There are some strict CanCon (Canadian Content) laws up here in Canada, one of them being that for any homegrown, publicly funded film, one of the two stars must be a Canadian actor. It makes sense for a country continually struggling to have a national identity while snuggled against the U.S. But now the CBC reports that Michel Roy, head of Telefilm Canada, is trying to get the government to change their foreign star restrictions.
He thinks that adding more U.S. stars into the mix will help Canadian movies gain bigger box office draws, since in English Canada, only one percent of the box office receipts came from maple leaf films. "We need to make changes -- in order to make those changes we will have to dare to do new things that at times might shock some people," Roy says. While he recognizes that some residents won't...
He thinks that adding more U.S. stars into the mix will help Canadian movies gain bigger box office draws, since in English Canada, only one percent of the box office receipts came from maple leaf films. "We need to make changes -- in order to make those changes we will have to dare to do new things that at times might shock some people," Roy says. While he recognizes that some residents won't...
- 2/23/2010
- by Monika Bartyzel
- Cinematical
Toronto -- The Canadian government is looking to change casting rules for Hollywood stars in homegrown movies to boost their boxoffice appeal.
Michel Roy, chairman of Telefilm Canada, the federal government's film financier, told CBC News his agency is looking to relax tax rules to allow foreign stars to headline more taxpayer-funded films.
Roy said casting more Hollywood movie stars will help boost the screen time for homegrown films at multiplexes in English-speaking Canada from about 1% currently.
"We just can't go on this way," Roy said. "We need to make changes. In order to make those changes we will have to dare to do new things that at times might shock some people."
Current Canadian law calls for one of the two main leads in a publicly funded film to be a Canadian actor.
Actra, Canada's actors union, slammed the proposed rule changes to back more Hollywood talent in homegrown films.
Michel Roy, chairman of Telefilm Canada, the federal government's film financier, told CBC News his agency is looking to relax tax rules to allow foreign stars to headline more taxpayer-funded films.
Roy said casting more Hollywood movie stars will help boost the screen time for homegrown films at multiplexes in English-speaking Canada from about 1% currently.
"We just can't go on this way," Roy said. "We need to make changes. In order to make those changes we will have to dare to do new things that at times might shock some people."
Current Canadian law calls for one of the two main leads in a publicly funded film to be a Canadian actor.
Actra, Canada's actors union, slammed the proposed rule changes to back more Hollywood talent in homegrown films.
- 2/22/2010
- by By Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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