[canucklehead2]

Hey, I was wondering if we should just create a single sticky Cdn entertainment and media thread since several have been created.

Anyway, starting Tuesday there will be a few changes on Cdn TV. Global National is moving to 5:30 after Y&R, so in Edmonton at least they are killing one of the 3 afternoon/evening local newscasts. Also as a test in some markets Canada now is reversing the hours of their local and national newscasts, with the local news starting at 6 with Canada Now at 6:30 but the plans were previously for just a single hour of local news.

Plus, Hatching Matching and Dispatching as well as Getting Along Famously (2 CBC pilots from last year) have started their first seasons with 6 x 30 minutes each. I watched both and they were fairly good. I dunno if anyone else caught them?

[SteelTown]

Yea I watched Hatching Matching and Dispatching and I like it.

Getting Along Famously is well typical Canadian crap.

[SHOFEAR]

Anybody watch Video on Trial? It's quickly becoming one of my favorite shows.

[canucklehead2]

I love Video on Trial. It is now my favorite muchmusic program. Ed the Sock's Fromage 2005 was merde this year. I was so dissapointed. Usually I have tears running down my fave from laughing so hard when I was both Video on Trial and Fromage, but not this year, just Video on Trial.

[AlbertaBeef]

MuchMusic is dribble and crap all rolled into one big shitball.

[Svenn]

I'm going to completely agree with you there AlbertaBeef. I really knew it when they closed off a street for the cast of house of wax...oh yeah...and then dukes of hazard. :tup:

[Stu]

MuchMusic? It's become the "Let's make fun of celebrity channel". They choose the most obvious of celebrities to bash too. Oh what, Britney Spears is a slut? Ya don't say? Then they completely gush over them when one pops in to the studio, the fucking hypocrites.

Behold the grand vision of Moses Znaimer. Behold Ed the Sock mocking a Good Charlotte video... in a completely scripted "this shit sounds like it's been written by 3 12-year-olds" way. Behold me changing the channel after watching 2 minutes of this shit.

[MrChills]

Hatching, Matching and Dispatching was HILARIOUS! We need more original comedy shows like that instead of trying to create low budget versions of what you can view on American Television.

[SHOFEAR]

I've recently discovered what may be the greatest show of all time, Kenny vs Spenny.

The entire first episode can be seen here (http://www.ifilm.com/ifilmdetail/2438741?htv=12)

[crooked rain]

The Tournament on CBC is also a decent (i.e. watchable) program.

[canucklehead2]

Has anyone seen "The Life and Hard Times of Guy Terrifico" yet? I wanted to see it last week, but we went to watch Transamerica instead which I'd recommend even if the only can-con is Kevin Zegers.

BTW, does anyone know how well Falcon Beach is doing in the ratings, and it it just me or is Global playing it 3 times a week now (Wed, Thurs, Sat)

[Kilgore Trout]

two words: da vinci. both inquest and city hall.

best tv series ever.

[Jared]

two words: da vinci. both inquest and city hall.

best tv series ever.

I hear the next one, Da Vinci's Senate, is going to be rather dull. It will feature a lot of doing nothing.



P.S. Kenny vs. Spenny was pretty funny when I used to watch it, what happened to it?

[AlbertaBeef]

Guy Terriffico is great, especially to a huge Gram Parsons junkie like myself.

[jeffwhit]

P.S. Kenny vs. Spenny was pretty funny when I used to watch it, what happened to it?
It keeps getting bounced around. It went to GSN in the US for a while, then on Showcase, most recently I saw it back on CBC. It's gotten much nastier than I remember it. I love that show. Everyone who hasn't seen it has got to rent "Pitch," which Kenny and Spenny made before the show. It's gold, Jerry, gold!

[harls]

The Tournament on CBC is also a decent (i.e. watchable) program.

blech. I watched it once.. it was like watching a 30 minute commercial for Kia and Subway.

[bigcanuck]

I hear the next one, Da Vinci's Senate, is going to be rather dull. It will feature a lot of doing nothing.

Maybe it will feature a good travelogue of Mexico...

[Ginty]

It keeps getting bounced around. It went to GSN in the US for a while, then on Showcase, most recently I saw it back on CBC. It's gotten much nastier than I remember it. I love that show. Everyone who hasn't seen it has got to rent "Pitch," which Kenny and Spenny made before the show. It's gold, Jerry, gold!


Kenny and Spenny is great. Whats the deal with "pitch"?

[jeffwhit]

Alright, Pitch was a documentary they made about trying to pitch a movie script. They wrote a script, I'm certain was not meant to be serious called "The Don" (or maybe it was spelled "The Dawn," not sure) about a Mafia boss who goes in for a routine hernia opperation and accidently ends up with a sex change.
The film is them pitching this script, a lot at the Toronto Film Festival (not sure what year it was) and they started to gain a little notoriety. For example, Roger Ebert knew exactly who they were when they approached him. I believe they were trying to get Eric Stoltz to sign on. They ended up moving to LA and getting agent (who really screwed them in the end.)

They filmed the pilot for Kenny vs Spenny (who can lose the most weight) while in LA.

[jeffwhit]

two words: da vinci. both inquest and city hall.

best tv series ever.
I noticed that the Twin Cities (MN) CBS affiliate, which I get here in Saskatoon has picked up Da Vinci's Inquest in sindicated form now.

[Kilgore Trout]

yes, apparently da vinci's inquest has a very loyal following in the US, mostly among americans near the border who get CBC.

[jeffwhit]

I also heard it's really popular in Spain. (no joke.)

[Nutterbug]

MuchMusic is dribble and crap all rolled into one big shitball.
Long gone are the days when music videos were worth watching.

Do even the kids watch them now?

[jeffwhit]

Not true exactly, it's just that Much Music refused to play anything but crap, except late on Friday nights on the Wedge, which was once a daily show. (when S-YL hosted it.)

[MichaelS]

Kenny vs. Spenny is awesome. I love that show, but can't understand why the CBC doesn't give it a regular time slot. My other favourite Canadian show is sadly no longer made. The Newsroom. It was one of the funniest shows I have ever seen, with very clever, dry humour. If you haven't seen it, I know the first two seasons are out on DVD. I very much recommend.

[althegreat III]

The Newsroom. It was one of the funniest shows I have ever seen, with very clever, dry humour. If you haven't seen it, I know the first two seasons are out on DVD. I very much recommend.

I only saw three episodes of the last season and I laughed my ass off man! However I was told that the last season was radically different than the first two...is it true?

[MichaelS]

The last season (season 3, aired from Feb. - March 205) was only 6 episodes long. The first 5 were very similar to the first 2 seasons. The 6th episode was very different. I think Ken Finkleman (creator of show) knew it was his last episode and wanted to try something a little more artistic. So he made the episode sort of like a dream that was animation. So don't judge the whole series on that one episode.

[althegreat III]

The last season (season 3, aired from Feb. - March 205) was only 6 episodes long. The first 5 were very similar to the first 2 seasons. The 6th episode was very different. I think Ken Finkleman (creator of show) knew it was his last episode and wanted to try something a little more artistic. So he made the episode sort of like a dream that was animation. So don't judge the whole series on that one episode.

I havn't that episode.:)

[canucklehead2]

Did anyone catch "The Next Great Prime Minister" tonight??

I thought it was only ok, and I certainly hated the winner on the show. From the first few words she uttered I wanted to smack her face in with a brick, but obviously Mulroney, Campbell, Clark and Turner loved her.

[althegreat III]

That show was only 1 episode? I thought it was a series like Canadian Idol?

[canucklehead2]

Yeah and judging by who they picked I am glad. Obviously they just wanted someone to espouse their hard right neo-con values, and a platform to do it.

[althegreat III]

I heard in the papers that Maurice Richard or "The Rocket" has released TV ads in English Canada, namely during the Superbowl. Anyone can confirm that? And anyone interested in watching it in English Canada? btw it will be dubbed.

If you do want to watch it, expect a high cinematographic quality, and a superb effort with all technical aspects. But the story is mild...

[MichaelS]

I read today that CBC was cancelling Davinci City Hall, This is Wonderland and The Tournament after this season.

[althegreat III]

What? No way! Though I never watched any of those shows, it comes as a complete shock, especially with Da Vinci and Wonderland! The Tournament? Bah, as soon as I saw the CBC trying to sell The Tournament with a KIA, I knew it was over. And aparently, The Tournament's second season was shit compared to the 2nd.

Does anyone have actual ratings of these shows?

[MichaelS]

Here is a link to the story.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2006/02/13/cancellations-cbc.html

[Nutterbug]

At least they know when to quit, unlike too many other shows these days.

[canucklehead2]

Its real shame that CBC killed them off, but its more of a shame that these good shows were never watched by the public in the first place. Generally the rule of thumb for ratings is 500 000 nationwide, all 3 were averaging around 300 000 so its understandable as to why CBC canned them. All I can say is it isn't a very good sign for Canadian drama, especially non-teen drama, since Global only has Falcon Beach these days and CTV has Whistler but won't premiere it until this fall.

[MolsonExport]

Why can't somebody just get rid of Ben Mulroney?

Please. For the love of God.

[MolsonExport]

http://www.petitiononline.com/idolben/petition.html

To: CTV
We believe that Ben Mulroney is not a good host for Canadian Idol. His jokes and wit lack what a good host should display. He is a poor representative for Canada, and we feel ashamed to have him on such a widely-viewed show. He is the worst part of a good show, and a show that would be far better with the absence of Ben Mulroney. We request the removal of Ben Mulroney from future Canadian Idol seasons.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

[althegreat III]

He is the worst part of a good show, and a show...

:yuck:

You lost me there buddy.

[duper]

http://www.petitiononline.com/idolben/petition.html

To: CTV
We believe that Ben Mulroney is not a good host for Canadian Idol. His jokes and wit lack what a good host should display. He is a poor representative for Canada, and we feel ashamed to have him on such a widely-viewed show. He is the worst part of a good show, and a show that would be far better with the absence of Ben Mulroney. We request the removal of Ben Mulroney from future Canadian Idol seasons.

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

Two things

1) its a bad show and Mulroney is a bad host. Makes perfect match, in my opinion.

2) I do not understand why any public figure with no talent is automatically designated "an embarrassment to Canada." Whathisname who hosts American Idol is widely considered to be awful, but no one is going around screaming "what an embarrassment to the United States."

[MolsonExport]

Lemme clarify, it is not my poll, nor my words. I hate the fucking show. I hate Ben Mulroney.

[duper]

^
I know you're an educated man and would never be behind such drivel. That's why I quoted the letter and not you.

[mr.x]

They shouldn't have cancelled Da Vinci. It's the most successful Canadian drama ever, and it's in syndication in other networks around the world including BBC, ABC (Australia Broadcasting Corp.), and more than a dozen American local networks.

These low ratings (300,000) were caused by the lockout, and perhaps American shows like House and American Idol which were on the same night. They could've simply moved the show onto another night, and give it another chance. This was a very shortsighted decision.



Sometimes, I just think CBC tries to do much. Doing news, a 24/7 news channel, sports, comedy, drama, and documentaries on five tv channels as well as radio in both english and french with just $1.4 billion is a bit of a stretch.

[althegreat III]

The Quebec government is slashing big time at Télé-Québec, some 100 people will lose their jobs within the next 2 years.

http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/story/qc-tele20060216.html


Télé-Québec faces major cuts
Last updated Feb 16 2006 08:39 AM EST
CBC News


Télé-Québec has been ordered by the Quebec government to cut its workforce by a third and to move all of its Montreal production to the private sector.

The move will save the public broadcaster $10 million to be pumped back into programming.

Télé-Québec has been told to cut 100 of its 300 employees over the next two years.

The Télé-Québec network is operated by the Quebec government.

It runs mostly educational programming in French, and doesn't officially compete with privately-owned television networks or with Radio-Canada television. :(

[canucklehead2]

Yeah the timeslot was the worst. By moving DaVinci's from Sunday to Tuesday was ratings suicide. They should have left well enough alone.

Too bad there are so few networks in Canada who would be willing to snag the show from CBC and order new episodes, especially when D's Inquest has become so popular in America within the last year.

[Kilgore Trout]

i'm furious that CBC has cancelled da vinci's city hall. it was critically-acclaimed and its precessor, da vinci's inquest, has been extremely popular in syndication and has garnered a devoted audience around the world. there was plenty of reason to believe that, given a couple of more seasons, city hall would have done the same.

the CBC needs to completely forget about ratings. it is a public broadcaster with a limited budget: it will always lose in a ratings war. it should focus on nurturing intelligent programming that is similar to what the american cable networks have been doing for several years.

da vinci was canada's the sopranos. by cancelling it the CBC is really shooting itself in the foot.

[harls]

The Quebec government is slashing big time at Télé-Québec, some 100 people will lose their jobs within the next 2 years.

http://www.cbc.ca/montreal/story/qc-tele20060216.html


Télé-Québec faces major cuts
Last updated Feb 16 2006 08:39 AM EST
CBC News


Télé-Québec has been ordered by the Quebec government to cut its workforce by a third and to move all of its Montreal production to the private sector.

The move will save the public broadcaster $10 million to be pumped back into programming.

Télé-Québec has been told to cut 100 of its 300 employees over the next two years.

The Télé-Québec network is operated by the Quebec government.

It runs mostly educational programming in French, and doesn't officially compete with privately-owned television networks or with Radio-Canada television. :(

I like Télé-Québec.. they have a lot of really well produced shows. This is sad.

I hope they don't cut Ramdam. :D

[canucklehead2]

I wish each province retains and their provincial broadcasters mandate to include general interest mass appeal programming. Maybe this would spur new Canadian programming, since outside the CBC few other networks seem willing to invest in Canadian programming besides global clone shows like ET or Canadian Idol. BTW, how many provincial broadcasters are there?

B.C.-? there is one from what I remember
Alberta-Access
Saskatchewan-SCN
Ontario-TVO
Quebec-Tele-Quebec

Any others?

[Holden West]

http://www.knowledgenetwork.ca/

ABOUT KNOWLEDGE NETWORK

"Knowledge Network's mission is to deliver high quality, relevant, credible, and compelling educational programming accessible to all British Columbians via TV and the Web. As BC's public educational broadcaster, we also offer access to targeted audiences for educators who provide the information British Columbians need to adapt to their changing world."

My favourite KN program was the nude life-drawing classes from the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design. :D

[canucklehead2]

Wow, too bad Alberta never had that.. The best we could come up with is Aunt Harriet's Magic Hat!

[althegreat III]

C.R.A.Z.Y. sweeps Genie awards
Last updated Mar 14 2006 08:04 AM EST
CBC News

Genie voters showed their love for C.R.A.Z.Y. on Monday night, as the hit Quebec coming-of-age story swept Canada's film awards.

I'm touched. This has been something – a crazy experience," Quebec filmmaker Jean-Marc Vallée said as he accepted his best-director trophy.

"I'd liked to share this honour with everybody who worked so hard on this film, with so much devotion, passion and love."

C.R.A.Z.Y. entered the celebration of the year's best Canadian films as the front-runner. It ended up snagging 10 of the 12 categories for which it had been nominated, including best film, best overall sound and best original screenplay, as well as acting honours for Michel Côté (lead actor) and Danielle Proulx (best supporting actress).

The whimsical film, Vallée's third feature, tells the tale of a sexually confused boy growing up in Quebec in the 1960s and 1970s. The music in C.R.A.Z.Y., which features a range of artists from Patsy Cline to David Bowie, "was very important. It was like a character in the film," Vallée said after the Genie ceremony.

The film had already won the Golden Reel Award, presented to the homegrown movie that earned the highest domestic box office revenue in 2005.

C.R.A.Z.Y., which grossed more than $6.2 million in Canada during the Genies' qualifying period, was also Quebec's third-biggest box office hit last year (after the latest instalments of the Harry Potter and Star Wars franchises).

The C.R.A.Z.Y. sweep meant that the evening's second-most-nominated film, Water, was a distant runner-up.

The film, which revolves around a widow's ashram in India, is the third of filmmaker Deepa Mehta's elements trilogy. It won three Genies, including cinematography, original music score and best actress for Seema Biswas.

Perennial Genie favourite Atom Egoyan won best adapted screenplay for Where the Truth Lies. In his pre-taped acceptance speech, the Toronto filmmaker brandished what he claimed were rewrites for the script.

"I could have made it better … this is the proof," Egoyan said. "If it was good enough to win the award, I thank you."

Other winners included ScaredSacred (best documentary); Quebec actor Denis Bernard of L'Audition (best supporting actor); and filmmaker Louise Archambault, who won the Claude Jutra Award for Familia, her debut feature.

Instead of airing the entire gala, broadcaster CHUM showed an edited one-hour package from the "after party" at Toronto's historic Carlu concert hall. It included pre-taped interviews with the nominated filmmakers, excerpts of the night's winners accepting their awards and post-ceremony chats.

The Genie Awards are administered by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television.

Well no surprise there....and I can't say that I agree, because I haven't seen the other films...:(

[hackunion]

C.R.A.Z.Y. was a pretty bad movie for me, there are many greater Canadian/Québec films in my opinion. My friends and I watched Caché (France) the same night and we all liked it much better.

[althegreat III]

I agree. CRAZY is a good genre film, and a successful crowd-pleaser, but it qualifies as a average/mediocre film when put on the international scene. Nevertheless, the success that this film has brought, along with keeping the Canadian film industry on the world market still warrants this prize, in my opinion anyway.

[canucklehead2]

Did anyone actually watch the Genie's this year? I was surprised they boiled down the awards to an hour's party with the announcements of winners in between the mindless chatter of who's wearing what. It was really weird. I only watched about 5 minutes before I flipped it off. To me, CHUM is really downgrading the awards to a mere blip, instead of at least attempting to make it into an oscar-like ceremony. Even last years Golden Globe style dinnerparty was better. I mean its good that they didn't drag on, but come on...

[malek]

i don't know about you guys, but i really liked CRAZY. I was sure when I got out of the theatre on the premiere night that this movie would win some awards.

[canucklehead2]

The problem here is it never premiered on any movie screens despite some announcement that it would. You can only watch it here in Alberta on DVD.

[Wooster]

Not sure this belongs here, but an interesting read how Brokeback Mountain and Ang Lee's good experience filming in Calgary is prompting more producion here.


Hartnett, Jackson to shoot drama here in June
Calgary lands a knockout
Kevin Williamson
Calgary Sun
March 22, 2006

A pair of Hollywood heavyweights are bound for Calgary.


SAMUEL L. JACKSON

Josh Hartnett and Samuel L. Jackson will shoot the boxing-themed drama Resurrecting The Champ in our city this June, the Sun confirmed exclusively March 21 with the film’s director, Rod Lurie.

“I’m looking forward to coming up … The whole crew I’ve hired seems really excited,” says Lurie, who created the Geena Davis presidential drama Commander-in-Chief and directed the political thriller The Contender. “I’m jazzed.”

Lurie, speaking from his Los Angeles offices, says he’s flying to Calgary for the first time this weekend to begin scouting for the movie, which will star Hartnett as a reporter who finds a homeless man he mistakes for a famous former fighter.

Why did the production — which is not a western or a period piece — choose Calgary as its location?

“First off, there’s the obvious financial incentive to shoot in Canada and in Calgary, the film commission has been extremely helpful to us thus far,” Lurie says.

Also swaying him in our direction was a conversation he had with Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee.

“He told me he thinks in Calgary that they double for America better than America does. He was very convincing, talking about the talent base that exists there — he was extremely impressed. We have a slighter smaller budget than he did, but he managed to make Brokeback (look like) a magnificently expensive film and I’m hoping for the same.”

Says Calgary film commissioner Beth Thompson, “It’s a great opportunity for us. When I sat down and met with them and showed them what Calgary had to offer, they were quite impressed.”

Lurie, a former L.A.-based journalist, says the film “is a journalism story based on a true story about a Los Angeles Times, down-on-his-luck reporter who comes across the story of his life. He publishes it and becomes a star only to then find out that it was inadvertently a fraud.”

In casting the film’s leading men, he says, “In the case of Josh, he just seemed to fit the bill perfectly.

At first I thought he was too young for the role, but I met him and he’s not the same, sort-of-slightish guy he was in Pearl Harbor.

He’s full-grown, but still young. He also has a tremendous air of decency that I really liked for the part. And Sam is one of the all-time great actors. It will be astonishing fun to work with him on the role … I interviewed him when I was a journalist.”

It was shortly after Lurie left journalism in 1998, when he came across the story that would later become Champ.

“I called my agent to see who had the rights to the story … I auditioned to write the screenplay and they didn’t give me the job,” he recalls with a laugh.

“Then eventually they asked me to direct and re-write it, so I did.”

Lurie — who admits everyone involved is “doing this for the love of the game” and not the money — is no stranger to low-budgeted productions.

“(Commander-in-Chief) is big for a TV show, but it would be small for a film. It’s the same budget, relatively. The Contender was a very low-budget film that was also independent. Only a film I did called The Last Castle with Robert Redford was a pretty massive movie. I’m looking forward to the intimacy of making this film on my own terms up there … They’re going to let me make my movie, I won’t be getting studio or network notes.”

Lurie lived in Canada briefly as a child, when his father, who was a cartoonist for Life magazine, was based in Montreal.

He expects to be here a total of 16 weeks, including prep, with cameras rolling June 19 for about four weeks.

As for which U.S. city Calgary will be substituting for, Lurie says he hasn’t made up his mind yet. “Someone told me it could double great for Houston.”

[althegreat III]

Good stuff for Calgary.

On a related topic...did anyone watch the junos last night? i didn't.

[malek]

who really cares about the junos other than the artsy fartsy clique... there's way too many awards and galas.

[althegreat III]

Well actualy malek, the Junos aren't at all what the Gemenis and Genies are. Furthermore, the Junos are pumped by CTV and their fucking stupid flagship pretend "national" entertainment show: E-talk. Big crowds, big stars, big ratings I'm sure, I still don't give a cock-suck.

[canucklehead2]

Alot of people actually complain that the Junos are too commericial and directed towards already established bands like Nickelback and Sum 41, rather than the "arty-farty" music acts like Broken Social Scene, The Stars, etc

[SHOFEAR]

How could I possible respect an award show where Michael Buble cleans up....

Thank god Fox/Showcase has a wicked Sunday night line-up so I'm not stuck watching that crap.

[jeffwhit]

The Juno nominations are determined by sales, not by atistic merit, that is why the same shitty shit keeps coming up again and again, and 4 Canadian idol whores were nominated.

[SHOFEAR]

The Juno nominations are determined by sales, not by atistic merit, that is why the same shitty shit keeps coming up again and again, and 4 Canadian idol whores were nominated.

That sounds so ummmm Canadian?... Lets not create a controversy so nominations are based on a measurable statistics.

There were only two bands on the entire list of winners that I have any interest in and one of those hasn't put out a CD that I have enjoyed for about 15 years.

And seriously, Pamala Anderson?? Who's brilliant idea was that. I heard a sound clip on the radio about her saying how great it is that bands like coldplay and BEP's are Canadian.

I would have loved to have been in the boardroom when that call was made.
guy one:"It looks like some guy who's CD's will only be found in a 50 year olds collection could sweep this thing, how do we get youth to watch?"
guy two: "that Baywatch chick is from Vancouver right?"

I'll take some teeny bopper show with Gwen Stefanie and Beyonce over that shit any day of the week.

[canucklehead2]

Anyone planning on seeing The Rocket this weekend (aka Maurice Richard in Quebec)? I know there is quite a bit of hype about it and its opening in a really wide release for a Canadian flick, and the timing is pretty much as good as it gets for Hockey fans.

[malek]

CRAZY is now playing on 35 screens in the UK.

[althegreat III]

REally? Interesting?

Not a Canadian movie, but I saw Cronenberg's A History of Violence last week. Hated it, very, very disappointing.

I Don't know why the Canadian media (E-Talk) is claiming it to be Canadian. Besides it was a failure at the B.O. so there's not that shallow glory to claim. Very ordinary, run of a mill movie. No innovation, bad acting and poor development.

Now the Rocket isn't a very good example of storytelling on celluloid, but it's a great movie in a cinematographic way. Good shots, great editing.

[SD]

REally? Interesting?

Not a Canadian movie, but I saw Cronenberg's A History of Violence last week. Hated it, very, very disappointing.

I Don't know why the Canadian media (E-Talk) is claiming it to be Canadian. Besides it was a failure at the B.O. so there's not that shallow glory to claim. Very ordinary, run of a mill movie. No innovation, bad acting and poor development.

Now the Rocket isn't a very good example of storytelling on celluloid, but it's a great movie in a cinematographic way. Good shots, great editing.


A History of Violence is a great movie.

It was filmed in Canada by a Canadian director, so it is Canadian in at least some sense.

[althegreat III]

It was partly shot in Canada, by a director that had to get funding in the States to make the movie. The script was written by an American and the content is American. The actors were American so were most of the crew.

James Cameron is Canadian, his movies aren't. Location and Director is not indicative of the country of Origin.

Truffaut's 1966 adaptation of Fahrenheit 451 may have partly been shot in France and be the result of a French film legend, but it is by no mean a French movie. Hell, half of Hollywood are foreigners.

I'm not saying that that's bad, and I'm not dissing Cronen, making film in Canada is a nerve-racking and disturbing exercise in patience and temper. I'd move down there as well to make my movies.

But nevertheless, A History of Violence is hardly a Canadian flick, of course I understand why we're all claiming credit, we'll claim credit at anything. Look at Paul Haggis, a Canadian who went south to have his career, and now we're all saying that Crash is somehow Canadian. Pff.

[Nutterbug]

It was partly shot in Canada
From the looks of it, it was entirely shot in Canada.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0399146/locations

[althegreat III]

whoopies. That's right, I had it confused with Egoyan's Where the Truth Lies. Still doesn't damage my argument.

[SD]

It was partly shot in Canada, by a director that had to get funding in the States to make the movie. The script was written by an American and the content is American. The actors were American so were most of the crew.

As it's already been pointed out, I think it was filmed entirely in Canada.

James Cameron is Canadian, his movies aren't. Location and Director is not indicative of the country of Origin.

James Cameron didn't direct the movie...



But nevertheless, A History of Violence is hardly a Canadian flick, of course I understand why we're all claiming credit, we'll claim credit at anything. Look at Paul Haggis, a Canadian who went south to have his career, and now we're all saying that Crash is somehow Canadian. Pff.

Well, I didn't say it was a 100% Canadian production, just that it is "Canadian" in some sense. Cronenberg is most certainly a Canadian Director, not someone born here who left decades ago that we're now reclaiming.

[canucklehead2]

It was filmed in Canada, with a cast of mainly American actors, with a Canadian director. This was actually a US financed project as well, and Cronenberg acted as a gun for hire for this project, which is really rare for him. He generally likes to write, direct and produce his own projects, and arrange financing via Canadian and foreign sources. eXistenZ for example was financed by Telefilm Canada and foreign presales.

[althegreat III]

Cronenberg acted as a gun for hire for this project, which is really rare for him.

Precisely, if this were to be an auteur piece, it would of been an other story.

[jeffwhit]

That sounds so ummmm Canadian?... Lets not create a controversy so nominations are based on a measurable statistics.

There were only two bands on the entire list of winners that I have any interest in and one of those hasn't put out a CD that I have enjoyed for about 15 years.

And seriously, Pamala Anderson?? Who's brilliant idea was that. I heard a sound clip on the radio about her saying how great it is that bands like coldplay and BEP's are Canadian.

I would have loved to have been in the boardroom when that call was made.
guy one:"It looks like some guy who's CD's will only be found in a 50 year olds collection could sweep this thing, how do we get youth to watch?"
guy two: "that Baywatch chick is from Vancouver right?"

I'll take some teeny bopper show with Gwen Stefanie and Beyonce over that shit any day of the week.

That's also largely the fault of having CTV, the biggest celebrity ball-lickers around producing the show itself. (I hear Kalen Porter has an open invitation for a hot stone massage from Ben Mulroney, (with a hollywood ending) good anytime.)

It's time for someone to take charge and start a Canadian version of the Mercury Prize with a corresponding concert for TV. Imagine what an awards show would have been like with Canadian artists that are actually good performing.

[francis orme]

having been in Latin America for a little bit, I've been able to see quite a bit of Canadian influence down here (well it's not huge amounts, but I didn't think there was any).

Both Argentina and Colombia have their respective Much Music stations (I believe Mexico used to have Mucho as well). Bogota has CityTV which can be seen from other countries as well. I've seen several Canadian movies, and some shows like Degrassi can be seen regularily (on MTV!). Not to mention the Quebec telenovelas on TV5 (with French subtitles, haha).

Every once and awhile you'll be flicking through channels and you'll see that familiar Canada logo in the credits... sigh, makes me miss home.

[MolsonExport]

That's also largely the fault of having CTV, the biggest celebrity ball-lickers around producing the show itself. (I hear Kalen Porter has an open invitation for a hot stone massage from Ben Mulroney, (with a hollywood ending) good anytime.)

Ben Mulroney is the worlds biggest loser. Frankly, I am very embarrassed that he is a Canadian. He is the cheesiest, slimiest asslicker in showbusiness. You can even see the brown on his tongue when he sucks up to whatever pseudo-celebrity he is interviewing. His nervous little laughs make me want to kill someone. And I hate Tanya Kim too!

Son of the Chin, with a touch of Elvis thrown in.

[HomeInMyShoes]

In my world, the only show Ben would be on would be Air Farce as the Chicken Canon target. In person, not that lousy picture crap.

[canucklehead2]

I saw The Rocket today. Not bad for a relatively low budget cdn flick ($8 mln) there were a few fake annoying intercut scenes that looked cheezy, and it dragged in parts, but overall a really top notch flick. I'd recommend to anyone..

[Pootkao]

Question: Why is this thread still stickied??

[jeffwhit]

In my world, the only show Ben would be on would be Air Farce as the Chicken Canon target. In person, not that lousy picture crap.

He doesn't need any mor TV face time, just quitely drown him off the coast of Labrador in the middle of the night.

[althegreat III]

^agreed. hat about Tanya Kim though, we...must...get...rid of her too! I suggest we torch down her house and force her to live outside of Toronto...with no make-up. Boy is she gonna have it hard :)

[harls]

I saw The Rocket today. Not bad for a relatively low budget cdn flick ($8 mln) there were a few fake annoying intercut scenes that looked cheezy, and it dragged in parts, but overall a really top notch flick. I'd recommend to anyone..

Is it dubbed? or are there actually english speaking scenes in it?

I wonder why it took so long to come out in English.. I guess it had to do with the timing of the playoffs.

[althegreat III]

^agreed. what about Tanya Kim though, we...must...get...rid of her too! I suggest we torch down her house and force her to live outside of Toronto...and with no make-up. Boy is she gonna have it hard :)

[althegreat III]

Is it dubbed? or are there actually english speaking scenes in it?

I wonder why it took so long to come out in English.. I guess it had to do with the timing of the playoffs.

Must be weird watching this one in dubbed-english. I mean the whole film is about francophones "rebelling" against the english-speaking NHL...

[harls]

yeah, that would be weird.

As for Tanya Kim - I like that idea. Let's extradite her to Sudbury and burn her push-up bras.

[canucklehead2]

Actually The Rocket is in a mix of english and french, with subtitles for each market. In English Canada, the french part had subtitles, and in Quebec it was the opposite. To me this is really clever and it will be used again in another movie being released the fall. A buddy cop comedy/action film has been filmed with Colm Feore as an Ontario cop, and a french speaking cdn actor as Quebec one who have to work together on murder case that took place on the joint provincial border. To me it sounds pretty good, but we will have to wait and see if its a success.

[althegreat III]

When I watched Maurice Richard when it came out last winter, I was told that they would dub the french parts in English. The movie to me seemed like it could never be dubbed, it would be too awkward.

The film your talking about is BoN Cop Bad Cop. It's written by famous Quebec actor/comedien Patrick Huard. Eric Canuel (the director) is a very visual filmmaker. He's also very gritty and dark (for Cnd standards). I'm looking forward for this movie, apparently the climax is set at a Habs/Laughs game. :tup:

[MTL-514]

saw a preview for Bon Cop Bad Cop wedneasday night - it actually looks like it could be a pretty amusing movie

I went to see Un Dimanche A Kigali, with Luc Picard... I really like his acting

it's worth seeing - it's a tough film to watch, but I think it portrays in quite frightening reality some of what was going on during the Rwandan Genocide

imo a very well-made Canadian film from Quebec, another to add to he growing list

[althegreat III]

That movie looks crazy. It's also the first Quebec movie to shoot entirely outside of Canada and the first movie filmed in post-butcherhouse Rwanda. Even Hotel Rwanda wasn't shot there, it was shot in South Africa.

[malek]

a bit of jealousy coming from Edmonton?
==================================
Montreal sound: myth or movement?
Stills latest band to call the city home

By MIKE ROSS, EDMONTON SUN




The "Montreal sound" is exploding so fast that even the bands in the centre of it aren't aware it's happening. Or it could be a media creation, in which case, here's some more.

Dave Hamelin of the Stills, when asked in passing about fellow Montrealers Mobile - last week's featured Montreal rock band with a really short name that came to play at a medium-sized bar in Edmonton; the Stills play tomorrow at the U of A's Powerplant - he draws a blank.

"Really? Never heard of them," he says.

Where you been, dude? They're huge! Top 10 with a bullet.

"Who the hell are Mobile? I really don't understand. These guys are a new band? They're huge? So since I've been gone, this band is now huge and people are talking about them as being part of this scene? That's so crazy. Wow. Communications now are so quick. Everybody comes and goes in like 10 minutes. F---ing nuts."



Agreed.

Just never mind for a second that few of the Montreal bands mentioned in stories about the Montreal explosion actually live in Montreal. The Stills lived in New York, then Paris, France. Mobile moved to Toronto before they got huge.

The founders of the Arcade Fire are of Haitian and American descent. The Dears made it big in Europe.

But rest assured, Montreal shall claim them all - so will the press eager for the next trend. Has "the French-Canadian Seattle" been taken yet?

OK, needs work.

Point is, Montreal "is a good place to come from," says Hamelin. "I'm really happy about the Montreal thing, actually. People are thinking about it, people are talking about it, all the better. It's a good town. It's a strange but beautiful place."

This brings up a discussion of the effect of isolation on the originality and general health of a city's music scene (or even country; any fan of Latin music will testify that Cuba produces more great music per capita than any other country in the world).

Hamelin then asks, "Why aren't there any amazing bands from Edmonton?"

He doesn't wait for the answer, "I think Edmonton is more isolated than Montreal. But Montreal chooses to be isolated. I think that people there don't feel like they're part of Canada, to a certain extent.

"I don't know if that's the single cause of a good music scene, but Montreal is a strange place. It is its own island. It could be its own city state."

He goes on to point out Montreal's history of political "f---edupedness" - which really ought to be a legitimate term in political science - and how it shaped the musicians who grew up there.

It could explain the escapist bent of a good deal of new "Montreal rock." Or not. The studies continue.

Getting specifically to the keyboard-laden, Coldplay-meets-the-Cure music of the Stills, the band is soon to release its third record, Without Feathers - the title taken from a Woody Allen book for no good reason other than "it sounded good."

Content to remain at the very least a cult favourite, the band isn't set to follow the path of the "get a big hit or die" philosophy of the modern rock business. It's just not that kind of band.

"We never had a single, so it's good for us," Hamelin says. "Our career is not based on a single, which I'm really happy with. That's a gamble. You don't want to play Russian roulette with the single."

On the usual stupid rock 'n' roll question of how the new album is a "departure" from the old - the equivalent of a sportswriter asking an athlete if he's "come to play" - Hamelin answers patiently. To sum it up, duh, yeah, it's different.

"You know the Beatles album, Please Please Me? Then there was Sergeant Peppers. Those are pretty big changes. And from the first Clash record to London Calling is a pretty big change. If you listen to OK Computer and then you listen to Kid A, it's a pretty significant change."

All right, all right, point taken. We at least got a sense of what this guy has listened to. He also declares that the Stills will not be the kind of band that keeps putting out the same album over and over again just so they can tour and make lots of money.

"I think that's a bit backwards. We all love playing shows, but the record will last forever, or not. They have the potential. Everybody's trying to overcome death - having kids, making records, whatever."

Whether reports of the Montreal Invasion will last longer than this time next year remains to be seen.

[althegreat III]

"Look at us, we have shit to show for, and get no national media attention"

cry me a river. :haha:

No but seriously, I didn't know that, that they came from elsewhere. Interesting.

*** *** *** ***

Speaking of un Dimanche à Kigali, its opening week in Quebec was poorer than I expected: 4th place at $238 000. The film cost 8 000 000 according to IMDB http://www2.canoe.com/cinema/boxoffice.html


Not surprised now, Thier Tout le monde en parles PR was shitty.

[MTL-514]

That movie looks crazy. It's also the first Quebec movie to shoot entirely outside of Canada and the first movie filmed in post-butcherhouse Rwanda. Even Hotel Rwanda wasn't shot there, it was shot in South Africa.

I would highly recommend seeing it, al

although you might be able to critique the film from a filmmaker's point of view, which I obviously can't do, I find it hard to imagine anybody not being quite moved/disturbed by it. I think it needs to be seen by lots of poeple out there, much as Hotel Rwanda should be seen. makes me wond how the fvck we can just be sitting here doing nothing while similar shit is happening again as we speak, in Darfur this time

though, I guess that's a topic more suited for the ssp section where all the international issues get discussed - whatever it's called again - can't remember, I haven't been there in many many months.

[althegreat III]

Hey, you're talking to the guy who saw Irreversible and Seul Contre Tous from beginning to end, if I can handle those, I can handle UDAK.

But yeah, these kinds of things happen and we don't give a flying fuck. Oh the stories I've heard on the genocide, and the stories I heard about Darfour. Ugh.

On a related topic, Lord of War with Nicholas cage is a good movie to watch and calls attention to this kind of horseshit. Highly recommend it too. The title sequence on its own is strong enough.

[MTL-514]

I got some sort of ultra-compressed DVD version of Lord of War from a friend (who got it from the web). I really wanna see it, but I can't for the life of me figure out what software I need to be able to get the damn file to play. so for now, looks like I gotta wait. maybe this weekend

ya Irreversible was pretty freakin disturbing too. saw that when I was traveling in Spain a few years ago - happened to be in town during a major film festival and went to see it because it was one of the few shows we could get tix to. I had heard that it was controversial and caused a bunch of people to walk out when it screened at Cannes ealier that year. still, it was a bit more fucked than I was expecting. not many films have ever left me feeling queasy - that was one of the very very few.

[malek]

althegreat, irreversible was nothing.

try checking Darwin's nightmare, i will guarantee that you will gag from the smell of fish... the images are so strong, that your brain starts inventing fish odors:yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck: :yuck:

[malek]

I still can't believe we dropped the plan for a casion/cirque du soleil;
---------------------
Keep your growth and uniqueness in balance


The challenge To stage costlier spectacles in bigger venues without compromising your daring and innovation or spreading yourself too thin financially The call Resist the urge to go "assembly line" with knock-offs of your acclaimed shows, drive creativity even more relentlessly and join deep-pocketed partners who value your risk-taking, outside-the-box approach
BERTRAND MAROTTE

MONTREAL -- Daniel Lamarre gets asked the question a lot. Why doesn't Quebec's world-famous cultural export, Cirque du Soleil, go the cookie-cutter route and do -- for example -- 10 touring productions of its aquatic extravaganza O, which plays only at the Bellagio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas?

