Tag Archives: Schitt’s Creek

Awards, Featured

The Book of Negroes, Orphan Black and Schitt’s Creek top WGC Screenwriting Awards

Clement Virgo (The Book of Negroes), Russ Cochrane (Orphan Black) and Amanda Walsh (Schitt’s Creek) were among the winners recognized at the 2016 Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards on Monday night in Toronto. Hosted by Elvira Kurt, the WGC event—delivered to a packed Koerner Hall—also celebrated the 25th anniversary of the WGC, which broke away from ACTRA in 1991 to become a guild of independently congregated writers.

“Writers, this is a big night for you,” Kurt joked during her opening monologue. “I look around and I see that the Chuck Taylor’s have been polished, the Spanx have been spanked, spiffy outfits have been borrowed and for some of us the meds we take for social anxiety are almost kicking in.”

“I want to thank all of my fellow finalists, and to all female screenwriters for telling their stories because you inspired me to tell my story,” Walsh said upon winning the TV Comedy category for her Schitt’s Creek script “The Cabin.” Orphan Black writer and co-executive producer Aubrey Nealon accepted Cochrane’s award for Season 3’s “Newer Elements of Our Defense,” while Virgo and The Book of Negroes author Lawrence Hill (pictured above) were on hand to accept the trophy for writing in a Movie of the Week or Miniseries.

Clive Endersby received the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, Penny Gummerson the Sondra Kelly Award, Peter Mohan the Writers Block Award and Frank van Keeken the Showrunner Award, who stunned the crowd by announcing he’d been ousted as showrunner on The Next Step and Lost & Found Music Studios.

Frank van Keeken (Image courtesy of Christina Gapic.)
Frank van Keeken (Image courtesy of Christina Gapic.)

Here’s the complete list of categories (winners denoted in blue):

CHILDREN
Numb Chucks, Season 2 “Witless to the Prosecution”
Written by Evan Thaler Hickey

Odd Squad, Season 1 “Puppet Show”
Written by Charles Johnston

Pirate Express, Season 1 “Fountain of Misspent Youth”
Written by David Elver

DOCUMENTARY
Deluged by Data
Written by Josh Freed

Ninth Floor
Written by Mina Shum

MOW & MINISERIES
The Book of Negroes: Episode 1
Story by Lawrence Hill, Teleplay by Clement Virgo

The Gourmet Detective
Written by Becky Southwell & Dylan Neal

Kept Woman
Written by Doug Barber & James Phillips

SHORTS & WEBSERIES
Bob! The Slob
Written by James Nadler

Goldfish
Written by Michael Konyves

TV COMEDY
Mr. D, Season 4 “President Jimmy”
Written by Anita Kapila

Mr. D, Season 4 “Short Stocked”
Written by Marvin Kaye

Schitt’s Creek, Season 1 “The Cabin”
Written by Amanda Walsh

TV DRAMA 
19-2, Season 2 “Orphans”
Written by Jesse McKeown

19-2, Season 2 “Property Line”
Written by Nikolijne Troubetzkoy

19-2, Season 2 “School”
Adapted by Bruce M. Smith

Orphan Black, Season 3 “Newer Elements of Our Defense”
Written by Russ Cochrane

X Company, Season 1 “Into the Fire”
Written by Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern

TWEENS & TEENS
Some Assembly Required, Season 2 “Rocket with a Pocket”
Written by Jennica Harper

Some Assembly Required, Season 2 “Snappo”
Written by Cole Bastedo & Jennifer Siddle

The Stanley Dynamic, Season 1 “The Stanley Grandpa”
Written by Alice Prodanou

FEATURE FILMS
A Christmas Horror Story
Written by James Kee and Sarah Larsen and Doug Taylor and Pascal Trottier

End of Days, Inc.
Written by Christina Ray

The Saver
Written by Wiebke von Carolsfeld

(Images courtesy of Christina Gapic.)

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Awards, Industry News

Celebrate the Writers: WGC Screenwriting Awards, May 2

From a media release:

The WGC Screenwriting Awards recognize the talented Canadian writers whose scripts spark an entire television and film industry.

On May 2, 2016 the screenwriter is in the spotlight at the awards gala, held at the Royal Conservatory of Music’s beautiful Koerner Hall. Host Ryan Belleville brings his sharp wit to the stage in a fast-paced show co-written with This Hour Has 22 Minutes writer Jeremy Woodcock.

Writers from Orphan Black, 19-2, and X Company compete for the best TV Drama Award, to name just one category. Awards will also be handed out for the winning children’s, documentary, feature film, MOW and miniseries, shorts and webseries, TV comedy, and teens and tweens scripts. Close to 150 scripts were nominated, with 24 scripts chosen as finalists, and 32 screenwriters up for awards.

Awards presenters include The F Word screenwriter Elan Mastai, What Would Sal Do? showrunner Andrew De Angelis with star Dylan Taylor, powerhouse couple Sudz Sutherland and Jennifer Holness (Shoot the Messenger), Mohawk Girls showrunner Cynthia Knight, documentary writer Michael McNamara (The Cholesterol Question), and Jessie Gabe, writer of Cas & Dylan.

A full slate of special awards, including the WGC Showrunner Award, the Alex Barris Mentorship Award, and the Sondra Kelly Award will also be presented.

The 2016 WGC Screenwriting Awards mark the 25th anniversary of the Writers Guild of Canada. Join us Monday, May 2, 2016, at the TELUS Centre for Performance and Learning’s Koerner Hall.

2016 WGC Screenwriting Awards Finalists

CHILDREN
Numb Chucks, Season 2 “Witless to the Prosecution”
Written by Evan Thaler Hickey

Odd Squad, Season 1 “Puppet Show”
Written by Charles Johnston

Pirate Express, Season 1 “Fountain of Misspent Youth”
Written by David Elver

DOCUMENTARY
Deluged by Data
Written by Josh Freed

Ninth Floor
Written by Mina Shum

FEATURE FILMS
A Christmas Horror Story
Written by James Kee and Sarah Larsen and Doug Taylor and Pascal Trottier

End of Days, Inc.
Written by Christina Ray

The Saver
Written by Wiebke von Carolsfeld

MOW & MINISERIES
The Book of Negroes: Episode 1
Story by Lawrence Hill, Teleplay by Clement Virgo

The Gourmet Detective
Written by Becky Southwell & Dylan Neal

Kept Woman
Written by Doug Barber & James Phillips

SHORTS & WEBSERIES
Bob! The Slob
Written by James Nadler

Goldfish
Written by Michael Konyves

TV COMEDY
Mr. D, Season 4 “President Jimmy”
Written by Anita Kapila

Mr. D, Season 4 “Short Stocked”
Written by Marvin Kaye

Schitt’s Creek, Season 1 “The Cabin”
Written by Amanda Walsh

TV DRAMA
19-2, Season 2 “Orphans”
Written by Jesse McKeown

19-2, Season 2 “Property Line”
Written by Nikolijne Troubetzkoy

19-2, Season 2 “School”
Adapted by Bruce M. Smith

Orphan Black, Season 3 “Newer Elements of Our Defense”
Written by Russ Cochrane

X Company, Season 1 “Into the Fire”
Written by Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern

TWEENS & TEENS
Some Assembly Required, Season 2 “Rocket with a Pocket”
Written by Jennica Harper

Some Assembly Required, Season 2 “Snappo”
Written by Cole Bastedo & Jennifer Siddle

The Stanley Dynamic, Season 1 “The Stanley Grandpa”
Written by Alice Prodanou

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Featured, Wynonna Earp

Tim Rozon on his hairy Wynonna Earp role

1 Comment

To say Tim Rozon is a fan of comic books would be a grave understatement. Rozon, who portrays Doc Holliday on CHCH’s Monday night sci-fi romp Wynonna Earp, blew his daily per diem on comics while attending WonderCon to promote the show for Syfy. He geeked out meeting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman and DC’s Jim Lee and spent all his free time walking the convention floor. So to land a role on a series based on Beau Hill’s graphic novels was, literally, a dream come true.

We spoke to Rozon about the research he did before playing Doc, the character’s complicated relationship with Wynonna, dealing with a devilish dude like Bobo Del Rey and why growing a real moustache was so important.

I’m a history buff, so going into Wynonna Earp I assumed Doc and Wynonna would be friends because of his connection to Wyatt. That doesn’t appear to be the in the show; if anything he appears to be aligned with Bobo.
Tim Rozon: People ask if Doc is good or bad and my answer to that is, what’s good and what’s bad? I’ve played villains and I don’t play them thinking I’m bad. I think what I’m doing is good. Doc lives in a grey area of good and bad and I think everyone on this show is driven by their own mission. Everybody feels they have something they need to get done for themselves and Doc is hell-bent on something. He’s going to use whoever and whatever he can to get that mission done. If he’s using Bobo or Wynonna, it really doesn’t matter to Doc.

Do things change? You’ll have to wait and see.

I love the fact that, at this point, Wynonna and Waverly just think he’s a super-fan with a great wardrobe.
Yeah! I mean, the writing is great. The funniest thing for me about the character is he’s not scared of a gunfight, but a selfie? He has no idea what that is. Getting in an elevator is what’s going to give Doc pause now.

Wynonna4

Talk about growing the moustache and your research into Doc Holliday.
Here’s the thing. Doc Holliday is an iconic character and I grew up loving him. He’s been done really well by a lot of other people before. If I say, ‘I’m your Huckleberry,’ people know who that is. For those that don’t, it’s Val Kilmer as Holliday in Tombstone. I knew exactly who Doc Holliday was when this part came up and it was important for me to be as historically accurate as possible. So I went back and did a little research and the original moustache was big and had that little soul patch thing. I knew I was going to at least go with the moustache. It took about four months to grow that and I need it to play him. There is something about being on set with the hat, the gun and the moustache that really helps that character come out. It’s hard for me to do it right now. I’m so far away from Doc in regular life.

We also made sure that I had the right gun. In my research, I knew that it was a Colt Thunderer that we needed. And when I talked to production they told me that’s what they’d got, so I was really happy. I was carrying around a replica of the same gun he had.

Wow, did you take it? Do you have it?
I wish! I said, ‘Can I have this and hang it on my wall?’ They said, ‘No Tim, it’s a gun. You need a permit.’

Wynonna Earp airs Mondays at 9 p.m. ET on CHCH.

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Featured, Heartland, Schitt's Creek, The Pinkertons

Comments and queries for the week of April 1

1 Comment

Do you know if there is a Season 2 for The Pinkertons? —Tony

The official word from CHCH—the Canadian network that airs The Pinkertons—is they have not signed on for a sophomore season yet. I’ve spoken to folks who worked on Season 1 who told me The Pinkertons will not be back.

Review: Schitt’s Creek Season 2 finale

This TV show is truly underrated. I’d never even heard of it until an advertising banner showed up on my Facebook page last week. The characters aren’t the normal one-dimensional caricatures you see in most sitcoms, especially David who I find to be a truly unique and compelling depiction of a pansexual person. Not a lot of shows explore this part of sexuality and I find that their nonchalant attitude about David’s sexual identity refreshing. My only complaint is Roland. His character is meant for another dumbed-down comedy. His brand of comedy is slapstick and I find that I can only take him in small doses. In comparison, his wife is a great counterpart for Moira and I enjoy seeing the two of them on screen together. —Lindsay

Agreed about the final episode! It was a great moment at the anniversary dinner when Johnny finally stood up for the town he and his family now call home, and I LOVED the final scene with everyone dancing. Very touching and I had a grin on my face the whole time. :D —Jeff

Heartland celebrates Season 10 news with a surprise

I look at the Lou and Peter drama a little differently, I guess. The world is full of divorced parents, so why not show an audience in a “family” show how two adults can work things out? Is this pie in the sky thinking? Maybe, but this is supposed to be a feel-good family show, in my opinion. —Pat

My family has enjoyed every season and were really impressed by the last episode. My girls have been living with Type 1 diabetes for seven years and were really grateful that the writers took the time to introduce this medical issue that is potentially life threatening. Georgie and Adam did a great job of portraying what it is like and how most people don’t know how to treat a diabetic low. Great job! We are looking forward to Season 10. —Sally

 

Got a question or comment about Canadian TV? Email greg@tv-eh.com or via Twitter @tv_eh.

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Schitt's Creek

Link: Eugene and Dan Levy’s family funnybone strikes a chord south of border

From Robert Lloyd of the LA Times:

Eugene and Dan Levy’s family funnybone strikes a chord south of border
Eugene Levy, of SCTV, American Pie and the films of Christopher Guest, was waiting at the old Culver Hotel in Culver City, Calif., for his son and collaborator, Dan, to arrive.

“It’s the fashionably late thing they (young people) really take to heart,” Levy said.

The Levys, 69 and 32 respectively, are the co-creators and co-stars of Schitt’s Creek, an exceedingly funny situation comedy of Canadian origin that plays in the United States on the Pop channel. Continue reading. 

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