Tag Archives: Industry News

From a media release:

Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Media production company, announced today it has acquired the rights to Shaun Hamill’s highly-reviewed, debut novel, A Cosmology of Monsters. The scripted and factual producer will adapt the book into an ongoing one-hour dramatic series (8×60), expanding the company’s growth into scripted development.

A Cosmology of Monsters follows the Turner family as they operate an immersive haunted house experience. While struggling to keep their business afloat, dealing with the challenges of adolescence, and fighting to keep their family united, the Turners begin to realize there is something more sinister at their door … real monsters.

Named one of the best books of 2019 by Esquire, The Nerd Daily and The New York Public Library, Shaun Hamill’s horror debut received critical acclaim with Stephen King’s endorsement: “If John Irving ever wrote a horror novel, it would be something like this. I loved it.”

Serving as Creator and Executive Producer on the series is Caitlin D. Fryers (Wynonna Earp, Endlings, Private Eyes). Fryers is best known for writing on all four seasons of SYFY’s fan favourite Wynonna Earp. She was the first Canadian to win the Sir Peter Ustinov Award for Scriptwriting from the International Emmys. Nominated for two Writers Guild of Canada Awards, Fryers has written for SYFY, Lifetime, Global, CBC, Hulu and Hallmark. Fryers is represented by Meridian Artists. Also serving as Executive Producer are Melissa Williamson and Michael Kot of Saloon Media and author, Shaun Hamill.

Shaun Hamill received his BA in English from the University of Texas at Arlington and his MFA in Creative Writing from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. His debut novel, A Cosmology of Monsters, was published in 2019 and his second novel, The Dissonance is forthcoming from Pantheon books. Hamill is represented by Echo Lake on behalf of Kent Wolf of Neon Literary.

Saloon Media, a Blue Ant Media company, is a leading producer of scripted and unscripted content. Based in Toronto, Canada, Saloon Media has an international track record for delivering successful, award-winning programs.

Industry News

Blink49 Studios partners with Vanguarde Artists Management and Vanguarde Pictures to launch first-of-its-kind joint venture in Canada

November 16, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

Blink49 Studios, backed by FIFTH SEASON (formerly known as Endeavor Content) and Canada’s leading representation company, Vanguarde Artists Management have partnered to launch a joint venture to develop and produce content for the global market.

In a first-of-its-kind deal in Canada, the joint venture brings together Vanguarde’s access to creative talent and IP to develop and produce original projects with Blink49’s world-class studio, production and distribution infrastructure. Under the joint venture, Blink49 will also provide development funding to build a slate of projects with Vanguarde and its clients. Blink49 and Vanguarde will serve as co-producers on all projects developed and produced through the deal, with FIFTH SEASON having a first look on international distribution rights.

The announcement comes after Vanguarde recently tapped award-winning playwright and television creator/showrunner Adam Pettle as in-house Executive Producer of its newly formed content label Vanguarde Pictures. Alongside Co-Heads Tina Horwitz and Jay Horwitz, Pettle will develop scripted content for podcast, broadcast, cable, premium cable, and streaming services under the new banner.

“We’re so thrilled to be embarking on this exciting venture with Tina and Jay and the team at Vanguarde,” said John Morayniss, CEO, Blink49 Studios. “With a stellar client roster and a thoughtful, strategic and creative approach to supporting their clients, Vanguarde is the perfect partner for this joint venture that will provide development funding and studio support for a slate of projects that we will bring to a global market. And, with the launch of Vanguarde Pictures with Adam Pettle joining as an executive producer, this joint venture is set up to be prolific.”

“We are very excited to be working with John and the incredible team at Blink49 in this new venture. From our initial discussions to now, we’ve found a common cause in our approach and desire to establish and support opportunities for Canadian creative talent on a larger platform,” said Tina Horwitz and Jay Horwitz, Co-Heads of Vanguarde Artists Management. “This partnership enables us access to Blink49’s considerable studio infrastructure as well as the wealth of knowledge and global reach that John and his team bring to the table. Of course, we’ll continue to work with our key third-party producers and production company collaborators to always seek the best-aligned opportunities for our clients and their projects.”

Blink49 Studios is a content venture with FIFTH SEASON as its anchor investor and lead strategic partner. Focusing heavily on a creative-first approach, Blink49 Studios is dedicated to partnering with best-in-class writers, creators and producers, as well as actively pursuing IP in Canada and throughout the world. The indie studio is committed to applying significant resources to support new and diverse Canadian voices.

ABOUT BLINK49 STUDIOS
Co-founded in 2021 by industry veterans CEO John Morayniss, Non-Executive Vice Chair Patrice Theroux, COO Jeff Lynas and CFO Nelson Kuo-Lee, Blink49 Studios is a full-service indie studio focused on the development, production, and monetization of premium scripted and unscripted content for a global market. Headquartered in Toronto with offices in Los Angeles, Blink49 Studios was formed in partnership with its anchor investor and lead strategic partner FIFTH SEASON (formerly Endeavor Content). With a combined experience of innovative deal-making and strong relationships in the creative community, Blink49 Studios takes a content-first approach by partnering with best-in-class writers, creators, producers, and talent as well as supporting new and diverse voices.

ABOUT VANGUARDE ARTISTS MANAGEMENT
Tina Horwitz (Co-Head/Manager) founded Vanguarde in 2002 and has established a tradition among the company’s representatives including Jay Horwitz (Co-Head/Manager), Amy Stulberg (SVP/Manager), Adam Pettle (Executive Producer) and Nikki Kipp (Agent) of thoughtful, caring, and intelligent representation of Canada’s most sought-after showrunners, screenwriters, directors, cinematographers, line producers, editors, production designers, and composers. With a select roster, extensive producer and broadcaster relationships across Canada, and strategic alliances internationally, Vanguarde is uniquely positioned to build, grow, and individually shape each of their clients’ careers. The Vanguarde team prides itself on representing artists at all stages of their career from emerging to veteran and everything in between.

ABOUT FIFTH SEASON
FIFTH SEASON is a global leader in the creation, production, and distribution of feature films and premium television series. Known for producing and distributing award-winning content that engages audiences and moves culture, the studio’s film titles include the multi-Oscar-nominated THE LOST DAUGHTER from Maggie Gyllenhaal, Michael Bay’s AMBULANCE, Destin Daniel Cretton’s JUST MERCY, the BOOK CLUB franchise, and recent Sundance Film Festival Audience Award winner CHA CHA REAL SMOOTH. The studio produces premium TV series, including the 14 Emmy-nominated Severance, See and Truth Be Told for Apple TV+, Wolf Like Me for Peacock, Life & Beth, Nine Perfect Strangers, and McCartney 3, 2, 1 for Hulu, Tokyo Vice for HBO Max, and Scenes From A Marriage for HBO. FIFTH SEASON also handles global distribution for dozens of hit series in addition to its own studio productions, including Killing Eve, The Morning Show, Normal People, and The Night Manager.

Sort Of, The Hardy Boys, The Porter

Winners announced for 21st annual DGC Awards

November 6, 2022 Greg David 1 Comment

From a media release:

The DGC is delighted to announce the winners of the 2022 DGC Awards. The Guild received over 450 submissions this year for both film and television categories.

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM
David Cronenberg – Crimes of the Future

ALLAN KING AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN DOCUMENTARY
Madison Thomas – Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On

DGC JEAN-MARC VALLÉE DISCOVERY AWARD
Anthony Shim – Riceboy Sleeps

BEST SHORT FILM
Hayley Gray – Send the Rain

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – FEATURE FILM
Tamara Deverell – Nightmare Alley

BEST PICTURE EDITING – FEATURE FILM
Cam McLauchlin – Nightmare Alley

BEST PICTURE EDITING – DOCUMENTARY
Sarah Peddie – Unloved: Huronia’s Forgotten Children

BEST SOUND EDITING – FEATURE FILM
Nathan Robitaille, Jill Purdy, Dashen Naidoo, Josh Brown, Nelson Ferreira, Kayla Stewart, Craig MacLellan, Kevin Banks – Nightmare Alley

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN DRAMATIC SERIES
Charles Officer – The Porter, Episode 101, Episode 1

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN COMEDY SERIES
Fabrizio Filippo – Sort Of, Episode 101, Sort of Gone

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FAMILY SERIES
Melanie Orr – The Hardy Boys, Episode 207, The Doctor’s Orders

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES
Helen Shaver – Station Eleven, Episode 108, Who’s There?

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – DRAMATIC SERIES
Elisabeth Williams – The Handmaid’s Tale, Episode 405, Chicago

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES
Elisa Sauvé – Sneakerella

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN – COMEDY OR FAMILY SERIES
Zoë Sakellaropoulo – Ghosts, Episode 109, Alberta’s Fan
Zoë Sakellaropoulo – The Bold Type, Episode 505, Don’t Turn Away

BEST PICTURE EDITING – DRAMATIC SERIES
Ana Yavari – The Handmaid’s Tale, Episode 407, Home

BEST PICTURE EDITING – MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES
Maureen Grant – Stolen by Their Father

BEST PICTURE EDITING – COMEDY OR FAMILY SERIES
Lee Walker – Astrid and Lilly Save the World, Episode 105, A-Borg

BEST SOUND EDITING – DRAMATIC SERIES
David McCallum, Ed Douglas, Marvyn Dennis, Peter Thillaye, Kayla Stewart, Jean Bot – The Porter, Episode 108, Episode 8

BEST SOUND EDITING – MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES
Jane Tattersall, Brennan Mercer, Martin Gwynn Jones, David Caporale – The North Water, Episode 103, Homo Homini Lupus

BEST SOUND EDITING – COMEDY OR FAMILY SERIES
John Douglas Smith, Kayla Stewart, Paul Talbott, Kelly McGahey, Taylor Brockelsby, Kevin Banks – Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, Episode 112, Into the Trash

The Directors Guild of Canada (DGC) is a national labour organization that represents over 6,000 key creative and logistical personnel in the screen-based industry covering all areas of direction, design, production and editing. The DGC negotiates and administers collective agreements and lobbies extensively on issues of concern for Members including Canadian content conditions, CRTC regulations and ensuring that funding is maintained for Canadian film & television programming.

Industry News, Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Entertainment One bolsters Canadian unscripted creative team

September 15, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

Entertainment One (eOne) announced today the addition of Christine Diakos, who joins the company as Vice President, Development, Unscripted – Canada, Television. In her new role, Diakos will be responsible for the development, creation and pitching of non-scripted content, with a focus on lifestyle, reality and competition series.

Prior to eOne, Diakos was Senior Vice President of Production and Development at Big Coat Media, where she served as a Supervising Producer on such series as Love It or List It (HGTV), Love It or List It Vancouver (HGTV) and Jillian and Justin (W Network). She’s also served in a variety of senior production and development roles at Shaw Media and Peacock Alley Entertainment, working on content as varied as A Users Guide to Cheating Death (VisionTV) and Hockey Wives (W Network), among others.

Working alongside Diakos is Scott Boyd, who has been elevated to VP, Development, Unscripted and will oversee factual, true crime, and docuseries content. Boyd joined eOne in 2017 as a Development Producer, following eOne’s acquisition of Paperny Entertainment, and quickly progressed to Director of Development, steering such projects for eOne as Make it to the Moon (Discovery) and two-time Canadian Screen Award-winning Arctic Vets (CBC). Prior to eOne, Boyd worked as a Producer and Director across multiple unscripted genres and on several hit series such as Dragons’ Den (CBC) The Big Decision (CBC) and Undercover Boss Canada (W Network)

Both Diakos and Boyd report to Jocelyn Hamilton, President – Canada, Television.

Industry News

CMF funding triggers record-breaking $1.9B in industry activity, says 2021-2022 Annual Report

September 7, 2022 Greg David

From a media release:

Released today, the Canada Media Fund (CMF)’s 2021-2022 Annual Report shows that our investments in Canada’s screen-based industries triggered a record-breaking $1.9B in production across the country. Every $1 of CMF funding generated $5.16 in production activity, the highest leverage ratio since the CMF was created in 2010, and played a key role in creating close to 217,000 jobs in Canada’s screen sector.

“The industry we serve is on the verge of a magnitude of change—and it’s long overdue,” says Valerie Creighton, President and CEO, CMF. “We are proud to generate record-breaking production activity across Canada’s screen-based industries, but even more importantly, we delivered over $60M for equity-seeking communities through our Equity and Inclusion Strategy. One of our main priorities is to ensure a truly accessible and inclusive screen sector that supports all storytellers in bringing their stories to screens here at home and beyond our borders.”

View our 2021-2022 Annual Report

As the industry rapidly evolves, CMF programs delivered $359M in funding for the prototyping, development, production, promotion, and export of 1,433 television and digital media projects in 2021-2022. This level of investment and support was made possible thanks to the continued commitments of the CMF’s funding contributors: the Government of Canada, and Canada’s cable, satellite, and IPTV distributors.

As showcased in our 2021-2022 Annual Report, the CMF’s funding programs, as well as our extensive research and promotion initiatives, are clear examples of the fundamental role we play in driving Canada’s digital economy and supporting our nation’s cultural diversity.
  