"We very deliberately chose a strategy of exclusivity," says Mr. Lamarre, president and chief operating officer of the Montreal-based entertainment giant, which got its start more than 20 years ago when a ragtag group of street entertainers banded together.

"We've been approached by corporations around the world who would like us to do copies but we always say, 'No. If you want to see O, you have to go to Las Vegas."

Clowns, yes. Clones, no.

Avoiding the temptation to churn out carbon-copy shows means that the product retains a valuable cachet and Cirque partners, such as MGM Mirage Inc., the owner of the Bellagio and three other Vegas venues where Cirque has resident productions, are delighted at the resulting boost in gambling, dining and hotel sleepovers, says Mr. Lamarre.

It's a careful balancing act that Cirque and its founder and chief executive officer, Guy Laliberté, are committed to, says Mr. Lamarre: Go big, pursue growth, but not at the expense of the quality and uniqueness of your offbeat product, the very thing that made your name in the first place.

Cirque's partners share in the profits, too, but they also take on a big portion of the risk. MGM shelled out $170-million (U.S.) to build a state-of-the-art theatre -- to Cirque's highly demanding specifications -- for its blockbuster show at MGM's Grand Hotel in Vegas launched last year, KA, directed by world-famous theatrical innovator Robert Lepage.

Cirque's production costs? About $30-million, said Mr. Lamarre, seated at a conference table in his office at the troupe's sprawling head office and rehearsal space in a North Montreal working-class neighbourhood.

Other giants of the entertainment world with which Cirque has partnered include Walt Disney Co. and Live Nation, the entertainment division that was spun off last year from U.S. multimedia giant Clear Channel.

Cirque carefully nurtures and protects the goose that lays the golden eggs -- the core group of artists, technicians and crafts people who take about three years to put together a show from concept to launch -- says Mr. Lamarre, a former print reporter and television executive who decided to run away with the Cirque five years ago.

Not everyone, though, is dazzled by what the Cirque has become over the years.

"Big, expensive and filled with technical razzle-dazzle, Cirque productions also have gone far beyond the intimate 1987 show [We Reinvent the Circus] we fell in love with," California arts reviewer Janice Steinberg wrote earlier this year in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Too far, many critics say. They find the Cirque style overpolished and lacking humanity, and virtually no one has a good word to say about the typical Euro-pop score that tends toward singers warbling nonsense syllables, backed by synthesized instruments."

Lyn Gardner, a critic at Britain's Guardian newspaper, said the European touring production of Dralion transformed "the daring, drama and dreams of the circus ring into nice, clean, sawdust-free corporate entertainment."

The 3,000-employee company now has a total of 12 shows -- six touring and five resident, as well as one live music show that is on the road.

Privately held Cirque's sales this year will be in the $500-million range, Mr. Lamarre said.

About 40 per cent of profits are plowed back into the core creative activities, twice the usual reinvestment rate in corporate research and development in North America.

A new Vegas show, inspired by the Beatles and with legendary music producer George Martin on board, is planned for later this year at the MGM Mirage.

Having left a hefty footprint on Vegas, Cirque is now focused on growth in Asia.

The company plans to open a resident show at Japan's Disney Tokyo Resort in 2008 and is part of a consortium with MGM that is bidding against three other groups for a casino-resort-entertainment complex at Marina Bay in Singapore.

On the touring front, Cirque is also diversifying away from the big top -- le grand chapiteau -- as its traditional venue.

A new production called Delirium is a music-and-dance show that takes Cirque even further away from its flying-trapeze origins. It plays the North American concert-tour circuit of such arenas as Montreal's Bell Centre, where it launched three months ago.

Instead of taking two weeks to rack up ticket sales in a tent accommodating only 2,500 a night, arenas offer audience capacities of 12,000 seats or so an evening, allowing for two-or-three-night stands in individual cities. Cirque's partner on Delirium is Live Nation, which takes care of production and promotion.

Cirque has also branched out into the music business with a record label called Cirque du Soleil Musique that packages and promotes music from the shows as well as emerging artists from around the world. And merchandising and licensing of Cirque-related products is a thriving business.

But at the centre of all that commercial bustle is the sacrosanct creative unit, Mr. Lamarre says.

"We're able to attract the top creators in the world because people don't see the Cirque as a commercial enterprise.

"We don't have a traditional business plan. Here, everything flows from the creative. It's the creative that rules."

Daniel Lamarre,

president

and chief operating officer, Cirque du Soleil

Age: 52

Family: Two children, Josianne and Sébastien.

Education: Bachelor of Arts in communications, University of Ottawa.

First career-related job: Reporter with Trois-Rivières daily Le Nouvelliste.

Activities: Jogging, tennis, shows, movies.

Last book read: The Spark: Igniting the Creative Fire That Lives Within Us All, by Lyn Heward, former president of creative content at Cirque du Soleil, with John Bacon

Favourite place: Philippines island resort Amanpulo.

Favourite management guru: Tom Peters.

Management philosophy: Trust your team and create an environment conducive to creativity.

What he likes best about his job: The opportunity to watch creators and artists at work.

[althegreat III]

I find it strange that Quebec artists now have to go fuckin' Vegas, I mean for crying out loud, Vegas!!?? I wouldn't be caught dead there. No shows here in Montreal, that's right. Fucking whinning Pointe St-Charles fascists.

I heard of a plan for a Wal-mart and a Super C to now go up on the wouldbecasino site. Oh I'm sure they'll go ape-shit for that one. Crying jerks, because of them, Cirque's unofficial HQ is in the middle of the desert, and Montreal's chance to come back has been fucked up the ass. Fuckitty fuck fuck!

[malek]

yes, thanks to the elsonic clones, we will have some walmart's and other 7.50$/h jobs in that area... wow that will do leaps and bounds to remove these people from poverty.