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CONTENTS WINTER 20201414

Supersized strategies: Media cos are exploring new frontiers in the hunt for consumer loyalty 16

Faded glory: The fate of fi lm in a digital world 24 Humanitarian Award: Paul Haggis on building hope for Haiti 45

20 Not just for laughs: Showrunners weigh in on the state of comedy ON THE COVER

New in screens 8 Media company of the year 28 Key exec moves, changing viewer habits and goes multinational milestones in Canadian fi lm and TV Producer of the year 22 Programmer profi le: DHX 12 Paperny Entertainment’s “extreme” strategy Michael Goldsmith on pushing the boundaries of kids programming Channel of the year 30 Discovery Canada’s winning approach Mohawk Girls 15 Talking “Sex and the City, Mohawk-style” Directors of the year 34 with Xavier Dolan and Michael Dowse make waves in 2014 Person of the year 26 Our Winter 2014 cover Barbara Williams takes the spotlight Shows of the year 38 features Barbara Williams, at the helm of Shaw Media Vikings battles its way to the top, while CTV EVP broadcasting and and Proper Television cook up a hit president of Shaw Media. It was shot by Doug Forster on the set of Global TV medical drama Remedy.

3

003_Contents.indd 3 2014-11-13 5:28 PM EDITORIAL PUBLISHER Mary Maddever [email protected]

CONTENT DIRECTOR & EDITOR Katie Bailey [email protected]

NEWS EDITOR Julianna Cummins [email protected]

CONTRIBUTORS Carrie Cutforth, Mark Dillon, Thom Ernst, Amber Dowling, Josh Kolm, Nick Krewen, Val Maloney, Sean Patrick O’Reilly, Etan Vlessing

BRUNICO CREATIVE ART DIRECTOR Andrew Glowala [email protected]

PRODUCTION & DISTRIBUTION SUPERVISOR Did we really talk TV? Robert Lines [email protected] IS THIS THE YEAR TV TIPPED? Every year for game-changing nonetheless. And frankly, as large and ADVERTISING SALES (416) 408-2300 Playback’s Winter issue, we go back and pick standout unwieldy as Canada’s largest broadcasters are, they’ve FAX (416) 408-0870 people, companies and things from the past year. I’m got billions on the line and the motivation to keep them. 1-888-278-6426 proud of our list this year: it features a breadth of Meanwhile newer players, like our Media SALES SUPERVISOR Neil Ewen strategy and personalities tackling the changing nature Company of the Year Blue Ant Media, are proving that [email protected] of our business with passion, savvy and courage. being small and nimble (and well fi nanced) means ACCOUNT MANAGER But on the TV side, the anxiousness of uncertainty being able to adapt in real-time to the changes taking Kelly Nicholls hangs over almost every conversation. place. Maybe this means we’ll see more indies pop up [email protected] Yes, we “talked TV” this year. Everyone got in the after years of consolidation. BRUNICO AUDIENCE SERVICES MANAGER room and discussed the ways in which our regulatory Let’s Talk TV might have brought the media Christine McNalley system might change to refl ect the forces driving the conversation to the mainstream, but consumers [email protected] industry, from consumer expectations to the more largely have no idea what genre protection is, or ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENT AND CEO arcane nitty-gritty that forms the backbone of Canadian how it infl uences what they watch. And they don’t Russell Goldstein broadcasting (that’s you, linkage ratios). understand why M3 continues to show music videos [email protected] But sometimes it felt like we were missing the point. when no one watches them on TV anymore. Maybe VP AND CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER Omri Tintpulver Even as we talked, change continued to surge past the they don’t even understand why M3 exists at all. I’m [email protected] conversation. Every minute, consumers forge new neural not sure that has changed even with the headlines the VP AND EDITORIAL DIRECTOR pathways that make them intolerant of traditional TV hearings generated. Mary Maddever commercials, impatient of linear programming menus What they do know is that they like shows and they [email protected] VP ADMINISTRATION AND FINANCE and weary of the 500-channel universe. don’t particularly care what channel provides them. Linda Lovegrove “The tipping point is that magic moment when an And they like to watch those shows however it suits [email protected] idea, trend, or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips, them. That’s pretty much the sum extent of it. VP AND PUBLISHER, REALSCREEN Claire Macdonald and spreads like wildfi re,” one-man Canadian think Thanks to a myriad of forces, Canadians have been [email protected] tank Malcolm Gladwell famously wrote 15 years ago. making, and partnering to make, some great TV in recent VP AND PUBLISHER, KIDSCREEN I think we’re there. When Netfl ix told the CRTC it years, some of the best we’ve ever seen. I now often Jocelyn Christie simply didn’t care whether or not its voice was heard in (thrillingly) see people watching Canadian shows and [email protected] fi lms on planes, the unoffi cial test labs of public choice. Playback is published by the Let’s Talk TV hearings, it refl ected the broader reality Brunico Communications Ltd., of a shift in media consumption that has surpassed any Making those shows isn’t easy – it requires 366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 100, , , Canada M5V 1R9 one nation’s regulator’s ability to control it. infrastructure and support. Series don’t promote (416) 408-2300; FAX: (416) 408-0870 The ingrained behaviours that have guided media themselves. Development is not free. Not suff ocating Web address: www.playbackonline.ca Editorial e-mail: [email protected], consumption have fundamentally changed. Linear under the weight of the U.S. culture machine requires [email protected] Sales e-mail: [email protected] consumption habits are slipping away. Random-access defences. And talent above and below the line needs Sales FAX: (416) 408-0870 consumption is becoming the new habit. nourishment and opportunities to grow and to stay. © 2014 Brunico Communications Ltd. Is this a bad thing? There’s no doubt it will All of this is at stake as the media and regulatory All rights reserved. Printed in Canada. change how Canadian broadcasters and independent environment transform at an unprecedented rate. Canadian Postmaster, send producers do business. Pick and pay, whatever I hope that this year, our Best of the Year profi les undeliverables and address changes to: Playback PO BOX 369 form it takes, will have an impact in how revenue aren’t just an interesting recap of the people and Beeton ON, L0G 1A0 changes hands between Canadians, broadcasters and businesses with whom you work or compete. I hope U.S. Postmaster, send undeliverables and address changes to: the indies. It’s going to require substantial change that you fi nd inspiration in them and the confi dence to Playback PO BOX 1103, Niagara Falls NY, 14304 in strategy for many; not all channels and not all change, adapt and continue to do work that – whether [email protected] businesses will make it through. they know not it or not – does matter to Canadians. Canada Post Agreement No. But as our Person of the Year Barb Williams notes, 40050265. ISSN: 0836-2114 Printed in Canada. this isn’t the fi rst time that the television industry has Katie Bailey undergone massive change. Maybe not this massive, but Content director & editor, Playback

4 WINTER 2014

004_Editorial.indd 4 2014-11-13 5:39 PM You entertain. We promote.

We’re better together. We help Canadian creators and producers reach the world. The Canada Media Fund is dedicated to funding exceptional Canadian content, providing vital industry research, and promoting what is uniquely ours, here, and abroad. Together, we can entertain the world. cmf-fmc.ca Visit canadaonscreen.ca to view great Canadian productions.

Join the conversation on Canadian content #eyeoncanada

PB.25741.CMF.indd 5 2014-11-12 3:45 PM PUBLISHER’S NOTE

2015 Wishlist THIS IS THE BEST ISSUE OF THE YEAR. It’s a chance to get a And to kickstart some fresh-thinking resolutions for 2015, Playback directional snapshot of savvy strategies for 2015 and beyond. asked what the most important shifts were this year, and called for With change constantly rewiring the industry, prepping for the impact predictions on what’s critical for the industry to get right next year (and of trends becomes that much more crucial – and challenging. Curiously beyond). So here’s a wishlist from all corners of the Playback universe . . . (but not surprising), a lot of the issues impacting brands and advertisers Canadian tech expert James Stewart of Geneva Co. wants you – from big data and tech’s impact on consumers, to the role of branded to create new worlds in new dimensions: “Just as mobile has become content – are also key to the Playback audience. the new web, by the end of 2015, VR will be front and center as the new Those themes kept popping up during Ad Week in New York last platform for visual content – not just a transformative headset but an month, and the recurring advice was be brave, innovate like there’s no immersive form of communication that is platform agnostic. If you tomorrow – embrace failure as valuable learning – and rethink everything haven’t seen Oculus Rift, Google it.” you do from the POV of consumers. In his closing keynote at the IAB’s marblemedia Co-CEO & exec producer Mark Bishop names OTT as MIXX event, Kevin Spacey said that since tech has given audiences more the big change agent – citing Netfl ix growth, the launch of and Bell control over what they consume, we need more creative courage to break Media’s “Project Latte” – and sees evolving biz models as the challenge: through. He cited House of Cards, saying that in the new content spaces, “These developments are very exciting, but it’s important for these new creatives have more control than ever before. platforms to invest in original Canadian With hits now coming from braver, non- content. It’s equally important for Canadian formulaic concepts – and the fact that “anyone producers to be proactive about fi nding ways with internet access and an idea can have an to collaborate with broadcasters and redefi ne audience” – he advocates more mold-breaking. how old and new models can work together.” “We must make no assumptions about what The important shift identifi ed by viewers want. The more we try new things, the Telefi lm’s Carolle Brabant is how fi lms are more we learn about our audience.” consumed. Based on Telefi lm’s consumer Noting that the tech is there to create virtual research, over 75% of fi lms viewed by worlds, Spacey sees an increased urgency to Canadians are now watched at home, engage with consumers one on one in their own Microsoft brought its Garage experience to Ad Week making TV by far the most widely used time and own space. He added the caveat: “You to share the spirit of innovation articulated in this platform for fi lms, with streaming next Cult of Done Manifesto from Bre Petti have to be willing to fail and trust that it will in line. That changes the playing fi eld. lead to the right thing. Because that’s how you know when you get it right.” Her wish for 2015? “That Canada becomes the world’s most prolifi c But how do you do that? How do you get past your proscenium arch producer and promoter of independent cinema.” frame of reference and truly use all the new tools in new ways? As to how to make that happen, TIFF director and CEO Piers Some companies are investing in developing a hacker/maker internal Handling prescribes unique stand-out fare. “Canadian fi lmmakers need culture to spur innovation. Even Microsoft, a company whose focus is to continue to take more risks, be adventuresome – and daring. When new ways for people to engage with content, created a Garage program they do sparks are ignited and the world takes notice.” to give staff ers an entrée to the DIY world (hearkening back to Bill Gates Maria Topalovich, who heads up the Screen Composers Guild, sums origins), encouraging them to work with entrepreneurs, and to solve up the biggest challenge for success across the board as collaboration: problems that fall far beyond their business remit. One Garage outcome “What we need to understand is that all stakeholders – creators, inspired by Steve Gleason, a former NFL player diagnosed with ALS, was publishers, producers, broadcasters, ISP’s and government – live in created by the Ability eyegaze ‘hack’ team who worked with Surface Pro an ecosystem and rely on each other. We must fi nd a way to create a 3 and “Tobii” eyetracking to speed up Steve’s ability to type using his eyes, sustainable and fair environment for us all to thrive.” and ultimately, move his wheelchair across the room. Playback’s goal is to provide the intel to help navigate that. So be in In this issue, you’ll read how Canadian companies are prepping for the touch with what’s important to you, and come be part of AToMiC and new content spaces by hedging bets across multiple platforms, leveraging BCON Expo to expand your innovation and partnering strategies. existing resources to develop new strategies, try new things and iterate Cheers, mm their way towards future audiences. Mary Maddever, publisher, Playback

6 WINTER 2014

006_PublisherPage.indd 6 2014-11-14 2:27 PM ®

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PB.25745.subscription.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:24 AM EXECUTIVE SHUFFLE Moves that matter Four executive hires set to infl uence the indie production sector

Vibika Bianchi Was: VP original programming, women and family’s television at Corus Groundswell: Is now: Toronto-based SVP of Force Four Entertainment calls for gender equality grow Why it matters: Bianchi has been the face of The dearth of women in Canadian media boardrooms, writing rooms and other Corus’ female-focused original programming for industry professions and has been discussed at length over the years, but this fall, there 10 years. Her departure means a changing of the was a groundswell of action. guard for the many producers who have worked In October, a resolution was passed at the World Conference of Screenwriters in with her over the years and are no doubt curious Poland to call on the television industry for greater gender equality. The resolution, to see who will fi ll her shoes. presented by the Writers Guild of Canada president Jill Golick and adopted unanimously, asked industry members to set a goal in their jurisdiction of having 50% of scripts written by women. Trevor Hodgson Following that, the St. John’s Summit on Women in Media, hosted by the St. John’s Was: VP business affairs at International Women’s Film Festival, issued a formal list of recommendations, including Paperny Entertainment the institution of government policy and regulation, to increase the presence of Is now: COO at Lark Productions women on Canadian screens. Why it matters: Hodgson will oversee all of the And fi nally, the business side of the industry responded with its own call on Nov. business and legal affairs of Lark Productions. 12. Canada’s Women in Communication and Technology announced a new project With NBCUniversal taking a minority stake in designed to foster female leadership in Canada’s communications, media and Lark this January, Hodgson now has a direct line technology sectors. Called “The Protégé Project,” the program will match promising to big-broadcaster relationships in the U.S. female execs with industry “sponsors” who can fast-track their careers. Media industry sponsors signed on for the program’s launch include: Wendy Freeman, president, CTV News; Raja Khanna, CEO TV & digital, Blue Ant Media; Laura Pearce Jean LaRose, CEO, Aboriginal Peoples Television Network and Jim Little, CMO, Shaw Was: Director of marketing and Communications. The program’s fi rst cohort will be revealed in January 2015. communications, AOL Is now: VP, brand strategy and fan engagement, Blue Ant Media Why it matters: With a skill set forged in the web-portal battlefi elds, Pearce is the right person to spearhead marketing efforts for Blue Ant Media’s consumer brands in Get your (freemium) game on Canada and internationally. According to a new report from the Canadian Interactive Alliance (CIA), the most optimal route to revenue generation in digital media (specifi cally games) is via the “freemium” model. In this model, a product is off ered for free and users have the opportunity to up Liliana Vogt their game, so to speak, with incremental in-game purchases. According to the CIA, the Was: VP development at 9 opportunity for Canadian content creators is real: Canada, it says, ranks sixth among the Story Media Group (née 9 Story countries with the most transactions for game purchases Entertainment) and ranks fourth for average amount spent per gamer. Is now: SVP content at Portfolio Entertainment Although the report specifi ed games, Canadian digital Why it matters: Vogt will oversee content content producers have also dabbled in the freemium model: development for Portfolio’s growing kids and Smokebomb’s transmedia property State of Syn included a primetime production slate, a fi eld that seems to freemium game, as did Mosaic Entertainment’s transmedia IP have almost endless possibilities as kid-focused Kitten Assassin. With licence fees for not exactly SVOD and VOD services sprout up like crazy. the motherlode (yet), Canadian content producers might want to take heed. – Katie Bailey, with fi les from Etan Vlessing

8 WINTER 2014

008_009_Spread.indd 8 2014-11-13 5:43 PM Photo: Jag Gundu How Canadians fi nd and watch . According to new research from Telefi lm Canada, producers should spend less time on social media and more time making a bang-up trailer for their fi lm. The fi nancier’s latest research indicates that trailers are the number one way Canadians discover the movies they pay to see. “If a producer has just one means to promote a movie – the trailer should be the priority.” Once it’s out there, this is how Canadians are watching: TV On Monday Nov. 3, Shaftesbury’s joined an exclusive club with the airing of its 100th episode on CBC, a feat it celebrated with cake, a public screening and over 700 fans. The series, now in its eighth season, has the uncommon Live honour of having grown over its lengthy run, having switched on TV: in season six from the regional City network to the nationally 63% broadcast CBC. It now garners an average audience of 1.4 million people every week. Happy birthday, Murdoch.

DVD/Blu-Ray SCREENED (owned): 41% Film Several Canadian fi lms also hit milestones by passing the million- VOD or SVOD dollar mark at the Canadian box offi ce this fall. Metafi lms’ streaming: Mommy was just under $3 million by mid-November; Go Films’ 1987 was just behind at $2.34 million and 30% was sitting at $2.48 million. There were surprises: while Mommy cleared $700,000 in B.O. across 65 Quebec screens for its September opening week, David Cronenberg’s Maps to the Stars only netted $131,513 for its Oct. 31-Nov. 6 opener across 47 Canadian screens. (Data via MPTAC and Zoom Services) Cinema: 26%

VOD or PPV: 22%

On a mobile device: 17 %

WINTER 2014 9

008_009_Spread.indd 9 2014-11-13 5:43 PM INTERNATIONAL DEALS DHX pacts with China’s CNTV DHX Media partnered with China National Television (CNT) to launch a streaming service dedicated exclusively to DHX kids content. The content platform will offer VOD, AVOD and SVOD nationally in China. The as-yet-unnamed service will initially feature more than 700 hours of Mandarin-language New In … DHX kids programming. POST-PRODUCTION Savvy deals and eOne expands presence in Australia Deluxe invests in Atmos strategies is using its Hopscotch Films base This fall, Deluxe Toronto announced a new $1.5 million in Australia to expand into TV development and mixing stage with Canada’s fi rst cutting-edge Dolby production there. Jude Troy leads the new operation Atmos sound mixing tech. Described as “3D sound,” as EVP of TV development and acquisitions. Atmos allows fi lmmakers the freedom to place a specifi c Hopscotch Films has focused on releasing foreign sound in a specifi c speaker, as opposed to simply indie titles and local Australian content; the push into having a bank of sound coming from one direction. TV dramas comes as eOne amps up scripted fare for Most Cineplex theatres feature front speakers and 7.1 international exploitation. – Etan Vlessing or 9.1 surround sound, explains Dan McLellan, EVP of Deluxe Toronto, but Atmos-equipped Cineplex Canada, Brazil fi rm up ties UltraAVX theatres feature up to 10 additional speakers The CMPA and Brazil’s Interstate Association in the ceiling. “You’re completely immersed in sound, of Audiovisual Industry (SICAV) inked a new and the impact is quite dramatic,” he says. The “cooperation agreement” to further business downside to the tech is the extra time spent mixing relationships between the two countries. The aim is to the sound: a roughly 10 to 15% premium. “We bet on promote international coproductions and augments it because we’re anticipating it becoming cheaper and an earlier agreement between the CMF and Brazilian more effective for use in the home,” McLellan says. “We fi lm and TV fund SP Cine to offer nancingfi for Brazil- see it as a deliverable even for TV work.” – Mark Dillon Canada coproductions. – Julianna Cummins

10

010_NewIn.indd 10 2014-11-13 3:31 PM Crazy/Brilliant BY VAL MALONEY Five big ideas from the media business

Bleeding-edge TV’s red light district Be a fl asher Help Me Obi-Wan Hot frothy code names branded content The equivalent of the How’s this for a guerilla Kenobi Is using a code name for a Do vampires get periods? aquarium channel for indie-fi lm marketing tactic? Could in-home holograms major product launch crazy Not the most obvious query hockey fans, Budweiser Canadian startup MeU has fi nally be a reality? A or brilliant? What if that to base a web series on, but extended its hockey-themed launched an open-source company called Bleen is code name was inspired by clearly a compelling one media strategy into a wearable LED display that crowdfunding an in-home a milky beverage, and the for Kotex. The feminine channel takeover this fall lets users display any text, holograph projector product is an SVOD service? hygine brand fully fi nanced with the Bud Red Light image or pattern on textiles prototype that would put We can confi rm that Bell Carmilla (36 x 4-min) Channel. The dedicated via a full-colour 256-LED tech in living Media’s “Project Latte” produced by Toronto’s Rogers Ontario channel display. Users can manage rooms. The egg-shaped got tongues wagging in Smokebomb Entertainment displays game scores, stats the platform with an app device is a personal, portable the Brunico offi ces, where and agency shift2. Even and highlights to correspond that comes pre-loaded with 3D projection system that confused editors asked bolder, Kotex products are with live games. Even icons, animations and text. works without glasses and writers to please double- not featured in Carmilla. better, the company also Better yet, you don’t even the company says it will check their sources. How Rather, Kotex is promoted manufactured “Red Light” have to wear a dorky t-shirt, build an open-source library the “strategy” translated into in standalone spots airing on beer pitchers for sports bars because you can adapt MeU of content and apps to fuel it. consumer buzz is yet to be the series’ VervegirlTV page. that light up when goals are to almost anything, including (Also look up the awesomely seen...but if Second Cup isn’t How do you get you some scored. TV and beer were shirts, skirts or bags. Look named “Help Me Obi” on this as a launch partner of that, right? never so happy together. out, TIFF parties. art exhibit.) yet, that is crazy.

11

Congratulations Proud Andra on your of our induction to the CEO Playback Hall of Fame. Andra - new Hall of Your impact on Fame member and the industry is longtime industry immeasurable! builder!

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PB.25719.Bell.indd011_CrazyBrilliant.indd 11 11 2014-11-122014-11-13 3:493:36 PM PROGRAMMING PROFILE BY JULIANNA CUMMINS All in the Family The Canadian kids TV landscape is changing, and so are the kids watching it. Here’s how DHX plans to not only keep up, but stand out, with its new channels.

The kids TV entertainment landscape in Canada underwent a seismic shift Which DHX channels have the most in 2014 following Halifax-based DHX Media’s $170 million acquisition of opportunity for new original programming? Family Channel, Disney XD and the French and English Disney Junior XD is number one, Family is a close second, and channels from . Helming the channels’ content strategy throughout Junior – we have a lot in that pipeline. It’s not that we the change has been Michael Goldsmith, now DHX Television’s director of don’t want to make shows for Junior, but XD is an ad- supported channel, it’s growing and so are the ratings. original programming. In a 13-year career in TV production that has included People think it’s a boy’s channel, but we have both boys stints at and , Goldsmith has witnessed the biz’s ongoing and girls watching. There’s an opportunity to make transformation. But now that the way kids watch TV is evolving as fast as what new shows that complement the great animation and they watch – and with pick-and-pay potentially ahead – he and his team are live action that Disney is giving us, but separate us from rethinking what it means to entertain kids today. YTV and Teletoon.

What is your programming strategy How so? for Family and the Disney channels? Disney’s done a really good job with live-action and The paradigm shift for us is to not always be thinking animated character-based comedy. Shows like Phineas about “kids” programming – we’re just trying to and Ferb and Gravity Falls set the bar really high for make great shows that are appropriate for children. animation, and we’re looking to build shows that would There’s a sameness that comes into play with kids sit nicely beside those two shows. One way to look at programming – similar leads, treatment of parents and it is [shows that are] inspired by Gravity Falls and The similar situations. We need to create safe programming, Simpsons – not all farts and burps. While that can work but we’re now asking producers, how can we create really well with kids, we can do things diff erently. a diff erent experience for that nine- or 10-year-old watching Family Channel? We’re also gearing up to What do you like to hear in a pitch? license more shows for XD, because that’s an ad-based We look for a very basic story idea – how the show channel. We’re starting to create more Canadian would play out over fi rst season and second season. The content for that. We’re also still looking for [what] The most important thing is the character development. Next Step did for Family Channel: what’s that event We have a very impressionable audience, so we want to show for XD? make sure we’re entertaining them and helping them to dream. Good role models and interesting characters What are you looking for in those shows? are really important to us, and so are good production We need to think diff erently about how we make kids partners. How do we make a show look as great as the laugh and how we entertain kids. The Gaming Show shows being acquired? (In My Parents’ Garage) is a really good example of us trying something new for XD. We found that gaming What do you not want to be pitched any more of? was a huge interest for the XD audience [so] we We’re not doing animation for Family Channel. On the approached the producer [B-Minors, prodco Banger XD side, the fantasy/boys action is a little lower on Films’ kids divison] and said, how do we make a show our list right now. We’re really focusing on comedy or about gaming? What does that show look like, and serialized live action. We’re very happy to see more live how do we combine fi eld segments with comedy and action pitches for tweens. We’re not getting as many as YouTube celebrities? I think we’ve ended up with I think we need and we’re trying to develop some ideas something that’s really interesting and fun and new. to bring them out into the production community.

12 WINTER 2014

012_ProgrammingProfile.indd 12 2014-11-13 3:36 PM Seventeen years strong, the Realscreen Summit is the most important Washington Hilton global non-fi ction fi lm January 27-30, 2015 and television industry event. Over 2,500 delegates will attend this year.

Keynote Panel: Change is Good? We now fi nd ourselves in a world where “fl at is the new up”, where cord cutters and cord nevers are growing in number, and little ol’ super-indies are Thom Beers Alan Braun Kathleen Finch becoming broadcaster-owned mega-indies. What CEO Agent President does all this change mean for content creators, FremantleMedia North CAA HGTV, DIY Network America and Great American programmers and distributors? Country In a session that could be subtitled “How I Learned to Love Disruption”, top level executives will weigh in on how the major disruptors impacting the unscripted industry (and beyond) are shaping their strategies, and debate and discuss the new visions that will innovate and Marc Juris Ivana Kirkbride President & General Head of Unscripted invigorate the content industry. Manager YouTube Originals WEtv

Marquee sponsorDiamond sponsor Sapphire sponsors Platinum sponsors

Gold sponsors Silver sponsors Offi cial Delegation

TO REGISTER GO TO SUMMIT.REALSCREEN.COM OR CALL JOEL PINTO AT 416-408-2300 X650

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E D

A/ Sarah Fowlie, director, independent production – comedy at Bell Media and 5 to Watch (52W)’s Rupinder Gill, writer B/ 52W’s Melissa Williamson, head of development, Pier 21 and Abby Ho, interactive producer, CBC C/ Marguerite Pigott, VP outreach and strategic initiatives, CMPA D/ 52W’s Ho, Gill, Williamson and Sarah Allen (actor) E/ Helen Asimakis, senior director, drama at CBC; Kathryn Emslie, chief programs offi cer, CFC and Katie Bailey, editor and content director, Playback F/ Allen (middle) with directors Ruba Nadda (left) and Neil Tabatznik (right) G/ Slawko Klymkiw, CEO, CFC and Tara Ellis, senior director, original drama content, Shaw Media. (Not in attendance: 2014 52W nominee Jeff Chan.) 14 WINTER 2014

014_5toWatchLunch.indd 14 2014-11-13 3:37 PM Mohawk Girls eyes int’l audience Young, female- CANADA’S ABORIGINAL PRODUCTION INDUSTRY IS FIRING ON ALL CYLINDERS THESE focused comedy DAYS – momentum that Montreal-based Rezolution is a hot property Pictures’ Mohawk Girls experienced fi rst-hand with a right now – successful debut at MIPCOM this year. ethnicity is a focus of the series, Lolato notes the characters’ The 13 x 30-minute dramatic comedy series, which experiences are universal. It was exactly the kind of content which is why premiered on OMNI 1 on Sunday, Nov. 23 and APTN on the company wanted in its catalogue. L.A.-based GRB Tuesday, Nov. 25, travelled to Cannes this year with its The goal of the series is to represent the everyday lives Entertainment international distributor, L.A.-based GRB Entertainment. of young women while incorporating life in a Mohawk Mohawk Girls was one of the distributor’s top-three most- community, says creator, director and EP . has high hopes requested screeners of the festival, says Michael Lolato, “I really hope that people can take a look and see that for Rezolution SVP of international distribution for GRB, noting that these are stories about women – four iconic characters we Pictures’ negotiations for sales of the series are ongoing. can all relate to,” Deer said, whose credits include doc Club “It taps into that young female element, and that seems Native and a Mohawk Girls doc that inspired the series. Past Mohawk Girls. to be resonating no matter what country you’re coming Rezolution projects include docs and Rumble.

BY JULIANNA CUMMINS from,” Lolato says. “’Their tagline of ‘Sex in the City, Deer hopes that Mohawk Girls’ light-hearted attitude Mohawk-style!’ is exactly what it is.” can help it cross borders in ways that heavier dramas, Shot on location in Montreal and Quebec’s like Prairie Dog Film + Television’s Blackstone or Big Mohawk Territory, the series had a budget of about $7.9 Soul Productions’ Moccasin Flats, can sometimes have a million and received funding from the Canada Media tougher time doing. Fund. It follows the stories of four young Mohawk women “Those are very authentic stories about realities we navigating modern life while trying to maintain the face [but] they are very heavy,” Deer says. “Our reality is traditions of their communities. But while the women’s not solely dark.”

15

FALL 2014 15

015_MohawkGirls.indd 15 2014-11-13 3:37 PM Supersize my… ... media company

How major players are hedging against viewer fragmentation by using scale to corner technology surged past print publishing, so did Vice high-value audiences. Media, launching a raft of digital channels in 2012, a news magazine show for HBO in 2013 and attracting a $250 million investment from A+E Networks in 2014. But the partnership with Rogers is its biggest play to date, and is indicative of the deals companies must be now prepared to bankroll to gain traction in today’s globalized media environment. Because while ‘90s Vice wanted to own the loyalty of young male magazine readers, 2014’s Vice Media wants to own the 18-34-year-old demo completely. Globally. In Rogers, Vice found a willing partner with all the attributes it needed: a diversifi ed media company with the reach, strategy and tools to make the vision come to life. Most importantly, Rogers needed and badly wanted to access the millennial audience Vice owns. Millennials, of course, are the unicorns of the media world: mythical, unpredictable and seemingly impossible to capture. Rogers Communications’ SVP of content David Purdy said as much at June’s Banff World Media Festival this year. “We’re desperately looking for ways to make our products relevant for 15-to-25- year-olds,” he said during a panel. “That’s the most-scary area.” The Vice deal builds on Rogers’ $5.2 billion acquisition of national NHL broadcast rights in 2013. In both cases, Rogers’ motivation went beyond simply acquiring the rights to, or right to access, a piece of business it deemed lucrative. In both cases, it was buying whole audiences intact; audiences it could use to fi ll its sales funnel across its stable of media properties. IN THE ’90S, VICE MAGAZINE’S GRANDEST The globalized media business increasingly AMBITION, IT SEEMED, WAS TO SEE HOW FAR requires scale in order to compete. Consumers know IT COULD GO TO GROSS OUT/SHOCK/TITILLATE no boundaries in how they consume and increasingly, AUDIENCES as it pursued a unique brand of irreverent corporate strategies have to refl ect that. youth-focused journalism. Take Lionsgate, the Vancouver-based mini-major. For

Vice Media CEO Shane Smith That, to put it mildly, has changed. the past two years, it has built a diverse portfolio of media on location in Greenland In late October, the now-global media company assets so it can pivot easily between platforms and move for Vice’s self-titled HBO news magazine series announced a $100 million joint venture with Rogers its IP where it needs to be for success. Communications that will see it set up a “state-of-the-art To produce content for this new world, it pays to production facility” to produce content to feed a specialty understand the approach these vertically integrated TV channel, mobile spin-off channel and digital verticals. media cos are taking to content ownership and When Vice launched in Montreal 20 years ago, the distribution. Here’s a look at how Rogers and Lionsgate edgy zine-style magazine was unique. Surprisingly, it are supersizing their media strategies to meet the next grew quickly, expanding into the U.S. and beyond. As generation of media consumers at every turn. – Katie Bailey

16 WINTER 2014

016to019_Supersize.indd 16 2014-11-14 2:43 PM ... sports strategy How Rogers is using hockey to score loyalty with Canadian consumers

BY JOSH KOLM

THE STORY OF SCALE IN CANADIAN MEDIA in wireless and cable and broadcast and magazines, FOR THE PAST DECADE HAS BEEN ONE OF and focused it solely on the NHL,” says Brian Cooper, VERTICAL INTEGRATION. president of S&E Sponsorship Group, which has helped But that story changed in late 2013 when Rogers negotiate sponsorships for clients including Communications paid $5.2 billion to acquire exclusive and Boston Pizza. national NHL broadcast rights in Canada for the next That’s just one half of the equation. Using Canada’s 12 seasons. most popular pastime as a gateway drug is the other. Consumers were confused: what about Hockey As CBC trumpeted during the 2014 Sochi Olympics, Night in Canada? Indie producers had concerns: where huge spend on one property is the opportunity to would original programming fi t in amongst all that NHL promote all the others you already own. Tuning into content? Media buyers and advertisers worried: $5.2 City to watch the new ? Here’s billion was a lot of money to recoup and the company that a sizzle of the latest FX programming. Buy a Rogers owed it also controlled the pricing for one of Canada’s mobile plan to access NHL GamePlus and the exclusive most valuable primetime properties. add-on in-game camera angles? Here’s a bundle promo Through that narrow window was how Rogers fi rst rate for shomi and The Hockey News. Pick up the latest viewed the opportunity too, says Scott Moore, president of copy of Flare to check out the hockey-themed fashion and NHL properties at Rogers Media. spread? Add a subscription to your cable bill for $1. You “When we fi rst did the deal, we looked at it through get the picture. a media lens and how we traditionally do media rights “[Hockey] elevates the City brand and the promotion deals,” he says. “But when [Rogers CEO] Guy Laurence abilities that City has,” Keith Pelley, president, Rogers came in, we broadened our view as to how we could use Media, said in an interview with Playback. the deal from an overall Rogers standpoint. That made it a If early television ratings are any indication of bigger opportunity and lessened the risk.” audience potential, the play is looking good. The season’s Laurence – an ex-Vodaphone exec who in October fi rst Hockey Night in Canada broadcast brought in 3.5 publically called Bell Media a “cry baby” for lodging an million viewers, a record for a home opener. The fi rst NHL-related complaint against Rogers to the CRTC – night of Rogers Hometown Hockey drew just under 1.1 pointed to Rogers’ opportunity to use the NHL not just for million viewers, the third-highest Sunday-night audience its TV business, but to bolster its entire portfolio. in City’s history. The fi rst Hometown Hockey live tour While City airs Rogers Hometown Hockey, OMNI stop attracted more than 8,000 people in London, ON and features Hockey Night in Canada: Punjabi Edition and viewership on digital streaming service GameCentre Live Sportsnet handles the overfl ow, doubling the amount of is up 400% over 2013. Hockey Night in Canada games on Saturday nights, NHL Moore says that the NHL, combined with other long- content is also promoted across Rogers’ radio stations, term sports properties like the Toronto Blue Jays, has its magazines, and to its wireless and internet customers put Sportsnet ahead of TSN as the top sports network with exclusive content. in Canada, a far cry from 15 years ago when Bell’s sports “There’s been more buzz about the season opening network would have an audience three times the size. than ever before because Rogers is using its strength And that, in a nutshell, is what scale can buy.

WINTER 2014 17

016to019_Supersize.indd 17 2014-11-13 5:30 PM ... production company

Canada’s mini-major is using a combination of scale and strategic agility to fuel its growth in a fast-changing media landscape.

BY ETAN VLESSING

LAST SEPTEMBER, AS MOVIE STARS FILLED On the ground, this has seen the company embark DOWNTOWN HOTELS AND CINEMAS DURING on a global strategy that includes a partnership with THE TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM China heavyweight Alibaba Group for a Chinese FESTIVAL, JON FELTHEIMER DELIVERED A SVOD service that will pipeline Lionsgate fare such as PEP TALK to shareholders on his next big step in Twilight and Mad Men into Asian set-top boxes. The The Hunger Games franchise continues to underpin Lionsgate’s delivering video content. company has also made signifi cant moves into video growth strategy and will soon “I know it’s making a lot of people in our industry gaming and has plans for a Hunger Games theme park, be expanded to a live stage performance and travelling exhibition nervous,” the Lionsgate CEO told investors wary travelling exhibition and live stage production. about a fast-changing global entertainment business Feeding the millennial-dominated MCN world will amid Hollywood’s worst summer at the box offi ce in a be its production deal with YouTube star-powered decade. “But at Lionsgate we see these changes as an Rocket Jump studios and taking it into new M&L opportunity to reap the benefi ts of being a disruptive territory is a Power Rangers collaboration with Saban company in a disruptive industry,” he added. Brands that will see a new Rangers movie franchise What exactly happened in the lead-up to Lionsgate’s launch globally. annual shareholders meeting that allowed Feltheimer Those deals, and more, pointed in 2014 to Lionsgate’s to assure investors he could see the future of emergence as a multi-faceted media company. entertainment and bring his company through it? “We have the scale and capital to do pretty much It had been around 18 months since Lionsgate bought anything we want, but the fl exibility to move quickly Twilight studio Summit Entertainment for $412.5 million and take advantage of things like [feature fi lm] John to bring together two indie studios and their labels. Wick, which came to us 11 weeks ago and turned into a Feltheimer promised the Summit deal was part of a long- hit,” Feltheimer told investors this November. “We have term growth strategy to build a diversifi ed global media content for every buyer that’s out there.” company by dominating the YA movie market with the As the mini-studio moves quickly to target an Hunger Games and Twilight franchises, strengthen its expanding array of digital platforms well beyond the global distribution infrastructure and diversify into TV traditional confi nes of the North American multiplex series and digital content to be delivered over SVODs and TV set, Lionsgate also recently relocated its and multi-channel networks. international sales arm to London.

18 WINTER 2014

016to019_Supersize.indd 18 2014-11-13 5:30 PM PB.25620.CFC.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:27 AM The move to create a UK sales hub is aimed at “The likely performance of [the last scheduled giving the Canadian-based company more heft as it Hunger Games fi lm, Mockingjay 2] doesn’t change our gets closer to world markets. It’s also strengthened its worries about Lionsgate’s ability to maintain earnings global reach by creating an international distribution growth once the Hunger Games franchise’s contribution network, forging new and expanded movie output to earnings begins to diminish in full-year 2017,” Doug agreements with Studiocanal and Tele Munchen Group Creutz, an entertainment analyst with Cowen and Co, in Germany, Roadshow Pictures in Australia, Nordisk warned in a recent investors note. Film in Scandinavia, Belga Films in Benelux and Italy’s Hence the diversifi cation, which aims to help Leone Film Group. Lionsgate maintain earnings and revenue momentum What do investors think? “With content from new and existing franchises, as well as signifi cant television and digital deals on the horizon, we “ At Lionsgate we see these continue to like the momentum we see changes as an opportunity at Lionsgate,” RBC Dominion Securities analyst David Bank told investors in a to reap the benefi ts of being recent note. “Lionsgate should also see a disruptive company in a the benefi t of its growth in scale, which will provide more leverage on fi xed costs, disruptive industry.” and allow it to realize other economies of – Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer scale,” he added. But while Lionsgate is riding high on its Hunger Games, Twilight and Divergent movie after 2016. The mini-studio’s strategy should see franchises – each moving through diff erent post- the backend of Mockingjay 2, additional Divergent theatrical and theatrical windows – all good things installments, a possible Hunger Games prequel and must come to an end. continuing growth in the TV division, underpin the push And blockbuster YA franchises are hard to replace in for growth for scale. a hit-or-miss movie business. Until then, let the odds be ever in their favour.

19

WINTER 2014 19

016to019_Supersize.indd 19 2014-11-13 5:30 PM PB.25620.CFC.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:27 AM Canadian comedy: not just for laughs Canadians have an international reputation for funny, but making TV comedies click with audiences is no joke. We dig into the curious conundrum of the Canadian TV comedy with the help of some of the genre’s top showrunners.

BY AMBAMBERER DOWLING

WHEN WORK, THEY CAN BE A dozens of pilots every year in the hopes that one GOLDMINE. Reruns! Simulcast! Worldwide sales! Modern Family emerges. In Canada, where budgets (And hey, maybe a future feature fi lm.) are tighter and capacity for risk lower, all the comedy Finding that nugget of sweet success though, is eggs tend to go in one or two baskets. no laughing matter. Working the Engels exec producer Noreen Looking at last year’s crop of Canadian comedy, Halpern, president, Halfi re Entertainment, says it’s easy to get disheartened. NBC-Global TV copro that although she’s found broadcasters risk-averse Working the Engels lasted but one season. City’s Seed regarding comedies, she senses a shifting attitude only lasted two episodes on U.S. net The CW, ending toward quality over quantity, which is good news its run on both sides of the border. Season 3 of City’s for producers. Still, Project 10 partner Andrew Package Deal looks unlikely. and Less Barnsley says, even with a greenlight, ancillary Than Kind have both wrapped after four-season runs. revenue opportunities are another obstacle. But step back and the picture brightens: CBC’s “One of the problems we still hear from upcoming Schitt’s Creek landed a U.S. broadcaster distributors [and] international partners is that (CBS specialty Pop) and its Mr. D will kick off its comedy doesn’t travel. That’s really tricky when the fi rst coproduced season with City midseason. Also rest of the television industry has shifted to a more ahead on City will be SEVEN24 Films and Accent global and international model,” he notes. Entertainment’s Young Drunk Punk and Counterfeit There’s no easy answer to increasing the Pictures and Buff alo Gal Pictures’ Sunnyside. Spun success rate for comedies, Canadian or not. But Out will be back (narrowly). and Trailer we’re giving it a shot anyway. In the pages ahead Park Boys both hit the big screen. is a panel of Canada’s top comedy showrunners, So how does one win with comedy? In the U.S., weighing in on what’s working for the genre, it’s a numbers game. Nets develop and commission what’s not and what’s ahead.

20 WINTER 2014

020to022_Comedy.indd 20 2014-11-14 2:36 PM The Comedy Showrunner Survey Taking Canada’s TV Why haven’t we had any breakout comedic successes over the past few years? comedy pulse Paul Mather: Most things don’t work. If we did more things, we’d have more that worked. I’m not convinced our strikeout rate is worse than anybody else’s. By contrast we with some of seem to be doing well with hour-longs right now – I think that’s because they sell better today’s top internationally, so there’s more of an incentive for the broadcaster to really buy in and showrunners more time for a show to fi nd legs. Brent Piaskoski: Comedy is just really hard. In Canada even though we have great comic actors from Second City, stand-up and sketch, it’s not always an easy transition into a . I don’t want to be as bold to say that comedy is harder to write. However, a comedy will get judged harder because you are trying to be funny every few lines. If you’re not, it shows. The main reason is we still just don’t do enough comedies. Sheri Elwood: I guess this depends on your notion of breakout success. There have been Jeff Biederman (Spun Out) a few great examples of Canadian comedies travelling internationally, making a profi t and garnering critical acclaim. Slings and Arrows. . . Call Me Fitz... I think one reason we don’t make as much of a splash in the U.S. or U.K. has to do with the fact that Americans make great comedic products on their own, as do the Brits. They simply don’t need us as much as we need them. And because of our subsidized fi nancing, there is no real fi nancial incentive to acquire our ready-produced shows Brent Butt (Corner Gas) because back-end participation is limited.

Should we continue to invest in multi-cams in Canada? Andrew Orenstein: Of course. Partly because I have a multi-camera show, but also I think it is a terrifi c medium that’s under-used in Canada. Some of the best and most- Sheri Elwood (Call Me Fitz) watched shows are multi-camera, but for some reason Canada doesn’t have a deep history of doing them. I think they make a lot of sense fi nancially – standing sets used over time are more cost eff ective than fi lming outside in the snow – but also creatively. When sitcoms work, there’s nothing better. Mather: I think it’s a mistake to write off any genre. In fact, multi-cams make a lot of sense in Canada – I’m not a line producer but shooting a show in one night should be Mark Farrell (Seed) cheaper than employing a crew for fi ve days to shoot the same half-hour. If a Canadian network had more than one multi-cam, they could use the same crew on each and save even more money, but now we’re into science fi ction. Jeff Biederman: Of course. Multicams can be cost eff ective and profi table and a great outlet and experience for comedic writers, directors and performers in this country. And you can and should be shooting them year-round, regardless of weather. Katie Ford (Working the Engels) Elwood: At risk of being slaughtered with a rubber chicken...my gut says no. With only so many dollars, we need to stick to what we do well, or have the potential to do well – take The CBC-commissioned comedy Schitt’s Creek risks and avoid perceived copycat syndrome. Truth: a few shows are forging ground here, was created by and stars but it’s a tough slog...there’s simply a too dense multi-cam tradition in the U.S. to compete, Eugene Levy (centre right) and his son, Dan (far right). plus they’ve stolen much of our talent.

Paul Mather (Men with Brooms) How much retooling did your last show have to go through in order to make it on air? Brent Butt: [On Hiccups] the network pretty much bought the creative as a whole, but wanted a casting change. I had cast someone else in the male lead, but they wanted it to be me. That was a deal breaker for them.

Andrew Orenstein (Package Deal) Mather: [On] Dan for Mayor we were pretty much free to do whatever we wanted. Men with Brooms had a pilot, then after we were picked up, CBC made us recast an actor and reshoot the pilot, more or less with the same script. One funny thing with CBC was they did audience testing but they wouldn’t share it with us. What’s the point of testing a show if you don’t share the results with the people writing it? Katie Ford: Rewriting (par for the course), but not retooling. Brent Piaskoski (Spun Out)

WINTER 2014 21

020to022_Comedy.indd 21 2014-11-14 2:36 PM What do we need to do better in our industry? Orenstein: I think we need to build more of an infrastructure to teach how to become a showrunner. Writing for TV and producing your own TV show are two diff erent skills. On Package Deal I try hard to include the writing staff in all stages of production. Ford: Support each other. Give things time. Train writers to be producers (more of the writer-producer system that’s in the States).

Copros: good or bad for the 22-minute format? What about cable/specialty? Piaskoski: Anything that gets people working is a good thing. I would do a copro with a lost civilization if it meant people working. I would hate to see their notes, however. When crafting a pilot, do you consider a Canadian audience? Elwood: Tricky. The fi nancial incentives are smaller for 22-minute shows. Margins are smaller, so tough to make Butt: No. I don’t consider the audience at all. I consider the considerable copro logistics worthwhile. the story and the characters and making them as good as I can. The various notes about “what the audience Butt: It comes down to the people involved. Are they wants” will come from the broadcasters or distributors driven by story or driven by money? There are good Former Call Me Fitz frontman soon enough. copro situations (because of good people) and bad copro guest-stars on season one situations (because of not so good people). of Project 10’s Spun Out, Mather: Everything I’ve done in Canada I’ve only which will go to season two thought about Canadian audiences. When I was a kid, on CTV. Canadian TV shows were always set in generic North Does Canadian television take comedic risks? American cities and I thought that was so lame. So Butt: No. I think many execs think they do. But they seem I’ve always been upfront about referencing Canadian to defi ne “risks” as doing shows about thirty-somethings stuff – Participaction or The Littlest Hobo or whatever banging each other lots. Not a lot of risk there. The whole – and making no eff ort to explain it for an American or “edgy” thing cracks me up. If it’s pretty much the same international audience. I think Canadians fi nd that sort thing a 13-year-old is obsessed with, it’s not edgy. Taking of unique cultural reference delightful. Why not play to comedic risks means doing something no one else has your strengths? As smart as I think it is to pursue cross- done, and there isn’t much of that going on. border opportunities – and maybe I’ll be doing that Elwood: We’re trying! I know Fitz did. All of my down the road – there is something depressing about the Canadian writing colleagues are brilliant whack jobs, with retreat from unabashed Canadiana. the goal of making noise. I do see network rationale, the hard numbers of it all. Hard to justify a show about the If you had a bigger budget offb eat, unlikable antihero when you can do two straight how would that affect your series? up procedurals. Perhaps that should be a rule. For every Andrew Orenstein: We could have more swing sets, two doctor-cop-lawyer knock off , the network has to more money for big-name guest stars, and it would allow green-light one talking zit comedy. us to write bigger, elaborate set pieces. A larger budget would mostly help in the writing – we would be freer to What are we lacking here? come up with stories without always thinking about how Biderman: Quantity, not quality. many extras that will require or how to aff ord the set, etc. Mather: Here’s the thing that I notice about the U.S. Farrell: More writers for longer amounts of time. compared to Canada. When you walk into a room in the The shows we compete with have three times the U.S., they light up because you’re potentially going to make writers for four times the amount of time than I do. them a lot of money. If you help bring to fruition the next It’s a huge diff erence. Modern Family or whatever you are going to put tens of Piaskoski: More extras, maybe. I would love to shoot on a millions into the pocket of the corporation. In Canada, lot so you could do that fake exterior scene where they’re that’s just not the case. Corner Gas was a giant hit, and I’m walking down the street. sure the folks at CTV were proud, but it didn’t do much for Elwood: Not at all, other than the fact there are more their bottom line. At the end of the day, Canadian writers bean counters weighing in so I really need to choose my aren’t and never will be walking money for any Canadian battles. I’m developing several shows right now in the network because producing original TV is not how those U.S.: for Warner Bros. Television and Universal, and the organizations live or die. To me, all the other problems notes process is no joke. with being a TV writer in Canada fl ow from that.

22 WINTER 2014

020to022_Comedy.indd 22 2014-11-12 5:13 PM This year, did you take content where it’s never been before? Did your partnerships break new ground? Did you get viewers off their couch and onto a transmedia rollercoaster? Did you place convention into a box and throw that box into the river? Good. These awards are for you.

The 4th annual AToMiC Awards brings together the entertainment and marketing industries. The app designers and the advertisers. The technology innovators and the media players. AToMiC winners represent the best achievements across Canada’s media industry, shining a spotlight on the collaborations that are propelling the way forward.

Winners will be announced in May at the Toronto awards show and featured in the June issue of strategy magazine, with bonus distribution in The Globe & Mail. Winners will also get showcased on strategy, Media In Canada and Playback Online.

Enter now at atomicawards.strategyonline.ca Deadline January 23rd, 2015

PB.25757.PB.indd 23 2014-11-13 4:31 PM It’s beautiful, but expensive; atmospheric but almost unattainable. Why the near-complete collapse of fi lm post-production and projection may spell the end of motion-picture- fi lm shooting in Canada.

BY MARK DILLON

ALTHOUGH THE AESTHETIC OF MOTION- capturing an indie feature on fi lm costs about $100,000 PICTURE FILM IS STILL PREFERRED BY SOME more than digital just for stocks, processing and post- CINEPHILES AND MOVIEMAKERS, the industry production. But on the upcoming micro_scope production that supports the format is facing stark realities in Endorphine, he and producing partner Kim McCraw Canada and the U.S. respected the wishes of the fi lm’s director Turpin and its Digital shooting and exhibition have made fi lm nearly cinematographer Josée Deshaies to shoot on fi lm. obsolete, and while some directors still insist on shooting “Endorphine is dreamy and moody and we feel fi lm fi lm, the long-term availability of stocks and processing conveys that so much better. We said, ‘We should do it on services is in doubt. fi lm, because this might be the last one,’” Déry says. This summer, a group of A-list Hollywood directors Turpin, who is also Dolan’s go-to director of including Quentin Tarantino, Christopher Nolan and J.J. photography, has only worked on features shot on fi lm in Abrams banded together to convince – some might say his 20-plus year career. strong-arm – the major studios to commit to enough fi lm “Very bright images like snow, skies and blown-out processing to keep Kodak from shuttering its Rochester, windows are really diffi cult to obtain on digital. Those N.Y., fi lm-manufacturing plant. uncontrollable situations still look much more natural and While Canadian directors don’t hold that kind of clout, beautiful on fi lm,” Turpin says. several high-profi le Quebec fi lmmakers, including Xavier They process stock at Montreal’s Vision Globale, the Dolan, Stéphane Lafl eur and André Turpin, continue to last Canadian Kodak-certifi ed facility off ering 16mm shoot on fi lm. Dolan is even considering the rare high- and 35mm negative processing and 35mm release resolution 65mm format for his next project, The Death printing. But the lab’s business is waning. This year it and Life of John F. Donovan. has processed a couple of features and several shorts. But things can get interesting when artistically It was servicing Haven, but the Entertainment One motivated directors and DOPs meet the fi nancial realities series switched to digital capture from 35mm for its fi fth of producers tasked with managing budgets. season. Just a few series are shooting fi lm these days, Director Xavier Dolan and director Micro_scope producer Luc Déry estimates that including atmospheric, award-winning specialty fare of photography André Turpin shot Mommy, starring Anne Dorval (above), on 35mm fi lm in a 1:1 aspect ratio.

2424 WINTERWINTWWINWIININTNTN T ERE RR2 2 20140140101144

024_025_Post.indd 24 2014-11-13 5:43 PM such as The Walking Dead, True Detective and American 35mm to digital projection, and the situation is similar Horror Story. in Canada. Cineplex Entertainment, which commands “That cut down our business by about 40%,” says Paul a 77% share of Canadian exhibition, completed its Dion, the lab’s director of operations, on losing Haven. digital conversion in 2012. “Digital projectors provide Whereas Vision Globale previously ran three eight-hour a consistent and crystal-clear presentation, have fewer lab shifts per day and operated on weekends, it is now maintenance issues and allow greater programming down to one shift per weekday, sending its operators to fl exibility,” explains Mike Langdon, Cineplex’s director of work in other departments such as storage. On Nov. 13, communications, of the switch. Quebecor Media subsidiary TVA Group announced it Meanwhile, Hollywood studios had long pushed will acquire Vision Globale’s assets, including the Mel’s for digital projection and the savings in bypassing the Cité du Cinéma soundstages, for $118 million, pending production and shipping of bulky fi lm prints. Across Competition Bureau approval. It is unclear what eff ect its 161 locations, Cineplex has only a couple of operable this will have on the lab. 35mm projectors at Toronto’s SilverCity , a Meanwhile, Vision Globale is fi elding inquiries from rarely used 70mm system at its Varsity location and nine Hollywood and international copro projects looking to of its 20 large-format IMAX screens able to roll fi lm. shoot in Montreal, and pressing them to commit to fi lm. Few fi lm prints are being struck for titles distributed “If clients don’t show up, we’ll have to evaluate whether in North America and Europe, although markets we’ll keep the lab open beyond the beginning of next such as South America, Asia and the Middle East, where year,” Dion adds. the transition to digital projection is not complete, still If not, that could spell the end for fi lm-based Canadian require them. productions, as options for processing in North America Following a 90% drop in demand for release-print are disappearing. In December, Film Lab NY, a joint stock, Fujifi lm, previously Kodak’s main competitor, venture between Technicolor-Postworks and Deluxe, will discontinued its 16mm and 35mm camera negative shut its doors, leaving, according to a Kodak listing, fewer in March 2013 after servicing the Hollywood feature than 10 labs scattered across the U.S. that can process American Hustle. It simply was no longer profi table to 35mm negative, and some of those are boutiques without keep the manufacturer’s fi lm production lines running. the capacity to service feature fi lms. And so the infrastructure began to crumble. Technicolor and Deluxe shuttered their Canadian “Acquisition on fi lm is gone. The train has left,” says labs a couple of years ago. “Is fi lm still valuable for our George Gush, California-based technical sales manager motion picture industry? No, it’s not,” says Louis Major, for Fujifi lm’s North American motion picture group. VP Technicolor Creative Services Canada. He notes that The company still off ers black-and-white Eterna- every project for which his shop has provided front-end RDS recording fi lm for long-term archiving, as fi lm is services in the past 24 months has captured digitally. considered the superior medium for preservation. “We don’t even mention fi lm. We’re a digital company Projects currently originating on fi lm go through a now,” he adds. He says that although prospective post digital postproduction pipeline, although Technicolor and technicians and artists today possess digital skills that may Deluxe say they haven’t handled any in recent memory. help land employment, “Color science is at the heart of Most theatrical and TV dramas now shoot on the Arri our post off ering, and the move from fi lm to digital has not Alexa and Red Digital Cinema cameras, which record changed the importance of having highly skilled colorists to SxS cards or built-in camera codecs, allowing crews for broadcast and fi lm projects.” to shoot continuously without the frequent magazine When Deluxe closed its west-end Toronto facility, changes and cost concerns of fi lm stock. The cameras also it exited a lab business in which it had been active locally perform well in low-light conditions, cutting down the since the 1960s. “The economics and the demand no need for big, time-consuming lighting setups. longer made sense,” says Dan McLellan, EVP of Montreal cinematographer Yves Bélanger shot Deluxe Toronto. director Jean-Marc Vallée’s last two features, Dallas While fi lm jobs have been lost, digital ones have been Buyers Club and Wild, on Alexa cameras, and has no created, and Deluxe Toronto is hiring more graduates nostalgia for the past. He and Vallée pride themselves from local colleges and universities. It has a data input/ on shooting effi ciently with few or no movie lights at all. output department created in the last three years that Whereas the average studio movie costs upward of US$50 employs six full-time staff , and 15 employees dedicated million, they have brought in the aforementioned titles for to encoding content for platforms such as iTunes and US$4.9 million and around US$15 million, respectively. Google, replacing videotape operators, since the tape “Everything was so complicated with 35mm. People on format, like fi lm, is also fading. set would be nervous because of the costs, the day would move slower and we’d do fewer shots. Now, the way Jean- Film projectors winding down Marc and I work with the digital camera, we need fewer What ultimately hurt fi lm shooting is the widespread people, we do more shots and no longer work 15-hour adoption of digital projection. days,” Bélanger says from New York, where he and Vallée According to the National Association of Theatre are shooting Demolition starring Jake Gyllenhaal. “We’re Owners, as of May, 94% of U.S. screens had switched from liberated now.”

WINTER 2014 25

024_025_Post.indd 25 2014-11-13 5:44 PM Williams on the set of Remedy, Indian Grove Productions’ one-hour drama for Global TV. Our headline was inspired by Global’s hit fall acquisition Madam Secretary, starring Téa Leoni.

26 WINTER 2014 Photo: Doug Forster

026_027_BOTY_BarbWilliams.indd 26 2014-11-14 2:34 PM BARB WILLIAMS, RECENTLY NAMED SHAW During that period, Williams held senior posts MEDIA PRESIDENT, HAS RISEN TO THE TOP OF like SVP of lifestyle programming at A MAJOR CANADIAN BROADCASTER. Communications, VP and general manager of Toronto But it is hard to imagine a more challenging arena for One, and leading then Global Communication an incoming boss of Canada’s second largest TV network. Corp.’s acquisition of U.S. series and production of Williams, also promoted to EVP of broadcasting, Canadian shows as EVP of content. takes the helm just as the global TV and online video Then, four years ago, Shaw Media bought CanWest market is in the throes of major upheaval as Netfl ix, Global out of bankruptcy protection and kept Williams in Hulu and other other digital platforms steadily colonize charge of content under the late Paul Robertson, who had TV audiences. been network president since 2010. That prospect might alarm another broadcaster who The broadcast game is getting more complicated, but imagined kicking back at this stage in their executive career. Williams insists Shaw Media has not hit reset because the But not Williams, who has been with Shaw and its game is still to identify and off er viewers hits, even if social predecessor CanWest for just over nine years, and now media and YouTube increasingly fi gure in that hunt. oversees Global Television and 19 specialty channels. “At its core, we still are in the same business of trying “I don’t think I ever thought [my career] would get to fi nd the shows, the longer-form content that people will easier. I just kept thinking what I was doing would get get excited about and come back to time and time again more interesting,” she told Playback. and talk about with their friends and family, and feel a Well, Williams certainly lives in interesting times. connection to and be driven by emotionally,” she argued. She sees Netfl ix and other new digital players That said, hit shows no longer hinge on one night’s ratings. changing the game, but not its probable winner. “A hit no longer has to be a hit in the moment. There’s lots of time for something to be a hit. The fact that it’s a hit the night it goes out on broadcast TV, that’s always fun. But that in itself isn’t the whole story anymore,” she said. Williams adds that beating your Canadian competition is also no longer enough. “Our competitive set keeps changing. It used to be a Madam more defi nable set of players and you understood and knew your competitors really well. That’s changing. Netfl ix has changed the game that way, as have other OTT and other digital players,” she said. The data crunchers also have arrived as building and monetizing audiences today calls for slicing and dicing President online video alongside desktop and mobile advertising, Taking the top spot at Shaw Media in 2014, longtime rather than just going big on glossy U.S. primetime shows TV exec Barbara Williams is set to lead the broadcaster and selling brands on ratings. “We really are feeling the impact of changing into one of media’s most challenging modern eras. advertising,” she explains. The opportunities advertisers now have to access mass BY ETAN VLESSING audiences and the new data sets driving media buying are To keep pace with the digitally led, globalized all putting traditional ad models in the hot seat. Measuring entertainment business that lies ahead, Williams’ goal and monetizing cross-platform broadcasting are proving to is reinvention. be huge challenges for companies like Shaw Media. “We have been afraid before. My career has taken “Those [issues] are putting big questions in front of us, me through many evolutions of this business, through including how do we, as a Canadian company, claim that many changes, when the specialty world came, world of data and knowledge? That is a huge step beyond when the internet world came. Our demise has been what BBM Canada [now Numeris] can off er,” she added. predicted over and over again,” Williams said. Ironically, as the global content marketplace becomes “And we’ve always risen up through it. And I have ever more crowded, the quality and quantity of Shaw’s every confi dence we will again,” she added. Canadian content, which includes Rookie Blue, Vikings, Williams insists Shaw has already been busily Lost Girl, Remedy, Top Chef Canada and Continuum, has inventing and reinventing by launching new channels never been more important. like H2, Lifetime, DIY and DTOUR, investing in new “One of the things our team has been most proud of digital apps like Global Go and History Go and now in the years we’ve worked together is the dedication and launching shomi with Rogers Media. success we’ve had with our Canadian content. That’s been “It’s not like we’ve just been static for 20 years and an enormous driver of the specialty channels,” she said. suddenly this year we have to change. We have been Now, if only she had the foresight of Continuum’s time- in a constant change and listen, and innovation and travelling cop Kiera Cameron: with so much in fl ux in launch, mode for decades now,” she said. Canadian TV today, that would be a prized skill indeed.

WINTER 2014 27

026_027_BOTY_BarbWilliams.indd 27 2014-11-12 5:15 PM Full steam ahead Buying into In the Canadian specialty space, the company operates channels Travel + Escape, Bite TV, Cottage Omnia Media Life, Aux, Smithsonian Channel, Oasis, radX and brings a massive HIFI. Subscriber numbers are relatively modest, online audience, topped by Category As Travel + Escape (4.6 million) and Cottage Life (2.6 million), which have 2+ AMAs and taking control of 8,826 and 5,874, respectively. Viewerships of all of New Zealand Blue Ant specialties could be aff ected by the CRTC’s decision on pick-and-pay. broadcaster In print, Blue Ant produces Cottage Life magazine Choice TV opens and in October partnered with KeyWest Marketing to form Outdoor Media Group, which publishes four up a new market outdoor sports mags. for the Toronto But it’s reaching far more eyeballs online after upstarts. taking a minority stake in Omnia Media, a Los Angeles-based YouTube multi-channel network (MCN) specializing in the gaming, style and music BY MARK DILLON genres. According to YouTube tracker Social Blade, Omnia recorded more than 950 million video views in September alone, which is about three times more than when Blue Ant announced its involvement in April. Blue Ant can increase its investment to a controlling Blue Ant Media’s interest in Omnia, but for now is content as sales rep for Raja Khanna (left) and Omnia’s programs and its preferred production partner. Michael MacMillan (right) A footprint in the YouTube hub of California doesn’t hurt. “In Canada it’s hard to be right in the thick of how IN 2014 BLUE ANT MEDIA FORGED KEY ONLINE streaming video is changing consumer behavior. We PARTNERSHIPS THAT BROUGHT IT EYEBALLS now have a front-row seat,” says Raja Khanna, Blue MOST BROADCASTERS CAN ONLY DREAM Ant’s CEO of television and digital, in a joint interview ABOUT. And Canada can’t contain the multi-platform with company CEO Michael MacMillan at their upstart’s plans. This year it established a virtual and Toronto offi ces. physical presence in the U.S. in a bid to land big-time The deal gives Blue Ant access to Omnia’s online internet talent and bolster ad and sponsorship dollars. stars, whom Khanna calls “the next crop of great And it hasn’t forgotten about TV, investing in a foreign talent,” foreseeing bright futures on bigger screens. broadcaster and embracing cutting-edge content it Omnia’s YouTubers include gamer Syndicate (8.2 hopes will further open the global market. million subscribers as of November), gamer/baker

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28 WINTER 2014

028_029_BOTY_BlueAnt.indd 28 2014-11-13 5:45 PM PB.25673.MRP.indd 29 2014-11-13 3:42 PM PB.25669.Guru.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:25 AM Ihascupquake (1.8 million) and Romanian pop singer Canadian recordings. Already onboard as online Inna (1.1 million). broadcast partner, Blue Ant has taken over the event’s Blue Ant has been challenged to grow its ad business marketing and sponsorship sales. It produced related as quickly as it would have liked. MacMillan says content in advance of the September gala in its Aux revenues last fi scal totalled approximately $50 million. tablet magazine and on YouTube, and streamed the The Omnia Media partnership, however, represents ceremony live. a major leap forward. “The fact we now reach tens of “We’re expanding our events footprint with Polaris millions of people just in North America is what we and looking to launch more, not only because events are needed to get the meeting with the big media-buying [profi table], but also because we get to meet our fans agencies,” Khanna says. face-to-face. There’s huge value in that across all the And so, in July Blue Ant opened a New York sales diff erent parts of the business,” Khanna says. offi ce, where it’s working at monetizing the YouTube Blue Ant’s broadcast business, meanwhile, is limited channels under its purview. (Approximately half the within Canada, especially when it depends on promotion channel’s views come from the U.S.) Revenue streams from vertically integrated BDUs with their own include pre-roll ads, and increasingly, brand integration. channels. So it has invested on foreign shores, taking a Samsung has run customized ads for its Galaxy device majority stake in New Zealand free-to-air broadcaster using trending content from Blue Ant’s MCN, while Choice TV, which opens up a new market for its lifestyle Budweiser has promoted original content on the Aux and entertainment content. Music Network. The company is also betting early adoption of 4K Blue Ant is also seeking potential fi lm and TV talent ultra high defi nition TV content will provide further in animation through a $3 million pitch program with international inroads. In January it is rebranding its online distributor Mondo Media. Twenty-fi ve animated nature channel Oasis to and committing comedy-short pilots have been developed for Mondo’s to an annual production slate of 200 hours of 4K YouTube channel, and web series will be ordered for nature programming under the same banner to go to those that test best, measured by views and comments. air next spring. The Bite on Mondo initiative will commission 236 Blue Ant hopes this content will lead to the launch webisodes to be compiled into 26 half-hours to air on of linear services in other markets and boost a new Teletoon and Bite TV starting in 2016. international distribution arm headed by Solange MacMillan believes each platform in which Blue Ant Attwood, a former Tricon Films & Television exec. She is involved is an integral part of an overall brand. Beyond was joined in August by Gwen Jones McCauley, director TV and print, Cottage Life incorporates a website, international sales. merchandising business and four consumer exhibitions. Growth is the goal at Blue Ant, and it’s something The 2014 Spring Cottage Life Show was the highest- MacMillan knows much about, having co-founded attended to date thanks to promotion on the channel and Atlantis Communications, steered the merged Alliance appearances by the stars of design show Colin & Justin’s Atlantis empire and built up a stable of specialty Cabin Pressure. channels that sold to CanWest for $2.3 billion. But how “Some of our advertisers participate on two or three big can Blue Ant get? levels with the brand,” MacMillan says. To sharpen its “Much bigger than we are today,” MacMillan off ers. brand focus on the consumer side, Blue Ant recently “And that’s not size just for the fun of size. It’s size hired marketing exec Laura Pearce away from AOL because we think some of our products are suited for Canada to take on a new role as VP, brand strategy and an international audience, which is our prime focus fan engagement. for growth. In fi ve years, when we are again the ‘media In July, Aux amplifi ed its relationship with the player of the year,’ we imagine a company that will make Polaris Music Prize, which honours the best in the current Blue Ant look very ant-like.”

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WINTER 2014

PB.25673.MRP.indd028_029_BOTY_BlueAnt.indd 29 29 2014-11-13 3:425:45 PM PB.25669.Guru.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:25 AM Paperny’s ‘extreme’ Paperny Entertainment’s Cold Water Cowboys was Discovery Canada’s top new show for the strategy pays off 2013-2014 broadcast year The Vancouver-based FOR PAPERNY ENTERTAINMENT, A STRATEGY viewers (2+) over its 10-episode run this winter. The prodco has produced TO PRODUCE SERIES SET IN EXTREME series, Paperny says, represents the positive outcome of some of this year’s LOCATIONS HAS RESULTED IN A RECORD- two parties taking equal risks on an unconventional idea. BREAKING 2014. When the concept was fi rst pitched to Shaw Media, it biggest specialty While the 20-year-old, Vancouver-based company was deemed a fi t for History, explains Christine Shipton, hits, including had been producing documentaries and male-skewing Shaw’s SVP of content. But HGTV programmers were Timber Kings, which shows for years – such as the 2009 Discovery Canada looking to expand the channel’s target demo outside of its launched as the series Combat School – its principals noticed a growing core female demo, and soon, a light went off : what if the highest-rated show in appetite in the market for series like Raw TV’s Gold Rush series featured the experiences of the homebuyers, as well HGTV Canada history. and Thom Beers’ Deadliest Catch and Ice Road Truckers. as a rough and tumble work crew? All featured dramatic characters working in volatile That was exactly what HGTV was looking for,

BY JULIANNA CUMMINS environments and were earning audiences like crazy, Shipton says. Timber Kings was then developed to fi t explains David Paperny, the company’s namesake, HGTV’s storytelling conventions: who wants this home, president and co-founder. “We saw an opportunity why do they want the home, and how do they feel after to develop that genre and become one of Canada’s top they get the home? producers in that area,” he says. “We [said] think of it as HGTV, but don’t take away the The company’s fi rst move into the space was gold- great authenticity of who these people are,” Shipton says. mining reality show Yukon Gold, which has been the Victoriously, the series’ Jan. 5 2014 premiere pulled an number one Canadian docu-series on History for two AMA of 414,800 (2+) viewers and won the male 25-to-54 years running. demo in Canadian speciality for the 10 to 11 p.m. timeslot. The “extreme” strategy is paying off . “[We] teamed up with a broadcast partner who was fi shery reality show Cold Water willing to take some risks along with us and it paid off ,” Cowboys earned an average audience of 325,000 (2+) Paperny recalls. for its fi rst season on Discovery Canada, and was the These shows have also seen success on the sales channel’s top new show for the 2013-2014 broadcast year. front, with Cold Water Cowboys landing on National Even more stunning was the success of Paperny Geographic International and HGTV reality show Timber Kings, the highest-rated in the U.S. and Timber Kings sold in global markets series ever to air on HGTV, averaging over 406,000 including Australia, China and Europe.

30 WINTER 2014

030_031_BOTY_Paperny.indd 30 2014-11-13 3:54 PM PB.25614.Bell.indd 31 2014-11-13 3:51 PM And while shows set in extreme locales are more The strategy worked. Chow Masters, the fi rst series to expensive to make than traditional reality series, be produced out of the American offi ce, aired last spring and are more challenging to produce, the payoff in on Travel Channel in the U.S., with production currently international sales and ratings hits has been worth it, underway on a second U.S.-based series, 2Fat2Fly, for Paperny says. OWN. The New York offi ce is also currently shooting The company has also had success with formats. In a pilot and two proof-of-concept sizzles, all paid for by 2011, it pursued the rights to Scripps Network’s Chopped U.S. cable networks, Paperny says. Overall, the company cooking competition format. produced over 80 hours of TV in 2014. It took two years to make the deal happen, but Paperny Entertainment’s international exposure the persistence paid off : Paperny was the fi rst prodco is set to expand again following its acquisition by to acquire Chopped format rights outside of the U.S., Entertainment One in July 2014. The principals of and Chopped Canada became the highest-rated series the company stayed on through the aquisition deal, premiere in Food Network Canada history, with 477,500 including Paperny, co-founder and EVP Audrey Mehler viewers (2+). and Cal Shumiatcher, EVP. Paperny’s success comes after a few bleak Paperny Entertainment’s diverse slate, along with its years during the 2009 recession, a diffi cult time strong management team, made the prodco an attractive for independent Canadian production. Despite acquisition for eOne as it aims to broaden its reach into the few prospects with recession-wracked Canadian factual entertainment space internationally, says Margaret broadcasters, Paperny pushed his company to keep O’Brien, president, Canada and COO of eOne Television. developing new shows and did what was perhaps “They have real variety in their programming and if unimaginable for many during the recession, opening a you look at our landscape, they are really delivering across new offi ce stateside in 2011. very diff erent verticals for the broadcasters,” says O’Brien. “We realized that we had to diversify our company by “They have shows on Food, they have shows on History, moving into the U.S. so that we weren’t completely and they have shows on Discovery. They are creative, and they utterly dependent on Canadian buyers,” Paperny says. are diversely creative.”

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PB.25614.Bell.indd030_031_BOTY_Paperny.indd 31 31 2014-11-13 3:513:54 PM Great Pacifi c Media’s Highway Thru Hell is among Discovery Canada’s best performers for co-viewing audiences.

“The content has changed enormously since we launched the channel,” he says. “It was all about natural history when we launched and since then we’ve moved into science, technology and adventure, as well as reality. The strength that has been consistent and grown over the last 20 years is our Canadian programming strategy.” The channel’s increasing allure to male audiences has been noticed by advertisers, says Trevor Walker, an executive with Toronto-based media agency OMD. He says not only has Discovery become a place advertisers can reach the notoriously hard-to-reach-outside-of- sports male demo, but that its co-viewing programming is strong as well, increasing its value to national brands with broad target audiences. According to internal research from Bell Media, Consider it Canada’s Worst Driver, produced by Toronto-based Proper Television, is the channel’s best performer for the co-viewing audience. Also reaching both women Discovered BY VAL MALONEY and men successfully are Highway Thru Hell, produced by Great Pacifi c Media, Gold Rush from Raw TV and Bell Media’s most profi table non-sports specialty channel doesn’t Original Productions’ Deadliest Catch. need glossy U.S. formats to win over viewers: Discovery Channel The channel’s sweet spot remains men 25 to 54 and Canada’s originals are doing that on their own. its success in reaching the demo has meant an increased rate of advertising integrations, with recent partnerships WHEN CANADIAN MEN AREN’T WATCHING like Nissan aligning itself with the always popular Shark TSN OR SPORTSNET ON TV, DATA INDICATES Week through exclusive online programming and Toyota THEY’RE WATCHING DISCOVERY, the number three placing its vehicles into Highway Thru Hell. specialty channel for the demo in the country. Successes this year on the television side have Tapping into that diffi cult demo isn’t done by buying included the comedy-documentary Fool’s Gold from up U.S. exports, but rather by building its own stable of Essential 11 Television Canada, which revolves around programming to the tune of 200 hours of independently a crew of miners looking to strike it rich in Northern produced Canadian content, including recent Ontario, and Highway Thru Hell, which hit the Numeris homegrown hits like Highway Thru Hell, Cold Water top 30 list the fi rst week of September. Cowboys and Fool’s Gold. The show’s season three premiere was up 80% over Revenue at the channel reached just over $100 million its season two bow, with average viewership for the in 2013, with $51.6 million in national advertising and $36.9 series coming in at 695,000 overall and 168,000 for men million in subscriptions, with 7.7 million subscribers. That aged 25 to 54. makes Discovery the most-profi table non-sports specialty Meanwhile, Cold Water Cowboys from Paperny channel for Bell Media, according to CRTC data. According Entertainment brought in 564,000 average viewers for to the same data, the channel also increased its Canadian its premiere in February, making it the third-highest production budget year-over-year, spending $49.3 million series premiere on the channel to date. in 2013, up from $43.3 million the previous year. “The major strategy continues to be focused on Paul Lewis, president and general manager Discovery our core audience and giving them a combination of Channel Canada, has been with the channel since its programming with high entertainment value as well as inception in 1995 and says its Canadian programming has good takeaway information,” says Lewis. “We want to be become a signifi cant source of ratings strength. unabashedly Canadian in our approach.”

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WINTER 2014

032_BOTY_Discovery.inddPB.25664.insight.indd 32 32 2014-11-132014-11-12 3:563:55 PM Congratulations MICHAEL DOWSE to our partners Director of the Year (English) and colleagues for their outstanding XAVIER DOLAN achievements Director of the Year (French)

PAPERNY ENTERTAINMENT Producer of the Year (TV)

DISCOVERY Channel of the Year

an entertainment one company

an entertainment one company

PB.25595.eOne.indd 33 2014-11-12 4:01 PM XAVIER DOLAN IS ONE OF CANADA’S YOUNGEST AND MOST SUCCESSFUL FILMMAKERS. But it’s his work, not his youth that earns Dolan the recognition as Playback’s French-language fi lm director of the year. At 16 years old, Dolan dropped out of college and began working on his fi rst feature, I Killed My Mother (2009). It was not an easy start. “I was unemployed as an actor and going through a dry spot, transitioning to adulthood in a rather lonely way,” he recalls. He then spent years struggling to get his Xavier Dolan’s 2014 feature Mommy script in front of producers, who were not always kind. passed $2 million at the Canadian “When I actually got to be on set, after all that time box offi ce on Oct. 16. Photo: Shayne Laverdiere trying to sell myself and my movie, I was fi lled with a sort of rage [and a sense] of victory that gave me [false] confi dence for a director that had virtually no experience directing at all.” Off the chain: But the self-fi nanced fi lm premiered at Cannes, receiving an eight-minute standing ovation and becoming the offi cial Canadian entry to the 82nd Academy Awards Xavier Dolan BY THOM ERNST for Best Foreign Language Film. Since then, fi nancing With his latest fi lm Mommy on a box offi ce roll, there’s no fi lms has become somewhat easier for Dolan. “I’m grateful the [government] agencies and fi nanciers doubt that Canada’s hottest young fi lmmaker has arrived. acknowledge that my movies were given attention mostly on the festival circuit, and abroad, and didn’t only consider my sometimes-sorry domestic box offi ce,” he says. Previous to the release of Dolan’s most recent fi lm,

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WINTER 2014

PB.25605.Bell.indd034_035_BOTY_Xavier.indd 34 34 2014-11-122014-11-14 4:032:29 PM PB.25674.PGI.indd 35 2014-11-12 4:06 PM Mommy, the domestic box offi ce run for his fi lms in building for Mommy started with Cannes. Quebec range from $340,692 for Tom at the Farm (2013) “It was, from day one, what we were hoping for – it to $995,196 for I Killed My Mother. was the fi rst step,” Roy says of the Cannes experience. Laurence Anyways (2012) took in $428,922 for its The seaside screening kick-started a marketing entire run and Heartbeats (2010) earned $507,955. campaign designed to build up anticipation and word-of- Mommy, on the other hand, took in $471,902 in its mouth for the fi lm. A North American premiere followed opening weekend in Quebec alone. On Oct. 16, Mommy at Telluride followed by a Canadian premiere at TIFF. surpassed $2 million at the Canadian box offi ce. Then, after the fi lm festivals, the movie’s trailer and poster In France, where it was distributed by Diaphana Films were launched to increase momentum. – and included a partnership with chic street brand Agnes Mommy’s theatrical release was also planned to build B, which even made Mommy necklaces – the fi lm took in momentum: opening fi rst in Montreal, then Toronto $340,171 in its fi rst week, outperforming the entire run of and then Vancouver. The fi lm’s American distributor, any of his four other fi lms released in that country. Roadside Attraction is holding Mommy’s U.S. theatrical Prior to its theatrical release, Mommy won the Cannes release until an undetermined date in 2015. Jury Prize (shared with Jean Luc-Godard’s Goodbye to Dolan intends his next project to be The Death and Language) and is Canada’s offi cial submission to the 2015 Life of John F. Donovan, an English-language fi lm and a Oscars. But Dolan knows all too well that acclaim (and possible Canada-Europe coproduction. The fi lm is about awards) don’t necessarily translate into packed theatres. an American movie star who secretly corresponds with “Neither awards nor public recognition can convince an 11-year-old in England; Jessica Chastain is rumoured to people to leave their basement, take their car, park it on the have been cast as the editor of a gossip magazine. street and go to your movie,” he states. “The movie speaks When asked the budget for the Donovan project, for itself. The trailer, what people say on the street, at work Dolan quips: “Four thousand billion. For the costume and at family dinners are the true impetus,” says Dolan. department.” But Patrick Roy, the president of Mommy distributor While clearly there are some things Dolan prefers to Les Films Sèville, (which has distributed all of Dolan’s keep to himself, the joke does reveal a key aspect of his fi lms since 2010’s Heartbeats) says the box-offi ce buzz- appeal: whenever Dolan does, it always looks good.

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WINTER 2014

PB.25605.Bell.indd 34 2014-11-12 4:03 PM PB.25674.PGI.indd034_035_BOTY_Xavier.indd 35 35 2014-11-122014-11-13 4:063:57 PM Givin ’er: Michael Dowse He may not have grossed the most at the box offi ce in 2014, but Dowse’s continued efforts to make broad, wide-release Canadian fi lms while Dowse’s next fi lm will be the Hollywood comedy The Politician, still telling Canadian stories proves starring Vince Vaughn that the two do not have to be mutually exclusive. MICHAEL DOWSE IS SERIOUS ABOUT Toronto. But although Dowse is Canadian, he says his

BY THOM ERNST BEING FUNNY. fi lms aren’t made to be specifi cally so. Considered the best comedic director and the biggest “I try to make audiences laugh, to tell a good story box-offi ce success currently working in English Canada, rather than stress about being Canadian,” he explains. the Canadian box-offi ce grosses for his feature lms fi range Dowse lives by the adage that the only person that from $171, 867 for Fubar (2002) to $4,172,651 for Goon can prevent you from making a movie is yourself. Fubar (2011). Now, with his most recent fi lm, The F Word released was mostly self-fi nanced with some help from friends in over 30 countries and an American studio comedy in the and family. Telefi lm came in later with funds for post- works, Dowse is ready for the next step in his career. production. But had Dowse waited for government For over a decade, Dowse been creating commercially funding to come through, he says the fi lm might never viable cinema out of distinctly Canadian archetypes: have been made. Distributed in Canada by Odeon Films the hockey player, the suburban head-banger, the city of and Xenon Pictures in the U.S., Fubar went on to a

36

Woo-hoo! Here’s to Shaw Media’s Leading Lady, Barb Williams.

Congratulations on being named Playback’s Person of the Year.

WINTER 2014

036_037_BOTY_Dowse.indd 36 2014-11-13 3:59 PM PB.25655.CMPA.indd 37 2014-11-12 4:13 PM PB.25633.Shaw.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:27 AM successful premiere at the Sundance Film Festival 2002 a strategic move to create a strong word-of-mouth and it put Dowse into the game. campaign. Despite overwhelming success at TIFF, the “It was a huge kick in the pants for English Canadian fi lm – re-titled in the U.S. as What If – underperformed fi lmmaking,” says Mark Slone, EVP theatrical distribution in theatres. According to Boxoffi cemojo.com, it took in at Entertainment One Films Canada. “People who blame $854,000 on its U.S. wide-release opening weekend and as the lack of funding from government agencies like of November, had a total lifetime gross of $3.5 million. In Telefi lm as a reason to not make their fi lm are missing the Canada, the fi lm’s B.O. gross to date was $1.16 million. point. Filmmaking is a passion.” Dowse admits that their sights were set higher but adds Fubar was made for $350,000. Dowse now works with that many of his fi lms fi nd an audiences on DVD and VOD, a budget that is 10-to-15 times greater than that. which is typical of quirky rom-coms and cult-style fi lms. Both Dowse and Slone advocate Canadian fi lmmakers There are a lot of potential projects in development embrace the idea of coproductions since the budget for Dowse, but the most prominent is The Politician with needed to create a reasonable facsimile of American fi lms Columbia/ Pictures in conjunction with Seth Rogen, and the quality expected in the global market runs from Evan Goldberg and Vince Vaughn. The Politician is a comedy $9 million to $15 million. about a disgraced political candidate caught up in a sex- “The F Word happened because it was a coproduction scandal that sends him on the lam from both federal agents allowing for American, U.K., and Canadian actors and drug-dealers. The project came to Dowse through his to work together,” says Dowse. Casting well-known U.S. agent UTA (United Talent Agency) and via his existing international stars such as Adam Driver, Zoe Kazan and relationship with Goon screenwriter Evan Goldberg. Daniel Radcliff e was essential in making The F Word a “This is the big time. Hollywood star. Hollywood remarkably appealing and transferable comedy. producers. Hollywood studio,” says Slone of Dowse’s new “But there’s a double-edged sword to having American gig, which sees him join Canadian fi lmmakers like Denis partners,” adds Slone. “On the one hand you get the benefi t Villeneuve, Jean-Marc Vallée and Philippe Falardeau of publicity spilling across the border, on the other hand in making American studio pictures and, according to 90% of the distribution is driven by the U.S. distributor.” Dowse, hitting “them out of the park.” The F Word premiered at TIFF in 2013 as part of If all goes well, Dowse could be set to do the same.

37

WINTER 2014

PB.25655.CMPA.indd036_037_BOTY_Dowse.indd 37 37 2014-11-122014-11-13 4:133:59 PM PB.25633.Shaw.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:27 AM Pillaging the ratings How Vikings became Canadian TV’s #1 specialty entertainment show two years running. BY KATIE BAILEY

THE WEEKLY TOP 30 TV RATINGS SHEET IS A program (non-sports) on Canadian TV two years in a row FAIRLY PREDICTABLE, CONVENTIONAL TV- and even more impressively – considering the graphic DOMINATED AFFAIR. The Big Bang Theory. Hockey. violence – the number one (non-sports) specialty show on News. Glossy franchise procedural. Canadian TV for female audiences aged 25 to 54. So the day History channel – of all things – burst onto And it wasn’t just a success in Canada. Distributed by the rankings with 1.1 million viewers on a Thursday night MGM International, Vikings airs in 52 countries around was a signifi cant one. And quite suitably, it was a show the world. In the U.S., where it airs on History as well, about Vikings that battled its way in. it was ranked the number one cable series on Thursday Created and written by veteran TV scribe Michael night across all key demos, according to A+E Networks. Hirst, the Take 5 Productions/World 2000 Canada- (Unsurprisingly, Telefi lm Canada reports that the series Ireland coproduction has become a juggernaut for Shaw is a hit in Finland, where its AMA for 25-to-44-year-olds Media’s History channel, earning an average viewership was 97% above network average.) of 900,000 (2+) in its second season. Although it has proven itself with two seasons of chart- It was the number one specialty entertainment topping ratings, Shaw Media’s SVP of content, Christine

38

WINTER 2014

038_039_BOTY_Vikings.indd 38 2014-11-14 2:31 PM PB.25634.Shaw.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:26 AM Shipton, admits that initially, boarding Vikings represented Canadian licence fee and a good tax deal.’ That’s obviously a risk: the series came with a hefty price tag and required a part of it, but is nowhere near the only reason why you brutal violence for authenticity. structure these as a treaty coproduction.” “Our fi nancial contribution is substantial but it’s worth The series employs about 100 Canadians, including it,” Shipton says, explaining that the broadcaster invested VFX from Toronto’s Mr. X, post at Deluxe and sound from a portion of its CMF envelope in the series. “It was a Tattersall Sound and Picture; work that’s quarterbacked measured investment. We all looked at it and said, this could in Canada by executive producer Sheila Hockin. To date, be a nine-part event and sayonara, that’s it. Well, within two the series has earned 2014 and 2013 Emmy nominations episodes, we knew that every penny was worth it.” for its VFX, as well as 2013 Emmy noms for sound editing Treaty coproductions such as Vikings attract their and title design. In 2014, it was nominated for six CSAs, share of criticism, with some arguing that the work fl ows taking home a win again for its visual eff ects. overseas fuelled by domestic tax credits. But both Shaw’s Directorially, 21 of the series total 29 episodes have Shipton and Take 5 president and CEO John Weber argue been directed by Canadians, including Jeff Woolnough, that not only does the structure facilitate the necessary Kari Skogland and Ken Girotti. Canadian talent includes budget – in this case, $5 million an episode – but that the Jessalyn Gilsig, Katheryn Winnick, Alexander Ludwig and creative benefi ts as well. season three feautures Canadians Lothaire Bluteau and “This is a global piece of content,” argues Shipton. “You Kevin Durand. have to look at what’s happening in our world these days – Fittingly, one of the series’ secrets to success is one that Vikings earned an average audience of and the content that’s rising to the very top is content that was shared by real Vikings as well: gender equality. With 900,000 (2+) across its second season travels around the world. Yes, a lot of our Canadian stories fi erce female characters that fi ght alongside – and even on Shaw Media’s History. do travel, but Vikings fi ts in a category of entertainment lead – men, the series wins over an almost equal amount experience that’s universal.” of women, with season two skewing 56% male and 44% “It’s so much more than just the fi nancing that’s female with adults aged 25 to 54. brought to these projects,” Weber argues. “They are shot “The only way to really make this a hit was to make sure in Ireland but so much of the work is done here in Canada: that the women watched it as well,” says Shipton. “The music, sound, visual eff ects, picture editing and financing. actors are fabulous but it’s the storytelling – how dependent That sometimes gets a little bit lost when people say, ‘the the men and women were on each other. At the end of the only reason you do these treaty coproductions is to get a day, it’s a great soap with huge battles in the middle.”

39

ALL HAIL!

Congratulations to Vikings on being named Show of the Year (Scripted). Thank you to Take 5 Productions, the Canadian Media Fund and our international partners A+E Networks, MGM Television, Octagon Films & Michael Hirst. WINTER 2014

038_039_BOTY_Vikings.indd 39 2014-11-14 2:31 PM PB.25634.Shaw.indd 1 2014-11-12 8:26 AM only calls, in which cooks presented a prepared dish to a MasterChef Canada professional taster and met with producers. The series was a huge success. MasterChef Canada attracted an average audience of 1.8 million in season one, easily earning it a season two greenlight from CTV and making it the most-watched Canadian-produced series WHEN CTV HAD A HOLE TO FILL IN ITS WINTER for the 2013-2014 broadcast season (BBM Canada data 2014 SCHEDULE, IT HAD A FEW OPTIONS: acquire via Bell Media Sept. 23, 2013 to May 4, 2014). It even sold an American show, do another original Canadian drama, outside Canada to a number of markets, including the U.S. or go for a high-profi le format. But the series’ success can be measured by more than The network was keen to build off the success of just ratings and sales. In an era where advertisers are Insight Productions’ Amazing Race Canada, which hungry for integration opportunities, MasterChef proved earned an average audience of 2.8 million viewers in its an ideal platform, with Kraft boarding as a sponsor and its second season, says Phil King, president, CTV, sports and products integrated into challenges, such as a food-truck entertainment programming. challenge featuring Kraft shredded cheese. (Although Bell MasterChef, a U.S. cooking competition show from Media would not reveal the value of MasterChef Canada’s Shine Productions, had recently done well on CTV, which integrations, sources on the media agency side say that, With an average audience prompted an idea: could the network replicate the success depending on the level of sponsorships, CTV would charge of 1.8 million, the cooking of Amazing Race with a Canadian MasterChef? upwards of $1.5 million for such a deal.) competition show was the Deciding yes, the broadcaster teamed with Toronto’s Culturally, the prodco ensured the series featured a most-watched Canadian Proper Television to produce the series, which was uniquely Canadian approach – featuring a multicultural helmed by Proper showrunner Cathie James. cast and distinctively Canadian cuisine – while still holding series of the 2013-2014 What set the series apart was the casting, notes King. its own as a shiny-fl oor studio show, explains Proper broadcast season. Handled by Proper, a call was issued via TV, radio and Television president Guy O’Sullivan.

BY JULIANNA CUMMINS social media and delivered to Proper’s online casting “I think people really warmed to the fact that we could database. The prodco then hosted open and invitation- tell Canadian stories within that format,” O’Sullivan said.

40

WINTER 2014

PB.25606.Bell.indd040_BOTY_MasterChef.indd 40 40 2014-11-122014-11-13 4:184:02 PM PB.25596.Passion.indd 41 2014-11-12 4:20 PM EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS IN KIDS ENTERTAINMENT February 23-26, 2015 InterContinental Miami

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PB.25762.KSS_HA.indd 1 2014-11-12 5:34 PM CANADIAN FILM & TELEVISION HALL OF FAME Digital pioneer BY CARRIE CUTFORTH IN CANADA’S SCREEN INDUSTRIES, IS All of these, Topalovich recalls, were on display THERE ANY BIGGER COMPLIMENT THAN when Sheffer had to run the first-ever Gemini TO SAY SOMEONE IS AN OUTSTANDING awards broadcast ceremony without a broadcaster, ADMINISTRATOR? thanks to a strike at the CBC just weeks before the Our industry is built on stacks and stacks (and stacks) inaugural event. of paperwork. Tucked in that paperwork are people’s “With the help of – Jay Switzer was our angel hearts and souls, dreams, fears, and dollars painstakingly – they put together a network [of ] Citytv stations and raised from parents, friends, colleagues and strangers. CBC affi liates, other independents, some CTV affi liates. So when Screen Composers Guild of Canada executive Playback’s 2014 Film and TV Hall of Fame Industry Builder director Maria Topalovich lists “outstanding is digital funding guru Andra Sheffer administrator” as one of Playback Hall of Fame inductee Andra Sheff er’s top qualities, it’s not to diminish her considerable skill set. It is, in fact, the highest of compliments. In Sheff er’s long and distinguished career in the Canadian fi lm, TV and digital industries, her keen judgement, diplomacy and tact have, by any measure, made the industry a better place. Under her leadership and guidance, the Independent Production Fund (IPF) and the Bell Broadcast and New Media Fund have garnered international reputations for cross-platform and digital content funding. Further, these funds (as well as the COGECO Fund, of which she is executive director) have set a standard imitated internationally, particularly in Europe. Perhaps most indelibly made is her mark on Canadian content overall. Commissioned to set up the fi rst Canadian Audio-Visual Certifi cation Offi ce (CAVCO) offi ce in 1974, she, along with colleagues Dinah Hoyle and Pat Ferns, devised the fi rst 10-point Canadian content ranking system, which stands more or less the same today. And then, as managing director of the Festival of Festivals (now TIFF) in 1978, she and Topalovich, whom Sheff er had just hired, set out to transform the Canadian Film Awards into the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television (incorporated in 1979) that ran two new industry awards: the Genies (1980) for Canadian fi lm and the new Geminis (1986) for Canadian TV. “She seduced me into that job!” laughs Topalovich, who went on to an over 25-year career with the ACCT. “We look back and we wonder how we did it because we really didn’t have any help.” Of her longtime friend and former colleague, Topalovich says Sheff er possesses four fundamental skills required of a successful industry builder: her administration prowess, keen budgeting skills, excellent problem solving and masterful long- range planning.

WINTER 2014 43

043to045_HoF.indd 43 2014-11-13 4:34 PM It was a very creative, never-put-together-before digital entertainment industry and has put us on network. It was national. And she and Jay did it.” the map as the place to fi nance cutting-edge digital Following her departure from ACCT, Sheff er took projects,” she describes. on the IPF in 1991. Before long, she was also steering Ever modest, Sheff er points back to the long list of the COGECO Fund and in 1997, the Bell Fund too (from producers she’s worked with as critical to her success in which she recently retired). Combined, these three leading the three funds over the years. funds under Sheff er’s oversight have contributed over $260 million to Canadian content production. In the early days of digital, she recalls, it was tough to convince broadcasters it was “okay” to not only put “ By listening and absorbing, I grabbed hold content online but create it as well. It was the money of those gaps in the industry to design that turned things around: the funds’ contributions reduced the risk for broadcasters, allowing a nascent new programs, get boards of directors digital industry to form. behind them, change mandates, do new Sheff er and her teams went far beyond simply approving grants. Prioritizing professional development, things and push ahead.” knowledge sharing, resources and incubation, Sheff er and her team cultivated a learning culture. “All the funds ask producers to report on the hard “It’s the industry that fed me,” she says. “By listening lessons learned, which we collect and share with the and absorbing, I grabbed hold of those gaps in the industry so others can benefi t from them,” she explains. industry to design new programs, get boards of directors Jill Golick, president of the Writers Guild of Canada behind them, change mandates, do new things and and creator of Ruby Skye P.I. (an IPF-backed web series), continue to evolve the funds and push ahead.” emphasizes the role Sheff er has played in building Today’s multi-platform universe has created a high Canada’s digital content industry. demand for original digital content and thanks in no “By championing new media creators, testing new small part to her eff orts, both the Bell Fund and the IPF business models and backing innovative proposals, helped push Canadian producers above and beyond Andra has helped to build the burgeoning Canadian this curve of demand.

44

Heartfelt congratulations from Shaftesbury & Smokebomb

Barbara Williams Andra Sheffer Playback Magazine’s Person of the Year Playback Magazine’s Hall of Fame Executive Vice President, Broadcasting & Executive Director President, Shaw Media Bell Fund, Independent Production Fund (IPF)(IPF) and Cogeco Fund

shaftesbury.ca

WINTERW INTER 22014014

043to045_HoF.indd 44 2014-11-14 2:33 PM PB.25750.Shatsbury.indd 1 2014-11-13 4:30 PM CANADIAN 20142014 HHumanitarianumanitarian AAwardward: PPaulaul HHaggisaggis FFILM & TELEVISION HALL OF FAME

on average to run them. I thought, maybe I can sell that to my friends, but I was ridiculously unsuccessful.” Haggis sponsored some on his own, even going as far as giving away a few as Christmas gifts to celebrities with the hope that once their name was attached, they’d pony up to support the school. “It was kind of a bastard move, and it didn’t work – I raised no money at all,” he says with a laugh. When the earthquake hit, the dynamic changed. “We got really eff ective because obviously the eyes of the world turned on Haiti,” he recalls. “For the fi rst time, people truly understood their level of need. It was the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, and then it was destroyed.” Since the devastation, Artists For Building hope for Peace and Justice has raised over $15 million, with celebrities like Daniel Craig and Penelope Cruz chiming in $50,000 Haiti’s next generation annually, and has built Haiti’s fi rst free high school. BY NICK KREWEN THE PLIGHT OF IMPOVERISHED HAITIANS “If you’re in the slums, you go to grade 6…if you’re TOUCHED PAUL HAGGIS LONG BEFORE THE lucky enough to go to school,” says Haggis, who visits the COUNTRY’S DEVASTATING EARTHQUAKE country as often as time will allow. “After that, you’re out CAUGHT THE WORLD’S ATTENTION. on the street. What options do you have with a grade 6 In fact, by the time the deadly 7.0 magnitude tremor education in a country where there’s 70% unemployment? had leveled a good portion of the country in January “I thought that was a crime, so we quickly decided to 2010, the Academy Award-winning writer, director and build a middle [school] and a high school. We moved very producer had already established Artists For Peace and quickly: three months after the quake, we had already Justice (APJ), a non-profi t organization that serves the secured the 10 acres of school land for about $1.5 million. poorest committees in Haiti with educational programs in It’s land that won’t be aff ected by fl oods or earthquakes.” education, healthcare, and the arts. He also spearheaded Haggis said the initial plan was to enroll 1,200 2009’s BRANDAID Project, a Canada-led initiative students, start out with Grade 7 and roll out a new grade to help artisan businesses in economically challenged once a year through Grade 13. communities, including Haiti. “We planned 120 kids per grade level, but 400 showed The London, Ontario native said his personal call to up,” he said. “So we took the 400 and tripled the size of alms was inspired back in 2008, after being tipped off by a the school. Last year we were up to 2,600 kids and we’ll reporter to the work of U.S. Catholic priest Rick Frechette, soon have almost 3,000 when we’re fi nished.” who has been working in the Haitian slums for the past APJ has also established a free fi lm school and a free two decades. audio engineering program, and supports a pair of music “He sounded like a superhero, and I’m a cynic,” Haggis schools located just north of Port Au Prince. says. “I just didn’t believe it.” “These kids – 95% of our alumni – are getting jobs and So Haggis hopped on a plane, tracked Frechette down earning 20 times what their parents do,” Haggis marvels. and stayed with him for a week. He hopes to eventually expand the APJ mandate to “I was just overwhelmed with how much he was include other countries in need, but for the moment, he doing,” Haggis recalls. “He’s man who had done so much has an active Haiti wish list of new facilities to pursue. – and is doing so much – by enabling and empowering the “We aren’t going to solve Haiti’s problems,” he says. people that he works with, the Haitians. I walked away “But you look at some of those kids coming out of there, thinking...I just can’t walk away.” and you go well, maybe they will.” After hosting a Hollywood dinner for Frechette and Whether you’re a celebrity or not, Haggis says, “you his Haitian colleagues, Haggis decided in 2009 to help have to walk the walk.” fi nance schools. “I think anybody who has a voice has a responsibility “Rick had a lot of these ‘little street schools’, as he to use it. It doesn’t matter if you’re a celebrity or if you’re a called them, that he was building: 19 of them in the slums. banker or whatever. If you have infl uence, you need to use I looked at his budget, and fi gured it took $50,000 yearly that infl uence.”

WINTER 2014 45

043to045_HoF.indd 45 2014-11-13 4:34 PM PB.25750.Shatsbury.indd 1 2014-11-13 4:30 PM THE BACK PAGE

ABOUT THE ARTIST The Back Page was written by Playback and illustrated by Sean Patrick O’Reilly, CEO and founder of Vancouver-based Arcana, which is celebrating its 10th year in comic book publishing. He is also directing and producing Pixies, Arcana’s fi rst animated feature fi lm. 46 WINTER 2014

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