gunsmoke2
May 6th, 2002, 08:36 PM
Beachcombers reunion scuttled
The Arts Report
Plans for a new TV movie based on the CBC series The Beachcombers are on hold after a federal agency turned down the producer's funding application.
Nick Orchard, the movie's B.C.-based producer, said Telefilm Canada turned down his request for a grant to cover about one third of the film's $3-million budget.
Orchard said he was told that Telefilm only had enough money to fund roughly half of the 107 applications it received this year, and the Beachcombers movie did not make the cut.
A Telefilm spokeswoman confirmed his account. "There's a great number of good quality productions that had to be refused," said Jeanine Basile.
The movie was supposed to be broadcast as part of CBC's 50th anniversary celebrations this fall, and would have served as the pilot for a proposed new series.
However, CBC spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles said the Telefilm decision does not automatically spell doom for the Beachcombers project. "In the next couple of weeks we will be making our decision about how we're going to proceed," she said.
The original Beachcombers series was filmed in Gibsons, B.C. and followed the adventures of lumber salvager Nick Adonidas (Bruno Gerussi) and his rival, Relic (Robert Clothier). The show ran on CBC Television for 19 years starting in 1972, and was sold to broadcasters in more than 50 countries.
Gerussi and Clothier have both died since the show went off the air. SCTV veteran Dave Thomas had been cast as the new owner of Molly's Reach, the truck stop where the show's characters often congregated.
The Arts Report airs weekdays at 7:12 a.m., 8:12 a.m. and 5:55 p.m. on CBC Radio Two.
GS2
The Arts Report
Plans for a new TV movie based on the CBC series The Beachcombers are on hold after a federal agency turned down the producer's funding application.
Nick Orchard, the movie's B.C.-based producer, said Telefilm Canada turned down his request for a grant to cover about one third of the film's $3-million budget.
Orchard said he was told that Telefilm only had enough money to fund roughly half of the 107 applications it received this year, and the Beachcombers movie did not make the cut.
A Telefilm spokeswoman confirmed his account. "There's a great number of good quality productions that had to be refused," said Jeanine Basile.
The movie was supposed to be broadcast as part of CBC's 50th anniversary celebrations this fall, and would have served as the pilot for a proposed new series.
However, CBC spokeswoman Ruth-Ellen Soles said the Telefilm decision does not automatically spell doom for the Beachcombers project. "In the next couple of weeks we will be making our decision about how we're going to proceed," she said.
The original Beachcombers series was filmed in Gibsons, B.C. and followed the adventures of lumber salvager Nick Adonidas (Bruno Gerussi) and his rival, Relic (Robert Clothier). The show ran on CBC Television for 19 years starting in 1972, and was sold to broadcasters in more than 50 countries.
Gerussi and Clothier have both died since the show went off the air. SCTV veteran Dave Thomas had been cast as the new owner of Molly's Reach, the truck stop where the show's characters often congregated.
The Arts Report airs weekdays at 7:12 a.m., 8:12 a.m. and 5:55 p.m. on CBC Radio Two.
GS2