Happy Friday!

Reminder:

Pan/Parapan Am Games Transportation and Info Sessions:

The Film Commission at the OMDC, on behalf of the Ministry of Transportation and its transportation partners - TO2015, the City of Toronto, and the Integrated Security Unit (ISU), as well as the Toronto Film & Entertainment team - are holding information sessions about the Pan/Parapan Am Games and related transportation, security and venue arrangements.

The goal of the sessions are to give our business stakeholders in Ontario's film and television production industry the tools and information they need to keep moving during the Games.Join us to learn about travel options to avoid busy areas around venues at peak times.  Register today for the session that best works with your schedule at the links below. 

Date:      Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Time:      Session 1:  3:00 pm - 4:00 pm (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

                Session 2:  7:00 pm - 8:00 pm (CLICK HERE TO REGISTER)

 Location:        The Isabel Bader Theatre, 93 Charles St. West, Toronto

Registration is required. Please complete the online registration form by 5:00 pm Friday Feb. 13 prior to the Information Session. Unregistered guests will only be accepted if space permits.

Banff Discounts reducing soon:

The Banff World Media Festival has once again entered into a “Community Partnership” with FilmOntario. This means significant discounts on registration for our Members.

For the Banff World Media Festival, click on the logo on the left, or click here, Content Industry Connect TO, click on the logo on the left, or click here and Content Industry Connect LA event (click here). Offer is valid for a limited time, don’t miss out!

It's pre-budget time, and, as we do each year, we are continuing our work with folks at OMDC, Ministry of Culture and Ministry of Finance to protect our industry stability, as the government strives to achieve a balanced budget in 2017/18.

Sarah Ker-Hornell
CEO & Executive Director

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Weekly Update from Kelly Graham-Scherer, Los Angeles Representative 

Happy Friday everyone, 

News of the Sony hack which dominated the headlines late last year continues to make waves in Hollywood. The Los Angeles Times reported this week that Sony Corp. said it has spent an estimated $15 million investigating and recovering from the massive cyber attack that crippled its movie and TV studio.
http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-sony-hack-cost-20150204-story.html 

The above story was quickly followed by news that Sony Pictures Entertainment co-chairman Amy Pascal will step down from her post. As detailed in the Hollywood Reporter below, as often is the case with ousted studio heads, Pascal will launch a major new production venture at the studio.  http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/amy-pascal-step-down-top-755789

Looks like Snapchat will be the latest digital start-up to get into content production. As detailed in the L.A. Times below, technology giants such as Google and Yahoo have been split over the years over whether to get into the business of producing media for the hubs they’ve built for consumers to watch, listen and read other people’s content, but Snapchat, which began with a single-function photo-messaging app, is launching an online series that will follow the lives of Sasha Spielberg and Emily Goldwyn -- daughters of film producers Steven Spielberg and John Goldwyn, respectively. http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-snapchat-media-20150130-story.html

While the falling price of oil is driving down the Canadian dollar and bolstering Ontario's film and television service production industry, it's also wreaking havoc with Alaska's burgeoning film industry. As reported in Alaska Dispatch News below, Governor Bill Walker says that at current oil prices Alaska can no longer afford its film and TV incentives and interviews with those in the industry, and with officials in charge, suggest that the state has already quietly stopped the program. http://www.adn.com/article/20150130/alaska-film-subsidy-program-faces-budget-ax-governor-says 

The fall of the Canadian dollar is definitely on the radar of potential clients here in Los Angeles, but I'm hoping this next Playback story will find its way into the local media here just for good measure. As detailed below, the current exchange rate, combined with Ontario's incentives and infrastructure make our jurisdiction the best value anywhere. http://playbackonline.ca/2015/02/05/canadian-film-and-tv-has-a-new-star-a-plunging-loonie/ 

The OMDC- supported feature documentary How to Change the World, took the Sundance Film Festival by storm, winning the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for editing and the Candescent Award, which is presented to social issues films that were supported during production by the Sundance Institute Documentary Film Program that also premiere during the Sundance Festival. How to Change the World is produced by London-based MET Film, Daniel Film, and Toronto-based Insight Productions. John Murray from Insight served as supervising producer.

And Sheridan College graduates are well-positioned to clean up at the Oscars on February 22nd. Three of the five films nominated for Oscars in the Best Animated Feature category were directed by animators who studied at Sheridan. Among the films nominated are How to Train Your Dragon 2, written and directed by Dean DeBlois; The Boxtrolls, co-directed by Graham Annable; and Big Hero 6, directed by Chris Williams. 

Congratulations to everyone - your successes make me very proud to be representing Ontario!