Charles Mitchell
A vacant lot in the Portlands has become a
wasteland of discarded soda bottles, crumbled newspapers and unrealized
potential.
Next year, at this site on the corner of
"There is no question a large
production that needs multiple stages is at a disadvantage with the facilities
that [
One of those whose future may hinge on the
success of the construction is Chèrie Ouellet, an actor who has been working
steadily in
"I think (SARS) definitely had a huge
effect on the film industry, but I think it's more or less like a volcano on
top of the rumbling - like the rumbling of problems start but when the volcano
erupts that's when you get the attention. I think SARS was the icing on the
cake."
In 2004, the City of
Figures like these worry Brian Topp,
executive director of the
"When Paul Martin was finance
minister he changed the rules of the game that made it a lot less attractive to
put capital into this industry," Topp said.
In 1997, then finance minister Paul Martin
eliminated the federal film production services tax shelters. Critics like Topp
blame these changes for making
A couple of years later, in 1999, the
Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission relaxed Canadian
content rules. The regulatory body changed the definition of what constitutes
Canadian stories and programming, halting the growth of dramatic domestic
projects, Topp said.
Then, toward the end of the 1990s,
provinces with more lucrative provincial tax credits started to compete for
productions. Although the McGuinty provincial government has promised changes,
all other Canadian provinces have more lucrative provincial tax credits than
In addition, there was also the collapse
of movie-of-the-week business as
In the wake of all this adversity, Topp
points to the rising Canadian dollar for making
"So you had a perfect storm gathering
around the
Another problem is that in recent years
Nevertheless, Topp said he does not feel
the runaway production campaign has had much effect on U.S movie and television
endeavours in Toronto, saying location decisions usually come down to money.
"At end of the day, film locations
are strictly bottom line driven decisions," Topp said.
Deputy Mayor Mike Feldman agrees the film
trade here is in a slump but said he believes business is already rebounding.
"I do have faith that the industry
will be coming back and coming back strong," said Feldman, who is a member
of the Economic Development and Parks Committee and the Film Liaison Committee.
Whether the industry bounces back or not,
some experts see a silver lining in the current situation. Charles Zamaria, a
television and radio arts professor at
"So, for the independent producer in
One of those independent producers is
James Johnson. Two years ago, Johnson graduated from university determined to
start his own production company. While working for a talent agency, he came
across a precocious little boy named Daniel Cook whom he felt should be
starring in his own TV show instead of auditioning for commercial work. After
bringing aboard a couple of former classmates, Johnson formed Sinking Ship
Productions.
"It was hard to keep convincing
people that this is gonna work, that this is gonna be wonderful, but once we
started production it just exploded," Johnson, 24, said.
It was initially difficult to acquire
funding, Johnson said, but once the pilot was shot the production company had
immediate interest.
Those networks however, wanted experienced
producers, so Sinking Ship partnered with Toronto-based Marblemedia and now its
show - a reality-based kids program called This is Daniel Cook - is
broadcast on Treehouse and will debut on TVO in the fall of 2005. The series has also piqued plenty of interest
south of the border.
Another independent producer and actor who
is vying for that kind of success is Steve van Diest, 24, who formed Tiburon
Films several years ago. Like others like him, he works part-time outside the
industry to pay the bills and is concerned about the future of the performers
in the acting trade.
"I'm extremely worried. It's very
difficult. You can't pursue this career for a long time and you keep getting
kicked down and, after a while, you try something new and jump into a new
industry. But if enough people do that, though, it might be hard to keep the
art going," van Diest said.
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