All posts by Greg David

Prior to becoming a television critic and owner of TV, Eh?, Greg David was a critic for TV Guide Canada, the country's most trusted source for TV news. He has interviewed television actors, actresses and behind-the-scenes folks from hundreds of television series from Canada, the U.S. and internationally. He is a podcaster, public speaker, weekly radio guest and educator, and past member of the Television Critics Association.
Industry News

Toronto Screenwriting Conference announces this year’s winners of Telefilm Canada’s New Voices Award

From a media release:

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference (TSC) is pleased to announce this year’s recipients of the Telefilm Canada New Voices Award. The emerging screenwriters were selected from over 120 Canada-wide applicants. Those receiving the honours this year are Reem Morsi, Thomas Pepper, Adam Perry, Brandon Ash-Mohammed, JJ Neepin, and Kenny Wong.

About the winners:

REEM MORSI – Reem Morsi had a career of professional scuba diving, human rights till becoming a writer/director. Morsi’s film credits include THEIR FEAST (Cannes Short Film Corner, TIFF, BBC, Cine Sud), NOSTALGIA (WIFT 2015), among others. Morsi is a CFC Directors Lab alumna 2015. Morsi received a scriptwriting grant for her feature film BOOTLEG, March 2016. Her short film BOOTLEG won best Canadian short in London and is also competing at other festivals. Morsi won first place for SHOW & TELL at the WIFT/BravoFact pitch competition 2016. Morsi’s short scripts were finalists for Robert Bosch Film Fund (Berlin Film Festival) in 2013, 2014 and 2016. Morsi participated at the 2012 Berlinale Talent Campus, 2016 TIFF Talent Lab and Women in the Director’s Chair. Morsi’s short films scripts LIPSTICK, CHECK POINT & MANGO were named finalists for Robert Bosch Film Fund in 2013, 2014 and 2015 (affiliate with the Berlin Film Festival).

THOMAS PEPPER - Thomas Pepper is a Toronto-based filmmaker and screenwriter. Since graduating from Trinity College Dublin in 2008, Thomas has worked with some of the Canada’s most recognizable talents: his credits include Sarah Polley’s TAKE THIS WALTZ, Steve Hoban and Vincenzo Natali’s DARKNET, Clement Virgo’s THE BOOK OF NEGROES, and Maxime Desmons’ WHAT WE HAVE. His second short film, MILK AND HONEY, has screened as part of several festivals, including the NSI Online Short Film Festival. It won “Best Film” at the 2014 Grand River Film Festival. More recently, his latest short film TUESDAY 10:08AM (co-written and directed with Jane Tattersall) screened as part of the Canadian Film Festival and Fort Myers Film Festival. After two seasons on CTV’s hit medical drama SAVING HOPE, Thomas is currently developing several projects for both film and television.

ADAM PERRY – Adam Perry is an award-winning screenwriter and director from Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. His current project, A Small Fortune, recently completed the National Screen Institutes Feature’s First program, is currently in development with the Harold Greenberg Fund’s Shorts to Features program and was a semi-finalist in the 2016 Shore Scripts Features category.

BRANDON ASH-MOHAMMED - Brandon Ash-Mohammed. Three names. Three skills. Triple threat? Yes! Comedian. Writer. Future Real Housewife of Atlanta. He’s a Tim Sims Award nominated comedian, an Esther Maers Peerce Award winning writer, and the reigning Jann Arden karaoke champion of the world. Not convinced? A dazzling playwright with a penchant for the sass and the pen of a whirlwind mermaid writer. His darling masterpiece “The Decision” was featured in the Humber 10 Minute Play Festival. Sirius XM has also recorded his stand up in an attempt to capture and contain the radiant, pure bliss that is, Brandon-Ash Mohammed. He is a purple glitter stallion galloping through fields of funny, whimsy, and raw sexual attractiveness; and he, cannot be tamed. He is a graduate of Humber College’s Comedy: Writing & Performance Program where he was voted Prom Pharoah. In early 2017, he was selected to join the acclaimed sketch troupe Fusion. They’re a comedy collective made up of the best and brightest people of colour from the Bad Dog Theatre and Second City Training Centre. They’ll be making their first appearance at Toronto Sketchfest this year. In addition to that, Brandon is currently being filmed for a TVO documentary about racialized comedians in Canada. Most recently, Brandon did punch up for British writer/actor OT Fagbenle (HBO’s LOOKING, BBC One’s THE INTERCEPTOR) on a project he’s currently developing in the UK. Ready your tiaras, there’s a new girl in town!

JJ NEEPIN - JJ Neepin is an independent, first nations filmmaker living in Winnipeg, Canada. JJ has written, directed and produced several short films, funded by various organizations, along with her sister and partner Justina Neepin. She has a background in graphic art, singing, dancing and theatre. When she’s not writing or filming she can be found binge watching Netflix and scrolling through Tumblr. JJ is currently working on EagleVisions’s ‘TAKEN’ Season 2 as a Director for 2 episodes. HEADDRESS is her 3rd documentary short – it will have its world premiere at the 2017 Hot Docs Film Festival.  Funded via CBC ShortsDocs. BAYLINE is her 2nd documentary short funded via the MTS STORIES FROM HOME Broadcaster. Airing in early 2017. THE LEAGUE is her first documentary short, funded via the NSI Aboriginal Documentary Program. The film is currently playing several festivals and aired with broadcaster APTN in fall of 2016.

KENNY WONG - Kenny is a Montreal-based actor, writer, filmmaker and violinist with a Bachelor of Music Performance Degree on the violin from McGill University. In addition, he is entering his ninth year studying at Straeon Acting Studios. After being told by his acting coach on numerous occasions to “create your own work”, Kenny began his journey as a screenwriter and since 2013, has written and produced a handful of short films and web series. Most recently, he finished his second drama feature about an impaired violinist, inspired by his own experience of being diagnosed with Focal Hand Dystonia. Writing/Producing credits include: THE BATTLE JAR CHRONICLES (TV/Web Series); Musicals in EVERYDAY LIFE (Web Series); STARVING ARTIST (Short); THE ROOMMATE (Short); MERTON OF THE MOVIES: THE MUSICAL (Theatre); DIVING NORMAL (Theatre). TV/Film acting credits include: BRAD’s STATUS (Plan B); DEATHWISH (MGM/Paramount); ROADSIDE PICNIC (Sony); 19-2 (Bravo); THE ART OF MORE (Crackle); THE GLASS CASTLE (Lionsgate); LOST GENERATION (New Form Digital); A WORTHY  COMPANION (micro_scope).

Each winner receives a pass to the TSC and a meeting with representatives from Telefilm Canada. The seventh annual Toronto Screenwriting Conference takes place on April 22 & April 23 at The Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

To qualify for the Telefilm Canada New Voices Award, candidates must have written at least two short films of which one has been produced, and have written one feature length screenplay, TV pilot or series treatment. They must not have previously produced a feature or TV series/pilot, nor received Telefilm Canada Funding.

The Toronto Screenwriting Conference runs April 22-23, 2017. Get the latest information—including events and how to register—on the official website.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Canada: The Story of Us, Featured

Canada celebrates 150 years with CBC’s The Story of Us

4 Comments

Julie Bristow told me she was aiming to get some big-name Canadians to participate in Canada: The Story of Us and she came through. Sunday’s debut, at 9 p.m., opens with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau teasing what the next 10 weeks will explore.

“Tonight, and throughout this series, we meet some of the extraordinary women and men who shaped our country’s unique character,” Trudeau begins. “I hope that, like me, you’ll be inspired by these heroic Canadians so that together we can write the next chapter in the great Canadian story.”

Trudeau is just one of over 80 Canadians—among them Susan Aglukark, Lorne Cardinal, Paul Gross, Eugene Levy, Duncan McCue, Peter Mansbridge, Tatiana Maslany, Rick Mercer, Candy Palmater, Christopher Plummer, Lilly Singh, Georges St-Pierre, Clement Virgo, Colm Feore and David Suzuki—who participate in telling key stories from the country’s past as we celebrate 150 years as a nation.

“As a producer and journalist, this is the perfect combination for me,” Bristow Global Media president and CEO, and Story of Us executive producer Bristow says. “It’s mixing up modern ways of storytelling with CGI, celebrity interviews and re-creations of personal stories is a fresh take on documentaries. I really like doing shows that demand different skill sets and different teams.”

Samuel de Champlain

Stunning in scope and with so much history to cover, Bristow says over 150 stories were pitched and 50 were chosen for the 10, 60-minute instalments to spotlight everything from Canada’s birth to where the country’s future lies. Sunday’s debut starts, naturally, at the beginning with “Worlds Collide,” covering pre-1608 to 1670, as French settlers arrive and make an immediate impact on the Indigenous peoples who have lived there for centuries. Corner Gas‘ Lorne Cardinal and film and television producer Jennifer Podemski help outline the First Nations people of the time, a community with advanced democracies in place.

Samuel de Champlain is the first European sent to The New World specifically to settle the area and name it New France. His crew of 27 men contend with the elements, and an assassination plot, as the set down roots in an impressive settlement at the site of what is now Quebec City. Britain gets in on the action, and it’s a race between the countries to claim as much land and befriend as many First Nations communities as they can. This, ultimately, leads to the Battle of the Plains of Abraham.

Using stunning CGI, well-done re-enactments and under the guidance of historians and academic consultants—including renowned Canadian historian and author John English and Indigenous Arts Scholar Gerald McMaster—Canada: The Story of Us is informative and immensely entertaining. It’s certainly more thrilling than any history class I’ve sat in, no matter how good the teacher.

“In every episode, there are five personal stories that echo a theme,” Bristow says. “While every episode is loosely chronological, it’s not comprehensive. Each is a coming-of-age episode. Against all odds, we’re here as a country and a lot of the story is, ‘Can you believe it?!'”

Canada: The Story of Us airs Sundays at 9 p.m. on CBC.

Images courtesy of CBC.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Saving Hope

Link: Saving Hope preview: A cure for the “Birthday Blues”

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Saving Hope preview: A cure for the “Birthday Blues”
Alex isn’t feeling very cheerful as of late on Saving Hope. After making the difficult decision to break things off with Charlie, she’s too busy trying to figure out her new normal to spend much time celebrating. That may change in this week’s episode of the CTV drama as it’s her birthday and that’s something her friends are going to make a priority. “Birthday Blues,” also sees Charlie dealing with a paranormal skeptic for a patient and Cassie having to face her innermost fears as she treats two people infected from their time in the tropics. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, Orphan Black

Photo gallery: First-look photos for Orphan Black’s fifth and final season revealed

From a media release:

The beginning of the end is drawing near for 2017 Canadian Screen Award winner for Best Dramatic Series, ORPHAN BLACK, and in anticipation of the Season 5 premiere on Saturday, June 10 at 10 p.m. ET, Space has revealed 10 first look images. Each episodic image offers clues to what unfolds in the much-anticipated final season of the Space original series.

[slideshow_deploy id=’40803′]

The fifth and final season of ORPHAN BLACK brings Sarah and the sestras (Tatiana Maslany) to their darkest days in an effort to finally cut off the head of the snake and win their freedom. Throughout the season, the sisters individually delve into their past to confront personal struggles and emerge stronger through these self-explorations. Despite the great risk to attain freedom for themselves, their families, and the host of clone sisters they’ve yet to meet, clone club uncovers the missing pieces of the insidious conspiracy to finally learn the story behind their origin.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Featured, What Would Sal Do?

What Would Sal Do? debuts in Canada after resurrection on CraveTV

You might say Bell Media was the saving grace for What Would Sal Do? Or maybe the Canadian company was doing God’s work? Whatever the cliché, without CraveTV, Sal might never have been aired. It’s a resurrection of biblical proportions. OK, we’ll stop now.

