Tag Archives: Netflix

Link: New Frontier: Allan Hawco talks ‘next level’ Republic of Doyle follow-up

From Andrew Sampson of CBC News:

Link: New Frontier: Allan Hawco talks ‘next level’ Republic of Doyle follow-up
“It’s rife with bloody conflict. It’s a period of our history that we often glaze over when we hear about it because of the way that we’re often taught about it as kids. It’s really interesting because the fur trade was really the birth, in many ways, to capitalism in North America as we know it.” Continue reading.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Cameras roll on CBC/Netflix miniseries Alias Grace

From a media release:

Halfire Entertainment, CBC, and Netflix announced that cameras are rolling on the screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace. Alias Grace stars award-winning actress Sarah Gadon (Indignation, 11.22.63, Enemy); Academy Award-winning® Canadian-born actress Anna Paquin (True Blood, Roots, Bellevue); Zachary Levi (Chuck, Tangled); Paul Gross (Hyena Road, Due South); Edward Holcroft (Kingsman: The Secret Service, London Spy, Wolf Hall); Kerr Logan (Game of Thrones, London Irish); Rebecca Liddiard (Houdini & Doyle); and acclaimed Canadian filmmaker David Cronenberg.

The six-hour miniseries is inspired by the true story of Grace Marks who was convicted of murdering Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear. Alias Grace is written and produced by Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz, Away from Her) and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol).

The miniseries continues production in Toronto and across Ontario until mid-November. Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and globally – everywhere outside of Canada – on Netflix.

Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear (Paul Gross) and Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin) in 1843. Nancy is Kinnear’s housekeeper and lover, and while she initially befriends Grace, she begins to resent Grace and becomes increasingly jealous of Kinnear’s affection for her. Nancy eventually fires Grace in a fit of rage and is later found brutally murdered.

Alias Grace is co-commissioned by CBC and Netflix, produced by Halfire Entertainment and created by Sarah Polley. The executive producers are Sarah Polley, Mary Harron, and Noreen Halpern. Producing alongside Polley is D.J. Carson.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Oscar winner Anna Paquin stars in CBC’s Alias Grace

From a media release:

Halfire Entertainment, CBC and Netflix today announced that Academy Award-winning Canadian-born actress Anna Paquin (True Blood, Roots) has signed on to play Nancy Montgomery in the screen adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace. The six-hour miniseries is inspired by the true story of Grace Marks, who was convicted of murdering Nancy Montgomery and Thomas Kinnear. Alias Grace is written and produced by Sarah Polley (Take This Waltz, Away from Her) and directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol). The mini-series began shooting in Ontario on August 15, 2016. Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and globally – everywhere outside of Canada – on Netflix.

Alias Grace follows Grace Marks (Sarah Gadon) a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear and Nancy Montgomery (Anna Paquin) in 1843. Nancy is Kinnear’s housekeeper and lover, and while she initially befriends Grace, she begins to resent Grace and becomes increasingly jealous of Kinnear’s affection for her.  Nancy eventually fires Grace in a fit of rage and is later found brutally murdered.

Alias Grace is co-commissioned by CBC and Netflix, produced by Halfire Entertainment and created by Sarah Polley. The executive producers are Sarah Polley, Mary Harron and Noreen Halpern. Producing alongside Polley is D.J. Carson.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

Between stars dish on distrust in Season 2

Don’t expect Season 2 of Between to be full of sunshine and optimism. Pretty Lake is anything but, as winter is closing in, food is becoming scarce and folks on both sides of the fence have developed a pretty healthy distrust of one another.

It’s with that as the setting that City and Netflix’s dour, dystopian drama returns Thursday, with neither side any wiser about the disease killing anyone over the age of 21. And while townsfolk like Adam (Jesse Carere) and Wiley (Jennette McCurdy) want answers, the government is more than happy to let the town’s citizens die, sealing the disease off from the rest of the world. Episode 1, “Get Out of Town,” features two distinct groups doing just that—in very different ways—sending Between off in a tantalizing new direction.

We spoke to Carere and McCurdy during a press day in Toronto.

