Tag Archives: Industry News

Industry News

Link: N.S. film tax credit gone but not forgotten

From Jean Laroche of CBC News:

Link: N.S. film tax credit gone but not forgotten
When Stephen McNeil’s government closed the books on the 2017-2018 fiscal year last month, it marked the official end of Nova Scotia’s film tax credit.

The final $5.3-million payout shows up as a single line item on page 297 of a 349-page document issued by the Finance Department, called Volume 3, Supplementary Information.

It’s not the Hollywood ending envisioned by Finance Minister Bernie Boudreau when the Liberal government of John Savage introduced the credit in its 1995 budget. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Enterprise Pictures announces plans and partial slate

Toronto-based Enterprise Pictures is excited to announce their inaugural television and feature film slate. The company is engaged in ongoing discussions with various U.S. advisors and studios to raise equity in exchange for distribution rights to the company’s robust slate. Stay tuned for additional announcements in the coming weeks. Enterprise Pictures is the brainchild of Matthew Robillard, an ex-investment banker at Osprey Capital who previously developed cable network Channel Canada, and launched multi-platform entertainment brand ComedyLab Entertainment.

Enterprise Pictures is developing eleven television series and fourteen feature films. Highlights listed below:

Television Slate

The Opportunist is a one-hour crime thriller about the Opportunist and his clandestine army of operatives who prey on the criminal super rich by conning them out of their ill-gotten billions. Each season targets a different billionaire operating in an exotic, tax-friendly jurisdiction i.e. Singapore, Monte Carlo, Silicon Valley, Geneva. Season one targets the sociopathic leader of a money-mad, Scientology-like cult that gets exposed, then chased out of the country by the U.S. Department of Justice, with the Opportunist and his team slowly enveloping the target in a web of intrigue, disinformation and misdirection. Pilot written.

Ninja is an action drama about a multi-generational family of Ninja assassin-spies who fight desperately to survive and prosper during feudal Japan’s bloody and treacherous civil war. To be shot on location in Japan utilizing authentic samurai-era historical sites, and starring a cast of English-speaking actors of Japanese heritage. Pilot written.

FunHouse is a comedy drama about six stand-up comics who all eat, sleep, laugh and love in a big, old mansion they call the ‘Funhouse’. Between performing comedy gigs on-stage and holding down hellish part-time jobs, the cast gradually chisel out successful careers in the roller coaster world of comedy. Pilot written.

Treasure Island is a competition reality series about twelve people trapped on an exotic, deserted island. They must compete or co-operate to win a $5.0 million treasure buried somewhere on the island. Physical and augmented-reality clues planted by the ‘Puzzle Master’ host help the cast solve a ‘Genius Puzzle’ that ultimately reveals the treasure’s secret location.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Link: Banff: Netflix launches Canadian charm offensive amid bid to regulate U.S. digital players

1 Comment

From Etan Vlessing of The Hollywood Reporter:

Link: Banff: Netflix launches Canadian charm offensive amid bid to regulate U.S. digital players
Behind the scenes, Tanz and fellow Netflix execs heard a familiar chorus from local critics about the U.S. streamer’s evil algorithms, its unfair Canadian market advantage and how it doesn’t play by the same rules as domestic broadcasters. And on the eve of Banff, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government in Ottawa unveiled an expert panel to investigate ways to regulate online video and music streaming services and tax their growing business presence north of the border. Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Call Me Fitz, Carter, Industry News

Natalie Urquhart joins Amaze Film + Television

From a media release:

June 11, 2018 – Amaze Film + Television is proud to welcome Natalie Urquhart as their new Director of Development. Formerly an Associate Producer on the NBC/UNIVERSAL series SUITS, Natalie also produced the scripted half-hour comedy ROGUE BRIDAL for the Makeful Channel. Natalie is a graduate of the University of Southern California and the CFC – Canadian Film Centre.

Natalie will oversee development in Canada while working with Burrad Marsh who was recently promoted to Senior VP of Television, spearheading the US operations for Amaze Film + Television in Los Angeles. Burrad is a former TV Literary Agent for ICM and was VP of Development for Shed Media in the United Kingdom.

Most recently, Amaze Film + Television produced the one-hour comedic drama procedural CARTER, created by Garry Campbell and starring Jerry O’Connell. CARTER premiered on BRAVO to 1.1 million viewers during its first week in May, 2018. The 10-episode series has enjoyed a very successful global release through Sony AXN and Sony Distribution.  CARTER was recently added to CTV’s main network summer schedule and will air on UKTV in June.

Michael Souther and Teza Lawrence launched Amaze Film + Television in 2000. Amaze Film + Television produced four seasons of the internationally acclaimed series CALL ME FITZ for HBO Canada and 52 episodes of the multi-cam sitcom THE STANLEY DYNAMIC for YTV. Film projects include SAINT RALPH, FINN ON THE FLY, and in 2016 the documentary BEING CANADIAN. They currently have a diverse television slate including projects in development with Rogers, and Amazon.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Banff World Media Festival announces Netflix title partnership for Diversity Of Voices Initiative

From a media release:

The Banff World Media Festival (BANFF) is proud to announce that Netflix has formalized a five-year commitment as Title Partner of the BANFF Diversity of Voices Initiative, a training and development program for underrepresented emerging and mid-career creative producers of commercial Television and/or Digital Media content, with a specific focus on Indigenous, Francophone and women industry professionals.

The partnership was announced today as part of the inaugural Diversity of Voices Initiative currently underway at the 2018 Banff World Media Festival (June 10-13, 2018). The program investment is part of Netflix’s commitment to support market development opportunities for Francophone and other Canadian screen-based creator groups.

The Diversity of Voices Initiative was launched with the support of Netflix as well as the Canada Media Fund – Fonds des médias du Canada (CMF/FMC), the Société de développement des entreprises culturelles (SODEC), and Canada’s Indigenous Screen Office.  It brings up to 100 emerging and established producer/creators to the festival each year.

Participants of the program receive full registration to the festival, a curated professional development curriculum plus access to networking opportunities with senior creative and executive leaders.  In addition, a sub-group of twenty-five (25) of the program applicants take part in the Diversity of Voices Pitch Program where they receive personalized advice from industry mentors and take pitch meetings with international buyers at BANFF in addition to receiving a stipend to defray travel costs.

BANFF serves as a crucial lifeline for many in the Canadian content industry offering world-class education, networking and business development opportunities. The festival provides a platform for the evolving media industry to collaborate and advance its creative and business objectives, while serving as the leading destination for the genesis of new projects, and one of the most effective marketplaces for co-production and co-venture partners.

About the Banff World Media Festival
The Banff World Media Festival is one of the world’s largest and most important gatherings of entertainment industry executives and creators, dedicated to content development, production, broadcast and distribution within TV and digital media. BANFF provides a platform for the evolving media industry to develop its creative and business objectives. It is an unparalleled marketplace for over 1500 international decision-makers to connect with new partners, learn from industry leaders and execute new business deals. The 39th annual BANFF World Media Festival will take place June 10-13, 2018 at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Canada.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail