Yearly Archives: 2012

Uncategorized

Corner Gas’s “universal appeal”

From Fish Griwkowsky of the Edmonton Journal:

  • Brent Butt touts his universal appeal
    “Thing is,” Butt notes, “I’ve had people born and raised in Toronto who say, ‘My father is exactly like Oscar’,” referring to actor Eric Peterson’s curmudgeonly portrayal of his dad on the show. Apparently, senile old men complain about paying taxes around the world. “If you get past the blue sky and flat landscape, the show was never about Saskatchewan; it was never about Canada. There’s value added if you’re from a small rural centre, but my goal was always to make a show that happened to be in this environment. If it was exactly Saskatchewan-specific, we wouldn’t have people from Australia and Sweden saying, ‘That’s exactly like where I grew up’.” Read more.
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Dramas and Comedies

Who should play Jack Layton?

From Rachel Phan of the National Post:

  • Who should play Jack Layton in CBC’s upcoming biopic?
    CBC has greenlit the production of a new biopic on the life of late New Democratic Party leader Jack Layton. The movie, titled Smilin’ Jack: The Jack Layton Story, will be set against the backdrop of the 2011 federal election and the weeks that followed, as well as Layton’s rise and his love story with Olivia Chow. Production on the made-for-TV movie will begin this August in Winnipeg, and the casting of the titular part will be announced “very soon.” Read more.
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Reality, Lifestyle & Documentary

Reality TV’s cookie cutter approach

From Simon Houpt of the Globe and Mail:

  • Why the cookie-cutter approach to reality-TV may spread
    For producers, “the best way to protect yourself is to get to market quickly, to execute better,” argues John Brunton, the chairman and CEO of Insight Productions. The Toronto-based production company’s reality shows include CBC’s Battle of the Blades, Global’s Canada Sings, and CTV’s Canadian Idol. Read more.
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Dramas and Comedies

Is more Anne of Green Gables a good thing?

From Leah McLaren of the Globe and Mail:

  • Red-haired Anne returns. Is that a good thing?
    It was not without curiosity, then, that I read this week that the granddaughter of Lucy Maud herself, Kate MacDonald Butler, has inked a deal with Toronto-based Breakthrough Entertainment to make a new Anne series for television. She wasn’t able to do so previously because of a prolonged legal battle she and her family had been waging against Sullivan Productions, the production company headed by Kevin Sullivan that originally brought Canada’s favourite Victorian orphan to the screen. As she recently told the media, “I was bound by other contractual arrangements and couldn’t really move forward (with the new project). But those arrangements have now been terminated.” Read more.
Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail