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Boat Rocker Studio’s Temple Street secures television rights to international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Fionavar Tapestry

From a media release:

Temple Street, a division of Boat Rocker Studios, has secured the television rights to international bestselling author Guy Gavriel Kay’s The Fionavar Tapestry. Published as three volumes in the mid-1980s (The Summer Tree, The Wandering Fire and The Darkest Road), the trilogy has sold more than a million copies around the world, and has been dubbed by The Guardian one of the classics of modern fantasy. New York Times bestselling writer Brandon Sanderson has called Kay “the greatest living author of fantasy literature.”

The Tapestry tells the tale of five young men and women who are brought to Fionavar – the first of all worlds. Told they are simply to be guests for the 50th anniversary celebration of a king’s ascension to the throne, each of the five discovers they have a greater, dangerous role to play as they’re thrust into a war between the forces of good and evil, whose outcome will affect all worlds, including our own.

Kay draws upon a variety of creatures and mythologies, predominantly Celtic and Norse, to create the world of Fionavar, and the saga also features the legendary story of King Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere, heroes of medieval literature.

Fortier and Schneeberg will executive produce for Temple Street (Orphan Black, Killjoys), along with Kris Holden-Ried (Vikings, Tudors, Lost Girl).

Temple Street’s Senior Vice President Kerry Appleyard and Senior Development Producer Lesley Grant will oversee series adaptation for the studio, and Boat Rocker Rights will control worldwide rights.

 

 

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Link: Saskatoon film and TV producer Bob Crowe dies at the age of 62

From Cam Fuller of the Saskatoon StarPhoenix:

Link: Saskatoon film and TV producer Bob Crowe dies at the age of 62
Remembered as a faithful friend, supportive boss and a key player in the province’s film and television industry, Bob Crowe died suddenly on Friday.

Crowe, 62, was a co-owner of Angel Entertainment and Bamboo Shoots and had his hand in everything from feature films to TV series, commercials and live events. Continue reading.

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Buck productions set to produce fiction series – Boundless

From a media release:

Buck Productions CEO Sean Buckley announced the Toronto-based company has signed on to produce the historical fiction series Boundless. Written by Canadian actress/writer/producer Kate Campbell. The show will consist of 8, 1 hour episodes. 

The series delves into the role women held during the Second World War, in particular the role of Canadian female pilots. Inspired by real events, the Ontario shot fictional series is a mix between Hidden Figures and League of Their Own, and is inspired by the writer’s grandmother, who was a pilot.

“I was inspired to write about women pilots of the second world war because of the stories my grandmother used to share,” said Kate Campbell, Writer, Boundless. “The narrative surrounding WWII has always focused on male heroes. I want to shed a light on the female heroines during that era and I am so thankful to have found such a great team in Sean and Buck Productions who share my passion for bringing these stories out into the world.”

The series is slated to begin production in Summer 2018.

Synopsis  

During WWII, renowned aviatrix Jacqueline Cochran’s dream of an elite all-female pilot training program stalls out trying to play by the rules of the existing patriarchal system. The program is threatened to be nixed, until rogue new recruit, Betty Ward, shows Jackie the only way for them to succeed is not by trying to conform, but by blazing an entirely new trail, on their own terms. Through controversy, jealousy, heartbreak and love, this band of women, from all walks of life, find their way into this new world, and through their love of flying they find their liberation and ultimately end up changing the course of history.

 

 

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Traders star Bruce Gray passes away

Bruce Gray, best known for portraying Adam Cunningham on the Global drama Traders, has passed away at the age of 81. According to Northern Stars, Gray died Dec. 13 after a fight with cancer.

Gray played the elder statesman Adam Cunningham at Gardner Ross investment bank on Traders for five seasons alongside Sonja Smits, Patrick McKenna, David Cubitt and Kim Huffman. Gray won a Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Role for the part in 1996.

Gray’s passing was first noted on Facebook by Murdoch Mysteries showrunner Peter Mitchell, who was the showrunner on Traders.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gray moved to Canada with his family when he was 13. In addition to roles in Canadian television on such projects as Queer as Folk and The Listener, Gray had roles in American TV series like How I Met Your Mother, Falling Skies, Medium, Playmakers, Star Trek: The Next Generation, Chicago Hope, Beverly Hills 90210 and Murder, She Wrote. His most recent roles were in Good Witch and Timeless.

Gray had an extensive theatre career as well, acting alongside Donald Sutherland in Androcles and the Lion while at the Mermaid Theatre and acting in plays in New Brunswick, British Columbia, New York, Texas; he became a member of the Circle Repertory Company in New York City where he created premiere performances.

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Link: Jay Switzer invested with the Order of Canada

From Bill Brioux of Brioux.tv:

Link: Jay Switzer invested with the Order of Canada
Switzer built his reputation in the TV business from the bottom up. He started, at 16, on the Citytv switchboard. According to the colourful bio passed along by his Hollywood Suite corporate partner, David Kines, Switzer did everything during those early days at City, even the daring job of wiring up notorious Dutch madam Xaviera Hollander with a lav mic. Continue reading.

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