Tag Archives: Writer’s Guild of Canada

Awards

Announcing the WGC Screenwriting Awards finalists celebrating Canada’s screenwriters

From a media release:

Every powerful show, movie or webseries comes from an equally powerful script — the work of talented screenwriters. The WGC Screenwriting Awards celebrate Canadian screenwriters and the scripts they write in a gala evening hosted this year by Gavin Crawford, writer, comedian, and host of CBC Radio’s Because News. Gavin’s long-time accomplice, screenwriter Kyle Tingley, is this year’s awards show writer.

In contention: scripts from shows, films, and webseries including Alias Grace (Sarah Polley), Cardinal (Aubrey Nealon), Mary Kills People (Tara Armstrong), Kim’s Convenience (Matt Kippen, Anita Kapila), Letterkenny (Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney), Allure (Carlos & Jason Sanchez), The Hundred-Year-Old-Whale (Mark Leiren-Young), Spiral (Karen McClellan), The Bagel and Becky Show (Evan Thaler Hickey) and many others. Please see below for the complete list of categories and finalists.

CHILDREN’S
The Bagel and Becky Show, Season 1 “The 12 Quadrillion Days of Christmas”
Written by Evan Thaler Hickey

Mysticons, Season 1 “Heart of Gold”
Written by Elize Morgan

Mysticons, Season 1 “Sisters in Arms”
Written by Sean Jara

DOCUMENTARY
The Hundred-Year-Old Whale
Written by Mark Leiren-Young

The Road Forward
Written by Marie Clements

The Taming of the Queue
Written by Josh Freed

FEATURE FILM
Allure
Written by Carlos & Jason Sanchez

Entanglement
Written by Jason Filiatrault

Indian Horse
Written by Dennis Foon

The Man Who Invented Christmas
Written by Susan Coyne

MOW AND MINISERIES
Alias Grace “Part 5”
Written by Sarah Polley

Anne of Green Gables: Fire and Dew
Written by Susan Coyne

Bruno & Boots: This Can’t Be Happening at Macdonald Hall!
Written by Adam Barken & Mike McPhaden

Bruno & Boots: The Wizzle War
Written by Mike McPhaden

BEST SCRIPT FROM SEASON ONE
Anne, Season 1 “I Am No Bird, and No Net Ensnares Me”
Written by Moira Walley-Beckett

Bellevue, Season 1 “You Don’t Understand Me At All”
Written by Jane Maggs

Ghost Wars, Season 1 “Whatever Happened to Maggie Rennie”
Written by Rachel Langer

SHORTS AND WEBSERIES
The Drop In
Written by Naledi Jackson

Hotel Transylvania: “Who’s the Boss?”
Written by Mike D’Ascenzo

Spiral, Episode 101 “The Girl in the Dream”
Written by Karen McClellan

TV COMEDY
Kim’s Convenience, Season 2 “Business Award”
Written by Matt Kippen

Kim’s Convenience, Season 2 “Resting Place”
Written by Anita Kapila

Letterkenny, Season 2 “Relationships”
Written by Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney

Still Standing, Season 3 “Fort McMurray”
Written by Jonny Harris, Fraser Young, Graham Chittenden and Steve Dylan

TV DRAMA
Cardinal, Season 1 “John Cardinal”
Written by Aubrey Nealon

Mary Kills People, Season 1 “Bloody Mary”
Written by Tara Armstrong

Pure, Season 1 “Ordination”
Written by Michael Amo

X Company, Season 3 “Promises”
Written by Nicolas Billon

TWEENS & TEENS
Degrassi: Next Class, Season 4 “#FactsOnly”
Written by Courtney Jane Walker

Degrassi: Next Class, Season 4 “#RollUpToTheClubLike”
Written by Matt Huether

Raising Expectations, Season 1 “Food Fight at the Algonquin”
Written by Barbara Haynes

The Stanley Dynamic, Season 2 “The Stanley Cheer”
Written by Matt Kippen

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Writers Guild of Canada: CRTC decision spells potential disaster

3 Comments

From a media release:

Yesterday, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) dealt a major blow to Canadian screenwriters — and Canadian audiences. In its decision on licence renewals for Bell, Corus, and Rogers, the Commission rolled back the broadcasters’ minimum financial contributions to Canadian drama and other programing.

This despite the fact that the WGC’s modest proposal to the CRTC, reflecting well-researched data, asked only for the maintenance of the status quo in terms of broadcasters’ financial contributions towards “programs of national interest” (PNI). PNI includes drama, documentary, and some children’s programming, programing that is at the heart of Canadian on-screen entertainment. But the CRTC set PNI spending minimums for broadcasters at 5%, basically cutting them by up to 44% for certain groups.

“This could mean the devastation of Canadian domestic production,” says Maureen Parker, Executive Director of the WGC. “These cuts potentially amount to over a $200 million loss for PNI over a five-year licence term. Canadian screenwriters only work on domestic productions, not on American shows filming in Canada, and if there is not enough work for them they will simply leave. Once our talent pool is gone you can’t get it back.”

CRTC chair Jean-Pierre Blais, a Harper appointee who has allowed the CRTC to become greatly diminished, has also set us on a course that will make it more and more difficult for Canadians to view stories about ourselves. This, despite the fact that it is only our Canadianness that distinguishes us: Our compassion, our humour, our concern about issues such as cultural diversity, healthcare, and the environment. A Canadian culture that cannot speak to Canadianness through its own storytelling is not Canada. We should not accept it. Nor should the Liberal government.

The headline of the CRTC’s own press release announcing the decision is, “The CRTC supports the production of original content.” This can only be viewed as fake news. There is nothing meaningful about specifically original production in these decisions. The release goes on to claim that the CRTC “ensures on stable funding for Canadian production in all program categories, by focusing especially on dramas, documentaries, and musical and variety shows.” This is patently untrue, given the reduction of PNI requirements. And, since broadcaster spending on PNI also typically attracts investment from other sources like the Canada Media Fund, the potential total impact could be double or triple the $200 million drop in PNI investments themselves.

“If Canadian programming is expendable,” says Maureen Parker, “Why protect the big private broadcasters? What is the CRTC’s purpose if not to ensure that spending on the creation of Canadian drama, documentary, and children’s programming is at the very least maintained? It’s almost as though the very body intended to promote Canadian programming — the CRTC — is actively working to erode it.”

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Announcing the WGC Screenwriting Awards Finalists

From a media release:

The Writers Guild of Canada is pleased to announce this year’s WGC Screenwriting Awards finalists. These are the only awards in Canada to focus solely on screenwriting talent. Screenwriters’ scripts for Kim’s Convenience, Odd Squad, Letterkenny, X Company, Private Eyes, Wynonna Earp, 19-2, Degrassi: Next Class and more are up for awards.

The 2017 awards mark the return of a talented duo: Awards host, screenwriter, stand-up comedian, and actor Laurie Elliott, and awards show writer, screenwriter and stand-up comedian Terry McGurrin.

This year the WGC introduces a new category, Best Script from a Rookie Series. Other awards categories include: Children’s, Documentary, Feature Film, MOW and Miniseries, TV Comedy, TV Drama, and Tweens & Teens.

The WGC congratulates all of our awards finalists. Please see below for the full list of nominated screenwriters and scripts.

CHILDREN’S
Numb Chucks, Season 2 “The Chucks Get Stuck in a Hole”
Written by Josh Gal

Odd Squad, Season 2 “Drop Gadget Repeat”
Written by Tim McKeon

Odd Squad, Season 2 “Failure to Lunch”
Written by Mark De Angelis

DOCUMENTARY
Not Criminally Responsible: Wedding Secrets
Written by John Kastner

Quebec My Country Mon Pays
Written by John Walker

FEATURE FILM
ARQ
Written by Tony Elliott

Maudie
Written by Sherry White

Two Lovers and a Bear
Written by Kim Nguyen

MOW AND MINISERIES
Bruno & Boots: Go Jump in the Pool
Written by Adam Barken

Odd Squad: The Movie
Story by Mark De Angelis, Tim McKeon / Teleplay by Mark De Angelis, Tim McKeon, Adam Peltzman

Unclaimed
Written by Dennis Foon

BEST SCRIPT FROM A ROOKIE SERIES
Letterkenny, Season 1 “Ain’t No Reason to Get Excited”
Written by Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney

Private Eyes, Season 1 “Family Jewels”
Written by Shelley Eriksen

Second Jen, Season 1 “Couch Surfing”
Written by Amanda Joy & Samantha Wan

Wynonna Earp, Season 1 “Bury Me With My Guns On”
Written by Alexandra Zarowny

TV COMEDY
Kim’s Convenience, Season 1 “Ddong Chim”
Written by Garry Campbell

Kim’s Convenience, Season 1 “Janet’s Photos”
Written by Ins Choi & Kevin White

Letterkenny, Season 1 “Super Soft Birthday”
Written by Jared Keeso & Jacob Tierney

TV DRAMA
19-2, Season 3 “Fall”
Written by Nikolijne Troubetzkoy

This Life, Season 2 “Destruction as Creation”
Written by Celeste Parr

X Company, Season 2 “August 19th”
Written by Stephanie Morgenstern & Mark Ellis

TWEENS & TEENS
Degrassi: Next Class, Season 2 “#CheckYourPrivilege”
Written by Cole Bastedo

Degrassi: Next Class, Season 1 “#TeamFollowBack”
Written by Ian MacIntyre

Degrassi: Next Class, Season 2 “#TurntUp”
Written by Courtney Jane Walker

Degrassi: Next Class, Season 1 “#YesMeansYes”
Written by Alejandro Alcoba

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail
Industry News

Video: Canadian Screenwriter Simon Racioppa: Telling Canadian Stories

From the Writers Guild of Canada:

Telling Canadian Stories. Telling Canadians Stories. On all screens.

Canadian screenwriters write for all screens bringing a Canadian point of view to Canadian and worldwide audiences. If we don’t tell our own stories, who will? In this video, Canadian screenwriter Simon Racioppa talks about why our stories matter.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedinmail