AMAZE FILM + TELEVISION, in Associa�on with GRAiNEY PICTURES and FOUNDATION FILMS Presents BEING CANADIAN Distributed by CANDY FACTORY FILMS
Wri�en and Directed by Robert Cohen Produced by The Sibs [Colin Keith Gray & Megan Raney Aarons] Execu�ve Producers Michael Souther, Teza Lawrence, and Michael Lafetra
Available in Theaters and On Demand – September 18, 2015
Running Time: 89 minutes
Press Contacts:
New York Susan Engel – [email protected] – 212.373.0114 Lee Meltzer – [email protected] – 212.373.6142 Los Angeles Jazmin Sanchez – [email protected] – 310.854.3267 Rebecca Fisher– Rebecca.Fisher @pmkbnc.com – 310.854.4897 Margaret Gordon– [email protected] – 310.854.4736
CANDY FACTORY CONTACT Jason Ward, CEO Candy Factory Films [email protected] – 518.857.8468
INDIECAN ENTERTAINMENT Avi Federgreen [email protected] 416-898-3456 SHORT SYNOPSIS
When Calgarian Robert Cohen moved to L.A. to pursue his dreams of becoming a comedy writer, he quickly realized that his new friends and colleagues knew nothing but the usual stereotypes about his beloved homeland. After years of frustration, Robert decided to embark on a personal quest, traveling from one end of Canada to the other, to prove BEING CANADIAN is more than just maple syrup and Mounties. Imagine “Sherman’s March” or “Roger and Me”, but wearing a toque.
LONG SYNOPSIS
BEING CANADIAN chronicles the real life quest of Robert Cohen, a proud Canadian, who, after leaving Calgary for the U.S. to start a career as a TV comedy writer, began noticing how little people outside his beloved homeland knew or cared about it. After decades of ignorance, insults, and indifference to the land he truly loves, he decided to do something about it.
Rob sets off on an epic personal quest, driving from the East coast of Canada to the West, to make sure the country he had been fighting for is still what he remembered after living away from it for so long. He weaves this journey with interviews from a variety of famous Canadians, like Mike Myers, Seth Rogen, Martin Short, Howie Mandel, Michael J. Fox, Will Arnett, Alanis Morrisette, Dave Foley, Malcolm Gladwell, Cobie Smulders, Eugene Levy, and many others. Along the way, he also sits down with a Canadian nutritionist, psychotherapist, a politeness expert, and the man in charge of protecting Canada’s top-secret emergency maple syrup reserve. Some long time American friends, like Kathy Griffin, Ben Stiller, and Conan O’Brien, also weigh in.
And he sets the most Canadian of deadlines for his answer…midnight on Canada Day, in Vancouver. Although comedic in nature, Rob’s desire to rediscover his national identity and gain internal peace is real. Imagine Roger and Me or Sherman’s March, but wearing a toque.
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
When I first moved to the U.S., I was surprised at the way people reacted to me BEING CANADIAN. I didn’t view Americans and Canadians as being that different, but it didn’t take long for me to realize how Canadians were perceived beyond our border: with a weak smile and uneducated shrug. And for the few times they were forced to discuss Canada, between the sounds of their eyes rolling, I would hear snide comments about Mounties, hockey, beer, and drunk Mounties playing hockey. How could this be? I could name all 50 states and most of the world capitals, while “they” gingerly guessed that Toronto was the capital of Vancouver. This level of global indifference towards my home only became worse the more I traveled, so I decided to do something about it.
So I finished a hockey game with my drunk Mountie friends, and joined forces with fellow L.A. based Canadians Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons, better known as The Sibs (and both originally from Ottawa, Canada’s capital by the way!). We then teamed up with Mike Souther and Teza Lawrence of Amaze Film + Television (based in Toronto), and what developed is my first feature length documentary, BEING CANADIAN.
Our goal was to cross the entire country in 10 days, going from coast to coast, with the deadline of finding out what it means BEING CANADIAN set at midnight on Canada Day in Vancouver (July 1st, but everyone reading this obviously knows that). Along the way, we met a wide selection of fantastic people and visited so many incredible places, hoping to erase all the ignorance about Canada, while rediscovering the country I so dearly missed and loved.
This documentary was made by Canadians, for Canadians, and for anyone who has ever been curious about that massive polite blob sitting on top of Montana. This film is our home movie, about our home.
Robert Cohen July 2015
FILMMAKER BIOS
ROBERT COHEN (Writer/Director)
Robert is the pride of the Canadian Rockies and has more than 20 years of experience in network sitcoms, sketch comedy, variety, improvisation, animation, and motion pictures. Most of it positive. Rob’s comedy writing stints include The Ben Stiller Show (for which he won an Emmy), Just Shoot Me!, The Big Bang Theory, The Wonder Years, Saturday Night Live, MADtv, and The Simpsons. This last opportunity also enshrined him for most of eternity as the visual inspiration for Bart Simpson’s best friend Milhouse, to whom he still bears a striking resemblance. His feature film work includes the Austin Powers films, all three Shrek films, Dodgeball, Madagascar; Tropic Thunder, and Anchorman 2. Rob also works as a commercial director and has produced/directed pilots and short films for MTV, Comedy Central, and HBO; eight episodes of the critically acclaimed IFC series Maron; studio feature campaigns for Paramount, Sony, Warner Bros., and 20th Century Fox; a music video for Aimee Mann; and multiple promos starring Tom Cruise, Ben Stiller, Mike Myers, Will Ferrell, Zach Galifianakis, and Robert Downey, Jr.. Rob’s turn-ons are honesty, cold pizza, and moderately short bios.
The Sibs (Producers) Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons
Colin and Megan are an award-winning brother/sister writing, directing, and producing team originally from Ottawa, Canada. In 2003, The Sibs launched GRAiNEY PICTURES, a full service content creation company based in Los Angeles that specializes in unscripted content across all platforms. Recent credits include The Godfather of Pittsburgh for A&E, a TV docu-series produced with Mario Signore & Renegade 83; the feature doc Atari: Game Over for XBox & Showtime, directed by Zak Penn and produced with Lightbox & Fuel Entertainment; the rock-doc web series Hello, Again that The Sibs directed & produced for Beck/Lincoln Motor Company (Cannes Cyber Lion and Webby award winner); Meena, a scripted short film on child sex trafficking based on Nicholas Kirstof & Sheryl WuDunn’s book Half The Sky that The Sibs wrote and directed with Lucy Liu for UNICEF; Clean Break, an interactive web series that The Sibs directed and produced for Schick and Sony Crackle; Redlight, a TV documentary on child sex trafficking in Cambodia that they co-wrote and produced for Showtime; and Freedom’s Fury, the internationally acclaimed feature documentary that they wrote and directed about the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The Hungarian Government knighted The Sibs, along with Executive Producers Quentin Tarantino and Lucy Liu, for their work on the film.
Michael Souther / Teza Lawrence (Executive Producers)
Michael and Teza are co-owners and co-founders of Amaze Film + Television. Both acted as producer of four successful seasons of Call Me Fitz, a half-hour comedy series for HBO Canada (The Movie Network and Movie Central) starring Jason Priestley, which won Best Comedy Series at the Canadian Screen Awards. The series won 24 other awards during its four-season run. Their feature Finn on the Fly, won the Audience Choice Award for Best Feature Film at the 2009 Sprockets Toronto International Film Festival for Children, and a Best Independent Feature Film Award at the 2009 KIDS FIRST! Film Festival. They also received a 2006 Genie Nomination for Best Feature Film as a producer on Saint Ralph. The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, winning the Grand Prix at the 2005 Paris Film Festival, and was distributed theatrically around the world. In addition, they have produced and directed a number of award-winning national television commercials and just wrapped production on the first season of the half-hour multi-cam series, The Stanley Dynamic for YTV. A SMALL SAMPLE OF SOME OF THE AMAZING PEOPLE IN OUR FILM...
MIKE MYERS MICHAEL J. FOX
HOWIE MANDEL ALANIS MORISSETTE
PAUL SHAFFER ALAN THICKE
DAVE FOLEY ALEX TREBEK
WILL ARNETT BEN STILLER
RUSH RUSSELL PETERS
KATHY GRIFFIN THE TRAILER PARK BOYS
CONAN O’BRIEN BARENAKED LADIES
DAN AYKROYD NATHAN FILLION
EUGENE LEVY WILLIAM SHATNER
MALCOLM GLADWELL RICH LITTLE
CAROLINE RHEA DAVID STEINBERG
MORLEY SAFER RICK MERCER
FORMER PRIME MINISTER KIM CAMPBELL SETH ROGEN
COBIE SMULDERS THE ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE
MARTIN SHORT CATHERINE O'HARA
JASON PRIESTLEY GEORGE STROUMBOULOPOULOS
... AND MANY, MANY MORE. BEING CANADIAN END CREDITS
AMAZE FILM + TELEVISION
In Association With GRAiNEY PICTURES
FOUNDATION FILMS And ENTERTAINMENT ONE
Present
A Film Written & Directed by ROBERT COHEN
Producers THE SIBS [Colin Keith Gray & Megan Raney Aarons]
Executive Producers MICHAEL SOUTHER TEZA LAWRENCE MICHAEL LAFETRA
Editor BECKY HUTNER
Director of Photography MEGAN RANEY AARONS
Composers CRAIG NORTHEY & SCOTTY HARD
Graphic Designer DAN PIERSE DOJO DESIGN & MOTION, LLC
Co-Producer JARROD THALHEIMER
Associate Producers STEPHEN KESSLER PETER B. ARONSON
Featuring (in order of appearance) KATHY GRIFFIN CONAN O'BRIEN DAN AYKROYD HOWIE MANDEL GEDDY LEE NEIL PEART ALEX LIFESON EUGENE LEVY WILL ARNETT CAROLINE RHEA MORLEY SAFER SETH ROGEN COBIE SMULDERS ANN LUU TANYA MEMME MARTIN SHORT JASON PRIESTLEY CATHERINE O’HARA MICHAEL J. FOX TIM LONG CHUCK TATHAM DAN SIGNER JOEL COHEN GEORGE STROUMBOULOPOULOS ALANIS MORISSETTE KIM CAMPBELL DAVE FOLEY WAYNE FEDERMAN MIKE MYERS DAVID STEINBERG ADRIAN HAREWOOD BRIGITTE GALL ANDREW CLARK ALAN THICKE ALEX TREBEK BARENAKED LADIES RUSSELL PETERS DR. R KEITH RANEY BEN STILLER MALCOLM GLADWELL TRAILER PARK BOYS FEARLESS FRED PAUL SHAFFER NATHAN FILLION DANA GOULD WILLIAM SHATNER MANISHA KRISHNAN LINDA ALLEN ANDREW ESTABROOKS MIKE MACDONALD CHRISTY MORGAN RICH LITTLE ROYAL AIR FARCE MARC THUET MARY BAMFORD PAUL ROUILLARD DARRELL DENNIS HERBIE BARNES ANTON LEO MARC COHON BRIAN HANSON RICK MERCER SUSIE PATRICOLA ROB’S MOM MARSHA BERNIKER HELGA STEPHENSON ROGER HASKETT BRONWYN PAGE
Field Producers SARAH DELINE BORGA DORTER PRAMEN PRASAD
Second Unit Cinematography TYLER HECKERMAN
Additional Camera Operators HUGH BELL ROBERT COHEN COLIN KEITH GRAY SUAT KUTLUG TABB FIRCHAU GERARD BYRNE ANDREW PAWSON MONIRUZZAMAN SYED MANIKM ANMOL TIKOO
Additional Interviewers IMOGEN BUTLER-COLE BETTY MARISOL GARCIA TESS JOSEPH MEV ERLY GREG LANDER WILLIAMS FAHIM FERDOUS
Additional Editors DEAN GONZALEZ ROB STILES
Assistant Editors KENDALL JAMES MARIE FURTER TAYLER BRAASCH
Sound Editor TYLER HECKERMAN
Sound Recording ALI AHSAN BETTY MARISOL GARCIA VINCENT FATATO EVAN FREEMAN JONATHAN HONG EUGENE KIM MICHAEL LENGIES FRANK MANNINO STEVE MCNAMEE JON PLANE MIKHAIL STERKIN
Make-up Artist KAYLEEN MCADAMS
Additional Graphic Elements SCOTT SIMERLY SAM YOUNG
V/O Record HOWARD COGAN 5150 PRODUCTIONS
Music Supervisor AMY FRITZ
Colour & Online RED SQUARE MOTION
Colourist MILA PATRIKI
Visual Effects Artist CRYSTAL REEVES
Post VFX Supervisor PASHA PATRIKI
Project Manager JAKE ROSS
Online Editor SOFYA LIFANOVA
Audio Post-Production POST CITY SOUND INC.
Sound Supervisor PINO HALILI
Dialog & Sound Effects Editor JOSH BROWN
Re-recording Mixer ALLEN ORMEROD
Re-recording Assistant VLADIMIR BORISSOV
Mixed At POST CITY SOUND, TORONTO
Translations ERIKA-KRISTEN EASTON DARIA SAIDI
Production Assistants PAUL ATKINS NOAH BAKST ERIN BROWN ALEXIS CASTENADA BETSY DELONG MORGAN DE SANTO ERIK ESPARZA LOUIS GALANTI JENNIFER KING SAM KOOPMAN ANDREW LOVE ADRIENNE ROSS ANJELLE RUPPE EMILY SMITH ASHLEY STITES BARBARA TWIST NICOLE VILLELA DANIEL YELLIN
Social Media Manager BREANNE SCHRODER
Cross Canada Road Trip Publicist DANIELLE MORGAN
Accountants ASSOCIATED FINANCIAL CONSULTANTS DAN MEIER & MELISSA MEIER KAY & WARBURTON
Legal STOHN HAY CAFAZZO DEMBROSKI RICHMOND LLP
Insurance MOMENTOUS INSURANCE RANDY TYRREL WINNIE WONG
AMAZE FILM + TELEVISION Executive Producers MICHAEL SOUTHER TEZA LAWRENCE
Executive in Charge of Production VICTORIA HIRST
Development Director TARA WOODBURY
Manager of Digital & Business Affairs DAN SMILEY
Executive Assistant to Michael Souther and Teza Lawrence HANNAH BEEMER
Accountant ANDREA ROMAK
Indiegogo Campaign Manager DAN SMILEY
GRAiNEY PICTURES Co-Founders / Creative Directors COLIN KEITH GRAY MEGAN RANEY AARONS
Executive Producer AMAECHI UZOIGWE
Executive Producer TIM FLATTERY Head of Production / Producer BRIAN DAVID CULP
Producer CARRIE KANGRO
Group Creative Director MICHAEL BACHMANN
Digital Producer DAVID WARREN
Production Coordinator SACHA SMITH
Office Managers AVERY KOTZUR JOLENE GLASSER
Canadian Distributor ENTERTAINMENT ONE
Executive in Charge of Production BRYAN GLISERMAN
Executive Producer MARK SLONE
Locations / Cross Canada Access BRADLEY GLEN REID & THE QUEENSLAND DANCERS THE CITADEL, HALIFAX PICAROONS BREWERY, NEW BRUNSWICK QUEBEC FEDERATION OF MAPLE SYRUP PRODUCERS JUST FOR LAUGHS COMEDY FESTIVAL, MONTREAL MAID OF THE MIST STEAMBOAT COMPANY, LTD. THE SECOND CITY CANADA HOCKEY HALL OF FAME (KELLY MASSE) STEAMWHISTLE BREWERY, TORONTO THE RCMP MUSICAL RIDE, OTTAWA OTTAWA CURLING CLUB EXPEDITION RADISSON EXPEDITION (JAMES SISTTIE) DUDLEY R. KAY OF SCITECH PUBLISHING, INC. HERITAGE PARK, CALGARY CANADA PLACE, VANCOUVER ARS NOVA THEATER, NEW YORK
Archive Footage & Stills Provided By CBC ARCHIVES / ARCHIVES RADIO-CANADA NATIONAL FILM BOARD OF CANADA ALBERTA TOURISM BOARD NOVA SCOTIA TOURISM BOARD THE CALGARY EXHIBITION & STAMPEDE LIMITED NATIONAL FILM ARCHIVES ROYAL CANADIAN AIR FARCE THE SECOND CITY CANADA RUSS MARTIN, courtesy AIR FARCE PRODUCTIONS ARCHIVE.ORG
SHUTTERSTOCK "Gangsters" by EVERETT COLLECTION "Young cowboy" by VIA FILMS "1910s - The making of maple syrup" by RICK RAY "Hypnotized couple" by IRONSTRIKE "Loop-able spinning Earth" by ZOL STUDIOS
POND 5 "Close Up Of A Vinyl Deck Playing A Record" by RUS009 "Ice Hockey Players Fighting" by EUROSPIDERS "Aerial View of the Hollywood Sign" by MOUNTAIRYFILMS "Maple Sugar" by NORMSTOCK "Full length silhouette man with broom cleaning office corridor" by ANDREY POPOV "Storm Clouds" by CONJOSTUDIOS "RAIN" by P2HD "Glowing wallpaper" by 5@NICEMONKEY "Space Nebula Seamlessly looped background" by SPRINGDAY "Gold picture frame" by JACK F
GETTY IMAGES "Cheering Declaration" Photo by HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES “Terry Fox Marathon of Hope" by Boris Spremo
WIKIMEDIA COMMONS “Charlottetown” by GEORGE P. ROBERTS "David Cassidy taken in the Plaza Hotel New York" by ALLAN WARREN "Michael Cera: This Is Our Youth Tour, Play Comes To Sydney Opera House 2012." by EVA RINALDI "Ryan Reynolds, 2010 Buried Premiere" by CHRIS JACKSON "Lower Manhattan from Staten Island Ferry Corrected Jan 2006" Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0 "Lorne Michaels" by DAVID SHANKBONE "Leslie Nielsen" by ALAN LIGHT
FLICKR “Laura Turns 100” by EVE MARTELL “The White House” by DANIEL ZIMMERMAN “The Mall” by FMPGOH “Taco” by EVAN SWIGART “Fish N Chips” by BEV SYKES “Sushi” by RITA YANG “Province of Canada” by CHRISTIAN IONITA (edmaps.com) "Beaver begging for food" by MICHAEL BENTLEY "Canada Geese" by PAUL SULLIVAN "Canoeing on the Potomac, April 1973" Photo by DICK SWANSON - The US National Archives "Around the house on a cold winters day the power of a lucky loonie 2014 winter Olympics" by DAVEBLOGGS007 "Harvest wheat field" by GRIPPED "Dungarees" by EM_J_BISHOP "Steamship SS Empress of Britain /Bateau à vapeur SS Empress of Britain" LIBRARY AND ARCHIVES CANADA "Geography of the Dominion of Canada and Newfoundland ... With ten maps, etc" THE BRITISH LIBRARY
Additional Music Provided By AUDIO NETWORKS LTD. DWEEZIL ZAPPA
“Tom Sawyer” Written by Pye Dubois, Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart Performed by RUSH Courtesy of Anthem Entertainment
"Canada" Written by Hutch Harris, Kathy Foster, and Westin Glass Performed by The Thermals Courtesy of Kill Rock Stars By Arrangement with Terrorbird Media
"Oh...Canada" Written by Luke Boy, Mike Boyd and Glenn MacDonnell Performed by Classified Courtesy of Sony Music Canada Entertainment Inc.
"Working for the Weekend" Written by Paul Dean, Matthew Frenette and Joseph Reno Performed by Loverboy Courtesy of Sony Music Canada Entertainment Inc.
Remix Courtesy of Thomas Reynolds Music
Special Thanks GREGG SHANKS J.P. MANOUX PAM BRADY SALLY ANN SALSANO FRED GRAVER PETER B. “PISHUK” ARONSON ERIK WILSON KIRK ANDERSON BARCLAY EASTON ROBERTA BOUCHARD JOANNA & KRIS VANDERVEER AMANDA SAGE & KICKASS CANADIANS JON BARTLETT & KELP RECORDS ZACH EVANS DREW MASTERS KATIE ZWICK ALAN BRAUN BOBBY KENNER ANDREW SAUNDERS KIMO SANBORN KEITH RICHARDSON STEVE SHUSTER JD SACHAROK YOGI ROTH THE AMAZING JILL LEIDERMAN JOEL, SANDI, RACHEL & SAMARA COHEN MARK COHEN CHANNAH J. BROWN WILLIAM B. COHEN DAVID STEINBERG, ESQ ROBIN RUZAN MICHAEL GELMON MATT LABOV JON POLLACK JON ANSCHELL DAVID MILLER MEG SYMSYK JENNIFER JUHOS GRAY BRAD AARONS & XAVIER AARONS ANN JEFFRIES DR. R KEITH RANEY & DR. CHRIS NIELSEN DR. DONALD H. GRAY & MARCY GRAY IAN GRAY & CHRISTINE GRAY THE GREENHOUSES THE SPIEGELMANS THE AARONS KERRY GIRVIN & GUGGENHEIM PRODUCTIONS CAMERON HUGHES JAY SHORE LADVENTURE LADS LUCY LIU STEPHEN MARKS MOSES, LUCIANO, GRACIE & HENRY LORIEN GABEL JESSICA LICHTENSTEIN DEAN CHAPPLE DAVE RATH KARA WELKER NICOLE RENNA MARIO SIGNORE ANDY CORREN BROOKE STITES ALLISON LAHAV JOHN TRIGONIS THE LEGENDARY BERNIE BRILLSTEIN PAT MARSHALL GERMAIN VEZINA HARISH AMIN STEPHEN MCDONOUGH CINDY GILLIES KLAUS SHILLER JOHN GAUDET, RCMP-GRC AL ANDERSON EVA CANDELARO/ FROSCH ENTERTAINMENT WWW.GAYCANUCK.NET LANNY WILLIAMSON THE FOLKS AT INDIEGOGO CHRIS PEREZ / DONALDSON-CALLIF LAW FIRM IAN COOPER MATT JACOBS RSA CAA WRITERS GUILD OF CANADA AMERICAN FEDERATION OF MUSICIANS OF THE UNITED STATES & CANADA ACTRA PERFORMERS’ RIGHTS SOCIETY CANADA
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Produced in association with The Movie Network,.
a division of Bell Media, Inc
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©2015 All Rights Reserved History of Canadian Humour, Inc. Amaze Film + Television GRAiNEY PICTURES, Inc.