All articles by de.seguin@gmail.com – Page 20
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Bon Cop, Kigali lead Jutra Award nominations in Quebec
Bon Cop, Bad Cop and Un Dimanche A Kigali (A Sunday In Kigali) each received 12 nominations as Quebec's Jutra Awards announced the contenders for the 2007 edition. Philippe Falardeau's Congorama followed with six nominations, including Best Picture, while Stephane Lapointe's La Vie Secrete Des Gens Heureux (also a Best ...
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Actors' strike: sign of the times
When Canada's performers went on strike last week, the issues included the usual grievances of workers versus management: pay, benefits and working conditions. But the sticking point was a multi-billion dollar question that could haunt the global audiovisual industry for years to come: how to share the revenue from the ...
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Canada's Atopia picks up North America on Gutierrez
Montreal-based distributor Atopia has picked up North American distribution rights for Heidi Specogna's 2006 Sundance world documentary competitor The Short Life of Jose Antonio Gutierrez, the story of the first US soldier killed in the invasion of Iraq. The Germany-Switzerland coproduction follows in the footsteps of one-time Guatemalan street urchin ...
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US producers issue dire warning to Canadian actors' union
US producers representative, the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producuers (AMPTP), says the Canadian performers strike will wreak havoc on the industry north of the border. In a release issued late Friday, the AMPTP said the situation could 'potentially have a devastating and long term impact on production in ...
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Canadian films to tour India with TIFFG's Film Circuit
Four Canadian films will be screened in Mumbai, India and Kathmandu, Nepal as part of the international touring programme of the Toronto International Film Festival Group's Film Circuit. The films are: Sarah Polley's Away From Her, Aubrey Nealon's A Simple Curve, Bernard Emond's La Neuvaine and Michael McGowan's Saint Ralph. ...
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CanWest, Goldman buy Alliance Atlantis for $1.95 bn
CanWest Global Communications and New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs completed their takeover of Alliance Atlantis Communications ( AAC ) yesterday. The final price for the Canadian broadcaster and film distributor was pegged at $1.95 bn (C$2.3 bn). The acquisition cements CanWest's position as the nation's largest media company. The ...
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CanWest in 'exclusive' negotiation for Alliance Atlantis purchase
Canadian media conglomerate CanWest Global Communications and New York-based investment bank Goldman Sachs are in exclusive negotiation toward a possible purchase of Alliance Atlantis Communications ( AAC ), AAC confirmed this morning. According to a report in today's Globe and Mail newspaper, a deal, estimated at $1.8 bn (C$2.1 bn), ...
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The Rocket, Bon Cop lead Canada's Genie nominations
Hockey drama The Rocket landed 13 nominations for Canada's Genie Awards, including picture, director Charles Biname, lead actor Roy Dupuis, screenwriter Ken Scott and a host of technical and craft categories. Announced today, the nominations tilted heavily to Quebec production with police comedy Bon Cop, Bad Cop - Canada's top-grossing ...
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Canadian producers call ACTRA strike 'illegal'
The Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) says that today's strike action by the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA) is illegal. ACTRA set a deadline for 12 am January 8 and, while negotiations continued past that deadline, at a press conference this morning, ACTRA chief ...
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Canadian actors on strike but not picketing
Canadian film and television performers are in an official strike position this morning as last-ditch talks failed between the performers guild, the Alliance of Cinema, Television and Radio Artists (ACTRA), and producers represented by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA) and the Association de producteurs de films et ...
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Canadian performers set strike deadline
Canadian performers guild ACTRA has set a strike deadline of 12:01am on Jan 8 if ongoing 'last-ditch' talks break down.In a statement, ACTRA national executive director and chief negotiator Stephen Waddell said: 'ACTRA wants to avoid a strike. We're going to try hard this week to negotiate a new agreement. ...
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Toronto critics bow to The Queen
Toronto's filmcritics showed their former colonial colours this year by heaping awards on TheQueen. The Englishfavourite won Best Picture, Peter Morgan won for Best Screenplay, Helen Mirrenfor Best Female Performance and Michael Sheen for Best Supporting MalePerformance (as British prime minister Tony Blair) while Stephen Frears tiedfor Best Director alongside ...
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Alliance Atlantis put up for sale by controlling shareholder
Alliance AtlantisCommunications (AAC) is for sale. The Canadian entertainment company announcedlast night that its controlling shareholder, Southhill Strategy, has been"exploring strategic alternatives". Southhill is owned by AAC executivechairman Michael MacMillan and former AAC executive Seaton McLean, two of thefounders of the original company, Atlantis Communications. The move comes twomonths after ...
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Happy Feet crosses $10m on IMAX screens
Warner Bros' animated featureHappy Feet has passed the $10mmark on IMAX screens. The film opened November 17 on 79 IMAX screens in NorthAmerica and will eventually expand to a further 28 IMAX screensinternationally. Total worldwide gross in both conventional and large-format isapproaching $200m. 'We arevery pleased with the film's strong ...
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Away From Her, Rasmussen in TIFFG's annual Canada's Top Ten list
Sarah Polley's directorial debutAway From Her and Zacharias Kunukand Norman Cohn's The Journals Of Knud Rasmussen were among the titles listed in the TorontoInternational Film Festival Group's Canada's Top Ten. The annual announcement,published in alphabetical order, highlights ten titles produced in Canadaduring the year. Other titles to make the cut ...
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Telefilm Canada to help export of Quebecois productions
Telefilm Canada hasannounced plans to support international sales efforts of the French-languageproductions in which it invests. Those films, overwhelmingproduced within Quebec, typically do not sell well abroad; despite the sharedlanguage, France and other French-speaking regions are generally hard marketsto crack, unless the films are international co-productions. The InternationalSales Promotion Pilot ...
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Rasmusssen team launch northern Canada distribution initiative
The Canadian production teambehind Atanarjuat: The Fast Runnerand The Journals Of Knud Rasmussenhave launched a feature film distribution initiative to service 200 remoteaboriginal communities across northern Canada.Backed by a broad coalitionof private and public sector enterprises, including Telefilm Canada andAlliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution (MPD) as well as several northernairlines, ...
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Canadian film and TV performers move closer towards strike
Canada's film and televisionperformers edged closer to a strike position as their representative ACTRAannounced it will begin mailing strike ballots to members.The move follows the latestround of negotiations between the performers union and the production communityrepresented by the Canadian Film and Television Production Association (CFTPA)and the Association de Producteurs de ...
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Seville International picks up international on Quebecois smash Bon Cop
Montreal-based SevilleInternational has picked up international sales rights on recording-breakingCanadian comedy Bon Cop, Bad Cop inadvance of the AFM. The film has earned over$10.6m (C$12m) at the local box office - eight of them at the top of the Quebecbox office - and is still in cinemas through Alliance Atlantis ...
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Canadian performers seek mediation in contract talks
Canadian film and TVperformers guild ACTRA today applied for labour mediation following two days ofnegotiation toward a new independent production agreement with Canadianproducers. According to ACTRA, veteranactor and lead bargaining team member Gordon Pinsent walked out on the talkswhen representatives from the Canadian Film and Television ProductionAssociation (CFTPA) and the ...