Made in Canada: an inside take on the world of Canadian film and television

TAKE ONE, Spring, 2000 by Cheryl Binning

The big talk among Canadian TV-industry types today (right up there with the Canadian Television Fund guidelines and latest kerfuffle over runaway productions) is exactly who Made In Canada's Alan Roy--that overly ambitious, conniving but charismatic CEO of Pyramid/Prodigy Productions--is modelled upon.

Over this past season, the sleazy showbiz exec (played by Peter Keleghan) has managed--with the help of his posse, Richard Strong (Rick Mercer), Victor Sela (Dan Lett) and Veronica Miller (Leah Pinsent)--to bring about the merger of two powerhouse entertainment companies. The head of rival Prodigy retired to "return to his first love, directing" and press leaks were avoided because, you see, all those privy to the secret information used code names like Jupiter and Pluto ... oh, and Mickey and Minnie as well. Alan then handed out pink slips and watched stocks soar. However, crises continue to arise--a children's show host caught wife swapping just before merchandising deals are signed; former script writers launching law suits claiming the producers ripped off their ideas; going head-to-head at NATPE with Citytv boss Moses Znaimer to sell a format to U.S. broadcasters. But despite the obstacles, shows continue to be churned out at Pyramid/Prodigy: the turn-of-the-century family drama Beaver Creek (just think of an overly earnest CBC series) and the cash-cow action/adventure series Sword of Damacles (yes, one of those many rip-offs of Xena: Warrior Princess, Hercules or Sinbad).

Hmmm ... it all sounds a bit too familiar. Perhaps it's no wonder that everyone in the Canadian TV industry has an opinion about who is being poked fun at each week in the Salter Street Films/Island Edge Entertainment spoof Made in Canada. Well, guess no longer. About Alan Roy that is. "The truth is, he is everybody. He's the composite of every CEO story we have ever heard, all blended together," says Made In Canada executive producer Gerald Lunz, who created the show with Salter Street producer Michael Donovan and actor/story-editor Rick Mercer. "He has the sexual magnetism of a Robert Lantos, the good looks and intellect of Michael Donovan, the corporate structure of Michael McMillan's Alliance Atlantis and the production ideas of Kevin Sullivan."

The small, little world of Canadian television has the opportunity to have a laugh at its own expense each week as Made In Canada takes a peek inside a large publicly traded production company. All the daily dilemmas of TV production--those annoying actors who think they can direct; babysitting washed-up divas; outwitting rivals for the option on hot literary properties; schmoozing the press in the hopes of stopping a bad review; selling a family show to a German broadcaster who is really looking for edgy entertainment--are pushed just a bit too far and spoofed to the hilt. We can even see some of their own--CBC host Evan Solomon, actor Kiefer Sutherland, broadcast mogul Moses Znaimer--joining in on the fun and making cameo appearances as themselves.

Richard: It's Beaver Creek. There are not that many roles for women.

Siobhan: Well, do something about it.

Richard: I'd like to, but all the writers are men.

Siobhan: In this show all the women and children and aboriginal people are tired cliches.

Richard: Yeah, it's a family show.

Everyone is a fair target, even Lunz himself. "There's me in there, things I have done," he says. "In the Christmas show, I am the elf, the guy who makes the nuts and bolts and loves Christmas. You know those guys, the kind who say `we have to get lights on this house.' Rick was making fun of me in those lines, and I had to sit there and take it. All my family and friends called after that episode aired and laughed at me."

But just how real is it all anyway? How close to the truth do these episodes sometimes get? "Well, you aren't going to get an answer from me," laughs Mercer carefully sidestepping the question. "Although there are times when we are shooting we go `Good God, we are going to get nailed on this one.'" "Writing about what we know is how we got into this," responds Lunz. "And the fact is, in our industry it's not hard to say there's a lot of egos, a lot of divas. We are dealing with a lot of creative people." Mark Farrell, who has written numerous episodes and served as costory-editor with Mercer adds, "When we keep it as real as we can the satire is really self evident because the things that happen are just silly. We don't have to invent crazy scenarios. We just have to find a way to turn these stories about production companies and how decisions are made into a half-hour format."

Alan: Comedy is the result of glandular problems. Yeah, it's true. Haven't you noticed the best comedy writers are always running to the bathroom.

Richard: That's where the cocaine is.

The Made in Canada story lines are based on the wealth of lore available in the TV business. "When you are sitting around in a green room with a bunch of actors, the funny things they talk about are the horror stories," says Lunz. "The craziest director, the most absurd production, these stories become legendary onto themselves. They are people's party pieces, and we started collecting these stories and working with the story line. There are touchstones of reality within the humour. People watch and say `that's not me, someone said that's me.' No, maybe it's not you, but he has your hair, although he is sounding like Robert Lantos. I hope we see ourselves. When we do, I say, `good, we're doing what we are suppose to.'"