Falling Loonie May Re-Attract U.S. Productions to Canada

With the value of the CDN dollar falling through the floor in recent days (75 cents USD as of this writing), and a number of U.S. states reevaluating their filmincentive programs, American financed film productions are expected to begin eyeballing Canada as the preeminent shooting destination once again.
"You put the Canadian dollar together with the tax credits we've already got and we're completely back in the game," said Ken Ferguson of Toronto Film Studios, owners of the new mega studio FilmPort, withBoondock Saints 2 and an untitled George Romero film, both starting in Toronto.
Meanwhile, a Michigan Senate committee has begun discussion of capping its tax credit at US$50-million, Rhode Island capped its incentives at US$15-million per year and Florida slashed the budget of its governor's film office by 80%.
US taxpayer anger has grown at incentives in Massachusetts and Louisiana after high-profile events revealed their cost, with a Massachusetts report revealing that in two years the state missed out on US$120-million in taxes thanks to its credit program, while a Brad Pitt feature shooting in Louisiana cost that state US$27-million.
Industry sources say the state of New York, which bolstered its tax credit in April, has already begun reviewing whether to scale it back."Some of the extraordinary tax credits that are offered in some states, I think, are entirely unsustainable," said Ferguson."So it's not surprising that under some duress they'll have to cap those or throttle them back considerably."The hope is that those "who do production elsewhere might look to Vancouver and other parts of Canada with renewed interest," said Harvey Kahn, president of Vancouver's Front Street Pictures.

‘Stargate’ Roars at Canada’s Leo Awards

With so much fuss being made about J.J. Abrams Star Trek reboot, it's easy to forget that there is another successful franchise out there with Star… in the title. That would be Stargate, which is due for its own sort of makeover later this year with the premiere of Stargate Universe. This is no sign that the concept is struggling, though. Indeed, the slew of awards that Stargateproductions won at the recent Leo Awards in Vancouver, British Columbia (the home base of CinemaSpy) shows that it continues to be admired.
The LEO Awards are presented by the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Foundation of B.C.. They were established in 1998 to celebrate excellence in film and television productions that are made in the province. Stargate series and movies are largely filmed in Vancouver. At this years Celebration and Gala Ceremonies for the Leos, which took place on May 8 and 9, two productions - Stargate Continuum and Stargate Atlantis – won 12 awards between them. Moreover, Robert Cooper and Brad Wright, co-creators and executive producers of the three television series that make up the Stargate franchise, received one of the 2009 Leo Awards for Outstanding Achievement.
Stargate Atlantis, which ended its run after five seasons earlier this year, dominated the Dramatic Series category, winning nine of the 17 awards presented, including Best Dramatic Series. In the Feature Length Drama category, Stargate Continuum won three awards, one of which went to actor Michael Shanks for his performance as Stargate SG-1 series regular, Daniel Jackson. Shanks won Best Lead Performance by a Male.
Stargate alumni were also rewarded for their work on the series Sanctuary, which won four Leo awards. Those included Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series for Amanda Tapping, one of the stars of Stargate Continuum. Tapping plays Samantha Carter in the Stargate franchise and has appeared in Stargate Atlantis and was also a regular on Stargate SG-1. Stargate Continnum is a feature length spin-off from the latter and is reviewed on CinemaSpy here.
The full list of winners in the Feature Length Drama and Dramatic Series categories are given below. A list of winners in all categories can be found on the Leo Awards website.
FEATURE LENGTH DRAMA
Best Feature Length Drama
Fifty Dead Men Walking – Shawn Williamson, Stephen Hegyes, Peter La Terriere, Kari Skogland, Guy Collins, Stephen Margolis, Michael Ryan, Nicole Carmen-Davis, Karyn Edwards, Elsie Choi, Kyle Lundberg (Producers)
Best Direction in a Feature Length Drama
Anne Wheeler – Living Out Loud
Best Screenwriting in a Feature Length Drama
Brad Wright – Stargate Continuum
Best Cinematography in a Feature Length Drama
Attila Szalay – Iron Road
Best Picture Editing in a Feature Length Drama
Fred Thorsen – Stone of Destiny
Best Overall Sound in a Feature Length Drama
Paul Sharpe, Iain Pattison, Graeme Hughes – Stargate Continuum
Best Sound Editing in a Feature Length Drama
John Taylor, Chester Bialowas, Jeff Jackman,Ken Biehl, Rick Senechal – Joy Ride 2
Best Musical Score in a Feature Length Drama
Ben Mink – Fifty Dead Men Walking
Best Production Design in a Feature Length Drama
Linda Del Rosario – Iron Road
Best Costume Design in a Feature Length Drama
Maya Mani – Iron Road
Best Make-Up in a Feature Length Drama
Joanne Kinchella – Iron Road
Best Visual Effects in a Feature Length Drama
Steve Hodgson, Adam Stern, Richard Patterson, Doug Campbell, Terry Hutcheson – Impact
Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama
Chang Tseng – Dim Sum Funeral
Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama
Lauren Lee Smith – Helen
Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Feature Length Drama
Michael Shanks – Stargate Continuum
Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Feature Length Drama
Babz Chula – Mothers & Daughters
DRAMATIC SERIES
Best Dramatic Series
Stargate Atlantis – Joseph Mallozzi, Paul Mullie, Brad Wright, Robert Cooper, Carl Binder, Martin Gero, Alan McCullough, John Smith (Producers)
Best Direction in a Dramatic Series
Robert Cooper
Stargate Atlantis – Vegas
Best Screenwriting in a Dramatic Series
Alan McCullough
Stargate Atlantis – The Queen
Best Cinematography in a Dramatic Series
Michael Blundell
Stargate Atlantis – Vegas
Best Picture Editing in a Dramatic Series
Mike Banas
Stargate Atlantis – Vegas
Best Overall Sound in a Dramatic Series
Kelly Cole, Patrick Ramsay, Bill Mellow, Joe Watts, Hugo De Le Cerda, Kevin Belen
Stargate Atlantis – Enemy at the Gate
Best Sound Editing in a Dramatic Series
Steve Smith, Matthew Wilson, Kirby Jinnah, Jay Cheetham, Jason Mauza
Stargate Atlantis – Enemy at the Gate
Best Production Design in a Dramatic Series
James Philpott
Smallville - Quest
Best Costume Design in a Dramatic Series
Valerie Halverson
Stargate Atlantis – The Queen
Best Make-Up in a Dramatic Series
Todd Masters, Nicholas Podbrey, Sarah Pickersgill, Harlow MacFarlane
Sanctuary – Warriors
Best Visual Effects in a Dramatic Series
Mark Savela, Shannon Gurney, Kodie MacKenzie, Viv Jim, Dan Weir
Stargate Atlantis – First Contact
Best Guest Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series
Ryan Robbins
Sanctuary - Edward
Best Guest Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series
Gabrielle Rose
Sanctuary - Edward
Best Supporting Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series
Benjamin Arthur
Less Than Kind – Top of the Class
Best Supporting Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series
Eve Harlow
The Guard – Boom
Best Lead Performance by a Male in a Dramatic Series
Tyler Labine
Reaper - Coming to Grips
Best Lead Performance by a Female in a Dramatic Series
Amanda Tapping
Sanctuary - Requiem

Despite Recent Setbacks, Ron Howard Still Bullish on Dark Tower

Tina Fey, creator and star of NBC’s sitcom30 Rock, has publicly expressed support for her co-star on the show, Tracy Morgan, amid a storm of controversy over a joke the actor/comedian is alleged to have made in a recent stage show. During the stand-up performance in Nashville, Morgan reportedly went on an ‘anti-gay tirade’ and is said to have joked that he’d “pull out a knife and stab” his own son if he were gay.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, the allegations against Morgan were made by Kevin Rogers, who attended the show and said that before the show he was a fan of the Saturday Night Live alumnus. Rogers subsequently posted a piece on Facebook titled “Why I No Longer ‘Like’ Tracy Morgan – A Must Read.” The story was later picked up by the website of Truth Wins Out, a non-profit organization that campaigns against anti-gay extremism.
Morgan himself has since said sorry for any offense that he caused. In a statement to the trade paper he apologized to his fans and the gay & lesbian community for his “choice of words.”
“I’m not a hateful person and don’t condone any kind of violence against others,” Morgan said. “While I am an equal opportunity jokester, and my friends know what is in my heart, even in a comedy club this clearly went too far and was not funny in any context.”
Fey, also a former SNL star, has now offered her support to Morgan. Although she admitted that “the violent imagery of Tracy’s rant,” disturbed her, she indicated that homophobia was not something she associated with her co-star.
“It also doesn’t line up with the Tracy Morgan I know, who is not a hateful man and is generally much too sleepy and self-centered to ever hurt another person,” The Reporter quotes her as saying.
“I hope for his sake that Tracy’s apology will be accepted as sincere by his gay and lesbian coworkers on30 Rock, without whom Tracy would not have lines to say, clothes to wear, sets to stand on, scene partners to act with, or a printed-out paycheck from accounting to put in his pocket,” she added.
Meanwhile, NBC exec Robert Greenblatt had said he was pleased that Morgan has apologized. At the same time, however, he gave a thinly veiled warning to the actor and other stars of the network’s shows that NBC won’t take kindly to being embarrassed in this way again.
“We will always recognize an artist’s freedom to express him or herself, but not when reckless things are said no matter what the context,” said Greenblatt. “Unfortunately, Tracy’s comments reflect negatively on both 30 Rock and NBC – two very all-inclusive and diverse organizations – and we have made it clear to him that this kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”
The controversy may have exploded too late to make the judges at the 51st Monte Carlo Television Festival’s Golden Nymph Awards think twice about rewarding Morgan for his role in 30 Rock. The star was named Outstanding actor in a Comedy Series at the event on Friday night.

Today would have been celebration galore

Today would have been celebration galore for most fans of Emeka Ike that stormed the Federal High court premises for the final verdict on who the authentic AGN president really is but that didn't come to be as the judge again strike out the case on technical grounds.
A disappointed Emeka Ike definitely not happy with the judge's decision left the court premises in annoyance and when he came out to his fans, he told them in these words " You guys should wait as i have been asked to go get some document and will be back in not less than 1 hour". This didn't happen as several hours later Emeka Ike the Maradona never showed up and calls to his mobile phone by some of his fans were returned unanswered. Well the bottom line is that Segun Arinze who is the AGN president the Industry knows is still in charge and will still be for a very long time to come. Is there hope for Emeka Ike in this legal battle? Some people say why is he not concentrating his energy on the growth of his private school and many other businesses? Why AGN; what is it that is not done right at the Guild that he wants to fix? Well over to you o my brother from another mother. We were told that the AGN president Segun Arinze or his lawyer were not at the sitting.

My Life Is Like Charlie Sheen’s

When we hear the name “Charlie Sheen” we can’t help but think of goddesses, Adonis DNA, briefcases full of cocaine and all-round bad behavior. However, boxer-turned-actor Mike Tyson claims to lead a lifestyle similar to that of the fired sitcom star.
“I don’t envy anything about his life, my life is pretty much parallel to his,” Tyson told FOX411’s Pop Tarts column ahead of Comedy Central’s “Charlie Sheen Roasting” in Los Angeles over the weekend. “I don’t envy him.”

In fact, Tyson’s own wild ways are soon set to become small screen fodder as he’s teamed up to co-produce with Entourage’s Doug Ellin for a HBO scripted drama about a young boxer growing up in New Jersey, loosely based on Tyson’s tumultuous life.
“The show is going to be all about me… following me around as a kid, going to the gym, getting into trouble, getting people pregnant, unwed mothers, all that s**t, having babies out of wedlock all the f**king time, getting up to stuff before fights, all that stuff,” he continued.
But in the present-day Tyson household, only girly viewing is allowed.
“My wife makes me watch all that ‘Housewives’ and ‘Kardashians’ BS. I have to watch the Kardashians, my wife will kill me if I don’t,” he explained.
That's the best reason we've heard of.

Olivia Wilde shoots down romance rumors, gives advice to young actresses

 
Olivia Wilde has quickly become one of the hottest women in Hollywood.
The “Cowboys and Aliens” star is on the October cover of Allure magazine, where she opens up about her divorce, making out with Mischa Barton and all those pesky rumors about who she is dating.

 

On rumors about her dating life:
“In order to be dating all the people they think I am, I’d need four vaginas! It’s impossible!”
On her favorite beauty products:
“I steal from makeup artists a lot.”
On kissing Mischa Barton on “The O.C.”:
“We did a lot of kissing. It was a relationship. It wasn’t a weird sensationalized moment that was just for sweeps week. These two young women were really falling in love. Women tell me that it helped them figure out their sexuality.”
Her advice for young starlets entering the business:
“If I could tell young actresses anything, it would be to just be yourself through and through. I mean, really be hard-core about sticking to your identity, because what makes you unusual is what’s going to assure your success.”
On her divorce from Italian Prince and film director, Tao Ruspoli:
“(It was) the most difficult thing I’ve ever dealt with. I got married at a very young age, so I sort of jumped into a stage of adulthood prematurely. I learned quite a lot.”
The new issue of Allure hits newsstands September 20.