fi lmmakers really know as much as they should about new media and its advantages.

17 GAME ON Led by Electronic Arts, the video gaming industry is strong in British Columbia. Trade

Forum panellist Ian Christy says that like fi lm, the smaller companies are doing the most interesting things.

18 STICKING TO THE SCRIPT A lot of changes have occurred over the course of 25 years but Vancouver’s fi lm and

television industry Forum is still talking about screenwriting and the international market-place. While the new technologies have a prominent place, screenwriting seminars and a day-long pitching session called Storyville Vancouver are hot tickets.

20 BUSY BESSAI Eleven years after he took his fi rst fi lm to the Vancouver International Film Festival, Carl

Bessai is back with his eighth and ninth features, Fathers&Sons and Repeaters. In a country where it is diffi cult enough to get one movie seen by audiences he has become the poster boy for the prolifi c artist.

24 EYE ON THE TIGERS In his diary about the making of the Vancouver International Film Festival-bound A Night

for Dying Tigers, Terry Miles looks back at the day he realized that Robert Altman had underestimated the casting process when he said it was 90% of directing.

CONTENTS

COVER: A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS’ LAUREN LEE SMITH AND TYGH RUNYAN; PHOTO BY CATE CAMERON ABOVE: A NIGHT FOR DYING TIGERS’ TYGH RUNYAN,KATHLEEN ROBERTSON AND LEAH GIBSON; PHOTO BY CATE CAMERON

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REEL WEST SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 20104

PRODUCTION UPDATE

What’s coming. What’s shooting. What’s wrapped.

Two fi lm series that originated in

Vancouver are back in town for se-

quels. Diary of a Wimpy Kid 2: Ro-

drick Rules and Final Destination

5 will be shooting here throughout

much of the fall.

Wimpy Kid 2 follows the wisecrack-

ing elementary school boy whose mis-

adventures helped the fi rst fi lm make

over $60 million on an investment of

$15 million. It will have David Bow-

ers directing with Jeff Kinney the ex-

ecutive producer, Nina Jacobson and

Brad Simpson the producers, Ethan

Smith the supervising producer, Jack

Green the DOP, Warren Carr the

production manager, Steve Sachs the

location manager and Tony Lazaro-

wich the special eff ects coordinator.

It wraps in late October after a two

month shoot.

Th e Final Destination series is

well-known for its deadly opening

scenes. Th is time a suspension bridge

wreaks havoc on young victims.

Th ose who survive, as always, are

chased down by Death. It has Erik

Holmberg, Sheila Hanahan Taylor

as executive producers with Craig

Perry as producer, Brian Pearson as

DOP, Matthew Hart as production

manager, Adrienne Sol as produc-

tion coordinator, Kendrie Upton

as location manager and Rory Cut-

ler as special eff ects coordinator. It

wraps in mid-December after a three

month shoot.

Th e animated TV series Th e Fairly

Odd Parents comes to life as a live ac-

tion/animation television movie this

fall. It was shot throughout July with

Savage Steve Holland as director,

Scott McAboy, Lauren Levine as ex-

ecutive producers, Jon Joffi n as DOP,

Richard Hudolin as production de-

signer, Michael Potkins as produc-

tion manager, Lisa Ragosin as pro-

duction coordinator, David Tamkin

as location manager and Jak Osmond

as special eff ects coordinator.

In the television movie Good

Night for Justice, Beverly Hills 90210

alumni Jason Priestley and Luke

Perry reunite with Priestley direct-

ing his old pal. Randy Cheveldave

is the producer, Danny Nowak is the

DOP, Paul Joyal is the production

designer, Nancy Welsh is the pro-

duction manager, Tom Hoeverman

is the location manager and Dave

Allinson is the special eff ects coor-

dinator. It left in late August after a

month-long shoot.

Th e series Hellcats takes a dra-

matized look at college cheerleading

competitions and has Kevin Mur-

phy, Tom Welling and Allan Arkush

as executive producers, Rose Lam as

producer, Kim Steer as production

manager, Deana Kittson as produc-

tion coordinator and Michael Gaze-

tas as location manager. It is sched-

uled to be here until mid-November.

Leaving in early September was

the third season of the APTN se-

ries Nehiyawetan, which had Jason

Crowe and Loretta Todd as direc-

tors, Todd, Edi Osghian and Giuli-

ana Bertuzzi as producers, Glenn

Taylor and James Fortier as DOPs,

Tracy Major as production designer,

Felix Cheng as production coordi-

nator and Judson Pooyak as loca-

tion manager. ■

BOBBY CAMPO AND SHANTEL VANSANTEN ATTEMPT TO CHEAT DEATH IN THE FOURTH INSTALLMENT OF THE FINAL DESTINATION SERIES

Sequels come home


Insecurity securedA comedy series about the men and women of a

fi ctional agency whose mission is to keep the na-

tion “safeish’ is scheduled to wrap in late September

in Regina. Insecurity, which is scheduled to air the

fi rst of 13 episodes on the CBC in January, was shot

in and around Regina according to spokesperson

Richelle Bourgoin.

Th e show stars Natalie Lisinska as rookie agent Alex

Cranston, William Devry as “politically-savvy” boss

Peter McNeil, Matthew Macfadzean as “Jack Bauer

wanna-be” Burt Wilson, Grace Lynn Kung as forensics

specialist Jojo Kwan, Richard Yearwood as Benjamin

Nudu from the fi ctional African nation of Ligeria and

award-winning actor Rémy Girard.

Bourgoin said the series was created and executive

produced by Kevin White Robert De Lint and Vir-

ginia Th ompson .

BITS AND BYTES

Partnering for 3D TVImax Corporation and Samsung Electronics Canada recently announced that they have

formed a marketing partnership that will see Imax giving Samsung limited use of its trade-

mark and two 3D fi lms Into the Deep and Galapagos. A spokesperson said the 3D Blu-ray

versions of the fi lms are exclusive for the next 12 months to Samsung’s 2010 3D starter kit,

which also includes 2 pairs of 3D glasses and is free to people who buy a Samsung 3D TV

and a Samsung 3D Blu-ray device. He said the starter kit will be available starting this fall.

“Samsung is developing excellent television products that offer a powerful 3D experience

for consumers in their living and family rooms,” said Richard Gelfond, CEO of IMAX. “IMAX

remains focused on partnering with the best companies in the world to help us further ex-

tend our brand, establish our presence in the home and capitalize on our premium content,

and we believe Samsung will be a strong strategic marketing partner in these efforts.”

Samsung spokesperson John Revie said the agreement is part of the company’s

“ongoing commitment” to provide consumers with new Blu-ray 3D content.

Elizabeth Reins for CBCCanadian producers who thought 3D TV was still a few years away from airing in this country

will be encouraged by news that CBC will be showing the documentary Queen Elizabeth in

3D on September 20. According to CBC English Services spokesperson Kristine Stewart,

the network tested the images for the documentary when the Queen was in Canada earlier

this year. She said tests included the Queen reviewing the Canadian naval fl eet in Halifax, as

well as attending Canada Day celebrations in Ottawa and the Queen’s Plate in Toronto.

“It’s exciting to be part of Canadian television history,” she said. “Once again, the

CBC is at the forefront of bringing the best in television programming to as many

Canadians as possible.”

She said the brief 3D test was unannounced and broadcast across the entire CBC

system, including satellite, cable, Internet and over-the-air. A test group of 50 people

were given 3D glasses and took part in the test. “We wanted to learn,” said Mark Staro-

wicz, the head of documentary programming at the network. “We wanted to be on the

cutting edge of documentary production, and we wanted to make some history.”

Stewart said that while there have been 3D television programs shown in Canada

before, the CBC broadcast is the fi rst to be Canadian-shot and produced and trans-

mitted nationally.

Storyboard BoomsA spokesperson for a new version of Toon Boom Storyboard Pro 2 says it infuses “more

power and fl exibility into the idea creation, development and visualization process.”

Joan Vogesand, the president and CEO of Toon Boom, says the new version is essential

to the beginning of any audiovisual project. She says it enables storyboard artists, directors,

producers, game designers and communication specialists to bring their concept to life.

“This major release sets Storyboard Pro apart and delivers features that make it the

tool of choice for all digital storyboard projects” says Vogelesang. “The new feature

highlights include an extended set of Tools and Tool PropertiesFast creation and reuse

of brushes with specifi c settings, an easy creation of custom brushes using a stroke or

a series of strokes, a practical setting of separate colours for Brush, Pencil and Paint

tools and a convenient selection of strokes based on the current colour selection.”

In 2005 the Montreal-based company won a Primetime Emmy® Engineering Award

by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for the “signifi cant contribution” it has

made to the animation industry targeted for television. ■

NATALIE LISINSKA AND RICHARD YEARWOOD. PHOTO ALLAN FEILDEL

A Vancouver-based company will

begin fi lming the city’s fi rst ever

multi-camera sitcom in October.

Th underbird Films says it is working

with YTV and Th e Suite Life of Zack

and Cody writer Dan Signer on the

series, entitled Mr. Young, which is

expected to premiere on the Cana-

dian network in the spring of 2011.

“Th ere is a large pool of talented,

Canadian comedy writers in Los An-

geles working on some of the biggest

hit shows, many of whom are keen to

work with Dan Signer on Mr. Young,”

said Michael Shepard, president of

Th underbird Films. “Response to the

material in development has been

overwhelmingly positive.”

Shepard said the series will tell the

story of a child prodigy who went to

university at the age of nine. At four-

teen he turns down several career

options to be a high school science

teacher in order to have a normal high

school experience. However, his stu-

dents include his best friend, the girl

he has a crush on and the class bully.

Shepard said that in addition to

Signer, the key creative personnel

will include iCarly director Adam

Weissman and Suite Life writer

Howard Nemetz. He said Nelvana

Enterprises has been named inter-

national distribution agent for the

series. Nelvana and Th underbird will

be co-distributing in the USA.

Young Humour


Blackstone to APTNA fi ctional series of one-hour episodes about an Al-

berta First Nations band began production in mid-July

and is expected to debut in early 2011 on APTN and

Showcase. “Blackstone is relevant and relational in an

Aboriginal story world, with universal themes and con-

fl icts,” said executive producer Ron Scott.

Th e series stars several high-profi le Canadian ac-

tors including Eric Schweig, Nathaniel Arcand and

Michelle Th rush. Schweig, perhaps best known for

his co-starring performance in Last of the Mohicans,

plays a corrupt former chief who still has some political

power while Arcand plays a band member struggling in

the city and Th rush plays a woman in mourning over

the loss of her daughter.

Blackstone’s pilot, which aired last fall, won fi ve Ros-

ies at the May, 2010 AMPIA awards. Th e show won

the Diversity award, best production under 60 minutes,

best writing (Gil Cardinal) best director (Scott) and

best Alberta actress (Roseanne Supernault.)

ERIC SCHWEIG IN THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS

Winnipeg recently played host to

the CBC series Men With Brooms.

Th e show is scheduled to air on the

network for 13 weeks beginning

with the episode of Monday, Sep-

tember 20.

Series spokesperson RoseAnna

Schick said the series is “inspired” by

the 2002 fi lm of the same name and

is being produced by Serendipity

Point Films, E1 Entertainment and

Frantic Films. She says the fi lm stars

Brendan Gall, William Vaughan,

Joel Keller and Anand Rajaram

as a group of friends in “small town

Canada” who live for their time on

the local curling rink.

Schick said the show wrapped

in late August with Winnipeg’s Fort

Rouge Curling Club the key interior

set for the production. She said the

series was created by Paul Mather,

who joins Laszlo Barna, Ari Lan-

tos, Mark Musselman, Paul Gross

and Jamie Brown as executive pro-

ducers. She said Paula Devonshire

is the line producer, and Shawn

Watson is co-producer. Directors

are Jeff Beesley, Brian Roberts and

Kelly Makin.

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Park’s fi rst daysBattlestar Gallactica alumnus Grace Park, who was

recently hired to star in the remake of the series Hawaii

Five-O for CBS, returned to western Canada to star in a

short fi lm, Th e First Days. According to a spokesperson,

the fi lm was shot over the course of two days in Regina.

Th e First Days cast also included Byron Lawson, Aleks

Paunovic, Jody Peters, Alan Bratt and Ron Anderson.

“It’s incredible how supportive everyone has been for this

fi lm,” said producer Stephen Huszar. “It’s not often that

a short fi lm has such a high calibre cast and crew. We feel

very fortunate to be able to work with this kind of talent.”

Th e fi lm tells the story from the point of view of an

immigrant who risks his life to get to a new home only

to fi nd he can’t communicate with the people who live

there. It was written by Regina’s Mauricio Carvajal and

was based on his own experiences. Huszar said Car-

vajal travelled from Bogota, Colombia to Regina when

he was 17 and didn’t speak a word of English. Huszar

said he is now a Landed Immigrant and is enrolled in a

Masters of Fine Arts program with a specialization in

immigration in fi lm.

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Women detectives get their own docu-

mentary series in September when

Vancouver-based Force Four Entertain-

ment premieres Murder She Solved:

True Crime, an eight-episode, one

hour series for specialty channel VIVA.

Force Four’s John Ritchie says the

show tells the true stories of female

crime solvers, some of whom are

responsible for solving some of the

most daunting murder cases in Can-

ada. “Th is is the fi rst factual crime

series for us, and we are thrilled to

be collaborating with VIVA,” he says.

“Whether it’s the in-depth news of

Dateline or the fi ctional drama of

CSI, crime stories have always been

an audience favourite. Murder She

Solved: True Crime off ers all the

excitement of headline news with

thorough investigative reporting, but

from a Canadian perspective. It will

appeal to a broad audience and make

great destination TV viewing.”

Ritchie says that at the heart of each

one-hour episode is a high-profi le Ca-

nadian murder “full of twists, turns,

dead ends and high-speed car chases,

and a female investigator whose role

is pivotal in solving the case.”

Crime Solved

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Pilots Flying

Priestley debut Vancouver actor Jason Priestley has the lead role in

an HBO Canada series called Call Me Fitz that debuts

September 19. According to a spokesperson he will be

playing a “morally bankrupt yet charismatic used-car

salesman who is forced to become business partners

with his inner conscience.”

“Call Me Fitz is an outstanding addition to HBO

Canada’s line-up,” says Corus Entertainment’s Joanna

Webb. “Fitz is like a corrupted modern version of

Frank Sinatra, Casanova and Gordon Gekko, and

it takes a special actor to make a character like this

likeable. But with the great writing of (Defying Grav-

ity’s) Sheri Elwood and the talents of Jason Priestley,

the show really comes together with boundary-push-

ing results.”

Th e series is being executive produced by Elwood.

Th e supporting cast includes Ernie Grunwald, Peter

MacNeill, Kathleen Munroe, Brooke Nevin, Hu-

sein Madhavji, Tracy Dawson, Joanna Cassidy and

Rachel Blanchard.

Vancouver’s Omni Films has com-

pleted a 13-episode documentary

series about a renegade Arctic airline

that fl ies World War II planes in the

Canadian North. Ice Pilots NWT be-

gins airing September 24 on Global.

“We’re thrilled to be airing season

one of Ice Pilots NWT on Global,” says

Omni partner and executive produc-

er Gabriela Schonbach. “With the

incredible success of its premiere on

History Television and the massive

audience response internationally,

we’re delighted to showcase the orig-

inal adventures of Buff alo Air to an

ever growing Canadian audience.”

Schonbach said the series was

fi lmed over nine months of winter

and follows rookie pilots and “frost-

bitten ramp hands” as they attempt

to keep vintage warbirds fl ying de-

spite blizzards and breakdowns. Th e

series was created and produced by

David Gullason, and executive pro-

duced by Schonbach, David Gulla-

son and Michael Chechik.

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Heart beatingMichael French had shot documentary footage of Rick

Hansen in the 1980s when the Vancouver paralympian

had gone to China as part of his Man in Motion World

Tour. Years later, he decided that the story might make

a good dramatic feature and took a cast and crew back

to China to make the movie.

Th e fi lm, which is entitled Heart of a Dragon, will

premiere in Vancouver on October 29 and will move

across the country from there. It was directed, writ-

ten and produced by French with Mark Gordon and

David Foster the executive producers. It stars Vic-

tor Webster as Hansen and co-stars James Th omas

Byrnes, Sarah-Jane Potts, Andrew Lee Potts and

Ethan Embry.

French said Zhang Ping was the production executive

for partner Th e Beijing Film Studios. Xiaobing Rao was

the cinematographer

and Bingjian Zhang

was the production

designer and 1st as-

sistant director. Th e

composer was Chris

Ainscough while

the original song was

written by Foster and

John Parr and per-

formed by Michael

Johns. Colette Gouin

was the co-producer

responsible for CGI,

John Bromley was

the line producer and

the editors were Chris

Ainscough and Jana

Fritsch. Th e produc-

tion manager was Britt French and Chris Earthy pro-

duced the soundtrack.

Th e Winnipeg-shot series Todd &

Th e Book Of Pure Evil will debut on

Space September 29 according to

a network spokesperson who de-

scribes the series as “Th e Breakfast

Club meets Evil Dead.”

Th e show stars Alex House as

“pot-smokin’, heavy-metal-rock-

god-wannabe” Todd Smith. After

local teens discover a book that

makes teenagers’ deepest, darkest

desires come true, Todd is the only

person who stands between the

book and the end of the world as

we know it.

Th e series was created by Craig

David Wallace, Charles Picco and

Anthony Leo and was based on

the short fi lm of the same name by

Wallace and Max Bernard Reid.

It premiered at the 2003 Toronto

International Film Festival. Th e

executive producers are Wallace,

Leo and Andrew Rosen. Th e pro-

ducers are Leo, Rosen and Shawn

Watson.

Evil booked

VICTOR WEBSTER


My interest and pas-

sion for entertain-

ment started in my

adolescence in the

1970s. My family and after-school

friends were hooked on Gilligan’s Is-

land, Th e Brady Bunch, Th e Rockford

Files and all manner of cop shows.

Not all of these shows were great tele-

vision, but the 70s paved the way for

everything that followed. CSI might

seem like a cutting-edge series about

the technology of criminal forensics,

but it’s really just Quincy, M.E. meets

Th e $ 6 Million Dollar Man.

I have been fortunate enough to

have worked as a writer, a reader, a

Telefi lm analyst, a business aff airs ex-

ecutive/in-house counsel and now an

entertainment lawyer in private prac-

tice representing mostly producers,

distributors and digital media compa-

nies. Entertainment law deals largely

with contract and copyright law and

involves preparing or reviewing all

the contracts between the producer

and all the creative and fi nancial ele-

ments needed to fi nance and execute

a production.

Th is includes contracts with co-pro-

ducers, executive producers, writers,

the actors, the director and the crew,

and contracts with the broadcasters,

distributors or other investors who

fi nance the project. Th ere is also pro-

duction insurance, E&O clearance pro-

cedures, labour law/union issues and

music rights. Th e lawyer is involved to

some extent in all of these areas. Ini-

tially I started as a television writer, so

how did I get from there to entertain-

ment law? Here’s how the story goes.

I was always interested in the people

I met, where they were from and what

made them tick, the more unusual the

better. (My mother remembers when the

Jehovah’s Witnesses came by our house.

She would pretend to be doing laundry

in the basement hoping they would think

no one was home. While she was down-

stairs I invited them in for tea.)

If I had any desire to be a writer at

that time, I didn’t dare express it. As

far as my family was concerned, there

were only fi ve possible professions

in life. You could be a banker, doctor,

lawyer, accountant or “businessman.”

Being a teacher was fi ne if you were a

girl, but no one could support a family

on it. As for fi lm school, forget it! Fast-

forward seven years and I had a Com-

merce degree (UBC) and a Law degree

(U Vic). Although there were no spe-

cifi c entertainment law courses at the

time, I took contracts and intellectual

property. I enjoyed law school, did well

and got a scholarship in my third year

and, eventually, an articling position

with a downtown fi rm.

But instead of studying for my Bar

Exams, I was reading Syd Field’s Story

Structure and writing screenplays on

the side. I reviewed movies in the

fi rm’s internal newsletter. I don’t think

anyone was surprised when I quit the

practice after a year and took Creative

Writing at UBC. My Mum, however,

thought I was nuts. Had I been re-

programmed by the Moonies?

I still worked in the legal world and

my goal at the time was to write for law

dramas like L.A. Law or Law & Order.

I worked part-time as a researcher

on an information show called Legal

Wise, produced by Phil Reimer and

Nijole Kuzmickas for CBC Regional.

At the end of that school year, I

BEGINNINGS

John P.H. Nicolls “...I was eating off 2 for 1 coupons at El Pollo Loco and realized this wasn’t fun anymore.”

PH

OT

O P

HIL

CH

IN


wrote three pitches for the Canadian

series Street Legal and one of them

got picked up. Suddenly, I had a pay-

ing gig on a plum CBC show! I really

thought I had arrived. Not for long

though. I fl ew back out to Toronto

later that summer on my own dime,

but none of my other pitches worked

out. Overall, it was a great experience.

I got a produced writing credit and

an extremely generous royalty of 10%

of gross worldwide sales. Even today,

when my episode sells to Algeria for

$100, I get a cheque for ten bucks (less

union deductions.)

In 1991, my friend John Ketcham and

I decided to move to Los Angeles. John

was a Vancouver producer-director who

had scored the fi lm rights to the book

about Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, the

world middle-weight boxing champion

who had been wrongfully convicted of

triple-murder in the mid-1960’s.

John had also scored a green card

in the lottery. I was not so lucky so

he hired me as his lawyer and I got in

under the NAFTA Free Trade Agree-

ment. Besides my law degree under

my arm, I also carried scripts for L.A.

Law, Law & Order and Cheers and a

feature script called Upstaged that I

had written with a friend.

John and I lived in a bachelor pad on

San Ysidro Drive in the Hills of Beverly

with producer Michelle MacLaren,

another Vancouverite transitioning

to Los Angeles. It was a modest bun-

galow, but there was an avocado tree

and an outdoor barbeque with piped-

in natural gas. We had lots of parties.

In fact, our little pad became a haven

for many ex-pat Canadians and we had

get-togethers for Canada Day, Canadi-

an Th anksgiving, even Canadian elec-

tions. We shot seriously goofy videos

in the backyard starring our friends

and we also put together actual proj-

ects to pitch. We pitched them ear-

nestly, and shamelessly, in an attempt

to have someone take notice.

John had a movie of the week in de-

velopment with NBC and was pitching

the “Hurricane” Carter story around

town. We pitched a TV special on

the upcoming 25th anniversary of

the moon landing with a bootlegged

soundtrack and a trailer that was made

up largely of NASA stock footage. We

also had a movie review show that was

akin to Siskel & Ebert.

I was shopping around for an agent

and got some great leads through

some Vancouverites. I was still try-

ing to get connected to L.A. Law and

met co-star Richard Dysart through

Vancouver art dealer Diane Farris.

Dysart, who commuted between LA

and Sechelt at the time, supported me

wholeheartedly. He told me not to sub-

mit the script, but to get another spec

for a diff erent show, on the grounds

that one couldn’t write a script that

was up to snuff for the show one was

actually trying to land.

In the meantime, I heard they

needed Canadian writers for a half-

hour Tarzan series, a Canadian-Mex-

ican-German co-production starring

Wolf Larsen. It was a non-union gig

but paid $5,000 a pop - which was

enough to live on for several months

- so I pitched a bunch of ideas for that

and got one. Eventually, Richard got

my Law & Order script to Bob Breech,

one of the executive producers of L.A.

Law and eventually it went to Chan-

ning Gibson, an actual writer on the

staff . Th e word was they were look-

ing for another writer to complete the

season. Could this be my big break?

Channing liked my spec enough to

ask for an original script, to see how

I was at creating original characters.

I sent him Upstaged, the romantic

comedy, but I guess it didn’t cut it. Th e

job went to another Canadian writer,

someone named Paul Haggis.

What I did get out of L.A. was an

understanding about how the business

worked. I learned what option agree-

ments, writer agreements, co-pro-

duction agreements and script guar-

antees actually looked like and what

recoupment schedules and royalties

(and net profi t defi nitions) were, how

they were calculated and paid, or not.

I learned what kind of introductions

meant you had an “agent” and what

kind meant you had a “partner” and

how to limit those relationships with

written agreements, not “back of the

napkin” deals. I learned that people or

companies that said they had money

and connections didn’t always tell the

truth. (One thing about the internet is

it has become a lot easier to look up

people and companies and check out

their stories so you can fi nd someone

you know that’s done business with

them in the past.)

Th ere are a couple of signifi cant

things I remember about L.A. Th e

fi rst is that there are about 20,000 new

people arriving there every year to get

their big break (and 20,000 leaving?).

I remember we were going to make a

short fi lm, and we put one ad in one

issue of the Dramalogue to cast for a

“female lead in her twenties,” and we

got over 200 resumes. And that was

for an unpaid gig in a short fi lm. Th e

other thing is that, as much as know-

ing people is important, working your

ass off is essential. Read comedy writer

Phil Rosenthal’s hilarious auto-biogra-

phy, You’re Lucky You’re Funny, which

outlines his experience as a slaving

staff writer for some terrible sit-coms,

before fi nally getting the chance to

create and show-run Everybody Loves

Raymond. Th e message: write about

what you know, do whatever you can

to get experience and never give up.

In 1994, I was eating off 2 for 1

coupons at El Pollo Loco and realized

this wasn’t fun anymore. I became

one of the 20,000 leaving L.A., but I

didn’t exactly give up. My theory is

that when one thing doesn’t work out,

it usually opens up an opportunity for

another thing, and that can be just as

good or better. And luckily, that hap-

pened for me.

When I arrived back in Vancouver,

broke and depressed, I wasn’t sure

what to do. Th e fi rst thing that got me

out of my funk was pitching a maga-

zine article about my L.A. experiences

to Vancouver Magazine. It chronicled

some of the funnier things that hap-

pened in L.A. where it seemed that no

act of self-promotion was too wacky.

Th e article was titled You’re OK, I’m

Fantastic and included stunts like

sending a pitch around inside a box of

Cheerios with a “limited-time off er”

written on the box: “Free Screenplay!

See details inside!”

Th at led to a recurring column

with the magazine entitled Brolly-

wood which chronicled the goings-on

in Vancouver’s fi lm scene, both in-

dependent and imported. I also ap-

plied for (and got) a Kickstart Award

Beginnings continued on page 29

PROFILE

Writer / Director Michael French More than 20 years after he followed Rick Hansen’s Man in Motion World Tour to China to shoot a documentary,

Michael French returned to shoot a feature fi lm which he wrote directed and produced. “Heart of a Dragon” stars

Victor Webster as the famed wheelchair athlete. It is scheduled to open in BC theatres October 29.

Home town Vancouver, BC

Start date August 25, 2006

Best day The last shot on the last day at the top of The Great Wall

Worst day The fi rst shot on the fi rst day when specialized camera mounts failed.

Most memorable working experience Learning that dragons are loyal friends who will only breathe fi re if provoked.

If I won an Oscar I would thank My mother

My latest fi ve year plan Going skiing

PH

OT

O A

LBE

RT

NO

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AN

DIN


PH

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O M

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Vancouver composer Ari

Wise had scored many

fi lms, documentaries and

television episodes when

he made a career move that could go

a long way in changing the way the

world looks at Canadian composers.

Four years after he founded it, Core

Music Agency (formerly Th e Cana-

dian Composers Agency) is the sin-

gle largest provider of fi lm, television

and games composers in Canada.

Wise’s path from composer to

agent started almost 20 years ago

when he returned to Vancouver

from USC’s Th ornton’s Graduate

Film Scoring program. He recalls

that he assumed he would take an

instantaneous rocket to stardom but

discovered that while he was ready

to soar the opportunities were not

abundant.

“I guess I had it in my head that

I was going to take the town with

fresh ideas and creative vision and

the hundred or so years of fi lm scor-

ing experience that I got from all of

my Hollywood professors,” he says.

“Unfortunately, Vancouver really

wasn’t humming yet. We had had a

few false starts, but nothing like it

is now. I was surprised to fi nd out

that there already were quite a few

very well established fi lm compos-

ers here. I guess I should have done

some research fi rst.”

Part of the problem was that he

didn’t have a strong background in

the music that dominated movies

in the early 1990s. Instead, he was

more fi rmly footed in contemporary

orchestral styles.

“Most of the music for fi lm and TV

was rock-based at that time. I liked

that music but had never played in a

band before. I had to learn very fast

and so I just hired all the best ses-

sion musicians I could fi nd in town.

I didn’t net a penny for fi ve years but

I learned a lot. Th ose guys took me

by the hand and showed me how it’s

done. I could never have learned that

stuff in school. Th ere’s a real com-

munity here and they brought me in

right away. Th ey were professional,

gifted and brotherly.”

He made enough contacts in the

industry that he was able to create a

studio and forge a 15 year career that

saw him score nine series and 14 fea-

ture length fi lms as well as dozens of

documentaries and shorts. However,

he could also see the potential in an-

other facet of the industry. “Maybe it

was that ‘hitting 40’ thing,” he says. “I

just felt like I needed to change my

habits. I needed to change my life.”

He sold the studio and his gear, start-

ed exercising, lost 20 pounds and

opened a talent agency dedicated to

representing fi lm composers.

“Instead of competing with my

peers, I decided to represent them,”

he says. “I got the idea from watching

my wife Pam at work. She’s a popu-

lar agent for actors. Also, I had the

benefi t of having three good agents

over my career. And I really like the

business side of fi lm music. I like

fi nding solutions, making new con-

nections, seeing potential in people. I

also realized that a great soundtrack

happens when there is a perfect syn-

ergy between music inspired by the

fi lm and a fi lm that is inspired by

music. Representing composers is

what I know but it’s only half of the

equation. I needed to fi nd the right

person to help me build a licensing

library featuring the talents of new

recording artists and bands.”

Enter Jacquelyn Brioux, a young

music afi cionado with a background

in fi lm, English and a passion for all

things contemporary. “Jacquelyn re-

ally knocked me over with her di-

verse knowledge of artists and new

movements in music. My iPod ex-

ploded overnight.” Brioux now heads

up the music licensing division.

Wise said the company is doing well

enough that it has also hired another

composer’s agent, Matt Safran, who

once represented Wise.

Th is month (September) the

company will make the transition

from “scoring agency” to “scoring

and licensing agency’” and formally

become Core Music Agency. “Th e

name really jumped out at us be-

cause it represents something at the

very center of something else. It’s the

heart. It’s what every artist looks for

in creating a sculpture, a painting, a

piece of music. Music is at the very

core of us and it’s what we bring to

the industry: great talents who un-

derstand that concept and go right to

the internal pulse of the pictures they

work on.” ■

Core Music Agency Connecting with the competition worked out well for Ari Wise

BEHIND THE SCENES

PROFILE

Talon Helicopters Peter MurrayThirteen years after it was founded, Talon Helicopters is one of Vancouver’s leading suppliers of helicopters to the

fi lm and television industry. Founded by its current president, Peter Murray, Talon has six helicopters confi gured for

productions and has ten employees. Among its recent productions are the fi lms Red Riding Hood and Mordecai and

the series Human Target, Fringe and Sanctuary

Home town Vancouver, BC

First Day April 22, 1997

Best day June 1, 2009 – the day we added our TwinStar helicopter to the fl eet. Low level fl ight in the city is now part of our repetoire.

Worst day When you love what you do, every day is a good day.

Most memorable working experience Flying the aerials for the incredible twilight shots of Vancouver and Whistler for the 2010 Winter Games opening ceremonies.

If I won an Oscar I would thank My wife Oga Nwobosi Murray, for her endless support

My latest fi ve year plan is a continuation of my last fi ve year plan: steady, managed growth backed with the best crews in the helicopter business.


In 1995 Adam McKay was the

head writer of Saturday Night

Live and Will Ferrell was a

rookie performer. Flash forward

15 years and the two men are a qua-

druple threat. Th ey have taken their

television success and translated it to

stage, screen and even the internet.

Th eir collaborations include the hit

stage play You’re Welcome America,

A Final Night with George W. Bush,

the popular website Funny or Die and

three movies (Anchorman, Talladega

Nights: Th e Legend of Ricky Bobby and

Step Brothers) that have averaged over

$100 million in box offi ce receipts.

Th eir latest venture is Th e Other

Guys, which is directed by McKay and

stars Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg as

paper-pushing New York cops who are

ignored by their colleagues. Th e movie

was released in August. McKay sat

down with Reel West editor Ian Cad-

dell in July to talk about why the part-

nership works, the diff erence between

fi lm comedy and TV sitcoms and the

work that goes into editing a fi lm where

improvisation is encouraged.

Why do you think you and Will have managed to have such a successful partnership?“Our upbringings are remarkably

similar. We both come from divorced

families where our fathers were mu-

sicians. Both of our families split up

when we were the same age which is

kind of freaky and we grew up through

the same period together. We both

worked at improv theatres and be-

yond that we are not freakishly success

driven people. We are not looking to

be number one or dominate. We like

what we do and we want to be chal-

lenged or entertained. Th at is our fi rst

priority. When we work together we

will have conversations where we will

say ‘if we are going to do Step Brothers

it has to be rated R. It has to be really

absurd. We are not going to make $200

million on it. Th ere is even a chance

that we will make only $50 (million.)

I will say ‘I am good with that, are you

good with that?’and he will say ‘yes I

am good with that’ and then we go and

do the movie.”

What about the collaboration pro-cess. How does that work? “Well there is a conversation before ev-

ery movie where we go ‘here is why we

want to do it. Here is what is interesting

about it to us.’ Th e answer is always ‘I

am cool with that.’ I think both of us re-

ally respond to that and because of that

we don’t get crazily cranked up or dra-

matic about stuff . Neither of us think

we are so great that we are always right

about stuff . If he comes with a strong

opinion I am always curious to hear it

and he feels the same with me. If either

of us come close to putting our foot

down the other person will say ‘oh, you

don’t usually feel this strong . Let’s try

that.’ It’s fi lm so you can always shoot it

a couple of diff erent ways, so there is no

need to get freaked out about stuff .”

What is the process that leads you to choose the particular plot lines? “We are drawn a lot of times to tradi-

tional story arcs like the sports story

in Talladega or the cop buddy thing

because you have assumptions coming

into it and then we get to fool around

with those assumptions and that is kind

of fun. So people say it’s parody but it’s

not parody. It is a familiar room you

have been in before and then the sur-

prise has more of a context for it. We felt

the cop buddy genre was nearly dead. It

started to get kind of stale there near the

end and there were a bunch that didn’t

hit in the 1990s. But the one thing we

said is that the perception of crime had

changed. Th e fact that Bernie Madoff

stole 90 million and these banks stole

a trillion dollars, all of a sudden drug

smuggling got kind of quaint.”

The comedy seems to come from almost every member of the cast in these movies. Is that intentional?“Yes, from the get-go Will and I said

‘we miss ensemble comedies, mov-

ies like Stripes and Caddyshack.’ Th ey

were such a joy to watch because you

never knew where the comedy was

going to come from. From Anchorman

to now our goal has been that there

would be at least fi ve or six people

who can be funny. Th ere is at least one

check-in moment where I say ‘you are

aware this is what we do and I am go-

ing do this so please don’t get upset.’

We have been very fortunate. I don’t

think we have ever had one actor who

has done any of our movies who have

been a pain in the ass. Every actor has

been game for it and in that sense we

have been incredibly lucky.”

In situation comedies, the humour comes from knowing the charac-ters over time. In your fi lms, the characters seem familiar after about ten minutes. Is that a con-scious effort to assure that people understand who these people are and will see humour in them over the course of the movie?“We do talk about that. With An-

chorman we noticed that the fi rst ten

minutes didn’t work and we couldn’t

fi gure it out. So we re-cut it and we

tried new things and we put whole

new sequences in. When we tested it

we would get a couple of chuckles and

it was exactly at the point where they

knew who the people were that the

movie would cook. When it came out

on DVD and cable people were quot-

QUESTION AND ANSWER

Adam McKay Director of funny fi lms

MARK WAHLBERG AND WILL FERRELL STAR IN MCKAY’S THE OTHER GUYS


EXPERT WITNESS

“I went there about four or fi ve years ago and it is such a complicated place that I

didn’t know where to start. There were so many sad things happening but people had

such an extraordinary spirit. Then when the earthquake hit we thought ‘this could go

so badly. It could break out into some kind of civil war.’ But the fact it didn’t happen

is something to be noted. I am planning to get much more involved in the children’s

issues and spend time at the (International) SOS village and meet with a lot of the

judges and ministries working on all these different protections for children which we

haven’t fi gured out globally. It feels like Haiti might be a good place to start. It’s such a

mess down there and they are trying to fi gure out from the ground up how to start to

deal with the separated child and the abused child and get it right there. If we can get

it right there we can get it right anywhere.” Actress Angelina Jolie on the lessons

to be learned from Haiti.

“That was all greed. They had always done those fi lms three and four years apart.

They responded to Batman Forever and it was a good fi lm. So let that simmer for four

years and whet people’s appetite for it. Make sure we have a script that works. But

they said ‘we have to have it now.’ They didn’t have a good script and they thought

they could throw money at it and it would come together. But it was a disaster.” Actor

Chris O’Donnell on the superhero fl op Batman & Robin.

“It was such a hard job trying to get the American Midwest accent (for Public Enemies)

and knowing that I wouldn’t be 100 percent perfect. I worked hard but it was really

hard because I needed to fi nd the authenticity of a role. After it was completed I had

another offer, which was a beautiful offer but I couldn’t imagine that the character

would have any French fl avour in her accent. I was not ready yet to go back into four

months of dialect coaching to try and erase my French accent. Maybe I will go back

there in the future because it’s a challenge that I would love to succeed at but it was

really hard because I knew when I was not perfect and it was diffi cult to get there. I

learned English when I was 12 but with a very bad English teacher who was French.

He would say ‘azeef (as if.)’ You really have to start very early to learn another lan-

guage so that it gets into your brain and it becomes automatic. If you don’t it’s really

hard.” Oscar-winning French actress Marian Cotillard on trying to feel comfort-

able playing Americans.

“I always disagree with the idea of people talking about building a family on the fi lm

set. You build a work environment. When people say ‘we were just like a family on the

set’ I say ‘no we weren’t. We were there for eight weeks and we went home at the

end of the day.’ The thing about families is that they are with you from beginning to

end and through some tough stuff and some great stuff. Mia (The Kids Are All Right’s

Mia Wasikowska) was saying that your family members are the only people who go

through that whole life experience with you. They see everything and there is some-

thing that is incredibly intimate about that.” Actress Julianne Moore on families.

ing lines are from the fi rst ten minutes

because everyone knew what it was

then. We thought ‘this is interesting’

and we fi gured out that you needed

a kind of short hand at the beginning

to know who these people are so you

relate to them. You use epic storytell-

ing language to tell them ‘here is this

guy and here is this guy’ and when you

get past that mark you kind of know

who they are. Th e fun about knowing

anyone is you start to have surprises

from them. In this fi lm we had our set

up where Will was the paper pusher

and Mark was the tough guy and we

thought it was boring after a while so

then we thought ‘a lot of geeky guys

aren’t pushovers. In fact they can

be some of the pushier people you

will ever meet. So let’s have Will be

that and let’s have Mark not just be a

tough guy but let’s have him have an

anger disorder so that he is even more

hopped up than Will.’”

So the changeup only works when people have these characters developed in their minds so you ware working with the audience at that point “Yes and that is why we are drawn a lot

of times to those traditional story arcs

like the sports story in Talladega or

the cop buddy thing because you have

assumptions coming into it and then

we get to change-up those assump-

tions. People say it’s parody but it’s not

parody. It is a familiar room you have

been in before and then the surprise

has more of a context for it.”

You have talked before about your love of Airplane and the other comedies by the Zucker brothers and Jim Abrahams. What did you take from those fi lms that you use in your own movies?“Th ey were involved in the evolu-

tion of comedy. Th ey were the mod-

ern masters of that. Th at is how we

all learned to do it. Th ey had serious

people like Leslie Nielsen and Peter

Graves as the leads in Airplane and

we all learned from that. I saw that

movie about eight times in the the-

atre. I was in 5th grade crying with

laughter. Th ey played it straight even

though it was a ridiculous movie. So

you didn’t need the cues that let you

know it was a comedy as had been

true with people like Bob Hope. You

didn’t have to be winking. You could

trust the audience and relax and now

that approach is essential to our com-

edy. I am not that stuff y about com-

edy. If it is funny I will laugh like an

idiot but if it winks too much it will

lose me.”

You have always been a creative guy but what have you learned since Anchorman about the tech-nical side of directing? “I have defi nitely gotten better at the

technical side. When I did Anchorman

I didn’t know lens sizes, I didn’t know

anything. Th e one thing I did know

from shooting shorts was that I knew

how to set up shots. But I didn’t under-

stand lenses or fi lm speed. So the DP

was running the show on that fi lm. I had

directed theater and I had directed fi lms

on Saturday Night Live but I do feel that

now I am having conversations with the

DP that are a little more advanced. We

are starting to talk about the DI against

the original negative cut and what the

advantages are and about the natural

light and asking ‘do we want to simulate

here?’ Th e questions got a little more ad-

vanced. I feel that because of Talladega

Nights I know a little bit more about how

to do action and deal with the green

screen. We did a lot of new things in

Step Brothers which helped me do them

a little better in this one. So I would hope

that I have gotten a little better.”

What kind of editor are you? Is it tough to edit when there is so much improv?“Structurally you should have a script

that is air tight. When we come in we

always shoot that script even though

we are always improvising around it. If

you just shot the script it would work

and would link up and visually it is all

planned through the storyboards we

do. But the fun is knocking the hell

out of that and discovering new things.

We screen a lot. We do about fi ve test

screenings. We do friends and fam-

ily ones. We do one in the edit room.

We are constantly whacking the rug

with a broom the whole time to kind

of see what it can become and what

it needs to become. Th at is one of the

more diffi cult parts of the process be-

cause it means you have to bomb. You

have to put up a version that is 2 hours

and 20 minutes and have your friends

say ‘what are you doing? Th is is too

long.’ So they think the movie sucks.

Th en you get it to two hours and you

say ‘we are not done yet’ and no one

believes you. Everyone looks at you as

though you are an idiot and it happens

the same way no matter what has gone

on. We are pretty thorough with it. We

have things planned and we know we

have that movie in the can and the idea

is to make it better.” ■ Excerpted from interviews done by Reel West editor Ian Caddell.

ANGELINA JOLIE


Actually, it’s a primer that they were

involved with while they were work-

ing together at the Vancouver social

media company Zeroes 2 Heroes. Th e

primer is called Digital Strategies for

Film and Television Properties and at-

tempts to demystify the digital world

for fi lm and television executives who

may know less than they think they

know about their digital options. Th e

panel will also include social media

consultant Jennifer Oano and video

game designer Ian Christy.

Clark-Bojin, who left her position

as Vice-President of Creative at Ze-

roes 2 Heroes to become Head of En-

tertainment Business Management at

the Vancouver Film School, says that

it’s better to show how little you know

about the potential of digital media

than to feign an understanding of it.

‘We defi nitely encourage people to

show their ignorance rather than act

like they know things. It is far more

intelligent to say ‘this is what I need

but I have no idea of what you are

talking about.’”

She says the best way to get them

where they do feel comfortable about

digital media is to focus on what

they want from it. “You have to strip

things down to what their goals are.

People come in to seminars with the

notion that they need digital strate-

gies. At Zeroes 2 Heroes we recog-

nized that savvy business people

who think about return on their in-

vestment stopped thinking that way

when it came to new media. A lot of

people dive into platforms and say

‘we want an iphone app’ whereas we

say ‘what is the problem you want to

solve?’ Th ey would be throwing mil-

lions at massive campaigns with no

sense of whether it was working. At

the end of the day they weren’t think-

ing ‘did I actually achieve my objec-

tives?’ We thought that was strange

given their backgrounds and empires

so we wanted to demystify the whole

digital realm. We wanted to show

that there is nothing magical about

digital media.”

Demystifying new media is a good

beginning, according to Jennifer

Oano, but production companies

also need to incorporate strategies

early in the game. Oano has cre-

ated multi-platform campaigns for

several production companies and

networks, developed a mobile game

concept for director John Woo and

webcast live events for David Bowie,

Spike Lee and Microsoft. She says

that it’s not enough to include digital

strategies in production campaigns.

Instead, companies have to fi nd ways

of incorporating them in their plans

before they even begin to think about

their approach to a production.

“Th e digital project shouldn’t be an

afterthought,” she says. “It has to be a

Digital Masters

FESTIVAL FEATURE

Jessica Leigh Clark-Bojin and Matt Toner are pretty familiar with the topic they will

be discussing at the 25th Annual Vancouver International Film Festival’s Film & TV

Forum in late September. Th ey wrote the book on it.

Story by

Ian Caddell


Game OnThe Canadian Video Games Website (CanDevs) lists dozens of Vancouver area

companies that are involved in some aspect of the video game industry. Led by the

Burnaby-based arm of US gaming giant Electronic Arts, the companies range from

suppliers of game accessories to games graphics designers and game developers.

Ian Christy, who has spent 15 years as a video game designer and will be talking about

the role video games can play in overall production strategies at the upcoming Digital

Strategies in Film and Television panel at the Film & TV Trade Forum, says that the vari-

ous media that make up the local production community often don’t work effectively

enough with one another.

“They are like siblings with different fathers,” he says. “There is a wealth for video

game creators to learn from study of fi lmic narrative and story-telling techniques, while

simultaneously cutting their own teeth on landscapes as yet unmapped and devices not

yet built. Film and television creators entering the digital realm seeking audience par-

ticipation, feedback, or immersion would be equally well served to study the trials and

tribulations already traversed by the expanding gaming industry. Both may have images

and sound and show up on a screen, but similarities dwindle quickly under the hood.”

So why doesn’t everyone just get along? Christy says that since video games are

completely data-based, gaming has almost unlimited potential for other mediums. If

the potential is still untapped the problem may lie with the approach taken by produc-

ers. “For other mediums, data is a new delivery system with unknown potential. For

games, data is king. My experience with the fi lm industry, both through a publisher

fi lter and directly with aspects of the local industry, has been a sense that fi lm and

TV backers look at the profi t growth on games and understandably want a piece,

however they’re unsure how to create productive bridges between the two industries.

A lot of middle men get involved, miscommunication and mismanaged expectations

abound, and inferior product results.”

Surprisingly, the key to bridging the communication gap between gaming and tra-

ditional production may be in the hands of the newer medium. Christy says that game

developers usually look to fi lm and television producers for leadership. As a result, he

says, they are more apt to be open to ideas. However, there is also the possibility that

either side could give up too much to the other.

“From my experience, game developers do look to fi lm and television for inspira-

tion, narrative hooks, visual elements, settings, plot devices, characterizations; tools

and short hand elements to infuse an interactive experience with accessible aspects

players can recognize, empathize with, and manipulate. The danger is trying to make

a game into an interactive fi lm, because the higher the presentation quality, the more

expensive the components, so the fewer branches and variations you can have.

Studying other mediums is positive, trying to overly emulate another medium can

hogtie what this medium might do well.”

That emulation could already be happening at a corporate level. He says that he

is reminded of traditional role models when he looks at the way independent game

developers are approaching their industry. “Small fry game developers remind me

of the maverick fi lm makers of the 60s and 70s that shirked the Hollywood system.

They worked cheap, fast, and were quick to react to audience feedback. Big game

publishers like EA and Activision seem to want to become more like the fi lm industry,

trying to get celebrity talent, product endorsements, and bigger marketing budgets.

The game industry is young, comparatively, though it has demonstrated a tendency to

expand and contract similar to the old Hollywood studio system, a few big studios for

a while, then shatter into numerous small studios that can better address the tastes

and appetites of audience; rinse, lather, repeat.” ■

part of the original thinking and part

of the project from the get-go. One of

the interesting things about this panel

is that it is running on Documentary

Day and some of the best examples

of good multi-platform projects are

documentary series. For instance,

a couple of years ago the Food Net-

work had a series from Paperny Films

called Th e 100 Mile Challenge (based

on the book Th e 100 Mile Diet) that

I worked on. It was about only eat-

ing food that came from within 100

miles of where you lived. It was cen-

tered in Mission, BC but we took the

concept of eating local a lot wider

through digital sources. If you typed

in your postal code we could source

local food. And if they sourced their

favorite restaurant and it wasn’t in

the base we could add it. So that kind

of thing goes past the length of a TV

series. It becomes much more ongo-

ing and participatory. We have all the

social media tools on line and mobile

that can take that story, whether it is

fi ction or documentary and give it life

beyond a regular run.”

Th e promise of a longer shelf life

isn’t just an ego boost for producers,

it can also inspire funding. She says

that producers have to wrap their

heads around the fact that they no

longer have to move from produc-

tion to production. Th ey can stay

with the project longer by utilizing

social media to keep it in front of

the public’s eyes for an indefi nite pe-

riod. Th at, in turn, could encourage

funders to ante up fi nancial support

in greater numbers than they might

consider for short term projects.

“Th e idea that social media is ‘val-

ue-added’ is not relevant anymore,”

she says. “Producers have to under-

stand that digital media can be the

value now. It takes more of a com-

mitment of course, which means a

change in the approach to the work.

It has been a struggle convincing tele-

vision producers that I have worked

with to consider those options but I

do see more of a collaboration now

between traditional producers and

social media types. Some of the TV

production houses are expanding

teams to include digital media sec-

tions. On the fi lm side it is a diff er-

ent process because you are dealing

with traditional fi lm distribution. At

the same time, the incorporating of a

digital strategy is great for a fi lm. You

can start early on and get people ex-

cited. It is more substantial than just

a buzz. You can put information out

and then work with the feedback and

be open to it.”

Toner says that it surprises him that

digital media hasn’t become more ac-

cepted by traditional producers. And

he agrees with Oano that there has to

an encouragement of partnerships. “If

you had told me in 1999 that in 2009

we would still be talking about digital

media as still being new I would have

been shocked. Th ere is still a lot of

work to do to make it user-friendly.

One of the things we need to do is de-

mystify the jargon. Th e other thing is

to encourage the fi nding of partners.

Th ere are lots out there and the guys

who know what they are doing will

make things better for producers. It

would be diffi cult for someone who is

thrown in to the mew media mix to

fi gure it out. I know that it has taken

me 15 years to feel that I know what

I am doing. I also know that there is

more to it than advising someone to

build a website. Th ere is no Field of

Dreams there.”

He says the good news is that some

producers and networks are making

a substantial eff ort to go beyond just

building websites. “We have worked

with CBC and Out TV and they are

both trying diff erent things with

varying degress of success. I have

talked to (US cable network) Starz

and they have a game plan and they

know where we fi t. So if you have

good ideas and you can fi nd a good

partner I think there is real potential

for success.” ■

“The digital project shouldn’t be an afterthought. It has to be a part of the original thinking and part of the project from the get-go.”– Jennifer Oano, social media consultant


Th e list included sessions discussing

provincial fi lm funding, how to sell vid-

eo and fi lm to the international markets

and an introduction to screenwriting.

Th is year’s 25th anniversary (it is

now known as the Vancouver Interna-

tional Film Festival Film & TV Forum)

is a lot bigger than the fi rst one, which

is hardly surprising given the growth in

the industry over the last quarter cen-

tury. For the last few years it has made

an eff ort to keep up with the needs of

veteran producers and directors while

attempting to inspire students and

emerging fi lmmakers. Th ere are fi ve

days now with the fi nal day, October 2,

appropriately entitled New Filmmak-

ers Day. Th e Forum begins on Septem-

ber 28 with Storyville Vancouver and

will also include Documentary Day

(September 29), Film Day (September

30) and TV Day (Oct. 1.)

Forum producer Fran Bergin, who

has been involved with the Forum in

some capacity for 15 years, says that the

key to success for the Forum has been its

ability to keep up with the consistently

changing needs of the marketplace.

“Th e marketplace has been chang-

ing the last fi ve years so the Forum and

the local fi lmmakers have had to adapt

accordingly,” she says. “Th roughout

the year we are looking at the inter-

national marketplace and trying to

fi nd programs that suit it. We make

an eff ort to reach out to local people

to determine how many people will

come and what their needs are. Th e

goal is to provide the local audience a

high calibre list of people with writers

at the top of the list.”

Some things never change. While

the Forum no longer needs to de-

bate the worthiness of a provincial

fi lm fund (BC Film was founded two

years after the debut edition) there

is still an emphasis on international

sales and co-productions and, of

course, the relevance of screenwrit-

ing. Katrin Bowen, who comes to her

new job as creative director of the

Forum from producing several fi lms,

says that you can’t really talk about

fi lm or television without discussing

writers and screenplays.

“I think that no matter what area of

production you are exploring it starts

with the writer. If we can inspire them

to think about co-ventures and we

can break down scene structure and

show how successful TV shows work,

we can make a diff erence. All those

things are part of the various days. Last

year New Filmmakers Day brought in

(screenwriter) Charlie Kauff man and

he played to a standing room only

crowd that included both emerging

writers and directors and veteran fi lm-

makers. Th at’s the kind of thing we

want to do more of because we see our

job as leading a community outreach.”

Visiting screenwriters this year in-

clude Rachel Getting Married’s Jenny

Lumet and David Slade of the Twilight

saga movies and Hard Candy while

TV Day will welcome writers Vince

Gilligan of Breaking Bad and Eric

Overmyer of Treme and Th e Wire.

Th e quest to be competitive in the

international markets is still a Forum

priority as well. Bowen says that for

the second year the pitch-fest Sto-

ryville Vancouver will take creative

documentaries to the marketplace.

Rudy Buttignol, who introduced

Storyville to the Forum last year, says

he fi rst saw the potential for pitching

sessions over a decade ago when he

was at a festival in Amsterdam and

was working as a commissioning ed-

itor at TV Ontario. He says that the

Dutch realized that they needed to

look outside of the European Union

and the US for documentary markets

and invited him as a representative

of a network that had a documentary

agenda. He admits he became a fan

of the format almost immediately.

“Th ey did their best to get me there,”

he says. “Th ey said ‘we need to balance

the Americans with a Canadian’ and

as soon as I saw what they were doing

I thought it was fantastic. Unlike most

pitching formats which are broader

and multi-genre, this dealt exclusively

with creative documentaries. And

unlike the usual approach, where you

have lowly fi lmmakers begging for

When the now defunct British Columbia Film Industry Association (BCFIA) created

the “Trade Forum for the Motion Picture Industry” in 1986 the industry was relatively

new. Th e three day Forum’s panel topics were a refl ection of that.

Sticking to the script

Story by

Ian Caddell

FESTIVAL FEATURE

PANEL MEMBERS FROM LAST YEAR’S VIFF FILM & TELEVISION FORUM SEMINAR, THE ART OF THE BIOGRAPHY


cash from buyers, the commission-

ing editors were required to pitch

the fi lmmakers. I managed to talk the

HotDocs organizers into bringing the

format to Toronto and thus was born

the Toronto Documentary Forum.

My thinking was that you could get

deals in Amsterdam in November

and follow up in May in Toronto. So

I suggested that we pay the Amster-

dam organizers to come over here

and for our people to go there so that

we could acknowledge that it was the

Amsterdam format we were using.”

Eventually, Buttignol moved to

Vancouver to become president and

chief executive offi cer of the Knowl-

edge Network Corporation and saw

promise for the format at the Van-

couver festival. He decided to meld

the Amsterdam concept and the Sto-

ryville documentary pitching pro-

gram, which had been created by the

BBC’s Nick Fraser, and bring in do-

mestic fi lmmakers who were looking

for partners for their creative docu-

mentaries. He approached the Festi-

val about saving a day in its schedule

for the program and, a year ago, they

said yes. Th is year he added to the

number of commissioning editors,

by including a representative from

Seattle’s KCTS on a list that also has

executives from Canada, the US, Eu-

rope and Asia on it.

“I thought ‘why don’t we create a fo-

rum that is for domestic fi lmmakers?’”

he says. “We could invite commission-

ing editors from the world scene who

had been involved in international

projects as a way of starting conver-

sations. So when our fi lmmakers had

gone to those other forums they had

a context to build on. Th e real gap in

that idea is that it was hard to get them

out to international markets. I asked

Nick (Fraser) if we could borrow the

Storyville title and riff on it and he said

‘yes and why not bring people in who

support the Storyville type documen-

tary.’ So we did that and said ‘let’s help

fi lmmakers get funded by starting a

regional forum with a mix of regional

and international people and give them

the confi dence to go further.’”

Buttignol’s personal experience

with raising money for projects when

he was starting out as a producer in

the 1980s led him to believe that

there must be a better way of getting

funding. He says that the Amsterdam

concept woke him to the realization

that the international marketplace

for documentaries was untapped for

most domestic fi lmmakers. He says

that through Storyville the potential

for making documentaries for those

who have followed in his footsteps is

greater than it has ever been.

“Th e question that has to be asked

is ‘what kinds of cultures would my

work make sense to in terms of get-

ting funding?’ I think the Storyville

concept gives people real insight

into what the world market funds

and doesn’t fund. I have felt from the

fi rst time that I was in Amsterdam

that this concept fi lled an important

gap. I recalled that in the early ‘80s

I was knocking on the same doors

most of the time. I was like every-

one else. I was going to the CBC and

the National Film Board and think-

ing ‘I have to try something diff er-

ent.’ Eventually, I was going to A&E

and the History Channel because I

thought it was important to get the

work to more people.

“My feeling has always been that it

is not just about funding, it is about

resonating with the global market-

place. I loved the option of taking the

project to local Amsterdam audiences

and saying ‘does it work with these

people?’ In the best of circumstances,

that (travelling to diff erent markets

with a concept) can really improve

the work. Th e other thing I learned in

Amsterdam is that you need to stick

to one genre. So we focus on the cre-

ative documentary because the one

thing you can’t change if you like the

idea is the fi lmmaker. Th e fi lmmaker

is central to the whole work.” ■

“If we can inspire them to think about co-ventures and we can break down scene structure and show how successful TV shows work, we can make a difference.”– Katrin Bowen, Creative Director, VIFF Film & TV Forum


CLOCKWISE FROM TOP: SEVERED (2005); COLE (2009); MOTHERS&DAUGHTERS (2008); NORMAL (2007); FATHERS&SONS (2010); UNNATURAL & ACCIDENTAL (2006); REPEATERS (2011).


Bessai’s fi rst dramatic feature, Johnny,

was at the Vancouver International

Film Festival (VIFF) in 1999. His

second, Lola, was there in 2001 and

his third, Emile, was in the festival

in 2003. He will be taking two fi lms,

Fathers&Sons and Repeaters, to this

year’s festival. Th ey will be the ninth

and tenth Bessai fi lms to be selected

for the Festival.

VIFF Canadian Programmer Ter-

ry McEvoy, who has programmed

six Bessai fi lms in his fi ve years at

the Festival says that Bessai’s success

can be linked directly to the risks he

takes with his fi lms. “He has a way

with uncomfortable subject matter:

the hateful murder of native women,

the aftershock of a fatal accident, the

suff ocating brutality of a small town

and the limitless love between par-

ents and their off spring. Th ere is also

something special that Carl the cin-

ematographer brings to Carl the di-

rector. No matter how ‘in tune’ those

positions are, it’s hard to have perfect

and nuanced communication. Th ere

is a directness and economy in Carl’s

work that you’ll also fi nd in the work

of Steven Soderbergh, Robert Rodri-

guez and Vic Sarin, all directors who

shoot their own fi lms. One more

thing you’ll notice about Carl’s oeu-

vre is the honesty of the performanc-

es he gets from his actors. He directs

with a sure hand and an active eye

and that’s what keeps the VIFF audi-

ence coming back.”

Bessai says that while he under-

stands that his output is unusual, he

has always just thought of himself

as a guy who likes his job and wants

to keep working. In his mind that

means he should always be exploring

ways of getting movies made.

“Who doesn’t want to work?” he

says. “Some people go to a job and

they work for a company. I work for

myself. I just started getting the odd

TV job and the pay is good and you

are involved in something. But, to be

honest, if you are a director of fi lms,

then that is your job. It is the thing

that I am good at. I live for it. It’s how

I express myself. Some people do that

through poems. I don’t necessarily

have to write the screenplay because

I am trying to broaden my reach as a

fi lmmaker and that works best if you

can access diff erent kinds of fi lms. But

I do have to keep making movies.”

His fi lm festival success is unusual.

Th ere are about 20-25 Canadian fi lms

selected annually for the Vancouver

and Toronto fi lm festivals. Th e latter

festival has never been particularly

kind to western Canadian fi lms, yet

Bessai has made the cut eight times.

Repeaters was selected by the Toron-

to programmers while Fathers&Sons

and Repeaters will be going to both

VIFF and September’s Edmonton In-

ternational Film Festival. In addition,

Fathers&Sons will play Montreal’s

Festival du nouveau cinema in Octo-

ber and Repeaters will be by itself at

September’s Atlantic Film Festival.

Woody Allen makes a feature fi lm every year. It’s part of his

legend. Canada’s Atom Egoyan made 10 fi lms between 1997 and

2009. Most of those fi lms played the Toronto International Film

Festival (TIFF). Th en there is Carl Bessai.

Busy Bessai

Story by

Ian Caddell


Bessai says that Fathers&Sons,

his follow-up to 2008’s

Mothers&Daughters, which won the

award as most popular Canadian

fi lm in Vancouver, is a more tradi-

tional festival fi lm while Repeaters is

his fi rst foray into commercial fare.

While he did submit both to the To-

ronto festival he wasn’t disappointed

or surprised when only Repeaters

was selected.

“We were doing the post produc-

tion on Fathers&Sons last winter,

which was too late for submitting

it to Sundance and Berlin so I hung

out with it until Toronto. Th ey had

loved Mothers&Daughters. Th ey

said they would like to see it fi rst

and that was really the only option.

Toronto was always the destination

for Repeaters. I was thrilled when it

was picked for a special presenta-

tion. But Fathers&Sons didn’t have a

lot of places it could go to at TIFF.

It wasn’t going to go into Canada

First! and since there are only about

20 fi lms selected in all it was hardly a

surprise when it didn’t make it. I do

think it will work well in the places

where it has been selected. I think it

will be a great experience for audi-

ences. It is very personal and I think

it’s funny. My family is in Edmonton

and I think they will like it more than

Repeaters so I am happy we are tak-

ing it there. It’s in the tradition of

Mothers&Daughters in that it is very

off the cuff but I think it’s funnier. We

can all see ourselves in these stories.”

He has high hopes for Repeaters,

which was written by Vancouver

screenwriter Arne Olsen. It has a

Groundhog Day theme in that the

characters keep reliving the same

day. Th e diff erence is that each day is

terrifying. Bessai says that the most

appropriate comment came from

Toronto where a festival program-

mer said that although the fi lm was

in the thriller genre it had elements

of an auteur fi lm as well. He says

those elements probably went a long

way in helping it to make it in to the

festival as a special presentation.

“I think it helped that there are dia-

logue scenes that are more involved

than most plot-driven thrillers,” he

says. “I also think TIFF is kind of about

bridging the gap between art house

and mainstream. It is not a bland com-

mercial fi lm but it does have commer-

cial prospects. I think TIFF is trying to

acquaint those two worlds with one

another. Th ey are excited when a fi lm

screens well for an audience.”

Th e movie has the kind of Canadian

cast that could sell tickets once the fi lm,

which was fi nanced privately, leaves

the festival circuit. It includes Amanda

Crew, who recently starred opposite

Zac Efron in Charlie St. Cloud, Beverly

Hills 90210 alumnus Dustin Milligan

and Richard de Klerk, who played the

title role in last year’s TIFF and VIFF

Bessai fi lm Cole. Bessai says that while

Milligan’s last two high profi le fi lms,

Extract and Gunless, were comedies,

he has a lot to off er as a leading man.

“He likes doing comedies but the

fact is he is a handsome leading man

and he delivers a great performance

in Repeaters. I also think that Rich-

ard de Klerk will blow people away

in this movie. He is an unhinged

character and he is just a marvel to

watch. Th is is his opportunity to step

into the mainstream. So having these

three dynamic actors is my eff ort to

say ‘Carl can make a fi lm that has

commercial possibilities and be ex-

citing’ without trading in my tool kit.

At its core it examines moral choice

and asks the question ‘if you can do

anything you want, then how are you

aff ected by those choices?’”

So how has Bessai managed to

become the “working director” that

so many Canadian fi lmmakers strive

to be? He says that once he started

working in the business he never let

up. And, he feels that the more expe-

rience he gets, the safer it is for him

to call himself a fi lm director.

“My analogy is a bit stupid,” he says.

“It comes from (the play) Billy Bishop

Goes to War. He is talking about being

a pilot and saying that he was good

with a gun but that when he fi rst got

in the air he wasn’t a particularly good

pilot. He managed to stay in the air for

a week and was allowed to keep fl ying

because he had the experience and

others didn’t have that. I think experi-

ence makes you a good director and

keeps you fl ying the plane. My feeling

has always been that talking about a

movie is not directing and writing a

fi lm isn’t directing. You only get good

at this job by doing it.”

You also need an audience that

wants to keep coming back. Bessai

says that he has always believed that

it is not the size of the fi lm that mat-

ters but its potential for the audience

to relate to the characters. If he can

supply something that will be inter-

preted as having a recognition factor,

he will keep them interested.

“I am fascinated by the idea that

the characters have to go through

confl ict. I like the idea that a char-

acter is reaching out to the world.

Sometimes he is isolated and won-

ders why he doesn’t fi t in but that

whole idea of being frustrated with

relationships is the central structure

for most characters. For instance,

in Repeaters, one of the characters

feels somewhat rejected by the other

two and we get into a moral struggle

between characters. All of us have

to grow up and break way from our

families and fi nd new family. We fi nd

ourselves stuck between the island

we left and the island we are hop-

ing to fi nd at the end of the day. It’s

a universal truth. I think we like fi lms

that have characters that try to fi gure

those universal truths out for us be-

cause we are constantly looking for a

connection. What could be more im-

portant than that? I think that when

artists are successful it is because we

like that they are reaching out to plot

a course. We like the direction the

fi lm is going in and we feel we can

fi nd our way.” ■

“My feeling has always been that talking about a movie is not directing and writing a fi lm isn’t directing. You only get good at this job by doing it.”

- Carl Bessai (pictured above) on how experience makes a good director


FILM + TV FORUM

va

nc

ou

ve

r

full program details at www.viff.org/forum email [email protected] tel (604) 685.3547

Drop in and get informed

September 28 - october 1, 2010+ nfo october 2

featuring...INTERESTING TIMES, INTERESTING CHARACTERS The creators of Weeds, Dexter and Deadwood changed the acceptance rules for the ‘traditional’ hero/heroine, opened the door for non-

traditional character development and proved that our audience is savvy, sophisticated and up for a challenge. The creators from the hit

series Breaking Bad and Treme will discuss the process of developing the key elements that make for truly great drama, and audience

loyalty. The devil’s in the details!

THE CHANGING WORLD OF INDEPENDENT CINEMAOur guest speakers constantly face unique challenges in producing and distributing fi lms they’re passionate about that also have a home

in the marketplace. In this challenging economic climate, the independent fi lmmaking community is seeing change like never before – as

times, platforms and tastes change, it has become vital for producers to break new ground and reach new audiences. How is the interna-

tional marketplace impacting what fi lms are getting made and the way business is done? Peter Saraf (producer, Sunshine Cleaning), Frida

Torresblanco (producer, Rudo y Cursi) and Mark Urman (president, Palladin) will share their new visions, new stories and new approaches

as they continue to defi ne the term ‘independent’.

STORYVILLE VANCOUVERStoryville Vancouver, in partnership with BC public broadcaster Knowledge Network, is scheduled for presentation on Sept. 28 at the Film

& TV Forum. Its aim is to stimulate the co-fi nancing and co-production of the creative, feature length documentary. The Forum and Knowl-

edge is delighted to have attracted some of the world’s leading broadcasters to Vancouver to help fi lmmakers from the Pacifi c Northwest

develop long-term strategic relationships and enhance project development. Pre-selected creative, feature length (minimum TV hour)

documentary projects, at various stages of development and from the Pacifi c Northwest will be publicly pitched to international commis-

sioning editors with accredited Forum observers in attendance.

SCREENWRITING MASTER CLASSHow do you take a best-seller novel and turn it into a killer screenplay? How is the essence of the original material kept while paring it down

to a screenplay? In this panel, Oscar nominee and award-winning screenwriter, José Rivera (Motorcyle Diaries, On The Road) discusses ele-

ments that can make an adaptation work, including the narrative line, the climax, scene sequences, relationships and visual images.

SO YOU WANNA WRITE A COMEDY… Comedic series are all about characters, story and formatting… the successful ones are when you’ve created believably fl awed characters

and placed them in compelling situations. Hear from two of the best comedy creators out there: Michael Schur, co-creator, Parks & Rec-

reation and Dave Finkel, writer, United States of Tara.

FINDING CO-PRODUCTION PARTNERS In a constantly shifting marketplace, producers must seek new producing partnerships and

quickly adapt to new fi nancing models to close their fi nancing. Our panel of producers

will focus on the economies of major markets, new developments and trends in world-

wide fi nancing plus creative cooperation with the international talent pool.

FRAME BY FRAMEBiutiful, Ocean’s Thirteen, Babel, Good Night and Good Luck, 21 Grams, Leather-

heads, The Informant, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Traffi c…we’re honoured

to have Oscar-winning editor, Stephen Mirrione discuss the aesthetic and techni-

cal contributions he makes to the fi lmmaking process.

DOC ACQUISITIONS IN A CHANGING LANDSCAPEAn international panel of distributors will advise on what kinds of documentaries

are continuing to engage audiences in an ever-changing landscape and the crite-

ria used when determining what projects to pick up. We’ll also look at the acquisi-

tion, marketing and release of some of the top theatrical docs of 2009/2010 and the

strategies used by distributors to maximize their commercial success.

ROUNDTABLES WITH COMMISSIONING EDITORS Your chance to network, build relationships, gain market intelligence and personal feedback

from commissioning editors. Pre-registration required.

At the Rogers INDUSTRY CENTRE

ps and

s

d-

edback

plus!Anatomy of a Scene

Webisodes with Legs

Speed Dating Sessions

Success Stories Across Multiple Platforms

Telefi lm Canada Tête-à-tête meetings

Going From Zero to Hero

Directing Master Class

Creative Partnerships


LAUREN LEE SMITH PHOTO CATE CAMERON


JULY 2009 I sit down to write. Rather than open

any of the dozens of fi lm scripts sitting on my com-

puter fi nished or in progress, I open a blank docu-

ment and type “FADE IN.” I begin to picture the

fi rst scene; invariably two people concerned about

something related to love or death begin to speak.

Th is is how I meet the fi rst two characters in A

Night for Dying Tigers. I start thinking about the

type of fi lm I want to see. An ensemble perhaps?

What would Rachel Getting Married have been

like if it were written by Von Trier or Fassbinder?

Th at’s close to the tone I’m after, I think.

I know I need an event that brings a family to-

gether, and I know that this family must be strong if

I’m going to attract the type of actors I’d like to work

with. I raid all of my completed scripts, rip the best

characters from those fi lms and bring them together.

I’m destroying fi ve or six other feature fi lm scripts to

make this one, so I need to make it worthwhile.

Th ere are so many weddings, funerals and an-

niversaries used as these types of events and I want

something unique. When I hit upon the idea of the

eldest brother going to prison in twenty-four hours

for some mysterious crime, I know I have the reason.

Now, I just need to deliver the type of script that will

attract a cast. I dial into a conference call with Telefi lm

regarding my application for low budget production

funding for A Night for Dying Tigers. Th ey really like

the script, but they have a few questions.

AUGUST Now, with questions addressed and fund-

ing in place, I enlist the aid of another producer, Sid-

ney Chiu, to help with all of the crazy paperwork.

Casting Director Lynne Carrow loves the script and

has agreed to help us fi nd our cast. Lynne is amaz-

ing and we’re excited to have her on board. Robert

Altman said casting was 90% of directing, but that

number might be a bit conservative.

SEPTEMBER 22 My friend Chris hands the script

to Carly Pope on the street in L.A. I really want

Carly for the key role of Karen in the fi lm.

SEPTEMBER 30 I return from a weeklong script

polishing trip to Tofi no. I made When Life Was

Good with myself as the only crew. Although I

could defi nitely shoot this fi lm in a similar way,

there is a lot of resistance to this working method.

Maybe my tiny crew approach isn’t the best choice

for this fi lm? Either way, I’m looking forward to

getting back behind the camera. It looks like No-

vember or January for production.

OCTOBER 22 I believe my love of foreign language

cinema has infl uenced the way I write and hear dia-

logue in English (probably all the years spent read-

ing subtitles), and I think that, for better or worse,

this has resulted in a particular “style” of dialogue

and characterization in my scripted material. Th e

actors are really responding to the script, and I’m

excited by the prospect of seeing and hearing these

characters come to life. It looks like January is when

we’ll be shooting. Can’t wait!

NOVEMBER 1 I prefer to work quickly, using main-

ly natural light and a very small crew, but, because I

shoot my own fi lms, and this is my fi rst time using

the RED camera, it looks like I’ll have to go with a

larger crew. Th is is scary.

Vancouver is a “service industry” city fi rst, and

indigenous fi lmmaking, because of the lower bud-

gets involved, is somewhat marginalized. We have

great traditional crews, but the proximity of such

a large industry means that almost all of our talent

ends up there instead of independent fi lm and there

is little chance for an innovative and inspired inde-

pendent fi lmmaking community (like Austin, Texas

for example) to evolve. I think we need to work hard

to change this.

I wonder if I should take a step back and re-eval-

uate. My experience with a “micro-crew” aff orded

me an intimacy with the actors that I know tradi-

tional fi lmmaking will not allow. Obviously I need

more than one person here. I worry that I’m not lis-

tening to my instincts. Should I get rid of the make-

up artists, the grips, the majority of the crew and re-

ally focus on that intimacy that leads to naturalistic

performances? Or is it too late? Will these bigger

“name” actors be willing to work without make-up

artists? Am I strong enough to kick everybody but

the boom operator and the focus puller off the set

for every take?

I’m worried I’ll lose speed and spontaneity along

with the possibility of discovering interesting mis-

takes. Th ese mistakes are what make fi lmmaking

magical and worthwhile to me.

NOVEMBER 4 I get the word that one of the people

who inspired me to make fi lms, Don McKellar, will

be playing the role of Russell. Don’s work has been

a big infl uence, and with Don in the role of Rus-

sell this fi lm has suddenly become something much

bigger to me.

Another long day of looking for the perfect house.

Terry Miles made his fi rst feature, When Life was Good,

with a crew of one: himself. He knew that he wanted to

make a movie that was bigger but agonized over how big

it would be. He did know that he wanted a good cast to

bring his characters to life. In his diary about the mak-

ing of the Vancouver International Film Festival-bound

A Night for Dying Tigers, which tells the story of a family

that disintegrates over the course of an evening, he looks

back at the losing and gaining of his fi rst choices, the

people who came in to replace them and the day he real-

ized that Robert Altman had underestimated the casting

process when he said it was 90% of directing.

Eye on the Tigers

Diary by

Terry Miles


Th e house is a major character in this

fi lm. We need to fi nd the perfect place

for this family to self-destruct.

NOVEMBER 15 Another one of my

favourite actors in the world, Lauren

Lee Smith, has jumped on board. She

would prefer the role of Karen, but is

willing to do Jules because she really

loves the script. I’m excited. I can’t

stop thinking that Tygh Runyan has

to be Patrick. Tygh really connected

with the script and let me know how

he felt about playing the role.

DECEMBER 9 I spend the day look-

ing at online auditions and demo

reels. We’re having a hard time cast-

ing the complex Carly character. A

few potentials, including one stolen

by JJ Abrams at the very last minute.

It’s getting close to January!

DECEMBER 14 We have to release

Lauren Lee Smith (Jules) because we

had to modify our shooting schedule

and it didn’t mesh with hers. Th is is

totally understandable, but really dis-

appointing.

DECEMBER 15 Today we fi nd out

that Don isn’t going to be able to play

Russell because of a tragedy in his per-

sonal life. We wish him all the best, and

sincerely thank him for everything.

DECEMBER 17 It looks like Jennifer

Beals, Gil Bellows, and Kathleen Rob-

ertson are very interested in the roles

of Melanie, Jack, and Jules. Also, John

Pyper-Ferguson, who we have been

thinking of as Jack for some time (al-

though he preferred the role of Rus-

sell) is now a frontrunner for Russell.

We found our Carly, Leah Gibson,

through audition. Whew. I can fi nally

see the cast coming together.

DECEMBER 29 We shoot in less

than two weeks and we still don’t

have our house. I notice a carjacking

on the front page of a news site. It

happened in Vancouver. Somebody

went crazy and smashed a bunch of

cars, and ended up crashing into the

CBC building. What kind of world?

In Vancouver? Crazy.

DECEMBER 30 I receive an email

from our Casting Director. Th e

woman victim in the carjacking was

Carly Pope.

JANUARY 6, 2010 Carly Pope is go-

ing to be fi ne, which is great news,

but she’s not going to be fi ne quite

soon enough to work on the fi lm.

Lauren Lee Smith had a change in

her schedule and has stepped into

the role of Karen. It will be great to

work with Lauren! I’m so excited.

JANUARY 7 I wake up early and go

meet Jennifer Beals for the fi rst time.

She is beautiful, intelligent and down

to earth. Wow. Th is is going to be a

great cast. I loved Jennifer in Roger

Dodger, Th e Last Days of Disco and

Th e Anniversary Party. We talk about

so many things. She has a couple of

really great ideas for Melanie.

JANUARY 9 My team believes a cast

dinner at the location house will be

a great way to bond a bit before the

chaos begins. Good idea, except,

with a call time at 6am the next day…

that’s a pretty short bonding session.

JANUARY 10 Cast dinner. Kristine

Cofsky and Katie Hazen deliver an

amazing experience in the house that

Cam McLellan built. Lauren is so en-

gaging and her energy so good and

clear and strong. She is going to be

the most amazing and radiant Karen.

I can’t believe it starts tomorrow. I

also can’t believe day one for Lauren

and Tygh is their sex scene. Also,

Sarah Lind (Tygh’s real life wife) is

playing Amanda, the character who

discovers them having sex against

the side of the house. I can’t wait to

talk about this when it’s all over!

JANUARY 11 Up at 4am for day

one: half of day one is cancelled due

to rain. We’ll have to fi nd another

day. One particular union has been

a real challenge (our budget level is

‘in between’ and they have nothing

set up that works well for both sides)

and now, another union has stepped

in and demanded more money. My

personal line of credit is suff ering.

On the bright side, Pyper and Leah

are really great together and the crew

is fast. Each actor has a completely

diff erent take on the process of mak-

ing a fi lm, and actors of diff ering lev-

els of experience have diff erent needs

and foibles. In a huge ensemble fi lm,

this means a lot of “conversation”

with the director, but I wouldn’t

have it any other way. I get most of

the shots I designed. Th e “pancake”

scene will be well covered.

JANUARY 12 We’re running out of

money. I hear about everything. Th ere is

no shelter for me as a director or writer,

because I’m a producer. I look forward

to the day that I don’t have to hear about

money issues on a daily basis.

Lauren and Tygh are two of the

most amazing, fearless, incredible

talents alive. Th ey dove into the sex

scenes, the dramatic scenes, and

everything else with trust and aban-

don. Th ey were both willing to do

anything to make the scene feel right.

Th ey are incredible, and I can’t wait

to shoot some more with them.

We have more lights than we need,

and somehow we’re starting to use them

all for every scene, which is really slow-

ing us down. Even with all the setbacks,

I think this is going to be a movie.

JANUARY 15 It’s a really great night of

shooting. I tell everybody we’ll wrap two

hours early. We end up wrapping half

an hour early, but we got almost eight

pages. I’m energized when we wrap

(instead of the usual “end of the world”

feeling). Collaborating with these actors

“...They dove into the sex scenes, the dramatic scenes, and everything else with trust and abandon... they are incredible, and I can’t wait to shoot some more with them.”

- on working with actors Lauren Lee Smith and Tygh Runyan

TERRY MILES, DIRECTOR PHOTO CATE CAMERON


is an incredible experience, scary and

rewarding. Gil, Jennifer, Pyper, Leah,

Kathleen and all the rest. A great cast.

JANUARY 16 Even though the crew

is bigger (which means inevitably

slower), my experience in guided

improvisation and ultra low budget

fi lmmaking helps speed up certain

parts of the process and allows me to

manipulate the script and the action

on the fl y, giving the actors time and

room to play around and fi nd certain

scenes that are more of a challenge as

opposed to just “getting the day.”

Th e big issue on this fi lm up to this

point remains the lighting. If you’ve

committed to a certain “working

method,” you need your entire crew

to be as excited about this method as

you are. I’m committed to using only

(or at least mainly) available light, but

some key crew members have a dif-

ferent take, and more and more hours

are being lost to lighting each day.

I’m starting to see every light from

the truck on the set for almost every set-

up. Th is is really taking time away from

shooting, and I’m starting to lose more

than half of my shot-list every day.

JANUARY 17 Th ree locations on

opposite sides of the city in one day.

I’m trying to be the very best audi-

ence I can be for all of the actors as

we move through this work, but with

all the other elements to consider, it’s

physically and emotionally draining

almost each and every moment.

Th e second scene of the day feels

a bit heavy. Gil and Jennifer are so

good at what they do and they work

at such a high level. I think I may

have failed them a bit by not pulling

this scene back. Th ere’s so much sub-

text that it feels almost bogged down.

I should have trimmed it back a bit

on the page. I do that on set.

We arrive at the third location of

the day. It will be a good scene, but it’s

been a long day, and all of the cast and

crew are ready for this day (this mov-

ie?) to end. Also, because all this light-

ing (we don’t need) means our smaller

crew is taxed, I need to help load the

truck almost every night. Th is means

there’s zero time to make a shot-list

when I get home. I prefer to visualize

the next day’s shots the night before.

Th is is tough, for all of us.

JANUARY 18 Because we went so far

“out of our weight class” with cast, Sid-

ney and I keep pushing forward using

our own money to get it in the can. We’ll

make it, but we can’t even begin to think

about post production at this point.

We have the big fi ght scene be-

tween Patrick and Russell tonight

(shooting 3pm to 3am) and I’ve de-

cided to stage it somewhat “off screen.”

Th is is a bit of a cheat, but I’ve edited

this type of thing before and I know

what I need to shoot in order to make

it more believable, or at least more

interesting than the typical sketchy

stunt stuff low budget fi lms normally

employ. I shoot handheld.

JANUARY 20 Katie is kind enough

to schedule Tygh’s big scene fi rst. I’m

scared and excited, and I’m going to

storyboard a little bit for eyeline, for

action, I think.

Big action scenes and dinner table

scenes are really the only time I make

up rough storyboards. Eyeline is easy

to miss when you have ten people at

a table.

Kathleen Robertson arrives and

Jules comes to life. I am a huge Kath-

leen Robertson fan. What a cast. An-

other week or so and we’re wrapped!

FEBRUARY/MARCH Editing all

day (every day). We’re planning on

screening the fi lm for a handful of

fi lm industry friends at least two or

three times.

APRIL/MAY One problem with aim-

ing so far above your budget as far

as casting goes is that you have no

money to pay for post production

personnel. I have a great deal of ex-

perience sound editing, but spend-

ing the entire month of April doing

a rough sound edit of the fi lm in my

bedroom was not fun times.

JUNE 21 We screen the fi lm for the

Toronto, Vancouver and Whistler fi lm

festivals all in the same day. Th e sound

mix is temporary, but hopefully they

can see past that to the narrative and

the performances beneath.

AUGUST Th e Toronto International

Film Festival invites A Night for Dy-

ing Tigers to premiere there in Sep-

tember. Invitations from Vancouver

and Calgary follow.

EPILOGUE Th is fi lm has taught me

so much: no matter what your shoot-

ing formats are all the lights you need

fi t into a Honda Civic. On a ten-hour

day, if you’re not actually shooting

for at least fi ve of those hours, you’re

wasting time. When you are direc-

tor, producer and editor, you need to

make sure the director and producer

parts of you give the editor part

enough to work with in the editing

room! To badly paraphrase Werner

Herzog, making bad movies is easy.

Making good movies is hard. ■

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The Definitive Producing WorkbookFor the producer, the world of independent film and television production is often surrounded by a sea of paperwork. The contracts, documents and requirements of agencies are constantly in flux. Nothing is definitive, every contract has its own set of particulars and every deal is different. "Boilerplate" agreements are open to negotiation. Rules can be flexible.

The PW4 will help guide a producer through some of the overwhelming volume of documents involved in the world of independent film and television production. Legal writers review the standard clauses and reveal issues of concern to producers negotiating contracts. Many sample agreements are included for reference. The book provides a comprehensive overview of national and provincial funding bodies and engaging stories and words of wisdom by seasoned producers.

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LEGAL BRIEFS

Anyone who has been through a fi -

nancial closing for a fi lm or TV series

knows that an astonishing amount

of paper is consumed for the bank

and bond. Whenever we complete

the fi nancing for a project, we imag-

ine the small forest that was chain

sawed to supply the many copies

of documents that were exchanged

during the closing. But is it neces-

sary to waste this much paper?

Lawyers, like everyone else, are

creatures of habit and conserving is

still not an integral part of the legal

process. And when things get tense (as

they usually do when everyone is wait-

ing for the money to fl ow), no one is

interested in trying something new.

For lead actor agreements, for

example, four copies are generally

signed, one each for the actor’s agent

and lawyer, one for the producer, and

one for the producer’s lawyer. Th e

average actor agreement is in excess

of 10 pages. Many are much longer.

Each movie has a number of lead ac-

tors plus deal memos for crew and

supporting cast. Th is adds up to a

lot of unnecessary paper. If we could

limit these agreements to one origi-

nal for each cast and crew member,

a lot of trees could be saved.

Many people believe that they

need originals for a contract to be

enforceable. Th is is simply not true.

An electronic copy saved on your

hard drive is just as enforceable as

an original, and much less wasteful.

However, for the fi nancing of pro-

ductions, we still typically receive

all documents in quadruplicate al-

though fi nanciers only require one

signed original. Th e reason for the

one original is that when electronic

copies are permitted, people will

sometimes use an electronic signa-

ture rather than an actual signature

and there has been some debate

about the enforceability of elec-

tronic signatures. One practice that

we feel is unnecessary is the circula-

tion of binders containing copies of

every single fi nancing document to

all parties after the completion of fi -

nancing. Some bank counsel, such as

Juliet Smith, are trying to encourage

their clients to stick to one original

copy for fi nancing documents and

are contacting production lawyers

in advance to see if electronic cop-

ies and a CD containing copies of all

documents will suffi ce for their pur-

poses. Although this practice isn’t

widespread, we think it would turn

around very quickly if clients make

it clear to their bank and to their

lawyers how high a priority they

place on conservation.

Of course, waste in our industry

doesn’t just happen in lawyer’s offi c-

es. Although production companies

like Screen Siren have been eff ec-

tive in implementing electronic call

sheets and on-line script revisions

(where the greatest paper waste used

to occur) and have established green

policies for all crew, there is still of-

ten little regard for the environment

Paper trail should be going green

Lori Massini & Kim RobertsEntertainment Lawyers

Paper trail continued on next page

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(sponsored by Telefi lm and the DGC),

which gave me $ 10,000 in cash to-

wards a short fi lm I wrote and di-

rected called Th e Highway House. It

was exciting, scary and exhausting all

at the same time and taught me that,

contrary to the cliché, I didn’t “really

want to direct.” Th e fi lm was saved

by my producers, Mary Anne Water-

house and Diane Patrick O’Connor,

and my DP, Glen Winter. It got into

the Vancouver Film Festival in 1996

and that was a great experience.