All eight half-hour Season 1 episodes of What Would Sal Do? arrive Friday on CraveTV, but in the summer of 2016, Andrew De Angelis’ comic creation was dead in the water. Last June, Allarco Entertainment was granted creditor protection. Allarco owns Super Channel, Sal‘s original home. With creditor protection in place, What Would Sal Do?, Slasher and Tiny Plastic Men couldn’t air on the pay channel and were released to their production companies to be shopped around. Sal‘s producers, New Metric Media, landed a deal with Bell Media. No wonder, really; New Metric’s Letterkenny has been a success for CraveTV and Sal is a natural fit.

Dylan Taylor as Sal

Sal stars Dylan Taylor (most recently of CBC’s Pure) as the titular character, a foul-mouthed overachiever who has lived a life of laziness and questionable decisions in Sudbury, Ont. That all changes when his mother, Maria (Jennifer Dale) blows his mind with the following info: Sal is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

“The show actually came from two ideas in my head,” De Angelis—who has written for Mr. D, 18 to Life and Orphan Black—says of Sal‘s origins. “One was just this thought of if there was a Second Coming, how would it go in today’s world? What would the difficulties be? I’ve also been fascinated with the entitled generation who are raised—mine included—spoiled rotten and they just think they’re great and that everything they do is wonderful. Once they’re adults they’ll realize how ill-prepared for the world they are.”

That’s established in the opening minutes of the debut, “Punches Pilot,” as director Samir Rehem pulls in on Sal sitting at the dining room table. A distraught Maria—a dear friend has just passed away—slumps into a seat, heartbroken. Sal, hoping to help, offers to make her some pasta. Just one problem.

“So, how the fuck do you make pasta?” he asks.

“Oh my God,” Maria sighs. It’s then she reveals to Sal his lofty expectations. He is, understandably, incredulous … and overwhelmed.

Jennifer Dale as Maria

“It’s a pleasure to be in a Canadian comedy,” Taylor told us during a 2015 set visit to Sudbury. “We’re playing this so straight. It’s written so well and the scenarios are so funny. This is clown work and a clown is someone who is just in over their head. Sal is told he’s Jesus and he’s woefully unprepared for it.”

At first blush, Sal isn’t a likable guy. Strutting around Sudbury, wearing tearaway pants and making fun of everyone isn’t the stuff of a lead, more like the obnoxious friend. Taylor says the balance they struck to connect with viewers is to portray Sal as someone who is a good person at his core who “became a douchebag because he was spoiled and because of how he was raised.” The love he has for Maria and best friend Vince (Ryan McDonald) makes him endearing.

“This was the opportunity to play a completely unique and original role like nobody has ever seen before,” Dale said of signing on to Sal. “If anybody had said to me 10 years ago, ‘This is what you’ll be doing,’ I could never have dreamed the part.” Aside from the series’ originality, Dale said Maria is a grounded character full of contradictions. She is a religious person whose doubts are creeping in, has a mouth like a truck driver and has no sexual experience.

“It’s not because she’s ugly or anything,” Dale explained. “She has made this choice and that’s a very hard thing to imagine. It’s kind of like playing an alien.”

Scott Thompson as Father Luke

What Would Sal Do? marks not only a departure for Dale but Scott Thompson too. After almost exclusively comedic roles throughout his career, the Kids in the Hall member jumped at playing Father Luke because it’s so different from his usual gigs.

“There have been other somewhat serious parts I’ve been cast in, but the difference in those is that they had an agenda,” Thompson said during a break in filming. “This is the first part that’s just a part. I’ve been hired on [in the past] because of my comedy but also because I was gay and they wanted me to do gay parts. [Father Luke] is not about my persona and my baggage.” Sal is a comedy, but there a several serious and downright tender moments. One notable few minutes in Episode 1 features Luke and Sal arguing over religion and peanut allergies; you see the paternal qualities in Luke that extend past his title.

“You understand that Father Luke is not a charlatan, he actually believes,” Thompson said. “What I like about that scene is Luke is filled with this conviction that God is talking through Sal. It’s funny, it’s dramatic and he also wants to use this to advance his career.”

Season 1 of What Would Sal Do? arrives Friday on CraveTV.

Images courtesy of Bell Media.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail