Outtakes

Arcand wins Director honour

Last weekend the Directors Guild of Canada celebrated the best film and television work created by its members at the third annual Directors Guild Awards. The evening was hosted by comedian Mary Walsh with actor Leslie Nielsen presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award to director Arthur Hiller. Hiller is best known for Love Story, but he has enjoyed a long and distinguished career on both sides of the border.
The DGC's Distinguished Service Award was presented to long-time DGC member Keith Cutler by DGC president Alan Goluboff, with a surprise tribute by Cutler's daughter, Kendrie Upton.
Sweeping the awards this year was Denys Arcand who won prizes for Outstanding Achievement in Direction - Feature Film and Outstanding Team Achievement in a Feature Film for his film Les Invasions Barbares.
The Outstanding Achievement in a Television Movie or Mini-series went to Brad Turner, who also took Outstanding Achievement in Direction - Television Movie or Mini-series for Human Cargo.
Outstanding Achievement in Direction - Television Series and Outstanding Achievement in a Television Series - Drama went to Sturla Gunnarsson for the Da Vinci's Inquest episode Bury My Own Bones.
Finally, a well-deserved award was given to Allan King for Outstanding Team Achievement in a Documentary for Dying at Grace.

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A documentary about one of the most dangerous workplaces on the planet airs on CBC's Nature of Things, Thursday, October 14. Michael Kot's Shipbreakers centres on Alang, a shanty town on the Arabian Sea, where workers - an average of one dies a day while many others die of diseases caused by the toxins - turn enormous ships into scrap metal. Nearly 400 vessels a year are scrapped in this town, which often involves men and boys barefoot as they use blowtorches to recycle toxic steel. Fascinating. David Suzuki narrates. 7 p.m.

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Ready to make your first low-budget feature? October 15 is the next deadline for submissions to The Feature Film Project. Guideline & Application packages are available for download from www.cdnfilmcentre.com, by emailing ffp@cdnfilm-centre.com or by calling (416) 445-2890. An initiative of the Canadian Film Centre, the FFP offers the unique opportunity for emerging writers, directors and producers to develop and produce their low-budget feature with the benefit of mentorship in all areas and the opportunity for 100 percent production financing. The FFP is designed for dramatic feature films at both the $250,000 (Ultra-low budget) and $500,000 (Low budget) range.

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John Lee Hancock's The Alamo, starring Billy Bob Thornton and Jason Patric as Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Dennis Quaid as military commander Sam Houston, gets a DVD release with plenty of features. The true story takes place in 1836, when 188 Americans, including living legends Crockett and Bowie, died trying to defend the Alamo, a mission compound in what is now Texas, from the Mexican army. The DVD offers audio commentary by historical advisor Stephen L. Hardin and military advisor Alan Huffines, who provide a list of the liberties taken by the filmmakers in making the film. There's also a 35-minute documentary broken into three featurettes: the historical veracity of the film; the Alamo's influence on Texans today; and the actors commenting on their characters. There are also deleted scenes and a commentary by Hancock. Excellent for those interested in the history of the Alamo.

Publication Date: 2004-10-10
Story Location: http://tandemnews.com/viewstory.php?storyid=4488