Where are popular Canadian movies?
Hour
CANADIANS want to watch, rather than homosexual art movies that are supposed
to try to give Canadians some kind of common culture(?) that we don't have
nor want. Look I'm Canadian and I admit: CANADA HAS NO REAL CULTURE. We
don't even really have our own national food. So if they're going to make
movies and waste money on them they might as well make movies Canadians will
like and hey, who knows, maybe one day they will become well known and
classics.
max_t...@my-deja.com wrote in message <8ju45b$a5r$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was a big hit, and
>people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I think
>it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
>seem to make such a movie. Why?
>
>
>Sent via Deja.com http://www.deja.com/
>Before you buy.
max_t...@my-deja.com
ania
> I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was a big hit, and
> people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I think
> it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
> seem to make such a movie. Why?
because canadians dont seem to have that mainstream hollywood
mentality. and thank god for small mercies.
ania
--
~ seeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ~
max_t...@my-deja.com
comes to something the Americans do better. I think we'd be better off
if we DID SOMETHING instead of just spouting off the same old
crappy, "Nothing's wrong, we're cool, they are just idiots!" reply.
In article <8ju52a$asd$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>,
ania
in the US doesnt make it less valuable or worth while. to the contrary
in fact. unfortuantely hollywood has become just one big fat sausage
factory - same old same old... formulas and stereotypes left right and
centre. boring, predictable and fucking annoying.
canadian films do well in europe and in australia. thats SOME
recognition isnt it?
seeya,
ania
--
~ seeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ~
ania
> I really hate this snotty attitude that a lot of Canadians have when
it
> comes to something the Americans do better. I think we'd be better off
> if we DID SOMETHING instead of just spouting off the same old
> crappy, "Nothing's wrong, we're cool, they are just idiots!" reply.
majority of the american films that actually make it 'big' (and make it
to australia) are bloody glitz and gimmicks.
how often do films like 'magnolia' come out of america and make it huge?
rarely. and what a fucking shame that is.
a bigger budget does NOT make a better movie.
just makes them lose their minds and spend the money on special effects
forgetting all about the fact that usually films are supposed to cary
story lines with substance.
seeya,
ania
--
~ seeeeeeeyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa ~
Greywizard
>people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I think
>it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
>seem to make such a movie. Why?
There are basically two explanations for this:
(1) The Canadian government film funding agency (Telefilm) that decides
what films to subsidize is usually loath to fund a movie that has any
commerical value to it, especially if it's not in the French language.
They seem to have the viewpoint that Canadian culture has to be both
"high art" and pushing Canadian values. They don't realize that culture
also includes *popular* culture, and many times products of popular
culture have become classics - just take Shakespeare's plays, which were
aimed at the common man at the time they were written.
It's ironic that, in general, the movies Telefilm decides to subsidize
in an aim to push Canadian culture actually get Canadians to shun them
and think less of their country - giving the opposite effect. Yes, many
of these movies may get critical acclaim, but the average Canadian
moviegoer probably thinks something like, "What's so entertaining about
lesbian angst (or some other subject they can't relate to)? And what's
Canadian about that?" Not only do they not see the movies as
entertaining, most Canadians can't relate to them.
(2) Canadian distributors don't push the Canadian movies they handle.
Before I get into that, I think I have to point out that the
American-owned cinema chains *do* open their doors wide the rare a
Canadian movie with some commerical qualities gets pushed. STRIKE
(a.k.a. ALL I WANNA DO) and EXISTENZ got almost no theatrical release in
the States by their American distributor, but their Canadian distributor
gave them a wide release with plenty of advertising in Canada. GREY OWL
had no theatrical release in the States, but it got a fairly wide
release up here. Some Quebec movies get huge releases in Quebec - LES
BOYS 2 opened in a whopping 80+ theaters in Quebec.
But that's only some of the time. Most times, even if the movie has some
commerical value, the distributor won't do a thing? Why? See, when a
Canadian distributor picks up a Canadian movie, they are only at risk
for 25% of their investment. This is meant to encourage distributors to
pick up Canadian films. However, with them being protected so much, they
have no incentive to push Canadian films. So a quick release to a couple
of theaters, then dumping the movie on video and pay TV will give them a
small profit at taxpayers' expense. This is why even big distributors
like Alliance-Atlantis - which could easily afford on their own many of
the movies they make - won't push the movies they make, and are content
to continue to beg for subsidies.
What could be done? Well, a tax shelter system could work. It's true the
previous one didn't work, but that's because it was filled with flaws.
For example, people using the tax shelter system were forbidden to sell
the rights to a movie before it was made. Anyone in the film business
can tell you that it's usually easier to sell a movie *before* it was
made. That's why so many tax shelter movies never got released.
Germany managed to revitalize its film industry, after years of making
unpopular and heavy art movies, with their own tax shelter system.
Recently, after several years of Brazilian movies only taking 2% of the
annual box office (despite quotas), Brazil introduced a tax shelter
system that's made several domestic hits. Canada could get some ideas
from these particular tax shelter systems.
If it makes you feel better, later this summer there will be a Canadian
action movie in theaters, THE ART OF WAR. Though it stars American actor
Wesley Snipes, it's directed by Canadian director Christian Duguay and a
production by Filmline (a Canadian company). The few reports I've heard
so far indicate it's actually pretty good, which I'm inclined to believe
because Duguay has previously made some fairly good genre movies.
To respond, substitute "spam" with "coastnet".
-----------------------------------
Visit The Unknown Movies Page!
http://www.coastnet.com/~greywizard
-----------------------------------
Norman Wilner
news:8ju45b$a5r$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
>
> I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was
> a big hit, and people from British Columbia to Newfoundland
> rushed to see it. I think it would give us a big sense of pride.
> But Canadian moviemakers can't seem to make such a
> movie. Why?
Because one "Porky's" was enough.
(Greywizard, is that you?)
Norm Wilner
Starweek Magazine
www.chapters.ca/wilner/
Greywizard
>> people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I
think
>> it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
>> seem to make such a movie. Why?
>
>mentality. and thank god for small mercies.
Neither do the Brits or the Australians, yet their movies do fairly well
both in their countries and abroad.
--
Greywizard
>> I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was
>> a big hit, and people from British Columbia to Newfoundland
>> rushed to see it. I think it would give us a big sense of pride.
>> But Canadian moviemakers can't seem to make such a
>> movie. Why?
>
>
>(Greywizard, is that you?)
No, but if you want, Norm, I can write a similar post if you want to get
into another scintillating debate :-)
Steve Erickson
> I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was a big hit, and
> people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I think
> it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
> seem to make such a movie. Why?
Have you seen NEW WATERFORD GIRL or TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN? Both are
entertaining, accessible films that the huge brigade of "why do Canadians
only make art movies about weird sex?" complainers might actually enjoy.
(Do other countries have such an - often unwarranted, I think - inferiority
complex about their own cinema? Will the Canadian one go away if Miramax
picks up Atom Egoyan's next film for $10 million? How about if Fox buys the
American TV rights to TWITCH CITY?)
--
Remove "no spam" to reply.
http://home.earthlink.net/~steevee
Greywizard
>entertaining, accessible films that the huge brigade of "why do
Canadians
>only make art movies about weird sex?" complainers might actually
enjoy.
Might enjoy, yes - if more Canadians actually saw them. Both movies have
got great reviews, and NWG is at least doing some business, though its
distributor doesn't seem to want to expand its release that much. And
TOTFC - how long did it last? Did it even come to Vancouver? (It only
came to Victoria for one day.)
>(Do other countries have such an - often unwarranted, I think -
inferiority
>complex about their own cinema?
(Snip)
I did hear that in the Netherlands and in Denmark, audiences in general
shun domestic films. I remember reading an interview a few years ago
with the Dutch director who had won the best foreign language film Oscar
lamenting that despite the great reviews the movies of his country films
kept getting, the citizens just didn't want to see them. That was a few
years ago - things might have changed.
I also remember reading in Variety a few years ago about films in
Venezuela. The article mentioned the typically bad performance domestic
movies do there. In that particular year, ten Venezualian movies were
made - nine immediately died, and the tenth one (the only commerical
one) which did mild business was a Salsa musical aimed at teenagers.
Again, that was several years ago.
Lorne
>I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was a big hit, and
>people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I think
>it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
>seem to make such a movie. Why?
Because Canadians tend to make intelligent films, and intelligent
films are not "big hits." Case in point: "Titanic" earns ninety
gazillion dollars and wins the Best Picture Oscar the same year "The
Sweet Hereafter" is released.
-----
Lorne
Last two movies seen, rated out of four:
The Adventures Of Rocky and Bullwinkle (*1/2)
My, Myself & Irene (**)
* To reply, remove the second "o" (between the "d" and "g").
Norman Wilner
news:3Xx85.47018$mP2.2...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
>
> Maybe Canadian movie companies should actually make
> good movies that CANADIANS want to watch, rather than
> homosexual art movies that are supposed to try to give
> Canadians some kind of common culture(?) that we don't
> have nor want. Look I'm Canadian and I admit: CANADA
> HAS NO REAL CULTURE. We don't even really have our
> own national food. So if they're going to make movies and
> waste money on them they might as well make movies
> Canadians will like and hey, who knows, maybe one day
> they will become well known and classics.
Kraft Dinner's not our national food?
Bjorn Olson
--
Bjorn Olson
bemy...@freeze.com
"I know who gaza is -- he is an unusually bright troll though and
actually makes the occasional intelligent comment when he's not
flicking thought boogers into the cyberwind."
-John Harkness
KKWRBruce
>> Kraft Dinner's not our national food?
>>
>> Norm Wilner
>> Starweek Magazine
>> www.chapters.ca/wilner/
>>
>>
>Right now hundreds of Americans are going "huh?".
>--
>Bjorn Olson
Not all Americans :)
Anyone who's read Reid Fleming (World's Toughest Milkman) or Heartbreak City
can tell you Kraft Dinner is definitely a Canadian staple food.
Whatever happened to the plans for the Reid Fleming movie?
Mark Towler
of Canadian Culture (I had enough of that while earning a degree in CanLit)
I'll insist that there IS a definable Canadian Culture that can be
recognized by Canadians. I'll quote Ebert on this: in his review of Last
Night he mentioned that a Canadian critic told him how you could tell it was
a Canadian movie. During the collapse of civilization, a woman walks into a
looted grocery store looking for wine. She finds two unsmashed bottles,
picks them both up and eventually decides on one. The other she puts back on
the shelf where she found it - that's how you know it's a Canadian movie.
Hour wrote in message <3Xx85.47018$mP2.2...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca>...
>Maybe Canadian movie companies should actually make good movies that
>CANADIANS want to watch, rather than homosexual art movies that are
supposed
>to try to give Canadians some kind of common culture(?) that we don't have
>nor want. Look I'm Canadian and I admit: CANADA HAS NO REAL CULTURE. We
>don't even really have our own national food. So if they're going to make
>movies and waste money on them they might as well make movies Canadians
will
>like and hey, who knows, maybe one day they will become well known and
>classics.
>
>
>max_t...@my-deja.com wrote in message <8ju45b$a5r$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>...
>>I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was a big hit, and
>>people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I think
>>it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
>>seem to make such a movie. Why?
>>
>>
max_t...@my-deja.com
the end of the world did come, Canadians would act just as greedy and
destructive as Americans (or anyone else) would in the same situation.
In article <_0K85.3642$cc3....@news.magma.ca>,
"Mark Towler" <mto...@NOmagma.SPAMca> wrote:
> Recant , heretic! While I refuse to get into a discussion on the
definition
> of Canadian Culture (I had enough of that while earning a degree in
CanLit)
> I'll insist that there IS a definable Canadian Culture that can be
> recognized by Canadians. I'll quote Ebert on this: in his review of
Last
> Night he mentioned that a Canadian critic told him how you could tell
it was
> a Canadian movie. During the collapse of civilization, a woman walks
into a
> looted grocery store looking for wine. She finds two unsmashed
bottles,
> picks them both up and eventually decides on one. The other she puts
back on
> the shelf where she found it - that's how you know it's a Canadian
movie.
>
Hansel F Cook
: Because Canadians tend to make intelligent films, and intelligent
: films are not "big hits." Case in point: "Titanic" earns ninety
: gazillion dollars and wins the Best Picture Oscar the same year "The
: Sweet Hereafter" is released.
: -----
: Lorne
I agree, though it somewhat undermines your point when your realize that
it was directed by a Canadian, and at least some of it was filmed here as
well...
Hans
Steve Erickson
<bemy...@my-deja.com> wrote:
> In article <3xA85.114910$7o1.2...@news2.rdc1.on.home.com>,
> "Norman Wilner" <xnwi...@xhome.xcom> wrote:
> > "Hour" <sha...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
> > news:3Xx85.47018$mP2.2...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
> > >
> > > Maybe Canadian movie companies should actually make
> > > good movies that CANADIANS want to watch, rather than
> > > homosexual art movies that are supposed to try to give
> > > Canadians some kind of common culture(?) that we don't
> > > have nor want. Look I'm Canadian and I admit: CANADA
> > > HAS NO REAL CULTURE. We don't even really have our
> > > own national food. So if they're going to make movies and
> > > waste money on them they might as well make movies
> > > Canadians will like and hey, who knows, maybe one day
> > > they will become well known and classics.
> >
> > Kraft Dinner's not our national food?
> >
> > Norm Wilner
> > Starweek Magazine
> > www.chapters.ca/wilner/
> >
> >
> Right now hundreds of Americans are going "huh?".
I'm only sort of going "huh." Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is ubiqutious in the
U.S., so I'd tend to think of back bacon when I think of Canadianb food.
And several New York restaurants serve poutine under the name "disco
fries."
Lorne
>Lorne wrote:
>: Because Canadians tend to make intelligent films, and intelligent
>: films are not "big hits." Case in point: "Titanic" earns ninety
>: gazillion dollars and wins the Best Picture Oscar the same year "The
>: Sweet Hereafter" is released.
>
>it was directed by a Canadian, and at least some of it was filmed here as
>well...
Yeah, but we've disowned the asshole. :)
sd...@ticnet.com
- According to IMDB, Dan Monahan was Pee Wee in "Porky's"
- Peter MacNicol plays Cage on "Ally McBeal"
CaNeMa wrote:
> While were on the subject of Porky's. There was a character on there
> called Pee Wee. Is he also a main character on Ally McBeal?
> Unfortunately I do not watch the show enough to know what the name of
> the character is on the show. But do you kbow who I mean???
>
> DavidC
> Please remove NOSPAM.PLEASE from address to reply via e-mail
> Thank you!
Matthew Butcher
>Steve Erickson wrote:
>>Have you seen NEW WATERFORD GIRL or TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN? Both are
>>entertaining, accessible films that the huge brigade of "why do
>>Canadians only make art movies about weird sex?" complainers might
>>actually enjoy.
>Might enjoy, yes - if more Canadians actually saw them. Both movies have
>got great reviews, and NWG is at least doing some business, though its
>distributor doesn't seem to want to expand its release that much. And
>TOTFC - how long did it last? Did it even come to Vancouver? (It only
>came to Victoria for one day.)