I then worked as in-house counsel

for Opus Productions, a local book

publisher, then got a job at Telefi lm’s

local offi ce as Project Manager, which

was basically being a business analyst

for the federal fi nancing agency on

documentary and drama projects.

Th is was my fi rst thorough educa-

tion in the Canadian fi lm fi nancing

and tax credit system and was invalu-

able. I saw lots of option agreements,

series-producing deals, distribution

contracts and fi nancing scenarios and

learned why recoupment schedules

are so puzzling for our foreign friends.

(Canadian tax credits, although al-

ready recouped, get recouped again!)

After a year and a half at Telefi lm, I

went to work in legal and business af-

fairs for Vidatron Entertainment Group,

a locally-based and growing public

company run by Tim Gamble and Cam

White. Larry Sugar had a leading role in

it too and the company produced some

successful shows including a slate of

movies for Showtime in the U.S. (and

Hallmark internationally) as well as a

number of long-form dramatic series

including Dead Man’s Gun and First

Wave. Vidatron was eventually renamed

Peace Arch Entertainment Group

and became listed on the Toronto and

American Stock Exchanges.

By 2000, Peace Arch was one of the

biggest production companies in Can-

ada. Th at was also the year we invested

heavily in two productions, the action

series Immortal, starring Lorenzo La-

mas, and Big Sound, a half hour com-

edy starring Greg Evigan and David

Steinberg that was backed by Global

and the US cable channel VH-1. VH-1

reneged on the Big Sound deal and we

sold the company to Gary Howsam’s

Greenlight Film and Television which

relocated it to Toronto.

Since then, I’ve been in private prac-

tice with Grossman & Stanley and con-

tinue to act for Canadian producers of

drama, documentary and reality televi-

sion, animation, visual eff ects and digi-

tal content. I also work for some L.A.-

based companies producing in Canada.

Th e world is always changing and what’s

new and exciting is the same thing that

is scary and unknown. Today that would

include the internet and mobile devices

which are changing the way people con-

sume entertainment or create their own

user-generated content.

Right now there is a fundamental

shift taking place in the business. How

“entertainment” is defi ned and how it

is distributed to audiences all over the

world is changing fast. While traditional

“television” content is increasingly diffi -

cult to fi nance, I believe that new busi-

ness models will reward producers that

have the foresight, imagination and

business savvy to market a number of

products over multiple platforms (i.e.

projects having one genesis but several

applications and revenue streams). How

people carve up distribution rights--

and derivative rights-- in the coming

decade will be increasingly more com-

plicated, but this business shift will also

create new opportunities for people en-

tering the fi eld with the digital skills and

expertise to navigate in this brave new

media world. ■

phy nomination for Winnipeg-based

best program nominee Keep Your

Head Up Kid: Th e Don Cherry Story

while another Winnipeg-based series,

Less Th an Kind won a best comedy

performance nomination for Arthur

Benjamin. Newfoundland’s Republic

of Doyle won a best actress in a series

nomination for Lynda Boyd.

British Columbians won several nom-

inations in craft categories. Linda Del

Rosario won a series production design

nomination for Iron Road; Riverworld

won sound nominations in the dramat-

ic program category for Iain Pattison,

Rich Walters, Graeme Hughes, David

Cyr, Kirby Jinnah, Paul Sharpe and

James Wallace and J. Martin Taylor

and Jamie Mahaff ey won best sound

nominations for an information/docu-

mentary program for Darwin’s Brave

New World – Publish and Be Damned.

Th ey will be competing with Jo Rossi,

a nominee in the same category for Ice

Pilots NWT. Th e animated series Hot

Wheels Battle Force 5 won directing

nominations for Johnny Darrell and

Clint Butler and a score nomination

for Brian Carson. Eric Goldstein and

Brent Fidler won performing arts pro-

gram nominations for directing Poe-Th e

Last Days of the Raven and Philip Lyall

and Nimisha Mukerji won documen-

tary program directing nominations for

65 Red Roses.

BC actors and hosts nominated in-

cluded Landon Liboiron who is nomi-

nated in the children’s program cat-

egory for Degrassi: the Next Generation;

Christopher Heyerdahl, a best guest

role nominee for Sanctuary; Grace

Park, a nominee for her continuing role

in the drama Th e Border and Anna &

Kristina’s Grocery Bag co-hosts Kristi-

na Matisic and Anna Wallner, who are

nominated in the lifestyle/practical in-

formation or performing arts category.

Th e Geminis will be presented over

the course of three nights in Toronto.

Th e Industry Gala Presentations

will take place on Tuesday Novem-

ber 2nd and Wednesday November

3rd at the Kool Haus Entertainment

Complex while the Broadcast Gala

will take place on Saturday Novem-

ber 13th at the Winter Garden Th e-

atre and will be broadcast live-to-tape

on Global and Showcase. ■

LensRebates

Beginnings continued from page 15

Gemini Nominations cont. from page 30

in many departments and, in par-

ticular, in catering and construction.

I’m sure anyone who has spent any

time on set knows how rare it is these

days to eat with anything but plastic

utensils and has seen the mounds of

garbage hauled off set every day.

Th e BC Film Commission is on the

cutting edge with a website that has

been created by Gordon Hardwick.

Called reelgreen (www.reelgreen.

bc.ca), the site identifi es suppliers

who are already taking green initia-

tives and suggests best practices for

conservation during production.

BC Film is also taking the lead

in this area, introducing an on-line

application process in 2008 for the

Production Service Tax Credit and

for Film Incentive BC in 2009. BC

Film was the fi rst in the country to

do this and their system allows for

all supporting documentation to be

submitted electronically.

Sometimes the only way to

change habits is to say there is no

other choice. Every time a new pro-

duction starts up, there is an op-

portunity to change the rules. As

a result, producers are in a unique

position to make conservation ev-

eryone’s choice. ■

Paper trail cont. from previous


Two western Canada-shot television

shows were amongst the leaders when

the Academy of Canadian Cinema

and Television announced its 2010

Gemini nominations. BC’s Stargate

Universe won nominations in nine

categories while Manitoba’s Less Th an

Kind won eight nominations. Th e only

productions to score more nods than

Stargate were the Toronto-shot Flash-

point, which won 15 nominations, in-

cluding four for cast and crew living

in BC, and the Vancouver 2010 Olym-

pics with 13 nominations (mostly for

its Toronto-based crew and hosts.)

Stargate Universe’s BC cast and

crew won nominations for best dra-

matic series, visual eff ects, (Krista

McLean, Andrew Karr, Mark Save-

la, Craig Vandenbiggelaar, Brenda

Campbell, Alec Mclymont, Michael

Lowers, Viv Jim, Shannon Gurney

and Kodie MacKenzie) picture edit-

ing (Rick Martin), direction (Andy

Mikita), lead actor (Louis Ferreira

and Robert Carlyle), musical score

(Joel Goldsmith) and cinematogra-

phy (Jim Menard.)

Less Th an Kind won a best comedy

series nomination for its Manitoba

producer Phyllis Laing. Th e show’s

Winnipeg-based actor Lisa Durupt,

is nominated in the best individual

performance in a comedy category.

Other Manitoba-based nominees

included Jamie Brown, who won a

nomination for Til Debt Do Us Part

(lifestyle/information series); Shawn

Pierce, who is nominated for scoring

the documentary Th e Secret World of

Shoplifting; production designer Re-

jean Labrie and costume designer Pa-

tricia Henderson, both nominated in

their respective trades for their work

on the TV movie Keep Your Head Up

Kid: Th e Don Cherry Story and Ray

Turnbull, who won a best sports ana-

lyst nomination for his coverage of the

2010 Tim Horton’s Brier.

Manitoba producer Merit Jensen

Carr won a nomination for best sci-

ence, technology, nature, environment

or adventure documentary for One

Ocean: Mysteries of the Deep and joined

Virgil Kanne, Alexandra Rosentreter

and Kevin Glasier as a nominee for the

interactive version of the show, which

is up for best cross-platform project.

And the producers of CBC Winnipeg’s

news won a nomination for best local

newscast in a large market.

Alberta’ X-Weighted Families did

well in the general/human interest

series category with nominations for

best series and best direction (Patri-

cia Harris Seeley.) Other Alberta

shows that did well included Broke,

which won Rosie Dransfi eld nomi-

nations for the Donald Brittain Award

and best direction for a documentary;

Johnny Reid: Live at the Jubilee which

won best sound nominations for Dave

Harrison and Francesco Russo; On

Home Ice which won nominations for

best sport analysis for both Gord Re-

del and Don Metz and Th e Canadian

Country Music Awards 2009 which

won nominations for best music, va-

riety program or series and direction

(Morris Abraham.)

Individual nominations went to Al-

berta-based Wapos Bay actor DerRick

Starlight for best performance in an

animated program, to James Fonnyadt

for providing sound to the drama Riv-

erworld and Michael Molineux who

was nominated for a best sound Gemini

for a comedy variety or performing arts

program for Th e 2010 Juno Awards.

Wapos Bay contributed several

nominations to the Saskatchewan list.

Th e show won nominations for Gemi-

nis for best animated program or series

and category awards for direction and

writing (Trevor Cameron) and origi-

nal score (Ross Nykiforuk.) Also far-

ing well were Silent Bombs: All for the

Motherland, which won Rob King a

directing nomination in the documen-

tary program category; Saskatchewan

River Delta, which won sound nomina-

tions in the information/documentary

category for Cary Ciesielski, David

Taylor and Lucas Hart and a pho-

tography nomination for Ian Toews.

Hell on Hooves won nominations for

best general human interest series and

a writing nomination in the same cat-

egory for Doug Hudema. CBC News

Saskatchewan won a nomination as

best local newscast in a small market

while Hiccups DOP Anton Krawczyk

won a comedy program nomination

for his photography.

BC’s nominations list was led by

Stargate Universal and a trio of pop and

rock stars. Bob Rock, who was a found-

er of the iconic punk band Th e Payolas,

and Vancouver-based singer Michael

Buble are nominated for At the Concert

Hall. Rock is nominated for best sound

while Buble is nominated for hosting

the show. Elvis Costello is nominated

for Best Talk Series for the show Spec-

tacle: Elvis Costello With…

Several BC-shot shows are nomi-

nated in their individual categories.

Kid vs. Kat, from Studio B is up for

best animated program or series; Al-

ice is nominated for best dramatic

mini-series as well as for Vancouver-

ite Matt Frewer’s performance, the

make-up supplied by Lisa Love and

Paul Edwards and for Angus Strath-

ie’s costume design. Word Travels is

nominated for a Gemini as best docu-

mentary series and Th e Cupcake Girls

is nominated for the best reality show

Gemini and for best direction of a re-

ality show (Grant Greschuk.)

News and sports cast and crew

brought several nominations to BC.

Global BC News won a nomination in

the best newscast, large market catego-

ry while Global National won a nomi-

nation in the best breaking news cate-

gory for its Catastrophe in Haiti series.

Brian Grahn won a writing nomina-

tion in the information and news cat-

egory for his work on Global National

and is also nominated for producing

best news series nominee Everyday

Hero Special. Glen Suitor won a best

sports analyst nomination for TSN’s

coverage of the 2009 Grey Cup. Ron

Forsythe won a best direction nomi-

nation for his work on Hockey Night in

Canada’s playoff coverage.

Th ree Vancouverites won nomi-

nations for CBC news shows. Erica

Johnson is nominated as best host or

interviewer for a news program for

CBC News: Marketplace while Shane

Foxman and Ian Hanomansing are

nominated for CBC News Vancouver,

in, respectively, the sportscaster/an-

chor and news anchor categories. A

CBC Vancouver crew also won nomi-

nations for best special event coverage

for Canada Remembers.

BC nominees in new media catego-

ries included Sanctuary, which was

nominated for a best cross-platform

project Gemini in the fi ction category;

Waterlife.nfb.ca, a nominee for best

original show produced for digital

media in the non-fi ction category and

the shows Vetala and My Pal Satan

which won nominations in the best

original digital media show category.

Flashpoint was one of several series

that were produced elsewhere but won

nominations for BC residents. Flash-

point won dramatic series category

nominations for writing (Ian Weir),

guest role performance (Ona Grau-

er), direction (David Frazee) and ed-

iting (Lara Mazur.) Jared Keeso won

a best performance nomination and

Glen MacPherson won a photogra-

FINAL EDIT

BRENT FIDLER WON PERFORMING ARTS PROGRAM NOMINATIONS FOR DIRECTING POE-THE LAST DAYS OF THE RAVEN FIDLER

It’s a Kind Universe for Western Television

Gemini Nominations cont. on page 29

september - october 2010 : reel west magazine

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