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TV,eh? What's up in Canadian television

Beth Janson appointed CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television

From a media release:

Beth Janson has been appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, it was announced today by Academy Chair Martin Katz. A Montreal native, Janson is the former Executive Director of the Tribeca Film Institute.

Janson assumes the CEO position on June 1, 2016, succeeding outgoing CEO Helga Stephenson, who will officially step down May 31, following her resignation in February of this year.

As CEO, Janson will set and implement a strategic vision for the Academy as it continues to build upon its mandate to honour outstanding achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media, as well as heighten public awareness and appreciation for Canadian screen productions.

The recipient of a BFA from York University in Theatre Studies, Beth Janson has nearly two decades of experience in the film, television, and cultural sectors. From 2009 to 2014 she served as executive director of the Tribeca Film Institute, where she was responsible for budget management, fundraising, public relations, human resources, and programmatic direction.

Janson joined Tribeca in 2003 and was the creative force behind the development of its signature programs, including the TFI New Media Fund, a partnership with the Ford Foundation and the first-ever fund for independent transmedia work in the U.S.; Tribeca All Access, a grant and networking program for minority filmmakers; and the Gucci Tribeca Documentary Fund. Previously, Janson was the programming director of the Newport International Film Festival.

Janson began her career in theatre administration, and later worked in the programming department of HBO Documentary Films. Most recently Janson was the founding director of Rent the Runway Foundation’s Project Entrepreneur program, providing women with access to the tools, training, and networks needed to build scalable, economically impactful companies. Janson’s Twitter handle is @Beth_Janson and her website is: http://www.bethjanson.com/

(Photo by Anna Herbst)

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Slasher’s latest suspect/victim: Brandon Jay McLaren’s Dylan Bennett

If Sarah Bennett would seem an unlikely suspect, her husband Dylan would make for the perfect killer. With all of the secrets around Waterbury, it’s more likely to suspect someone from there than outside the town. And, let’s be honest, dead folks can make a man’s newspaper career, something the industrious Dylan is certainly looking to do.

In our second instalment of interview with the cast of Slasher, the Vancouver native talks Dylan, his friendship with showrunner Aaron Martin and Harper’s Island.

Congratulations on Slasher. Before we talk about that, though, you were fantastic on Harper’s Island.
Brandon Jay McLaren: Thanks. I feel like Harper’s Island was a little ahead of its time. Now that show would kill. It’s the perfect binge-watch. We were just a little premature. That was on CBS back when live ratings numbers meant something. I think our premiere was 10 million, and then we got 7 million for the second episode and they moved us to Saturday nights.

Talk to me about Dylan and his relationship with Sarah.
We met under a very strange circumstance, and she wants to come back to her hometown where her parents were murdered and she was pulled out of her mom’s womb. It’s very gruesome. She’s grown up with this about where she’s from and her past and we decide to move back to her hometown and move back to her parent’s house and fight her fears. Let’s move back and move on, because it’s been a debilitating thing in her life. We move back and the murders start happening again in a very similar fashion.

I play a journalist from the city and I move to this small town and take over the paper. These murders are terrible, but they’re good for me because I have this huge international story on my hands, so I’m pushed and pulled. Dylan’s career is skyrocketing, we have a Nancy Grace-type character come up and I’m put on TV. That’s why I took the role, because it’s different from what I’ve done on Graceland.

What are Aaron Martin’s scripts like?
They’re different. I worked with Aaron on The Best Years and a couple of seasons of Being Erica, just in and out, and this is a complete departure from anything I’ve ever read of his. I didn’t know that he was this sick in his head and I told him that. [Laughs.] He’s very good with relationships and you have that, but it’s gruesome and terrible. It makes for some really good reading.

Because you’ve known him for so long, are you more apt to read something Aaron has written?
Oh sure. He’ll contact me. He’ll be like, ‘Hey man, I’m doing this thing up here. When are you wrapped on Graceland? I’d love for you to take a look at this.’ Anytime he calls I’m fair game if I’m available. He always lets me play something that I haven’t played before, so this was another opportunity.

Slasher airs Fridays at 9 p.m. ET on Super Channel.

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TV, eh? podcast episode 204 – Hints of dill and nut

Greg and Anthony muddle through without Diane, highlighting the Canadian TV shows that are new, returning or ending during the next two weeks. We then discuss CBC’s story about increased cable-cutting, Netflix hiking their prices and how Rogers’ NHL ratings will suffer even more now that no Canadian teams are in it.

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Link: ‘Orphan Black’: Tatiana Maslany talks Season 4

From Bill Harris of Postmedia Network:

‘Orphan Black’: Tatiana Maslany talks Season 4
“But despite the genre-bending, it’s great that there’s a continuity to it, too. Because these can be jarringly different worlds, and yet they’ve found a way to sew the stories together. So to have a common thread through all of them is a pretty amazing feat.” Continue reading.

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