Cinema Canada (Dec 1974-Jan 1975)

shooting remain on La Téte de Normande Sainte-Onge and will be shot in winter. Harold Greenberg’s Bellevue Pathé/ Astral has joined with Sandy Howard and Richard Harris to make The Last Castle in Nova Scotia, a comedy drama. As Greenberg emphasised on TV recently in Toronto, he makes pictures in Canada, not necessarily Canadian pictures. And this production fits the bill. It stems from a joining of forces by Howard and Harris, and is one of a series. Another previously announced film by Greenberg/Howard is The Devil’s Rain, which will now be made in Mexico, probably without Greenberg. Another Bellevue project, Embryo, is scheduled for next March, but it seems that the start date is being moved up to January, depending upon whether Daniel Petrie is available to direct. Story concerns test tube babies, and will be shot in Montreal. Walter Baczynsky’s Canukr Films is readying Marichka, the first feature made in Canadian with Ukrainian as the main language. John Sweeney and Paul Aspland are editing Franz, a feature turned down by the CFDC. Robbie Malenfant is editing Moss Tarts. And Burg Productions of Toronto, after completing Martin Lager’s Trick, Count Stroganoff and Me, have announced a slew of features for the future: John Craig’s In Council Rooms Apart, Martin Lager’s Centennial Express, and Banting, as well as several TV projects. Trick was shot in Ontario with actors Jan Rubes, Jim Henshaw, Danny Forbes, Susan Petrie, Paul Bradley. T.A. Kramreither produced, Bill Davidson directed, Sam Jephcott was production manager. Bob Brooks was director of photography, John Eckert handled first A.D., editor is Tony Lower, and the story concerns a trio who set out for adventure and good times. Journey into Fear has wrapped in Vancouver, and currently shooting in that city is Kosygin is Coming, a British film based on Canadian Tom Ardies’ novel. Star is George Segal. The film is being made under the Eady plan by producer Elliot Kastner and financier/ TV magnate Sir Lew Grade. Another Vancouver project, though not a feature, is Michael Asti-Rose’s Silent Movie, made on a $3000 grant from the Ontario Arts Council. Rose is attempting to make a facsimile of Twenties films, complete with stutter and high contrast. A scion of a wealthy family makes a pact with the devil. Rose says it’s a Faust/Keaton tragicomedy. (See Vancouver production in this issue for other developments. —ed.) Two features are currently beginning photographed in Toronto as I write. One 8 Cinema Canada is Joyce Weiland’s The Far Shore, based on the Group of Seven member Tom Thomson and is set prior to World War One. Executive Producer is Chalmers Adams and associate producer is Judy Steed. Richard Leiterman is cinematographer, Anne Pritchard is Art Director, Marilyn Stonehouse is production manager, Tony Lucibello is first A.D., and sound is by Rod Haykin. Cast includes Céline Lomez, Frank Moore, and Sean McCann. Script is by director Weiland and Bryan Barney. And Quadrant Films has announced a caper comedy for a six week shoot in Toronto. Called It Seemed Like a Good Idea at the Time, it features Anthony Newley, Stephanie Powers, Lloyd Bochner, Henry Ramer, Yvonne de Carlo, Moya Fenwick, John Candy and Isaac Hayes. Director is John Trent, producer is David Perlmutter, and cinematographer is Harry Makin. Quadrant also plans to shoot a British-style comedy in December in Germany starring Leslie Philips. And Sunday in the Country, the last Perlmutter/Trent feature, will premier in twenty-five theatres in the Tampa-St. Petersburg area in November. Canadian openings are planned for Christmas. Future projects include Ultimatum, based on Richard Rohmer’s novel. A first draft screenplay by Lionel Chetwynd has been given to the co-producers, the CBC and Vision IV. A winter shoot is planned in Toronto and the Arctic. Budget is $700,000. Ted Kotcheff and Mordecai Richler are developing the Richler novel Cocksure for feature treatment. Denys and Claude Héroux are now discussing filming Roch Carrier’s La Guerre Yes Sir. Norman McLaren plans a feature about animation. Ted Kotcheff Producer Maxine Samuels is developing two half-hour dramas for the CBC that are by and about women. One is The Ottawa Valley, based on a story by Alice Munro, adapted by Anna Reiser, directed by Janine Manatis, and starring Madelaine Sherwood. The other is Summer Mornings ’59 by Beth Haver adapted by Nika Rylski, directed by Daniéle J. Suissa and starring Elizabeth Shepherd. And Vision IV is looking for Chinese actors and actresses of all ages for a TV pilot. The CBC is looking for an actress to play a sixty-five year old Middle European immigrant woman in a sitcom being developed by Perry Rosemond called The King of Kensington. Paul Hecht and a female lead have already been cast and one pilot shot. If all the previous information confuses you, and you still can’t resist the glamour of showbiz, a conference to be held January 17 and 18 at York University may help. Topic is The Business of Film, and co-sponsors are York, the Canadian Filmmakers’ Distribution Centre and Ryerson’s Photo Arts department. Panels are still to be set at our press time, but some topics to be discussed will probably include Marketing, Legal (contracts, rights, unions, distribution agreements), raising money, and so on. The CBC will participate as well as the NFB. A shorts program is also planned, to include commercially successful works. The conference is free but pre-registration is required. Contact Marie Waisberg at the Distribution Centre or send in the card elsewhere in this issue. Types of shorts that fit the conference are educational, TV, commercial, and features too. No sponsored or industrial films. (406 Jarvis St. Toronto.) | FESTIVALS Festivals, Awards, Honours A partial version of the Canadian Film Awards was held this year on November 15th at Toronto’s Four Seasons Sheraton Hotel. Sponsored by the Canadian Film and Television Association (formerly the AMPPLC), awards were presented for sponsored films made by the private sector. Seventy-three entries competed and the following were presented with awards at a well-attended gathering: Best Public Relations film: Today’s Firefighters (Crawley Films); Sales Promotion; Terex 33-15 (Editcomm); Travel and Recreation: Toronto (Drege Audio); Nature and Wildlife: Land of the Big Ice (Keg Productions); Sports: With Flying Colours (Insight Productions); Educational: Edge of Evolution (Gordon Hinch); Instructional: Goodnight Little Foal (MorelandLatchford); TV Information and Public Affairs: The Perlmutar Story (Sunrise Films and Media Labs); Theatrical Short: Along these Lines (Immedia);