I was kind of puzzled by what happened with FOOD CHAIN's release (even
though it got more publicity than any other Red Sky film I can think
of). It did run for three weeks or so in Vancouver theatres, plus the
usual subsequent appearances at rep houses, but this happened several
months after its Vancouver sneak preview and a concomitant ad campaign
on the Space cable channel. I have no idea what caused the delay,
which couldn't have helped the movie's prospects. Too bad, 'cause it's
hilarious. "I think that's her pancreas ... yeah, there's the islet of
Langerhans."
TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN and NEW WATERFORD GIRL both got Telefilm Canada
filming, incidentally.
--
Matthew Butcher | Darlin', I'm not tongue-tied, but I've got a
but...@math.ubc.ca | vacuum cleaner in my head. -- Pere Ubu
CaNeMa
<xnwi...@xhome.xcom> wrote:
><max_t...@my-deja.com> wrote in message
>news:8ju45b$a5r$1...@nnrp1.deja.com...
>>
>> I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was
>> a big hit, and people from British Columbia to Newfoundland
>> rushed to see it. I think it would give us a big sense of pride.
>> But Canadian moviemakers can't seem to make such a
>> movie. Why?
>
>Because one "Porky's" was enough.
>
While were on the subject of Porky's. There was a character on there
Norman Wilner
news:7lq7ms0jp78k9qc7n...@4ax.com...
>
> While were on the subject of Porky's. There was a
> character on there called Pee Wee. Is he also a main
> character on Ally McBeal? Unfortunately I do not watch
> the show enough to know what the name of the character
> is on the show. But do you kbow who I mean???
That's Dan Monahan, but he's not a member of the cast of "Ally McBeal".
CaNeMa
>Yes and I can see why you might think are the same person.
>
>- According to IMDB, Dan Monahan was Pee Wee in "Porky's"
>- Peter MacNicol plays Cage on "Ally McBeal"
>
Thank you very much for that. It's one of those things that kept
nagging me. Unfortunately I lost a bet with my wife, but even worst,
the bet involved sex.
Bjorn Olson
Steve Erickson wrote in message ...
>In article <8juqkq$q19$1...@nnrp1.deja.com>, Bjorn Olson
><bemy...@my-deja.com> wrote:
>
>> In article <3xA85.114910$7o1.2...@news2.rdc1.on.home.com>,
>> "Norman Wilner" <xnwi...@xhome.xcom> wrote:
>> > "Hour" <sha...@sprint.ca> wrote in message
>> > news:3Xx85.47018$mP2.2...@newscontent-01.sprint.ca...
>> > >
>> > > Maybe Canadian movie companies should actually make
>> > > good movies that CANADIANS want to watch, rather than
>> > > homosexual art movies that are supposed to try to give
>> > > Canadians some kind of common culture(?) that we don't
>> > > have nor want. Look I'm Canadian and I admit: CANADA
>> > > HAS NO REAL CULTURE. We don't even really have our
>> > > own national food. So if they're going to make movies and
>> > > waste money on them they might as well make movies
>> > > Canadians will like and hey, who knows, maybe one day
>> > > they will become well known and classics.
>> >
>> > Kraft Dinner's not our national food?
>> >
>> > Norm Wilner
>> > Starweek Magazine
>> > www.chapters.ca/wilner/
>> >
>> >
>> Right now hundreds of Americans are going "huh?".
>
>I'm only sort of going "huh." Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is ubiqutious in the
>U.S., so I'd tend to think of back bacon when I think of Canadianb food.
>And several New York restaurants serve poutine under the name "disco
>fries."
>
>
Can't remember the last time I had back bacon (though I don't eat that much
meat anyway), but I had Kraft Dinner two nights ago. I think as a nation we
are kind of obsessed with Kraft Dinner, I like it, but I only eat it when
there's nothing else around. I guess it's part of our national inferiority
complex that we have adopted something so cheap and unadorned as our
national food.
As proof that Kraft Dinner is more than just food, during student
demonstrations re: tuition costs it is often used as a prop to signify the
poverty of the average student lifestyle. The more Kraft Dinner that gets
thrown around, the better your protest.
BTW, the next time you visit Canada, don't call it Kraft Macaroni & Cheese
or people will look at you funny.
--
Bjorn "It's good with barbeque sauce" Olson
Cy Coe
greyw...@spam.com (Greywizard) wrote:
> >I'd be really happy if Canada made a movie that was a big hit, and
> >people from British Columbia to Newfoundland rushed to see it. I
think
> >it would give us a big sense of pride. But Canadian moviemakers can't
> >seem to make such a movie. Why?
>
>
> (1) The Canadian government film funding agency (Telefilm) that
decides
> what films to subsidize is usually loath to fund a movie that has any
> commerical value to it, especially if it's not in the French
language.
> They seem to have the viewpoint that Canadian culture has to be both
> "high art" and pushing Canadian values. They don't realize that
culture
> also includes *popular* culture, and many times products of popular
> culture have become classics - just take Shakespeare's plays, which
were
> aimed at the common man at the time they were written.
Very good point. Another factor is the peculiar notion of national
identity that we have in Canada. Those who call themselves "Canadian
nationalists", whose numbers tend to include the aforementioned
cultural bureaucrats, define Canada by its *differences* from the
United States. These so-called nationalists are simply socialists who
have found upon a convenient stone (the U.S.) to grind their
ideological axe upon. To be Canadian, in their view, is not to be
American. Anything which opposes or rejects American values,
therefore, is to be embraced by Canadians, or so these elites tell us.
The American film industry is driven by commerce and the notion of
popular entertainment. Thus, Canadian cinema, in order to distinguish
itself from the evil American cultural imperialists, must reject
commercialism and mass appeal, and instead reflect the values of the
film-making community and the arts bureaucrats who hold the purse
strings on the subsidies.
> It's ironic that, in general, the movies Telefilm decides to
subsidize
> in an aim to push Canadian culture actually get Canadians to shun
them
> and think less of their country - giving the opposite effect. Yes,
many
> of these movies may get critical acclaim, but the average Canadian
> moviegoer probably thinks something like, "What's so entertaining
about
> lesbian angst (or some other subject they can't relate to)? And
what's
> Canadian about that?" Not only do they not see the movies as
> entertaining, most Canadians can't relate to them.
Forgive the stereotyping, but imagine if the people who wrote and
performed in musical theatre didn't have to worry about selling tickets
to anyone, and were free to indulge their own interests and tastes
without worrying about what the audience would think. That's what the
Canadian film industry is like.
Cy
caribb
live in but I don't feel we have a national inferiority complex. Yeah Kraft
Dinner is on my list of quickie dinners. At $0.99 each ($0.65 USD) it's
definitely a cheap supper. I have never had "Canadian Bacon" whatever it is
or what American marketers think it is.. if anyone knows please let me know
because I may have had it under a more "Canadian" name.
But more importantly we do a lot of things well, if not better than many
other top nations.. I'd take a steak, fish or lobster dinner done in
Montreal over anything I've had in London, Paris, Amsterdam or Rome. We do
it better, cheaper and tastier with less crap sauces trying to hide the fact
European steak & fish just are not as good. Service here is better, more
polite and with more class. You have to pay a fortune in a top Euro bistro
to get the same level of service and food we get on average at home. The
only good steak I've had in Europe was in an Argentinean restaurant in
Amsterdam. Skiing in BC is world class. Bombardier's CRJ Regional Jet
broke ground for world airlines and is among the most innovative changes to
hit the airline industry in years. Airlines all over the globe have bought
them and competitors in Brazil & Germany have come out with similar models
but only after ours came out first. Then there's TV & Entertainment -
Canadian comedy, comic TV shows (This Hour Has 22 minutes, Kids in the Hall
etc) and comedians (Candy, Akroyd, Carvey, Carey, Meyers etc...) match or
beat everyone world-wide... Singers: Morissette, Dion, Twain, Adams...
Newscasters like Peter Jennnings and countless reporters and show hosts
dominate US television and like all the other categories we can match the
world's best.. There aren't many countries outside the G8 group that have
the same range and scope as we do... not to say other countries are not good
at things, they are of course, but so are we... except maybe for movies we
really do not excel. Montreal, Toronto & Vancouver serve as great backdrops
as US cities, or even European cities.. Canadian actors & directors are
prominent in US productions but within the scope of a "foreign" film
production. One typical Canadian national identifier is the lack of funds we
have to promote truly Canadian oriented movies. our market is too small and
our budgets too tight. Distribution is hard for Canadian film producers
within Canada let alone globally. Let's face it, most English-speaking
movies we all see usually are stories that take place within American,
British or "European" settings. How often do we see other great countries
like Australia, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, India or Brazil on Canadian
cinemas.. not very unless it's a film festival. I suspect that most English
speaking countries have the same "problem", if you want to label it as one.
Oddly enough, French Canada is technically more "Canadian-oriented" than
English Canada as most francophones here feed on Quebec oriented material,
from movies, tv, music right down to music videos.
It will take a US production using Montreal, Toronto or Vancouver as the
actual setting of a blockbuster US movie before we begin demanding more of
the same quality from Canadian producers... It may happen one day who
knows.. As for that inferiority complex.. forget it, it doesn't exist
anymore.. we're good at what we do even if the rest of the world doesn't
know or care.. they watch us, use our products, fly in our jets, eat our
food and idolise our celebrities often without even realising it.
Bjorn Olson
of one week at a fairly out-of-the-way suburban multiplex in Calgary.
I'd guess no more than fifty people saw it (including myself, though I
saw it at the press screening).
NEW WATERFORD GIRL has fared much better, and could probably qualify as
a bona fide Canadian hit.
It's up for debate exactly how "Canadian" it is, but SUNSHINE did some
amazing box office last Christmas, and is fairing quite well in the
States too.
--
Bjorn Olson
bemy...@freeze.com
"I know who gaza is -- he is an unusually bright troll though and
actually makes the occasional intelligent comment when he's not
flicking thought boogers into the cyberwind."
-John Harkness
Bjorn Olson
"caribb" <car...@videotron.ca> wrote:
> Humm, National Inferiority complex?? I don't know what part of Canada
> you
> live in but I don't feel we have a national inferiority complex. Yeah
> Kraft
> Dinner is on my list of quickie dinners. At $0.99 each ($0.65 USD)
> it's
> definitely a cheap supper. I have never had "Canadian Bacon" whatever
> it is
> or what American marketers think it is.. if anyone knows please let
> me know
> because I may have had it under a more "Canadian" name.
>
> But more importantly we do a lot of things well, if not better than
> many
> other top nations..
(snip)
> Then there's TV & Entertainment -
> Canadian comedy, comic TV shows (This Hour Has 22 minutes, Kids in
> the Hall
> etc) and comedians (Candy, Akroyd, Carvey, Carey, Meyers etc...)
> match or
> beat everyone world-wide... Singers: Morissette, Dion, Twain,
> Adams...
> Newscasters like Peter Jennnings and countless reporters and show
> hosts
> dominate US television and like all the other categories we can match
> the
> world's best..
I'm certainly not arguing that Canadian talent has flooded the global
market (though the relative merits of said talent are certainly up for
debate), that's pretty obvious.
You pretty much hit the nail on the head right there. For some reason
we do feel that the rest of the world, specifically America, should
care. That amusing, but fairly ridiculous "Joe Canadian" commercial,
and the bizzare offshoots thereof, is symptomatic of a national feeling
that we are constantly being overshadowed, when we really aren't. So
what if most Americans are clueless when it comes to Canada, if you
lived in the "world's mightiest nation", would you go out of your way
to learn abou