| Producer’s Passion is Key to Broadcast Deals |
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| with Shelly Gillen | |
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Page 1 of 3 “I’m a very big supporter of first-time filmmakers,” says Shelley Gillen, head of Creative Affairs for Corus Entertainment’s Movie Central. “Not that we need so many that the economy can’t support them all, but our industry always needs new blood, new talent to keep the engine oiled.”That’s happy news for first-time filmmakers, since Gillen oversees the $1.5-million Made With Pay Development Fund, created by Corus in 2003 to assist in the production of dramatic movies and series that will eventually be broadcast on Movie Central (the Corus-owned, 24-hour-a-day, commercial-free, premium pay-TV service available in Western Canada). “Think HBO,” says Gillen, “that’s what we aspire to be.” 600 submissions each year Adam Butcher and Campbell Scott in St. RalphGillen is not involved in acquisitions, but rather the commissioning and pre-licensing of projects from infancy to finished product. One illustration of how she works is her relationship with Vancouver-based Anagram Pictures. Armed with a background acquired at Simon Fraser University’s film program, Andrew Currie, Trent Carlson and Blake Corbet operate like a collective, each taking turns writing, directing and producing. In 2001, with an early draft of the script for their first feature Mile Zero in hand, they approached Gillen. Gillen’s fiscal year begins in September... so it’s best to approach her before her budget is drying up It was one of the approximately 600 submissions she receives each year and, although she isn’t able to read all of them herself, she employs a team to make sure everything gets read. Of those 600 – some of which may be existing projects being submitted at different stages of development – about 80 are accepted. There are no set fees, but Gillen says she provides around $10,000 to $15,000 per phase, sometimes more on a project that is further along in development. Gillen’s fiscal year begins in September and she tends to spend most heavily then, so it’s best to approach her before her budget is drying up. Continued... |
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