Not so fast, says Oda to Alliance MPD sale

The takeover of Alliance Atlantis Motion Picture Distribution by U.S. investment bank Goldman Sachs will come under review, says Heritage Minister Bev Oda.

She goes on to say that the distribution policy, as it exists currently, will not be changing: only the deal's foreign purchase components will pass under her radar, and only to ensure the existing requirement for Canadian control is met.

If you would like to tell the Honourable Minister that our Canadian content is sacred, and that foreign investment companies should keep their "stinking paws off our culture" (my words, paraphrasing Chuck Heston's - feel free to use your own polite words), please email her at Oda.B@parl.gc.ca

[via the Globe]

Updated: 6AM EST.

The Globe has a follow-up, which includes the responses of several directors and producers:

"If [Heritage] really does it, that will be good. It's easy to say these things, but they can also say they reviewed the MPD-Goldman Sachs deal, and still don't see anything wrong with it. We'll see what happens," David Cronenberg said.

The article notes that the deal "will also be subject to the Investment Canada Act."

Let's hope rational minds will prevail on this one.

Don't forget to send your concerns to the Minister; our thanks to the majors (especially Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, Robert Lantos, Denise Robert, and Paul Gross) for bringing this matter to the attention of Heritage Canada.

[via the Globe: "Oda's words welcomed by film at TV players"]

MPD sold for $193 million

Movie Distribution Income Fund is selling its 49 percent stake in Motion Picture Distribution LP to Edgestone, a private Canadian equity firm affiliated with U.S. equity giant, Goldman Sachs & Company. MPD's collection of over 1200 titles spans nearly half a century, making it the single largest library of Canadian film and television content.

The remaining 51 percent of MPD is controlled by Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc., which is being sold for $2.3 billion to CanWest Global Communications Corp. and Goldman Sachs; both sales provide ample opportunity for MPD to be controlled by a foreign company.

The deal still needs to be approved by Heritage Canada, but, according to Lloyd Wiggins, the chief financial officer of Movie Distribution Income Fund, there is "no suggestion of concern at this point".

Last week, a number of outraged filmmakers and producers (including Atom Egoyan, David Cronenberg, and Robert Lantos) expressed dire proclamations about what would happen to the Canadian film industry, should MPD be controlled by a U.S. company.


[via the Globe and Mail]

More on MPD sale

Globe and Mail: Film library at centre of sale.

MPD sale, Directors, Producers urge Harper to pay attention

Must read Saturday morning news.

From The Globe:

"On the brink of closing one of the biggest deals in the history of Canadian entertainment – the sale of Alliance Atlantis's Motion Picture Distribution arm, also known as MPD, to Manhattan-based investment house Goldman Sachs – many of the most powerful names in Canadian film and TV are claiming that the sale of such a heavyweight distributor to a foreign company could decimate the industry here. And they're demanding Ottawa do something about it.

Directors David Cronenberg and Atom Egoyan, actor Paul Gross, producers Robert Lantos, Denise Robert and Kevin Tierney – as well as English and French associations across the industry – are calling on Stephen Harper's government to closely monitor the transaction, in which a U.S. financial player is buying a 51-per-cent stake in MPD, Canada's most powerful distributor."

Not only is this very disturbing, but the article notes "just 20 years ago, movie distributors had a market share in Canada so small that it barely existed. Two decades later, Canadian distributors have carved out a share of the domestic box office that hovers between 25 and 30 per cent."

Atom Egoyan notes in the article: "not upholding the policy [the 1988 foreign distribution policy, which limits foreign ownership of Canadian distributors to 30 per cent.] will reduce Canadian distribution to essentially a handful of boutique companies again. We'll end up with a bunch of new American companies who do nothing but distribute and send money back home, who don't get involved with Canadian films, or do so rarely."

We should all be up in arms. If it gets any worse, Canadian filmmakers should just relocate below the border and hope for the best.

Read the article linked below, it's informative and frightening.

[Globe and Mail - Crisis for Canadian Film]