It was interesting, in Episode 1, how Adam and Wiley both had differing views on attempting to leave Pretty Lake and the situation in the farmhouse.
Jennette McCurdy: I think Wiley was just saying, ethically, ‘No, this isn’t right. We can’t just set up shop here and take advantage of the situation.’

There has been so much distrust on both sides in Between. The government isn’t be truthful with the people of Pretty Lake, or to everyone on the outside.
Jesse Carere: Yeah.

Episode 1 introduces viewers to a new character in Liam Cullen. What can you tell me about him? He claims to have a cure, but we’ve heard that before.
Jennette McCurdy: Liam comes at the end of the episode, and is played by Steven Grayhm—who we love and are great friends with—and he brings hope of a cure in a way that’s more stable and mature than we’ve seen before. And, I guess, it just seems more trustworthy, which makes some characters, Adam being one of them, doubt even more.

Jesse Carere: Like you said, people have talked about a cure before and it makes Adam even less trusting.

Of course, the instinct for everyone in Pretty Lake is to get out, but there are repercussions to that action. What can you say about Chuck’s decision regarding whether to escape from town or not?
Jesse Carere: I don’t want to get into exactly what happens, but there are repercussions.

Do things brighten up for these characters? It’s winter in Pretty Lake, food is running out … hope seems to be at its lowest. There isn’t a lot of smiling going on in Between. Do things brighten up by Episode 6?
Jesse Carere: I was going to say yes initially, but…

Jennette McCurdy: It’s pretty sombre. With messages like trust no one, every man for himself and finding your own solution, these themes don’t lend themselves to bright and sunny. Even some lines I have in the first scene are more lighthearted don’t come across that way because of the overall tone.

What can viewers expect from the Wiley-Adam relationship this season?
Jesse Carere: Tension. Miscommunication. Domestic discord.

Between airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on City.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail

CBC and Netflix join forces with Halfire Entertainment to adapt Margaret Atwood’s Alias Grace

From a media release:

Halfire Entertainment, CBC and Netflix announced that production will begin on Alias Grace, a six-hour miniseries inspired by the historical true story of convicted murderer Grace Marks and based on the award-winning novel by Margaret Atwood. The miniseries is being written and produced by Sarah Polley (Looking for Alaska, Take this Waltz, Away from Her) and will be directed by Mary Harron (American Psycho, I Shot Andy Warhol), with production scheduled to begin in Ontario in August 2016. Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and will stream everywhere globally on Netflix.

The story of Alias Grace follows Grace Marks, a poor, young Irish immigrant and domestic servant in Upper Canada who, along with stable hand James McDermott, was convicted of the brutal murders of their employer, Thomas Kinnear, and his housekeeper, Nancy Montgomery, in 1843. James was hanged while Grace was sentenced to life imprisonment. Grace became one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of 1840s Canada for her supposed role in the sensational double murder, and was eventually exonerated after 30 years in jail. Her conviction was controversial, and sparked much debate about whether Grace was actually involved in the murder, or merely an unwitting accessory.

Both the screen adaptation and the Margaret Atwood novel on which the miniseries is based, introduce a fictional young doctor named Simon Jordan who researches the case and begins to fall in love with Grace. He soon becomes obsessed with her as he seeks to reconcile his perception of the mild-mannered woman he sees with the savage murder of which she has been convicted.

Alias Grace will be broadcast in Canada on CBC and stream globally on Netflix. Executive producers will be Sarah Polley, Mary Harron and Noreen Halpern (Aftermath, Working the Engels, Rookie Blue). Co-producing alongside Polley will be D.J. Carson (Spotlight). Polley was nominated for an adapted screenplay Academy Award for the 2006 drama Away from Her, which was adapted from the Alice Munro short story The Bear Came Over the Mountain.

Published in 1996, Alias Grace was awarded the Giller Prize and was shortlisted for the Booker Prize. Additional books by Atwood that have been adapted for film and television include The Handmaid’s Tale, Payback, The Robber Bride, The Sin Eater and Surfacing. Kids’ CBC recently greenlit an animated series based on Atwood’s children’s book The Wide World of Wandering Wenda.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail