Hiccups Season 2 underway in Vancouver!
August 30, 2010

We are excited to announce we are starting work with our clients from “Hiccups” on Season 2!

CTV has renewed the Brett Butt Comedy Series for a second season, and shooting will start up later in September here in Vancouver.

The series stars Corner Gas’ Nancy Robertson, who plays the role of Millie Upton, a children’s author with anger management issues, which are referred to as “hiccups,” giant outbursts, which could be described as a giant fit of depression. These outbursts are immediate, so they are prone to happen at any time. After being told that she needs some help controlling her anger issues, Millie finds a man named Stan Dirko (Brent Butt), whom she hires as her life coach.

Actor makes dysfunctional detective compelling
August 26, 2010

For a detective investigating a crime, it’s always useful to have another set of eyes examine the evidence.

Except, perhaps, when those eyes are located in the same head but are being directed by a different, darker part of the same brain.

Such is the delicate dysfunction afflicting Det. Ben Sullivan (Callum Keith Rennie) the confused cop at the centre of the new Canadian-made cop drama Shattered, which premières Wednesday at 9 p.m. on Global.

Sullivan is a tough, smart, experienced crime solver who does things mostly by the book but occasionally lapses into aggressive and borderline-dangerous behaviours that could just as easily ruin a case as solve one.

And the problem, as quickly becomes clear in the series première, is that when Ben does that crazily out-of-character stuff, it isn’t really Ben doing it. It’s a long dormant but recently resurfaced alternate personality called Sam, who has picked a stressful time in his host’s life to start reasserting himself and taking over ever-larger chunks of Ben’s consciousness.

Sunday’s opener begins with the arrival of Ben’s new partner, Det. Amy Lynch (Camille Sullivan), in the homicide unit. Before she has time to unload her personal belongings, the phone rings and Sullivan asks if she’s ready to tackle her first case.

In minutes, the freshly united pair is careening across town to an old warehouse where it’s believed a serial killer may be hiding. As they work their way through the dark, abandoned building (a staple location in cop-show pilot episodes, it seems), they encounter the body of the killer’s latest victim.

Before they can finish examining the corpse for the telltale markings that will confirm the killer’s identity, a figure bolts out of the darkness and attacks Sullivan. As the scuffle escalates, he shouts for his new partner to use her firearm — and she does, with lethal effect.

But it soon becomes apparent that the suspect didn’t have a gun, as Sullivan claimed, and Lynch doesn’t understand why he can’t recall ordering her to shoot. As the forensics team starts sorting out the details, the investigation starts getting complicated and messy.

While he continues to conceal his issues from his co-workers, Ben confides in his wife (Molly Parker) that Sam has, indeed, returned. Their relationship is already on shaky ground in the wake of their young son’s abduction two years earlier, and she isn’t sure she’ll be able to cope with another descent into multiple-personality hell.

Shattered is an attention-grabber for a couple of reasons — first, it’s well written and employs a cop-show concept that hasn’t been seen a thousand times before (unlike Global’s other unexpectedly popular summer-launched drama, Rookie Blue), and second, its star delivers a compelling and consistently interesting performance.

Rennie has always been watchable, from his early work in the locally produced 1996 TV movie For Those Who Hunt the Wounded Down through his memorable runs in such prime-time titles as DaVinci’s Inquest, Californication and 24. And in this starring role, he uses the full weight of his experience and age to create a character filled with contradictions and simmering rage.

The supporting cast, led by Parker, Clé Bennett (The Line) and Martin Cummins (Dark Angel), is solid, but the appeal of Shattered springs directly from Rennie’s stellar work. His efforts, and this series’ strong start, deserve to be rewarded by a longer-term lease on a prime-time slot.

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/entertainment/TV/actor-makes-dysfunctional-detective-compelling-101543378.html

Cold Spots trailer (2010)
August 19, 2010

Cold spots \kohld-spots\ n. an area of localized coldness or sudden temperature drop resulting from paranormal activity.

The film centers on the five-person crew of “Grave Encounters”, a ghost-hunting reality show, which is shooting an episode inside an abandoned insane asylum. After interviewing numerous witnesses who claim to have had paranormal experiences there, they lock themselves inside the massive building and begin their investigation. To their delight, strange things do begin happening – objects moving on their own, ghostly voices echoing through the halls – and they capture it all on camera. But they soon realize that the building is more than just haunted – it is alive – and doesn’t want them to leave. Doors that should lead outside only lead to more hallways, as if the building itself is changing. Time passes through what should be days, only to reveal itself as night. The crew find themselves trapped in an impossible nightmare, hiding from the ghosts of the crazed patients who haunt the building and pick them off one by one. As food and water run low and they desperately search for a way out, they discover the truth behind the asylum’s dark past…and end up capturing their final demise on camera.

Cold Spots Trailer

Trailer for “Amazon Falls” premiering at TIFF
August 17, 2010

Check out the trailer for “Amazon Falls” a indie feature shot here in the lower mainland and premiering at the Toronto Film Festival next month!

Canada’s entertainment and media market to grow faster than US from 2010 to 2014: PwC global outlook report
August 13, 2010

Consumer behaviour will drive change and the digital transformation, growth to be led by mobile, Internet, TV, film and video games, and advertising spending to rebound.

June 15, 2010 — While the Canadian entertainment and media (E&M) market declined by 2.7% in 2009, PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) expects a rebound in 2010 and beyond, with growth averaging 5% compounded annually through 2014, according to the PwC report Global Entertainment and Media Outlook: 2010–2014, which provides forecasts and analysis on 13 major E&M industry segments in 48 countries. The global E&M industry will also grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5% over the forecast period to 2014, reaching US$1.7 trillion, up from US$1.3 trillion in 2009. However, Canada will grow faster than the US with a 5% CAGR, compared with a 3.8% CAGR in the US.

• In Canada, Internet access spending at a 12% CAGR (compared to 8.8% in the US and 9% globally) and Internet advertising at a 11.7% CAGR (compared to 7.7% in the US and 11.4% globally) will be major drivers for the industry.
• TV subscriptions will grow at a 6.8% CAGR (6.5% in the US and 6.8% globally), and consumer spending on video games will increase by a 6.6% CAGR (6.4% in the US and 10.6% globally).
• Overall consumer end-user spending on media, excluding internet access spending, will increase in Canada at a rate of 4.3% CAGR (3.7% in the US and 4.1% globally), while advertising will rise at a 3.1% CAGR (2.6% in the US and 4.2% globally).

“The next five years will see digital technologies increase their dominance across all segments of entertainment and media as digital transformation accelerates,” says Jerry Brown, an associate partner in the Canadian Entertainment & Media (E&M) practice for PwC. “While the industry has a long history of experimenting and adding formats that have offered consumers new choices, the current advances in technologies and consumer behaviour are unprecedented in both their speed and their simultaneous impact across all segments.”

The fastest growing region throughout the forecast period is Latin America growing at a 8.8% CAGR during the next five years to US$77 billion in 2014. Asia Pacific is next at a 6.4% CAGR through to 2014 to US$475 billion. Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) will grow at a 4.6% CAGR to US$581 billion in 2014.

Advertising on the rebound

Overall, global advertising will increase at a 4.2% CAGR from US$406 billion in 2009 to US$498 billion in 2014. Internet advertising will join television advertising in 2014 as the only media with spending in excess of US$100 billion.

The Canadian advertising market will continue to recover. While PwC sees growth in digital platforms, traditional media, including television and publishing, continues to attract the majority of advertising spending. Indeed, TV advertising in Canada will increase at average annual growth of 3.8% to US$3.4 billion in 2014. The demise of the conventional television advertising market appears to have been exaggerated with US$2.1 billion of expected advertising revenue in 2014, increasing at a CAGR of 2.4%. Speciality television growth will be slightly stronger at a CAGR of 4.8%.

“The big story in 2009 was the recession’s impact, which led to a broad pull back in advertising spending,” says Michael Paterson, partner and Canadian co-editor of the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook at PwC. “The exception was internet advertising, which grew at a double digit pace. As Canada’s economy is recovering ahead of the US economy, we expect that the Canadian advertising market will rebound more quickly. Increased demand and opportunities for Internet and mobile advertising along with sustained spending on traditional advertising platforms will drive growth.”

Consumer spending in Canada remains strong

Global consumer/end-user spending fell by 0.5% 2009 as declines in recorded music, consumer magazines, newspapers, consumer and educational books, and business-to-business publishing offset the gains in TV subscriptions and license fees, filmed entertainment, and video games.

In Canada, consumer spending on digital media will grow quickly, complimenting spend on traditional forms of media. However, in the music, newspaper and magazine publishing industries, digital media is presenting new business challenges as overall traditional revenues are slowly declining. However, Canadian consumers will still spend over US$3.3 billion on these segments which is a substantial part of the total spend.

TV subscriptions

• Subscription fees in Canada will increase at a CAGR of 6.8% to US$9.1 billion by 2014, driven by the expansion of digital cable, Video on Demand (VOD) offerings and Internet Protocol TV (IPTV).

Film

• Canadian box office spending will continue to grow at a CAGR of 5.3%. Higher growth will occur in paid online rentals and digital downloads to own, which will contribute to a US$4.1 billion Canadian film entertainment market in 2014.

Video Games

• After a decline in 2009, video game spending by Canadian consumers will grow at a CAGR of 6% to US$1.7 billion in 2014. The strongest growth will in online and wireless games where convenience and interactivity enhance the consumer experience.

The rising power of mobility and the Internet
Mobile Internet access will expand dramatically in Canada and spending will grow at a CAGR of 45% from US$238 million to over US$1.55 billion in five years, driven by a 48% annual increase in mobile Internet subscribers as the number of smartphones increases.

In 2014, as the proliferation of smartphones and other connected devices continues, 10 million Canadians will have access to the Internet via their mobile devices including readers such as the iPad. This will put continued pressure on providers to support all of these new data demands.

“Using the Internet is now one of the great unifying experiences of the current era for consumers everywhere—and their expectation of Internet-style interactivity and access to content will continue to expand, especially mobile content,” says Brown.

Brown concludes, “Creativity and innovation have always been associated with entertainment and media and now is the time for the industry to embrace new and emerging opportunities. However companies develop their future visions they will need to deliver an ever-expanding customer experience and be flexible to capture revenues across all platforms. Those who do will be the leaders in this exciting but challenging industry.”

For more information and to obtain copies of the Global Entertainment and Media Outlook, which includes summaries by region and segment, including Canada, please contact Kiran Chauhan, 416-947-8983, kiran.chauhan@ca.pwc.com.

For more information, visit www.pwc.com/ca/entertainmentandmedia.