Jim Henshaw Guest-Rants about the CRTCComplications Ensue
Complications Ensue:
The Crafty Screenwriting, TV and Game Writing Blog




Archives

April 2004

May 2004

June 2004

July 2004

August 2004

September 2004

October 2004

November 2004

December 2004

January 2005

February 2005

March 2005

April 2005

May 2005

June 2005

July 2005

August 2005

September 2005

October 2005

November 2005

December 2005

January 2006

February 2006

March 2006

April 2006

May 2006

June 2006

July 2006

August 2006

September 2006

October 2006

November 2006

December 2006

January 2007

February 2007

March 2007

April 2007

May 2007

June 2007

July 2007

August 2007

September 2007

October 2007

November 2007

December 2007

January 2008

February 2008

March 2008

April 2008

May 2008

June 2008

July 2008

August 2008

September 2008

October 2008

November 2008

December 2008

January 2009

February 2009

March 2009

April 2009

May 2009

June 2009

July 2009

August 2009

September 2009

October 2009

November 2009

December 2009

January 2010

February 2010

March 2010

April 2010

May 2010

June 2010

July 2010

August 2010

September 2010

October 2010

November 2010

December 2010

January 2011

February 2011

March 2011

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

August 2013

September 2013

October 2013

November 2013

December 2013

January 2014

February 2014

March 2014

April 2014

May 2014

June 2014

July 2014

August 2014

September 2014

October 2014

November 2014

December 2014

January 2015

February 2015

March 2015

April 2015

May 2015

June 2015

August 2015

September 2015

October 2015

November 2015

December 2015

January 2016

February 2016

March 2016

April 2016

May 2016

June 2016

July 2016

August 2016

September 2016

October 2016

November 2016

December 2016

January 2017

February 2017

March 2017

May 2017

June 2017

July 2017

August 2017

September 2017

October 2017

November 2017

December 2017

January 2018

March 2018

April 2018

June 2018

July 2018

October 2018

November 2018

December 2018

January 2019

February 2019

November 2019

February 2020

March 2020

April 2020

May 2020

August 2020

September 2020

October 2020

December 2020

January 2021

February 2021

March 2021

May 2021

June 2021

November 2021

December 2021

January 2022

February 2022

August 2022

September 2022

November 2022

February 2023

March 2023

April 2023

May 2023

July 2023

September 2023

November 2023

January 2024

February 2024

 

Sunday, July 15, 2007

Jim Henshaw wrote me an email, continuing his well-needed rabble-rousing about the attempt by the CRTC to sell out Canadian content rules for the Canadian Television Fund:
You guys didn’t live through the Canadian film boom of the 70’s. I did and that’s what this 8/10 rule would send us back to. “Corner Gas” would star Paulie Shore and “Intelligence” would feature Lee Majors. Guys like Win (The Greek Tycoon) Wells would be writing “Little Mosque” with Potsie from “Happy Days” directing. They’re the “names” that the agents at CAA can market internationally over anybody from here – and until we build a legitimate homegrown industry they always will be.

Think about it. When HBO and Showtime are getting guys who can’t land features anymore, the guys who worked there are moving to the nets, and the guys that worked on the A shows on NBC and CBS are running the B shows and the guys who couldn’t get arrested at CW or the D2DVD world are coming here. It’s happened before and it’ll happen again. And with the audience shrinking everywhere it’ll happen quicker with some species like Canadian writers suddenly turning up on the endangered list.

Has anybody considered that nobody can sell Canadian shows because they’re already mostly written by LA writers who can’t get even an animation job in LA?

And look at the money. If the $230M is divided $100M @ 100% and $130M at 80% with ALL development and the CBC coming out of the hundred that means $0 for virtually everything that isn’t CBC and $130M going to stuff 99% of Canadian writers, directors and actors won’t get a shot at.

I also see something more sinister here. It’ll take companies headquartered or well connected in LA to package those 8/10 shows. No wonder Robert Lantos put money in Blueprint.

You want a plan – how about no development or pilot money. Maybe no public money for the first 6 shows. If a series scores with an audience, you get future funding and something to offset the original investment. How about supporting the MOWs and “cultural fare” out of a levy on prime time shows that don’t come from here. If CTV and Global want to continue to make fortunes on non-Canadian shows, then let them if it’s funding indigenous programming. That’ll also take our hands out of the pockets of the taxpayer and Jim Shaw, so nobody gets to complain anymore – and maybe we get back to doing what we’re supposed to do.

Not much for ten minutes thought I agree, but it’s a start. And as for who takes it to them – well we’ve all got MPs. I had mine get me face time with Paul Martin cause I bought him lunch at Red Lobster for crying out loud – and Martin’s first questions were how much money I wanted and if I’d contributed to a political party lately.

The most important thing is that we’ve got to stop being the whipping boy for this industry and we’ve got to make people see it’s the execs running the system who are incompetent not the ones writing, directing and starring in the shows. God, we’ve got people who make the majority of their money by selling Video on Demand porn and ringtones deciding our cultural policy. How f***ed is that!?
Amen, brother.

I was much too young to work in the '70's, let alone sweat Canadian cultural policy. But I did work in L.A. in the '90's trying to set up co-productions. We would package an American script with one of the few bankable Canadian directors available to work on commercial projects, and go and shoot up in Quebec. We succeeded in making some very bad movies that way, and a few okay ones. None of them had anything in the way of Canadian cultural content. How would they, with an American script and an American producer?

There was always a Canadian co-producer who qualified for the Cancon rules. But he didn't originate the project. Except one guy I worked for was a Dutch national with a Canadian permanent resident card who lived in Palos Verdes. For Cancon purposes he was the Canadian co-producer. Guess how Canadian our projects were.

There's nothing wrong with making American movies in Canada. I'm all in favor of CAVCO, the program that subsidizes productions without Canadian content. It keeps our technicians busy, and busy technicians become good.

But if you are asking taxpayers to kick in their hard-earned dollars to support Canadian cinema and TV, they damn well ought to get Canadian cinema and TV.

I'm inclined to say that of all the "points," the ones that really most need to be Canadian are the points for writers. If you have a script with a Canadian sensibility, an American director is not going to make it any less Canadian. An American actor is not going to make it less Canadian, unless you're asking him to fake an Ottawa Valley accent.

But the real problem isn't American writers. It's the producers down in L.A. who are going to try really hard to erase any Canadian content from the movies or TV shows they're making, so they can sell them into the US more easily. US distributors and TV networks persist in the notion that Americans won't watch anything set in Canada. On Naked Josh, we couldn't say the word "Montreal."

You can, however, push back. We never said "Montréal," but we refused to change signage. Eric lived above Ciné L'Amour. The stop signs said "Arrêt". We had Frenchie characters.

American producers, obviously, are not going to push back. They'll just set everything in Generic North American City. You know, the one where everyone has New York accents and there are snow-capped mountains in the background?

I hate having to go to Generic North American City. Montreal has spectacular landmarks. Even Toronto has the occasional spot of architecture worth showing. Writing a good movie is all about the specifics. I don't think American viewers have a prejudice about Canada. I think American distribs still have a prejudice against crappy, low-budget Cancon shows from the old 8/10 days.

No society can afford to have its culture made somewhere else. Not even by expats.

Jim, thanks for raising your voice. Now all you readers out there in Canuckistan: what are you doing to raise your voices? Remember, all you have to do is surf to the CRTC site and click on the "2007-70" button and add your two cents.

Hey, for that matter: all you American readers, feel free to chip in at the CRTC, too. Do you want to see more Generic North American City movies coming out of Canada? Or do you want to see more stories about Canadians?

Labels:

1 Comments:

As an American, I just care that it's a good movie.

Also as an American who used to live in Boston and now lives in Chicago and who has visited Montreal, Quebec City and Ottawa, you folks have much prettier cities than most US cities.

By Blogger The_Lex, at 11:18 AM  

Post a Comment

Back to Complications Ensue main blog page.



This page is powered by Blogger.