B.C. film industry
thrives locally

$182 million spent last year in BC.

WITH MOVIES of the week and episodic TV productions
in full gear, it’s anything but quiet on the set for B.C.’s

film industry.

“Its in good shape,'” says
Robert E. Duboerley, head of
B.C.'s Motion Picture Associa-
tion.

Last year producers spent about
$182 million on TV and theatrical!
releases in B.C.. down only slight-
ly from the previous year. The
Vancouver media ran stories war-
ning that the Goods and Services
Tax, combined with a rising Ca-
nadian dollar, would send Ameri-
can producers packing.

Dubberley says those fears were
unwarranted and that the stories
were misleading and ‘‘very
damaging” to the industry’s repu-
tation.

“it’s difficult to compare with
last year at this point, but all in-
dications show we will equal, if
not surpass last year in terms of
dollars,’ he said. However, Dub-
berley conceded that B.C. isn’t
getting the same number of big
American feature films it used to.

To put things in perspective, in
the 10 years since 1978, the local
industry grew to roughly $152 mil-
lion annually from $12.5.
Businesses sprang up to support
the increase in work and, in
September 1989, a state-of-the-art
film studio, North Shore studios,
opened in North Vancouver.

The $25-million complex, which

features seven large sound stages _

and over 100,000 square feet of
office space, took 2% years to
build, and, as the director for the
B.C. Film Commission Diane
Neufield said, ‘‘moves us (Van-
couver) away from being (merely)
2 bus stop on the locations cir-
cuit.”

It was the first time in history
that a U.S. company, in this case,
headed by partners Stephen J.
Cannell (the Hollywood wizard
who brought us 21 Jump Street
and Wiseguy) and Canadian Paul
Bronfman of the Toronto-based

By Evelyn Jacob
News Reporter

Comweb Corp. put down roots in
the province.

B.C. continues to attract pro-
ducers and film-makers because of
its diverse geography and its army
of skilled technicians.

One area that is now just
beginning to share the spoils is
B.C.’s post-production sector.

Last June, Russ Baker, presi-
dent of Paul Sharpe Sound Stu-
dios, noted that 80% of the
post-production work left the
province due to the lack of facili-
ties. Baker now believes this prac-
tice is beginning to turn around.

- “We've got a ways to go yet,
but we're getting there slowly,’’ he
said.

Sharpe, whose credits include
Broadcast News and Dick Tracy,
will officially open his new $1.2-
million studio in North Vancouver
in the next few weeks. It will offer
facilities equal in quality to the
Todd-AO/Glen Sound Studio in
Hollywood and will be the only
high-quality sound mixing studio
in Western Canada.

So far, Sharpe Studios has en-
joyed a busy year, according to
Baker, Right now they're working
with Columbia Pictures on the
TV-movie, It’s Christmas on Divi-
sion Street, starring Fred Savage.

But he said it has had a hard
time trying to crack the American
feature film market. ‘‘Even
though we can give them (U.S.
producers) a much better price on
post-production, the executive of
Disney is going to stay in L.A.
working on his next picture in
Disney’s own studio.’’ He said the
studio is currently looking at ways
of offering incentives to indepen-
dent producers, who generally
look for the best financial deal.

B.C.’S FILM industry is alive
and well, say those in the
business, and the North
Shore is cashing in on the
action.

Film crews shooting around
Vancouver streets used to bring
traffic to a grinding halt, but
these days they are commonplace.
Locally, the number of films
shooting in North Vancouver City
has semained steady. Again, it’s
mostly episodic TV and movies of
the week.

Currently filming in the city
are: the CBC teen drama series,
Northwood, Pacific Motion Pic-
ture’s TV movie of the week,
Lovebirds, and Neon Rider.

Cannell Films’ TV series Broken
Badges, Wiseguy and 21 Jump
Street are no longer being produc-
ed, but the North Vancouver-
based film company reports it is
busier than last year. New pro-
ductions include the 22-episode
first-run syndication series, Strect
Justice, The Commish, a new TV
drama for ABC, Paiace Guard, a
new action-drama series for CBS,
and Scene of the Crime, which
returns to Vancouver after
shooting in Paris.

Wednesday, July 24. 1961 - North Snore News - 39

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