News

Exclusive: Blue Fox Entertainment Canada has inked a deal to acquire the assets of Unobstructed View Inc. and its U.S. sister company Unobstructed View LLC in a move that expands its distribution footprint across North America.

The announcement was made Wednesday by Blue Fox Canada’s president David Hudakoc and EVP Ian Goggins during the American Film Market. Unobstructed View’s founder and operator Jonathan Gross “has created a company that embodies the essence of strong partnerships, streamlined operations, and a highly skilled team – all driven by a genuine passion for entertainment,” they said today.

Gross will exit the business after a transition period to focus on production projects.

Unobstructed View was launched in 1993 by Gross, a former rock critic credited with breaking standout acts like Tom Green. He spearheaded successful releases like the Don Cherry’s Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Hockey compilations and the hit Canadian TV series Corner Gas.

Fox, despite retiring from acting, hasn't completely closed the door on making a return if the right opportunity arises. Due to his Parkinson's diagnosis, Fox may favor voice roles over physical acting roles in any potential comeback. Although a Back to the Future reboot is unlikely to feature Fox, his health condition may necessitate limited roles if he returns.

Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox revealed he is still interested in acting, despite retiring from the profession. Fox found fame on TV in the 1980s with a starring role in the hit NBC sitcom Family Ties, before rising to global prominence when he starred in the sci-fi classic Back to the Future in 1985. Following the success of Back to the Future, Fox starred in several hit movies, including Teen Wolf, Doc Hollywood, and Stuart Little. After being diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1991, the actor took more limited roles before...

Simu Liu's breakthrough role as the lead in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings showcased his dramatic range and ability to hold his own in fight sequences. Liu has had memorable appearances in several non-superhero projects, including the romantic drama One True Loves and the crime drama Blood and Water. Liu's involvement in diverse narratives, such as the sci-fi drama Simulant and the existentialist satire Barbie, proves his versatility as an actor in both lead and supporting roles.

Simu Liu became a household name after his lead role in Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, but the Canadian actor and singer has had memorable appearances in several non-superhero movies and TV shows as well. Having only recently become a major star, Liu's acting credits aren't as deep as many of his fellow MCU stars. Even so, the actor has been involved in a handful of...

A new season of “The Boys,” the latest “Bond” movie and the entire “Twilight” franchise are among the new streaming additions to Amazon Prime Video in June. The highly anticipated “The Boys” Season 3 is set to premiere on June 3 with the first three episodes of the season, followed by one new episode weekly.

The Jenny Han adaptation “The Summer I Turned Pretty,” a new YA series, premieres on June 17. And Daniel Craig’s final James Bond movie “No Time to Die” makes its streaming debut on Prime Video on June 10.

As far as noteworthy library titles go, this is also your new streaming home for the “Twilight” franchise, while “Shaun of the Dead,” “Galaxy Quest” and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” will all be streaming starting June 1.

We’ve also included a complete list of what’s new on Freevee – formerly known as IMDbTV – in June, which will be hosting the entire...

The Emmy-nominated comedy, Corner Gas, has enjoyed more than its share of laugh-out-loud moments. Whether audiences are laughing at Lacey looking for her lost "F 'n' E," Oscar suffering from the symptoms of eating a thirty-year-old Dingle Puff, or Hank trying to master the art of being a crossing guard, fans of this Canadian sitcom have fallen in love with the characters of Dog River and their unusual antics.

Related: 15 Best Canadian TV Shows On Netflix USA

If a regular viewer was asked to create a list of their top ten episodes, they'd likely have problems narrowing it down to a mere ten. Thankfully, IMDb has managed to rank the top ten based on user scores, and these are the episodes that stand out for their hilarious jokes and small-town appeal of its characters.

Hollywood legend Michael J. Fox is opening up on his continued struggles with his acting career, revealing in a new interview how his Parkinson's disease has since made it much more difficult to remember his lines. Although it wasn't until 1998 when he publicly revealed his diagnosis, Fox has been living with the disorder since 1991. Although the disease greatly affected his movement, Fox would continue to work as an actor in the years thereafter, but his roles are more limited these days due to his new troubles with memorization.

Here's how Fox puts it from this week's People magazine.

"My short-term memory is shot. I always had a real proficiency for lines and memorization. And I had some extreme situations where the last couple of jobs I did were actually really word-heavy parts. I struggled during both of them."

Fox is also said to be practicing his projection and diction by shouting tongue twisters.

In the year of the coronavirus pandemic, many TV producers have had to get creative, to figure out how to keep their shows on the air, even as production across the world was shut down.

During the last seven months of lockdown, the visionaries behind two-live action sitcoms—ABC/ABC Signature’s Black-ish and Pop/Sony Pictures TV’s One Day at a Time—wound up taking the same tack to do just that, presenting animated episodes of their shows for the first time. The animated Black-ish episode airs this Sunday, Oct. 4, as part of an hourlong special.

For the producers, the idea in going animated was to tide over fans during the production shutdown, keeping each series in the cultural conversation, as they worked to pull together another full, live-action season. “Hustlers gotta hustle,” says One Day at a Time co-creator/exec producer/co-showrunner Gloria Calderon Kellett, “and we...

Schitt's Creek, the Canadian sitcom created by Dan Levy and his father Eugene Levy is the greatest Canadian comedy to air since Corner Gas. Schitt's Creek tells the story of the Rose family, who go broke after being defrauded by their business manager, and have to move to Schitt's Creek, the small town they own. Hilarity ensues when the previously wealthy family clearly doesn't know how to act like normal people.

Related: Schitt's Creek: 10 Reasons Moira & Jocelyn Aren't Real Friends

As they get comfortable in the town, they start building friendships and getting into relationships. While they forge deeper ties with some of the secondary characters, they also don't establish intimate connections with others.

Alexis and Twyla, for example, don't really establish a true connection.

There’s a ridiculous amount of TV content out there waiting to be streamed during your downtime — and a lot of it won’t cost you one shiny penny.

TVLine already offers a premium streaming guide, which delivers a rundown of subscription rates, original series and select library content offered by established, new and forthcoming streamers. We also publish a monthly list of TV shows and movies coming and going on Netflix.

More from TVLineThe Blacklist Creator Explains the Midseason Premiere's Glaring Absence, Teases a Major Secret for [Spoiler]American Idol Video: Will Margie Mays and Jonny West Survive the New 'Duets' Round in Hollywood Week?...

Is streaming fatigue a thing yet? If not, it will be soon, as HBO Max, Peacock, and Quibi enter the already crowded market of streamers vying for our attention. But in the midst of the streaming boom, a few totally free services are just sitting there begging for our attention. One of those services is IMDb TV, an ad-supported section of the movie information website that ends arguments about whether or not Shazaam was a real movie on a daily basis (it was not). Owned by Amazon, the collection of movies and films on IMDb TV is far from expansive, but it features quite a few titles you might actually want to watch. If you're intrigued, read on to find out everything you need to know about IMDb TV.

Is IMDb TV New?

It is not! We've all just collectively been sleeping on this aspect of IMdb.com. The free...

Between a “Mad Max” spoof, a fight between a sasquatch and a unicorn, and a pirate-ship scene, it’s clear fantasy will be a main feature of the upcoming “Corner Gas” animated reboot. Creator and star Brent Butt says the animated version that premieres April 2 on The Comedy Network will include the same types of fantasy sequences that were...

To celebrate the release of Short Poppies – on DVD & Digital Download 29th May – we are giving away a copy courtesy of Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment.

Flight of the Conchords star Rhys Darby plays a host of hilarious characters in a laugh out loud look at small town life in New Zealand, featuring cameo appearances from Stephen Merchant, Karl Urban, Sam Neill and Bear Grylls, in this side-splitting cross between The Office and Parks and Recreation.

Pre-order today: http://po.st/ShortPoppies-dvd

To win Short Poppies on DVD, just answer the following question:

Short Poppies star Rhys Darby also appeared in which comedy show? Was it:

a) Corner Gas

b) Northern Exposure

c) How to Be a Gentleman

Email your answer to NerdlyComps@gmail.com, making sure to include your name and address. You can also leave your answer on our Facebook page, just make sure to like us first or your entry will be invalid.

This should be a gas, eh? Canada's The Comedy Network is reviving the Corner Gas TV show as an animated series. Watch a teaser, below. The original live-action comedy series ran for six seasons from 2004 to 2009. A feature film followed, in 2014.Set in the fictional town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, Corner Gas features the only gas station around for miles. Brent Butt, Gabrielle Miller, Fred Ewanuick, Eric Peterson, Janet Wright, Lorne Cardinal, Tara Spencer-Nairn, and Nancy Robertson starred in the original series. Learn more from The Comedy Network, after the jump.Read More…...

Get ready to return to the Saskatchewan prairies with today’s announcement that “Corner Gas” is set to return to television. The beloved Canadian sitcom, which ran from 2004 until 2009, will reunite the main cast for a new iteration, with a big difference: this “Corner Gas” will be animated, not live action. “It’s been a huge […]...

Janet Wright, who was best known for her long-running role as Emma Leroy on “Corner Gas”, has died at the age of 71, CTV can confirm. The award-winning actress starred in the sitcom from 2004 to 2009 and would later reprise the role in the big screen reboot in 2014. “Janet was like no other […]...

I gotta tell ya (and have!), creeps: one of my current fav-o-rite flicks is Wolfcop! That’s why I was pleased as pestilent punch when the film’s star, ol’ Wc himself Leo Fafard dropped by the Crypt o’ Xiii for a lil’ chillin’ chat!

Famous Monsters. So Leo, how did you come to take on the role of the long tooth of the law, Wolfcop?

Leo Fafard. I got involved with the project early on, actually before it was even written. I was shooting a music video Lowell Dean [the die-rector of Wolfcop, ‘natch – Xiii] was directing, and I played the part of the werewolf, although a completely different werewolf than Wolfcop. More of a nerdy professor type werewolf. And by the end of the music video, Lowell must have been somewhat impressed by the way I played a werewolf, and he approached me at the end of the video and asked me if I...

Toronto, Canada. After a morning spent slipping and falling, for comedic effect, on the ice of a suburban hockey rink, "Man Seeking Woman" star Jay Baruchel is eager to talk about his new Fxx romantic comedy. The Powers That Be, however, are not cooperating.  We're in a small Baptist church that has had its basement retrofitted into a "Man Seeking Woman" production hub and, at the moment, a high-profile guest star who I can't currently reveal is shooting in front of a green-screen in the room next door. A door is closed, but Baruchel is excited about his first regular TV series gig in nearly a decade and a stern Ad keeps peeking in to "shush" the source of loud vocalizations, ignoring that the noise is coming from the guy who's first on the call-sheet. This is not what a guy who spent the morning stumbling and bumbling on freshly...

Where's everyone getting guns?  This is Canada!

If your last name is "Butt", then there's really only two things you can be: a cigarette filter manufacturer or a comedian.  Brent Butt took the latter route.  Stand-up comedy took him into television with two Canadian series, Corner Gas (2004-09) and Hiccups (2010-11), and a feature film, No Clue (2013), that is basically a 90-minute pilot for a detective sit-com.  It's a busy field especially and the light Canadian touch is certainly popular in American television at the moment.  Shows like Better off Ted, Pushing Daisies, and Psych take the same gentle approach to laughs out of goofy awkwardness and verbal inanity as No Clue.  However, this Butt vehicle is a step above those shows by looking sleeker and pushing the jokes without winking at the audience.

Read more...

News

For three seasons now, RuPaul’s Drag Race has announced its winner at a reunion special. Does that make it the best reality show with the worst finale? While I preferred the old way of announcing a winner, I don’t miss the “surprise” of seeing someone like Tyra Sanchez take the crown.

TVLine reports that TNT is developing a spin-off series of Major Crimes, one that sounds more like a spin-off of The Closer. The series will focus on Jon Tenney‘s Special Agent Fritz Howard. An episode in the upcoming season will set it up. TVLine says there’s also talk of a spin-off focusing on Malcolm-Jamal Warner‘s character from last season.

During the WGA strike a few years back, one break from reality TV I found was Corner Gas, a charming Canadian sitcom that found a home on Wgn. Now there’s a movie in...

Canadian sitcom Corner Gas is set to get a film spin-off.

The show, which ran for six seasons, was the top-rated sitcom in Canada with a record-breaking three million people watching the series finale in 2009.

The film already has funding from Canadian broadcaster Bell Media and film financier Telefilm Canada but is looking for an extra $100,000 from crowd sourcing to fund the spin-off.

Eric Peterson, Janet Wright, Gabrielle Miller, Fred Ewanuick, Lorne Cardinal, Tara Spencer-Nairn and Nancy Robertson are all set to return as their characters.

Writer and star of the show Brent Butt said of the 90-minute project: "I'm excited. The entire gang is back."

Picking up five years after the TV finale, residents of Dog River will discover their town has been mismanaged and they all have to move away.

Deciding to make one last rally to save Dog River, they discover a plan by a corporate chain...

The CW will play host to its first half-hour comedy since…. well, let’s try to forget that whole Media Rights Capital/Sunday night mishegas… by importing the Canadian series Seed.

From Joseph Raso (Zombies & Cheerleaders) and Mark Farrell (Corner Gas), Seed tells the story of Harry (Adam Korson), an underachieving bachelor/bartender who is also a sperm donor. Harry reluctantly begins a relationship with three separate recipient families – a laid-back lesbian couple with a 9-year-old son, a neurotically hopeful single mom-to-be and an uptight, upper-class family with a rebellious teenage daughter – with whom he’ll come to share more than just his DNA.

News

We now know that Peter Capaldi will play the twelfth Doctor. Capaldi is a familiar face if you’re a fan of The Thick of It, Skins or The Hour. He also appeared in Torchwood: Children of Earth as well as the “Fires of Pompeii” episode of Doctor Who. Caputi’s a great actor and it’s hard to complain about his casting. Still, I wish they didn’t joke about the possibility of the Doctor being played by a woman in the lead-up. I’m fine if they’re going to keep casting straight, white, male actors in the role but I wish they wouldn’t pretend they might do something different before doing the same thing.

Peter Capaldi from Torchwood: Children of Earth

Alexandra Breckenridge has joined the cast of American Horror Story: Coven. Meanwhile, details about the new season were revealed to critics. Angela Bassett and...

"Desperate Housewives" has been off the air for less than a year, but if you miss Eva Longoria, you'll be happy to know she's returning to television. No, not as Isabella on "Y&R" (if that was to happen, it should have happened a year ago); rather, the actress will star in a primetime animated series that she will also executive-produce.

"Mother Up!" chronicles the daily life of Rudi Wilson (Longoria), a former music industry exec-turned-suburban mom. Rudi wants to be as good at motherhood as she was in the music biz, but struggles when she realizes she's not the greatest parent. The series also stars Canadians Jesse Camacho ("Less Than Kind") as Dick, Gabrielle Miller ("Corner Gas") as Sarah, Cle Bennett ("Flashpoint") as 2Bit, Helen Taylor as Jenny, Rebecca Husain as Apple, and Scott McCord as Greg.

The 13-episode, half-hour comedy -- which is written, produced, and voiced in...

Sometimes it pains me to say when a film is an unwatchable mess. Films like French Immersion, the directorial debut of Quebec-based producer Kevin Tierney (Bon Cop, Bad Cop, The Trotsky, Good Neighbours), has an incredible amount of talent in front of the camera and behind it. It is supposed to be a comedy about the differences between English and French speaking Canada, but instead it’s a soul-sucking train wreck full of punchlines so misguided they would make Jeff Foxworthy and Larry the Cable Guy think twice. Sickeningly unfunny and dreadfully “Canadian,” Tierney’s film strikes out on almost every conceivable level.

There’s enough plot and quirky characters in French Immersion to sustain a year’s worth of television pilots, but Tierney tries to pack every half baked idea he has into a single film. The film deals with five English speakers forced to enter into an intense...

Toronto is a hub of film festivals here in Canada. Apart from Tiff, After Dark, Hot Docs and Tjff, we also cover the imagineNATIVE Festival each year. The fest recently announced their line up which includes World Premieres, International Award-Winners & Buffy Sainte-Marie. Here is the press release.

Visit www.imagineNATIVE.org for the full Festival line-up.

The Festival officially kicks off at 12:00pm on Wednesday, October 19 with its Welcome Gathering presented by the Thunderbird Centre at the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto (16 Spadina Road). Free and open to the public, the reception features traditional Indigenous performances, including Tribal Vision, a family dance troupe from Six Nations, a welcoming song from Rosary Spence, craft vendors, food, and a welcome address from imagineNATIVE in a casual, fun atmosphere.

imagineNATIVE’s Opening Night screening presented by Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (Aptn) features the Canadian Premiere of Andrew Okpeaha MacLean’s internationally-celebrated dramatic...

imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival celebrates the latest works by Indigenous peoples in the forefront of innovation in film, video, radio and new media. Screenings, parties and panel discussions attract and connect filmmakers, media artists, programmers, buyers and industry professionals from around the world. The festival which runs in October has just announced their opening and closing films. See the press release below.

(Toronto – August 10, 2011) The 2011 imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival is proud to announce this year’s Opening and Closing Night Gala Presentations.

Opening on October 19, 2011 at 7Pm at the Tiff Bell Lightbox (Reitman Square, 350 King St. W) is the Canadian Premiere of On The Ice, written and directed by Andrew Okpeaha MacLean (Iñupiaq), which arrives with acclaim from the Sundance Film Festival where it was an official selection, and the Berlin International Film Festival, where MacLean received the Best First Feature award. Closing this year’s imagineNATIVE on...

After being broadcasted on IFC, an American cable network, the Canadian miniseries Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town will come out on DVD tomorrow in the USA.

Before getting an idea about what this Canadian show is all about, have in mind that the Kids in the Hall - a Canadian comedy group made of Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson - described it as a cross-over between Corner Gas and Twin Peaks.

In Death Comes to Town, Death gets off a Greyhound bus in the small Canadian town of Shuckton (the show was shot in North Bay, Ontario). The whole town is drawn in when one of its most distinguished is discovered murdered. As a suspect is arrested and the trial begins - the town's dark secrets begin to tumble out.

The DVD is already out in Canada.

Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town...

The Canadian TV network CBC confirmed that Devon Bostick (Adoration), Debra McGrath (Little Mosque on the Prairie), Eric Peterson (Corner Gas) and Patrick McKenna (The Red Green Show) will guest star tomorrow in The Ron James Show.

In the fifth episode, Canadian comedian Ron James talks about our rapidly changing world, is at a moral loggerhead with his son and thinks about a possible bailout plan for Canada. Moreover, there's a segment of the show that will be devoted to the industry of oil and cowboys in Alberta.

The Ron James Show is broadcasted on Friday nights at 8 Pm (8:30 Pm Nt) on CBC.

Two days ago, it was revealed that production began on the second season of the Canadian TV series The Listener. Now, Shaftesbury Films, the production company behind the show, has revealed new details about what viewers should expect about The Listener's second season. In a nutshell, expect to see new characters and new things for the leading characters to deal with.

The new faces joining the regular cast will be Lauren Lee Smith (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Tara Spencer Nairn (Corner Gas) and Sebastien Roberts (Canada Russia ‘72).

In the second season of The Listener, Toby Logan (Craig Olejnik), a paramedic from Toronto, has kept his habit of getting his nose in criminal investigations when he's not on the job with his partner Oz Bey (Ennis Esmer). This leads Toby to get into a case investigated by Integrated Investigations Bureau (Iib) of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (Rcmp), Canada's federal police.

We've got the first trailer from Karen Lam's (The Cabinet) new horror feature Stained (which premiering at the Cannes Film Market this past May.) Stained is an intense thriller about a lonely bookseller’s obsessive love affair and her protective best friend, who alone knows the horrible truth about her obsession.

The trailer shows a tense and sharp-looking little film with awesome cinematography and some stellar violence. Check it out...

Stained features Tinsel Korey (Twilight: New Moon, Rabbit Fall), Sonja Bennett (Battlestar Galactica, Masters of Horror), Tim Fellingham (Truly Blessed, Life on Top), and Stephen Huszar (Corner Gas, Paradise Falls).

Watch the trailer:...

Toronto -- When CTV topper Ivan Fecan meets Canadian advertisers in Toronto on Thursday to pitch his newest U.S. network series, he'll need to convince them he can fend off mounting competition from rival broadcasters backed by deep-pocketed cable giants.

Fecan will tout the arrival on his network of ABC Studios' Michael Chiklis starrer "No Ordinary Family," Warner Bros. Television's "$#*! My Dad Says," CBS Studios' "The Defenders," Dick Wolf's "Law & Order: Los Angeles" from NBC Universal and the CBS Studios' family cop drama "Blue Bloods," starring Tom Selleck.

Fecan, whose CTV network airs 14 of the top 20 series on Canadian TV, will also wave the U.S. version of Simon Cowell's "The X Factor" for fall 2011 in front of the admen.

Still, Canadian primetime leader CTV didn't exactly splash out at the recent Los Angeles Screenings, acquiring only seven new fall series and four midseason shows,...

UK video-on-demand service blinkbox (blinkbox.com) has secured a deal for 600 hours of new free programming, striking deals with British companies Shed Media’s Outright Distribution and Target Entertainment Group.

Outright Distribution has licensed over 70 hours of its catalog to blinkbox including programs such as Waterloo Road, Footballers’ Wives, and Bad Girls, which will stream for free on an ad-supported basis. Meanwhile Target Entertainment Group has licensed over 100 hours of TV including Billable Hours, The Cut and hit Canadian show Corner Gas. Michael Comish, CEO and co-founder of blinkbox is quoted as saying:

The last two years has seen many notable VOD services either go bankrupt or not enter the UK market. In that time, we have amassed a library of over 6,000 of the best films and TV shows in the world and attracted an audience of more than 1.2 million users a month.

blinkbox has also added a further 160 hours...

I’m so not a fan of the sitcom method of storytelling -- such as it is -- that it’s always startling for me to come upon an example of the format that isn’t so outrageously stupid that it makes me want to throw things at the TV. To come across one that is as gently unassuming as Corner Gas... well, I had to go to Canada for that. Even when they’re being mean here -- as is, apparently, de rigueur for sitcoms no matter whence they hail -- they’re being nice. Or perhaps this is merely a brand of Canadian passive-aggression that’s more agreeable than the American stripe. Perhaps we should call it passive-agreeableness... The characters here are stereotypes, as sitcom characters tend to be. Or so they appear to be, at first. In the remote rural town of Dog River, Saskatchewan, there’s...

Three actors from the popular, long-running Web series Star Trek: Phase II and Star Trek: Hidden Frontier were cast in the the time-bending campus drama, Judas Kiss, the film’s producers announced today.

Julia Morizawa (Star Trek: Hidden Frontier, Star Trek: Odyssey) has been signed to play snarky college student Abbey Park, best friend of Danny Reyes (played by Caprica’s Richard Harmon). Ron Boyd (Star Trek: Phase II) will portray Ralph Garlington, a curmudgeonly cinematographer judging the Keystone University Film Festival alongside lead Zachary Wells (Charlie David of Dante’s Cove and Mulligans). Tim Foutch (of the Hidden Frontier spinoff, Star Trek: Odyssey) will appear as Tommy, another Keystone film student competing against Danny in the festival.

“I’ve had the pleasure of directing and acting alongside these actors for some time,” said Judas Kiss director J.T. Tepnapa. “They’re talented and hard-working performers who are...

CBC, Canada's public TV network, announced that it ordered 13 episodes of the action comedy InSecurity (formerly known as The B Team). The production on the show's first season will begin principal photography in July 2010 in Regina, Sakastchewan, with additional shooting in Ottawa, Ontario.

The series star Natalie Lisinska (Young People Fucking, Chloe) as Alex Cranston, a rookie agent of the fictional National Intelligence and Security Agency (Nisa).

Each week, Alex and her team of espionage misfits take on a mission vital to Canada's national security. As Canadian spies, they get to go where others can't go thanks to the Nisa's budget. Besides, they do what others don't want to do. However, even though Alex and her team always screw up, they always manage to get the bad guys and make the world safer in the end.

Joining Lisinska will be William deVry (The Bold and the Beautiful) as the political-savvy...

Yesterday, the ceremony of the Writers Guild of Canada Awards was hosted by comedian Debra Digiovanni. During that night, the winners, who work either in the film or television industry, were revealed.

Dishing out the awards were special guest presenters including Yannick Bisson (Murdoch Mysteries), Kristin Booth (Crackie, Young People Fucking), Inga Cadranel (The Bridge, Rent-a-Goalie), Enrico Colantoni (Flashpoint), and screenwriters Mark Farrell (Corner Gas, Dan for Mayor), Michael McGowan (Saint Ralph, One Week), Jennifer Pertsch (6Teen, Total Drama Island), Christin Simms (Captain Flamingo, Dino Dan), Shelley Eriksen (ReGenesis) and Leila Basen & David Preston (Heartland).

Now, without further ado, let's present the winners.

Animation:

Total Drama Action - “The Sand Witch Project”

Written by Shelley Scarrow

Children & Preschool:

Max and Ruby - “Max Says Goodbye”

Written by Kate Barris

Documentary:

The Royal Winnipeg Ballet – 40 Years of One Night Stands

Narration written by Robert Lower

Episodic half-hour:

Less Than Kind -...

We've got the first stills from Karen Lam's new horror feature Stained (premiering at the Cannes Film Market this May.) Stained is an intense thriller about a lonely bookseller’s obsessive love affair and her protective best friend, who alone knows the horrible truth about her obsession. Karen’s first short horror film was The Cabinet.

Stained features Tinsel Korey (Twilight: New Moon, Rabbit Fall), Sonja Bennett (Battlestar Galactica, Masters of Horror), Tim Fellingham (Truly Blessed, Life on Top), and Stephen Huszar (Corner Gas, Paradise Falls)...

Karen Lam's new horror feature Stained will be premiering at the Cannes Film Market under the Perspective Canada showcase, tentatively scheduled for May 18 and 19 2010. Stained is an intense thriller about a lonely bookseller’s obsessive love affair and her protective best friend, who alone knows the horrible truth about her obsession. Karen’s first short horror film was The Cabinet.

Stained features Tinsel Korey (Twilight: New Moon, Rabbit Fall), Sonja Bennett (Battlestar Galactica, Masters of Horror), Tim Fellingham (Truly Blessed, Life on Top), and Stephen Huszar (Corner Gas, Paradise Falls).

Toronto -- Canadian screenwriter Rob Sheridan is partnering with Warner Bros. Television to develop a comedy.

The blind pilot script deal will see Toronto-based Sheridan, whose writer, story editor and producer credits include HBO Canada's "Less Than Kind," the CBC's "Little Mosque on the Prairie," and CTV's "Corner Gas," land a six-figure package and move to Los Angeles this summer to start developing a half-hour comedy series.

"Wbtv have produced some of my favorite television comedies and I think together we'll be able to create something special," Sheridan said.

The Canuck comedy scribe's most recent credits include writer and producer on the CBC sitcom "18 to Life," which was originally developed with ABC.

Sheridan, a Canadian Film Center alumni, is repped by William Morris Endeavor Entertainment and Glenn Cockburn at Meridian Artists.

To all the American fans of the Kids in the Hall, the wait is almost over! As a matter of fact, IFC, an American cable network, announced that it acquired Death Comes to Town, an eight-episode miniseries in which the Kids in the Hall are back together. Moreover, IFC just said, so far, that the show will premiere in the USA on August.

Before getting an idea about what this Canadian show is all about, have in mind that the Kids in the Hall - a Canadian comedy group made of Dave Foley, Bruce McCulloch, Kevin McDonald, Mark McKinney and Scott Thompson - described it as a cross-over between Corner Gas and Twin Peaks.

In The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town, Death gets off a Greyhound bus in the small Canadian town of Shuckton (the show was shot in North Bay, Ontario). The whole town is...

The Writers Guild of Canada (Wgc) just announced the finalists for the Wgc Screenwriting Awards. Those finalists come from the industry of television, filmmaking and web series. Besides, comedian Debra Digiovanni will host the 14th Annual Wgc Screenwriting Awards on April 19, 2010.

So, the finalists are...

Animation:

* Grossology - "New Recruits." Written by Richard Clark.

* Total Drama Action - "Crouching Courtney, Hidden Owen." Written by Alex Ganetakos.

* League of Super Evil - “Glory Hog." Written by Philippe Ivanusic-Vallee and Davila LeBlanc

* Total Drama Action - "The Sand Witch Project." Written by Shelley Scarrow.

Children & Preschool

* Max and Ruby - "Max Says Goodbye." Written by Kate Barris.

* Max and Ruby - "Ruby's Good Neighbor Report." Written by Shelley Hoffman & Robert Pincombe.

* Zigby - "Zigby's Collection." Written by Louise Moon

Documentary:

* Malls R Us (Feature Version). Written by Helene Klodawsky.

* The Royal Winnipeg Ballet - 40 Years of One Night Stands. Narration Written by Robert Lower.

Six hours ago, actor Brent Butt (Corner Gas) announced on his Twitter page that you no longer need a password to visit the web site of Sparrow Media, his production company. Isn't that great? In other news, the trailer of CTV's upcoming half-hour comedy Hiccups - which was created by Brent Butt - had been released online. Moreover, the show premieres on March 1rst at 8 Pm on CTV.

In Hiccups, Nancy Robertson (Wanda from Corner Gas) plays Millie Upton a popular children's author who just happens to have anger issues and several other emotional "hiccups." On a whim, Millie impulsively enlists the aid of a life coach Stan Dirko (Brent Butt). Unfortunately, Stan isn't a particularly good life coach. In fact, Millie is his first client ever. So, essentially we have a woman with no idea how to behave, being guided by someone who has no idea what he's doing.

A Canadian upbringing is about more than just playing lots of winter sports and having maple syrup instead of regular syrup on our pancakes. Regular exposure to Canadian television has long been an important part of what makes our childhood different from that of our brethren to the south. Now, Canadian television is decidedly less polished than American television. We grew up watching the genuinely awkward adolescents of Degrassi Street, not the beautiful airbrushed twentysomething "teenagers" of "Beverly Hills 90210." Bizarre, crudely drawn National Film Board short cartoons such as "The Log Driver's Waltz," "The Big Snit," and "The Cat Came Back" were a staple of the 1970s and 1980s, while American kids were tuning in to shows like the "Care Bears." One of our most revered television superheroes was Mr. Canoehead, a dude whose crimefighting "superpower" was to knock out criminals by, well, turning around and whacking them with the...

Toronto -- The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has picked up a sitcom from E1 Television based on the popular Canadian curling movie "Men With Brooms."

The TV adaptation follows an earlier pilot written by Paul Mather ("Corner Gas") about four regular joes who hang out at the local curling rink.

The "Men With Brooms" series, in celebrating Canada's working guy culture, will echo another popular CBC comedy, "Little Mosque on the Prairie," also written in part by Mather.

Canada's public broadcaster also picked up a second half-hour comedy, "Insecurity," from Verite Films and produced by Virginia Thompson.

The "Insecurity" pilot was directed by Robert De Lint.

The CBC also renewed "The Ron James Show" for a second season.

Click images to enlarge...

Canadian film distributors Kinosmith are offering the following DVD titles of note from their extensive film collection :

"The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins" follows Vanessa Beecroft’s intentions to adopt orphaned twins, and how it affects her art and personal life.

"...Pop star of the art world, Vanessa Beecroft is determined to adopt orphaned twins, an intention that bleeds into her art and reveals her volatile relationship with her husband. Alongside the adoption process Vanessa photographs herself breast feeding the twins, creating her own artwork. Like Angelina and Madonna, Vanessa is a white westerner intent on rescuing third world babies. But at what cost to her personal life?..."

In "Ghosts", a 17 year-old girl left on her own, creates an intriguing journey to meet a new companion and reunite with her mother.

"...Nina (Julia Hummer) is a vulnerable 17-year old, alone in the world except...

Canadian-based film distributors Kinosmith, in association with DVD partner Project X Distribution have announced new DVD titles to their extensive film collection. The Art Star And The Sudanese Twins follows Vanessa Beecroft.s intentions to adopt orphaned twins, and how it affects her art and personal life. "...Pop star of the art world, Vanessa Beecroft is determined to adopt orphaned twins, an intention that bleeds into her art and reveals her volatile relationship with her husband. Alongside the adoption process Vanessa photographs herself breast feeding the twins, creating her own artwork. Like Angelina and Madonna, Vanessa is a white westerner intent on rescuing third world babies. But at what cost to her personal life?..." In Ghosts, a 17 year-old girl left on her own, creates an intriguing journey to meet a new companion and reunite with her mother. "...Nina (Julia Hummer) is a vulnerable 17-year old, alone in the world except...

Canadian filmmaker Karen Lam, with Angel Entertainment and Goonworks Films, has begun production on her feature psychological horror film Stained. It features Tinsel Korey (Twilight: New Moon, Rabbit Fall), Sonja Bennett (Battlestar Galactica, Masters of Horror), Tim Fellingham (Truly Blessed, Life on Top), and Stephen Huszar (Corner Gas, Paradise Falls).

Stained is an intense thriller about a lonely bookseller’s obsessive love affair and her protective best friend, who alone knows the horrible truth about her obsession. Karen’s first short horror film, The Cabinet, was selected for the National Canadian Screen Institute – Drama Prize in 2006.

From a press release

Corner Gas alum Nancy Robertson (photo) cast in lead role.Brent Butt returns to helm his latest project as creator, writer, show runner, executive producer and co-star.Production now underway in Vancouver, BC.

Vancouver, BC (October 19, 2009) – CTV, in association with The Comedy Network and Sparrow Media, announced today that principal photography is underway on the original comedy series, Hiccups, in Vancouver, BC. From the star and mastermind behind CTV’s hit comedy Corner Gas, Brent Butt returns to helm his latest project as creator, writer, executive producer and co-star. The 13-part, half-hour series stars the hilarious Nancy Robertson (Corner Gas) as the lead character and will continue production through November. Hiccups is the second CTV/The Comedy Network comedy series to begin production this month, the first being Dan For Mayor, starring Fred Ewanuick (Corner Gas, Robson Arms).

In Hiccups, Robertson plays the role of Millie Upton,...

From a press release

Corner Gas’ Fred Ewanuick leads comic cast currently shooting in Toronto, Kitchener and Waterloo, On.Creative team helmed by three of Canada’s most-respected writers.

CTV and The Comedy Network, in association with Sad Glasses and Qvf Inc., announced today that production is underway on the original Canadian comedy series, Dan For Mayor in Toronto, Kitchener and Waterloo, On. Starring Corner Gas and Robson Arms alumnus Fred Ewanuick as the lead character Dan, the 13, 30-minute episode series will continue principal photography through November.

Dan (Ewanuick) is a 30-something bartender who lives and works in the fictional city of Wessex, On. Dan’s had the same friends since grade school, his most prized possession is a vintage Ms. Pac-Man game and his last serious relationship was with a girl who is now engaged to someone else. His life seems to be firmly on the path to more of the same…...

Not to be outdone by the 2010 Vancouver/Whistler Olympic Games on rival CTV, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. is set to roll out winter sports-themed TV programming.

The Canadian pubcaster has ordered a sitcom pilot from E1 Television and Serendipity Point Films based on the popular Canadian curling movie "Men With Brooms," the directorial debut for actor Paul Gross ("Due South").

The 2002 homegrown comedy starred Gross, Leslie Nielsen and Molly Parker as part of a curling team reuniting to capture the national trophy. Gross will share executive producer credits on the CBC pilot and co-star, while Paul Mather ("Corner Gas") will pen the script about four regular joes hanging out at the local curling rink.

"Curling is something everyone in Canada is familiar with, a strange sport in quirky rinks where people can come and go and tell different stories," Mather said of the sitcom's premise.

Kirstine Stewart, general manager of CBC Television,...