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

Bell announces executive leadership changes at Bell Media

From a media release:

BCE Inc. (Bell) (TSX, NYSE: BCE) today announced the appointment of Randy Lennox as the new President of Bell Media following the departure of Mary Ann Turcke for a new opportunity with the National Football League.

Randy Lennox
As President of Bell Media effective today, Mr. Lennox leads all strategy and operations for Canada’s largest media company, including conventional, pay and specialty TV, radio, digital media, out-of-home advertising and special projects. He reports to Wade Oosterman, Group President of Bell and BCE, who oversees Bell Media, Bell Mobility, and Bell Residential and Small Business, and also serves as Bell’s Chief Brand Officer.

Mr. Lennox was promoted from his position as Bell Media’s President, Content and Broadcasting, responsible for the CTV Networks; all local radio and TV assets; English-language specialty channels, including Bravo, Comedy, E!, Gusto, Much and Space; all of Bell Media’s in-house and independent English-language content productions; and iHeartRadio Canada, the international brand he brought to Bell Media in 2016.

Previously, Mr. Lennox was President and CEO of Universal Music Canada, where he helped elevate homegrown talent, including Justin Bieber, Drake, Shawn Mendes, The Tragically Hip and The Weeknd, to the international stage while successfully leading Universal through a time of tumultuous change in the music industry. He has been honoured as a member of the Canadian Music and Broadcast Industry Hall of Fame and sits on the board of directors for Music Canada, CARAS and Canada’s Walk of Fame; the board of governors for Massey Hall and Roy Thomson Hall; and the culture advisory board of Ontario.

Mary Ann Turcke
Mary Ann Turcke has accepted a position with the National Football League as President, Digital Media and NFL Network, based in Los Angeles. Part of the Bell team for the last 12 years, Ms. Turcke was promoted to President of Bell Media in April 2015 from her previous role as Bell Media’s President, Media Sales, Local TV and Radio.

Joining Bell Canada in 2005 as Vice President, Customer Experience and Operations for Small and Medium Business, Ms. Turcke was promoted to Executive Vice President of Field Operations in 2008, leading Bell’s team of installation and service technicians in delivering Fibe TV, Internet and other Bell residential and business services. She is a member of the Women’s Executive Network Hall of Fame and was named 2015 Woman of the Year by Women in Communications and Technology.

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Industry News

Film, television and digital production in Toronto hits record-breaking $2 billion in 2016

1 Comment

From a media release:

Domestic and foreign film, television, digital and commercials production investments in Toronto had a third record-setting year in 2016 and achieved the $2.01-billion level for the first time.

Some of the major highlights for 2016:
• Domestic and international screen-based productions exceeded the $1-billion mark for the sixth consecutive year, with a 33-per-cent increase over the $1.55 billion reported in 2015.
• Foreign major production investment in film and television grew to $794 million, a 49-per-cent increase from 2015. Since 2014, foreign production investment has increased by 129 per cent.
• Investment in animation and visual effects grew to $403 million, a 179-per-cent increase from the $144.5 million reported in 2015. Since 2014, investment in this area has increased by 363 per cent from $87.1 million.
• Television series, foreign and domestic, remains the dominant investment type in Toronto with an increase to $908 million in 2016.
• Investment in commercials production continued to rise to record levels, growing to $380 million, a 10-per-cent increase from the $345 million reported in 2015. Since 2014, investment in this area has increased by 95 per cent from $195 million. (Note that this type of investment is measured by Toronto but not by other levels of government.)
• The number of location filming shoot days has seen three record breaking years, with an increase to 7,280 shoot days in 2016.

The above numbers also help to show a larger Toronto industry success story. Combining the $2 billion in investment noted above with figures from broadcasters and the interactive digital media cluster results in a total investment figure of $3.26 billion for all of Toronto’s film, television and digital media production in 2016. That figure represents a 16 per cent increase from 2015.

The detailed report can be found here.

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Bellevue

Link: Jane Maggs bringing up Bellevue

From Sea and Be Scene:

Link: Jane Maggs bringing up Bellevue
“I was in a writing class and we were asked to modernize a fairy tale and I always loved Rumpelstiltskin (for its dark weirdness) and SOMEHOW it morphed out of that tiny idea. I guess it came from the idea of this person speaking to you and until you figure out who he is – you are weirdly indebted to him. Thinking of how to put that into a modern context was a sort of brain exercise that got some wheels turning.” Continue reading.

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Bellevue

Link: Why Bellevue’s small town story resonates with Allen Leech

From Bridget Liszewski of The TV Junkies:

Link: Why Bellevue’s small town story resonates with Allen Leech
“I had read the scripts and was really intrigued. It was a fascinating thriller and really different as well. What it deals with in relation to small town Canada resonated with me to small town Ireland, very similar closed communities and I found that really interesting.” Continue reading.

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Awards, Kim's Convenience

Kim’s Convenience toplines ACTRA Toronto Award winners

From a media release:

ACTRA Toronto is proud to announce the winners of its 15th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto.

Outstanding Performance – Female
Jean Yoon (Umma) Kim’s Convenience, “Gay Discount” (Thunderbird Films)

Outstanding Performance – Male
Joey Klein (Bobby) We’re Still Together (Achromatic Media)

Outstanding Performance – Voice
Linda Kash (Gina Falcone) Fugget About It, “Vagina’s Got Talent” (9 Story Media Group)

The members’ choice Series Ensemble Award went to Kim’s Convenience.

Joel Keller presented ACTRA Toronto’s 2017 Award of Excellence to Yannick Bisson.

The ACTRA Toronto Stunt Award was presented posthumously to Joel Harris. His widow, stunt performer Alicia Turner, accepted.

The newly-elected President of ACTRA Toronto Theresa Tova said, “Canada has been reflected by ACTRA’s professional performers for fully half of Canada’s 150-year history. Linda Kash, Joey Klein, Jean Yoon, Yannick Bisson, Joel Harris and Kim’s Convenience, and all the nominees, personify the extraordinary talent of our professional acting community.”

The 15th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented at a live show and gala tonight at The Carlu. The show was hosted by Aurora Browne, Carolyn Taylor and Jennifer Whalen from the Baroness Von Sketch troupe with live music by the 11-piece Wintergarten Orchestra with singer and actor Ted Atherton. The evening sported a theme to honour Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations.

The 15th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were sponsored by: DIAMOND: Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, ACTRA National, ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society, ACTRA Recording Artists’ Collecting Society. PLATINUM: Bell Media, SAG-AFTRA. GOLD: CBC, CMPA, Deluxe, IATSE 873, Rhombus Media, Shaftesbury, United Steelworkers. POST-SHOW RECEPTION: eOne. SILVER: Cavalluzzo, Directors Guild of Canada (Ontario), RBC Royal Bank. BRONZE: Addenda Capital, Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union, Canada Film Capital and Entertainment Partners Canada, Don Carmody Productions, Frantic Films, Grant Thornton, HUB International, New Real Films, Serendipity Point Films, Take 5 Productions, Thunderbird Entertainment, TriBro Studios, Universal Promotions, Writers Guild of Canada.

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada’s 23,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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