CANADIAN CANADA $7 FALL 2019 VOL.22, NO.1 SCREENWRITER FILM | TELEVISION | RADIO | DIGITAL MEDIA The Beaverton Tallboyz Brander is ready for fast-track graduates to its national from stage head writer at spotlight to screen 22 Minutes The Comedy Issue Meet the minds behind the funniest shows in Canadian TV PM40011669 CANADIAN SCREENWRITER The journal of the Writers Guild of Canada SPECIAL AWARDS Vol. 22 No. 1 Fall 2019 Contents ISSN 1481-6253 Publication Mail Agreement Number 400-11669 Cover DESERVE SPECIAL Publisher Maureen Parker From Pratfalls to Flatfalls 6 Editor Tom Villemaire [email protected] For our special comedy issue, we talk to 11 of the hottest writers of Canadian comedy about the scenes that made them laugh and Director of Communications the ones that got away. Their responses are, well, funny. Lana Castleman CANDIDATES! By Diane Wild Editorial Advisory Board Michael Amo Michael MacLennan Features Susin Nielsen Simon Racioppa Fake News. Real Laughs. 14 Rachel Langer NOMINATIONS OPEN JAN. 6, 2020 FOR: With so many voices clamouring to be heard, The Beaverton President Dennis Heaton (Pacific) has managed to capture an audience with its sharp and incisive Councillors brand of news parody as it moves to national broadcast on CTV. Michael Amo (Atlantic) Mark Ellis (Central) By Matthew Hays Marsha Greene (Central) Alex Levine (Central) Anne-Marie Perrotta (Quebec) Tallboyz Fast-Track to TV 18 ALEX BARRIS MENTORSHIP AWARD Andrew Wreggitt (Western) With Bruce McCulloch of Kids in the Hall fame on-board as Design Studio Ours showrunner, Tallboyz Guled Abdi, Vance Banzo, Tim Blair, Cover Photo: Dan Bannister and Franco Nguyen discuss their quick transition from writing Printing Vibrant Graphics for the stage to writing for the small screen. Canadian Screenwriter is By Li Robbins SONDRA KELLY AWARD published three times a year by the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC). 366 Adelaide Street West, Suite 401 The Graduate 22 Toronto, Ontario M5V 1R9 Heidi Brander’s recent promotion to head writer of Canadian TEL: (416) 979-7907 FAX: (416) 979-9273 satirical institution This Hour Has 22 Minutes proves the WEBSITE: www.wgc.ca age-old comedy adage — timing really is everything. Subscriptions: WGC members receive a By Mark Dillon WGC SHOWRUNNER AWARD subscription as part of their membership. Non-member subscriptions: $20 for three issues. W-Files Advertising policy: Readers should not Kayla Lorette and Evany Rosen 24 assume that any products or services advertised in Canadian Screenwriter are By Cameron Archer Details and entry forms will be available endorsed by the WGC. Editorial Policy: The WGC neither implicitly nor explicitly endorses opinions or attitudes Columns at wgc.ca on Jan. 6, 2020 expressed in Canadian Screenwriter. From the Editor/Contributors 2 Submissions are subject to editing for Inside/Out — Dennis Heaton 3 length, style and content. Advertising Sales: Off Script — Penelope Laurence 32 Visit www.wgc.ca or contact Lana Castleman at [email protected] News Letters to the editor are subject to editing for length. Not all letters are published. Beat Sheet 4 The 24th Annual WGC Screenwriting Awards Spotlight 28 Money for Missing Writers 30 April 27, 2020 Koerner Hall Toronto New Members 31 WGC Special Awards Nominate Ad 2020.indd 1 11/1/19 10:39 AM FROM THE EDITOR CONTRIBUTORS INSIDE/OUT — FROM THE PRESIDENT Fall 2019 Welcome to the comedy issue Cameron Archer runs the The carrot and the stick Canadian TV and media site So, this is the comedy issue (our first!), in case the headline didn’t give it away. Gloryosky (www.gloryosky.ca) Remember how excited everyone was when George Lucas announced a What you might notice, however, is that two shows aren’t featured: and is also a freelance arts and series of Star Wars prequels? Remember our giddiness? Remember how Baroness von Sketch Show and Schitt’s Creek. “How could we ignore these media writer. He currently lives two hugely successful comedy series?” you might ask. Well, I could say, “It in Eastern Ontario. confused we all were when the opening crawl for that first film started seemed the Canadian thing to do.” with these words: “Turmoil has engulfed the Galactic Republic. The Of course, I’d be wrong. We tried to line up both shows for features Dan Bannister is an award- taxation of trade routes to outlying star systems is in dispute.” in this issue, but sadly, scheduling time with the creators of these hit winning portrait, fashion and shows in time to meet our production deadlines wasn’t possible. So, it was lifestyle photographer, who a success thing, not a Canadian one. And that’s a great thing. splits his time between Toronto If Star Wars: Episode One – are more expensive to produce provide a training ground for Thankfully, there is no shortage of excellent Canadian comedy to and New York. His work has The Phantom Menace taught us than American content is to buy. future generations of Canadian explore, which you’ll discover in the following pages. been featured in The Wall anything — besides the danger of We allegedly don’t generate nearly storytellers. It’s how we’ll find out And that made me think of the heritage the current kings, queens Street Journal, Forbes, The having two subtitles — it’s that no as much advertising revenue. And what sticks and what doesn’t. and baronesses of Canadian comedy have built on. I then thought it’d be New York Times and more. one, not even the most revered most importantly, so they contend, The CMF Early Stage fun to revisit some past successes, and so I offer my take on the top three space opera of all time, can make nobody likes us. Development Program is an moments from Canadian comedy’s past. Mark Dillon is a Toronto-based government policy exciting. But here’s the thing, that’s important step in the right No list would be complete without recognizing Kids in the Hall’s the freelance journalist and former But policy, specifically Cana- not true. I can guarantee the idea direction. Thanks to this program, Headcrusher. Mark McKinney’s recurring character, Mr. Tyzik, found editor of Playback magazine. dian cultural policy, is something that nobody likes us is just flat- pilot scripts that might never have a spot across the series’ five seasons and 100 episodes. He would sit and He is author of the award- we writers are always talking about, out wrong. You know how I know seen the light of day will get a chance watch as “flatheads” walked by on their way about their lives, peering winning Fifty Sides of the even if we don’t think we’re talking that? Schitt’s Creek. Orphan Black. to be developed into pitchable between his thumb and forefinger as he decided which ones deserved Beach Boys. about it. That’s because any show Letterkenny. Wynnona Earp. Anne projects. Will they all succeed? Of his signature move. He would then squeeze his fingers together as he that is considered “CanCon” — with an “E.” Slings & Arrows. All course not. And that’s the point. triumphantly exclaimed, “I crush your head.” It’s a move still copied Matthew Hays is a Montreal- series produced by privately owned of these shows — and many more There were complaints at today. (At least by this editor.) based writer, author and Canadian Broadcasters to fulfill — are national and international the outset that the market would Stepping back to the decade before that, the 1980s had Second City university and college their CRTC-mandated annual PNI successes, finding audiences and/or be flooded with scripts. Great! Television or SCTV. Like KITH, the show had dozens of hilarious recurring instructor. His articles have (Programs of National Interest) critical acclaim. Flood the market! Give producers character sketches. But my all-time favourite is Tex and Edna Boyle’s Curio appeared in the Globe and Mail, spend and retain their broadcast li- I can already hear some of you and broadcasters a whole swath of and Organ Emporium (or Prairie Warehouse). They rolled out as a series The New York Times, Maclean’s, censes — exists because of Canadian saying, “Sure, Dennis, those are the projects to choose from. Then flood of cheesy faux commercials featuring Andrea Martin and Dave Thomas Toronto Star and many others. cultural and broadcast policy. hits, but what about the misses we’ve the airwaves with shows. And when as the title characters. Tex and Edna were awesome in cowboy hats and His book, The View from Here: (Now, keep in mind that when produced? Don’t you see that we’ve the audience decides which shows western suits and dresses. “We’ll put the song back in your heart and a Conversations with Gay and I refer to broadcasters, here, it’s the produced more misses than hits?” they want to invest their time in, we budgie in your cage,” Edna would say. And of course, she was referring to Lesbian Filmmakers (Arsenal corporate entity and not the creative To that point, I have only keep making them and go back to the Shetland budgies, the strongest budgies in the world, so you can ride Pulp), won a 2008 Lambda executives who writers engage with one response: “Uh, yeah.” There the drawing board for new ones. them. (SCTV ran in varying formats for 135 episodes from 1976 until 1984.) Literary Award. to ultimately produce a TV series.) is a formula to making successful We need cultural policy that Finally and more recently, there’s Trailer Park Boys. Rush’s Alex To put it bluntly, the television, and it’s actually really encourages increased development Lifeson ends up wearing Ricky’s clothes at one point, which is really the Li Robbins is a freelance writer broadcasters in our country don’t simple.