The War Room

THE LAST CANADIAN TYCOON: LANTOS STRIKES BACK

I like that this is being announced just before TIFF.

The plot has just thickened in the Canadian film business.

Robert Lantos, Canada's only real movie tycoon, yesterday came riding back into the distribution business.
Suddenly the turf of independent Canadian distributors is getting to be a crowded, confusing field.

Lantos announced two new companies, Maximum Films International and Maximum Film Distribution, sending a clear signal that he is going into competition with the dominant Canadian film distributor he helped create.

"My roots are in distribution," he said in a phone interview. "This is just the tip of the iceberg. There is a plan that will unfold over time."

The Canadian film industry is in far more dire straits then the American industry. I may critique many left wing American filmmakers, but at least they can make things that are commerical. At least in America there is always the chance that a 24, The Passion of the Christ or Transformers might squeak through.

In Canada, all we have are Don McKellar, Sarah Polley and Atom Egoyan, using public funds to make films that have zero interest to anyone but the elites in the Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver corridors.

I have no idea where Lantos wants to take this, but he is a smart man. And he must know he will not compete with Alliance making the same old junk.

He must know this. He must know.

PS. I will be away for the long weekend without a computer. Any comments that are left will not be moderated until Monday. Have a great end of summer long weekend.

posted by Nicol DuMoulin @ 10:30 AM