Tag Archives: Greyston Holt

Cristina Rosato and Greyston Holt among first to film during pandemic

While many cities and provinces are still mapping out how, exactly, television and feature films will resume production during COVID-19, Cristina Rosato and Greyston Holt are already back at work.

The real-life couple is among the first of North America’s actors to re-start filming, starring in the TV-movie For Better or Worse, in B.C.’s Okanagan Valley. And while Rosato and Holt didn’t have to worry about social distancing when it came to working with each other—they are a couple after all—not so the case with the rest of the cast and crew.

“We originally thought we might be back filming For Better or Worse, very conservatively, in August, September or October,” Holt says, on the line from Vancouver alongside Rosato. “When we got the call that we would potentially be filming on June 8 as a start date, it was surreal. It didn’t make sense that something was coming back that early.” But, with pandemic cases in B.C. holding steady, the project went to camera with guidelines to keep everyone safe.

Rosato describes the taking and recording of daily temperature checks for everyone on the cast and crew, with the stipulation that anyone having a fever would be immediately tested and would not return to set until the testing was complete; no one had a fever or became sick. Everyone reported to a sanitization station and put on masks. Champlain Media, the production company behind For Better or Worse, had everyone involved in the project stay in the same resort during filming.

“We just always wore a mask,” Rosato says. “And then when we were rolling, we would take them off.” Because of the way the script was written, day players and extras were kept to a minimum and only a very small, core cast interacted with each other.

For Better or Worse stars Rosato as Olivia Owens the owner of a community garden centre. Holt portrays Brian Wolf, a property developer for low-cost housing. Brian’s aim is to tear down Olivia’s garden in favour of subsidized housing. There is, of course, friction between the pair that only grows when they’re paired up for a friends’ wedding. It’s the light-hearted TV-movie fare we’ve come to expect from projects like Holt’s previous work in A Very Country Wedding, A Puppy for Christmas and Love is a Piece of Cake. Holt believes that, with the world being such a crazy place, viewers like to watch people falling in love and jump at the chance for some light escapism.

With pandemic fears continuing, For Better or Worse couldn’t be more timely, content-wise. And, with production ramping back up, Rosato and Holt realize For Better or Worse could serve as the template for TV and film.

“We felt a real responsibility to do it right and not mess it up for everyone else,” Rosato says. “We were very, very aware of playing by the rules and we hope that other people can get back to work because of it.”

Image courtesy of Shawn Goldberg/Shutterstock.

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Bitten ends after three seasons

From a media release:

After gallons of blood spilled, hundreds of shirts ripped, and countless Mutts slain, Space confirmed today that its hit original series BITTEN returns for its third and final season February 12 in a new Fridays at 10 p.m. ET timeslot. Iconic genre star Laura Vandervoort (SMALLVILLE, Ted) returns to helm the sexy thriller as the embattled Elena Michaels, the world’s only female werewolf. Season 3 of the 10-episode, one-hour series delves into the theme of duty versus family, and the lengths one will go to keep both intact. Space also revealed today a chilling sneak peek at Season 3 of BITTEN. To view the clip, click here.

Season 3 picks up several months after the harrowing battle in the Season 2 finale. Bolstering their ranks in the wake of the carnage The Pack is on the hunt for a dangerous group of traitorous Mutts lead by former Spanish Alpha, Eduardo Escobado (Mishka Thébaud, SAVING HOPE). Meanwhile, Elena struggles with Pack Alpha Jeremy Danvers’ (Greg Bryk, A History Of Violence, THE BOOK OF NEGROES) new draconian leadership style, and makes a shocking and surprising discovery about herself.

In the Season 3 premiere episode, “Family, of Sorts” (Friday, Feb. 12 at 10 p.m. ET), in order to solidify his power, a war-hardened Jeremy has tasked Elena, Clay, and Nick with recruiting all North American Mutts into The Pack. But, when an unknown werewolf sniper takes a shot at the Alpha, The Pack must adjust course to track down those responsible. Meanwhile, Elena is accosted by a mysterious stranger who challenges her with a shocking claim.

Season 3 of BITTEN also sees the return of Pack members Clayton Danvers (Greyston Holt, ALCATRAZ, DURHAM COUNTY) and Nick Sorrentino (Steve Lund, BEING ERICA, HAVEN). Also returning are Tommie-Amber Pirie (Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays) as Paige Winterbourne, and Genelle Williams (REMEDY, WAREHOUSE 13) as Rachel Sutton. New to the cast this season is John Ralston(DEGRASSI), Alex Ozerov (ORPHAN BLACK), and Sofia Banzhaf (REPUBLIC OF DOYLE), mysterious new characters who throw Elena’s and The Pack’s lives into disarray.

Throughout its run, Season 2 of BITTEN made Space the #1 specialty network in its timeslot across all key Adult and Female demos during its timeslot (Saturdays at 9 p.m. ET). Viewers who have yet to join The Pack can stream BITTEN Season 1 onCraveTVTM right now in the Sci-Fi & Fantasy collection or online at Bitten.Space.ca. Season 2 of the sexy thriller joins the CraveTV lineup on Friday, Jan. 15.

BITTEN is executive produced by J.B. Sugar (THE COLLECTOR, JPOD) for No Equal Entertainment, John Barbisan and Patrick Banister (WHISTLER) for Hoodwink Entertainment, and Tecca Crosby and John Morayniss for Entertainment One (eOne). Daegan Fryklind (MOTIVE, THE LISTENER) is Showrunner. Executive Producers Fryklind and Wil Zmak return to write for Season 3. Also in the writing room are Larry Bambrick, Jenn Engels, and Garfield Lindsay Miller.

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