TORONTO – CHUM Television and NBC Universal announced today it will produce "Screen Legends" for the Historica Foundation.
A series of 60-second vignettes profiling Canadian film and television legends, Universal and CHUM are each contributing $500,000 to fund the not-for-profit project, with the profiles being produced by CHUM Television for the Historica Foundation. The series will also be distributed for educational use.
Following in the tradition of the acclaimed "Historica Minutes," on radio and TV, the Screen Legends profiles, narrated by renowned film and stage actor Colm Feore, will portray the remarkable lives of Canadians who left their cities, towns and farms to make their marks on the world’s screens.
From Ruby Keeler, the dancing queen from Dartmouth, to the internationally renowned Montreal filmmaker Claude Jutra, to Fay Wray, the rancher’s daughter from Cardston, Alberta, who will forever be remembered in the clutches of King Kong atop the Empire State building, these are just a few of the many Canadian entertainers to be profiled in the series.
Patrick Watson, Creative Director of the Historica Foundation, and Michael A. Levine are Executive Producers for the Screen Legends series. Award-winning Mitchell Gabourie will direct the profiles, which will be written by journalist and filmmaker Bruce Yaccato. The series will be dedicated to former TV host, film reviewer and celebrity journalist Brian Linehan, who wrote three of the profiles before his death last year.
"The Screen Legends program is about the preservation and celebration of Canadian stars, and about the importance of recognizing the remarkable talent that comes from this country," said Marcia Martin, vice-president, production, CHUM Television. "CHUM has long been committed to fostering and supporting a Canadian star system so naturally we are delighted to be involved in this project."
“This is a fantastic opportunity to share the stories we can all be proud of," added Ron Suter, senior vice-president, Universal Studios Canada.
"When Canadians talk about the Halifax Explosion or the Underground Railroad or the triumph of The Bluenose, we at Historica tend to take some of the credit: those are all stories from our growing catalogue of Historica Minutes," said Patrick Watson, executive producer of Screen Legends. "With this new series of one-minute biographies we think viewers are going to be astonished to learn how much of the movie world was made by Canadians."
The Screen Legends profiles will air on CHUM Television stations across Canada in the fall of 2005, after which they will be made available to other Canadian broadcasters.
The Historica Foundation engages Canadians in the stories that define our identity and the events that shape our country’s future. Through our programs and resources Historica connects Canadians to the many histories of our nation.
