The Ottawa Citizen from Ottawa, Ontario, Canada • 32

Pages C6-C14 Television Consumers Dear Abby THE OTTAWA CITIZEN TUESDAY. DECEMBER 29, 1987 It was a year of memorable films for Canada But Canadian movie industry faces wobbly future because of triple whammy on financial front By Ina Warren The Canadian Press picked Claude Gagnon's The Kid Brother, a gutsy, unsentimental movie about a handicapped kid that has racked up almost $2 million in Japan. The downside of this flurry of festival hype, however, was that few Canadian films fared well commercially at home. And if it was a year when bold new talents appeared on the scene, it was also a year when Canadian cinema lost three of its giants. F.

R. (Budge) Crawley, Claude Jutra and Norman McLaren all died in 1987. Looking to the future, the Canadian Centre for Advanced Film Studies will open its doors next fall in Toronto. Twelve Canadians, including CBC journalist Ann Medina, are to be trained at the centre as writers, directors or producers. About 45 Canadian feature films were made in '87 with budgets totalling more than $80 million.

Foreign film and TV production, mainly American, continued to prop up the Canadian industry with $200 million spent in Ontario and $130 million in British Columbia, which finally got its own film agency during the year. South of the border, 20-year-old Canadian Kief-er Sutherland emerged as one of the hottest young actors in Hollywood, soon to be seen in Big City, Bright Lights with Michael J. Fox. Kiefer's dad, Donald Sutherland, fulfilled his dream of playing Dr. Norman Bethune in China.

Filming of the $16-million epic movie moves to Canada and Spain in January, and footage so far is said to be astounding. Already, there is speculation that Bethune: The. Making of a Hero might make it to the competition slot at Cannes in May. On the business side, Cineplex-Odeon chief Garth Drabinsky continued extending his movie-screen empire, now 1,587 across North America and counting. The Canadian film industry finally paid tribute to him after having jealously downplayed his achievements for years.

In Toronto, the Academy of Canadian Cinema gave Drabinsky its award for outstanding contributions to film while the Montreal World Film Festival presented him with a special "Renaissance Man of Film Award." The latter award was presented at a $50-a-plate luncheon attended by actor Michael Caine, Pierre Trudeau and Hollywood studio bosses. Guests heard the man who "plexed" movie-houses proudly describe himself as standing "in direct line with the remarkable designers and builders" of ancient Greek amphitheatres. Drabinsky sent his guests home with free boxes of popcorn. Great product, but who's minding the store? That's how Canada's wobbly film industry must appear to the rest of the world after 1987 a year marked by a record number of top quality movies, a shemozzle at Telefilm Canada and a triple whammy on the financial front. Please sit on your projects until next April.

That was the blunt message Canada's film and television industry got from Telefilm in October. The federal film-funding agency was broke, having overcommitted its annual 115-million budget by $48 million, said its powerful new chairman, Jean Sirois. Following in the footsteps of so many of his employees in 1987, Telefilm's executive director Peter Pearson resigned. The Telefilm snafu was a blow to an industry already squeezed by the shaky stock market, a federal proposal to reduce the film tax shelter and the looming uncertainties of free trade. An early casualty of free trade appears to be Communications Minister Flora MacDonald's bill to lessen Hollywood's stranglehold on foreign film distribution in Canada.

The industry will be starting off 1988 on an uncertain foot, not an unusual predicament for Canada's erratic, government-dependent movie community. Yet the success story of 1987 was an intriguing spate of quality, low-budget Canadian movies. It was the year that independents finally got some respect. For once, English Canada could brag about its New Wave film-makers, people like Bachar Chbib (Seduction), Jon Pederson (Tuesday, Wednesday) and Peter Evanshuk (Platinum). Among the most memorable movies were Halifax film-maker William MacGillivray's Life Classes, an evocative tale of a young Cape Breton woman's coming of age; and Toronto film-maker Atom Egoyan's Family Viewing, an existential comedy about family life in the video age.

"Films for us are a matter of passion, not economics," declared the 41-year-old MacGillivray, echoing the sentiments of Canada's feisty independents. "So when Telefilm goes through one of its economic dips, we just smile." Another bold independent movie was Winter Tan with actress Jackie Burroughs, who gave a knock-'em-dead performance as a raunchy feminist flirting with sex and death in macho Mexico. The year got off to a good start when Denys I VK I 1 CP photo Actress Jackie Burroughs in scene from Winter Tan Arcand's The Decline of the American Empire was nominated for an Oscar in the foreign-language category. It didn't win; but Toronto's Brigitte Berman won in the documentary feature category for Artie Shaw: Time is All You've Got, and Canadian Stephan Dupuis took home an Oscar in the makeup category for David Cronenberg's horror flick, The Fly. The Decline did sweep the Genies, Canada's Oscar clone, and Arcand retired from the limelight to write his next film, de Montreal.

At the Cannes Film Festival in May, Canada brought the house down for the second year in a row with two sparklers: the serendipitous I've Heard the Mermaids Singing, by Toronto film-maker Patricia Rozema, and the metallic thriller Un Zoo la nuit (Night Zoo) by Montrealer Jean-Claude Lauzon. It was the first feature film for both Rozema, 27, and Lauzon, 33. Night Zoo has already earned more than $1 million at the Canadian box-office, while Mermaids has earned about $500,000 in Canada and more than $1 million (U.S.) south of the border. "Five years ago we had nothing to sell," noted foreign sales agent Jan Rofekamp. "Now it's getting quite interesting." Rofekamp has sold Mermaids to 32 countries.

Canadian movies also dominated film festivals at home. No less than three of the gaudy galas at Toronto's Festival of Festivals were for Canadian movies Night Zoo, I've Heard the Mermaids Singing and Too Outrageous. For the first time, a Canadian movie took the top prize at the 11-year-old Montreal World Film Festival. An international jury unanimously Peter Pan finally being turned into live-action movie Hope entourage ends whirlwind service tour The Los Angeles Times Citizen news services Dricfs production offices are just being set up. Dodi Fayed (Chariots of Fire) will produce on a moderate budget.

Based on the James Barrie novel and scripted by Holstrom and Larry Ketron, Peter Pan will adhere to the traditional turn-of-the-centu-ry storyline, with Wendy and her brothers flying off with Peter to join the Lost Boys in Never-Never Land. But, said Kirkpatrick, "children will look at the film and see one thing, adults will see another. There will be a sophisticated point of view to this script an adult look at a children's tale." A search is on for a 12-year-old to play Peter. As for Captain Hook, a source snitched that WEG has a "short list" with three intriguing names. Our source put them this way: "First is Jack Nicholson can you imagine what he'd do with a black eye patch and a hook arm? Next is Robert De Niro who'd probably cut off his arm if he got the role.

Next is Mel Gibson who'd certainly bring something special to the role, but I'm not sure what, exactly." HOLLYWOOD The kiddie classic about the boy who refuses to grow up is finally going to become a live-action feature. After near-missing with Hollywood for years with the likes of Steven Spielberg and Michael Jackson, Peter Pan will shoot in the spring for Weintraub Entertainment. Lasse Holstrom (My Life as a Dog) will direct. David Kirkpatrick, president of WEG's motion-picture division, said the film will shoot at Shepperton Studios outside London, where Join us after the show at Ft THE WILD BOAR VAN NUYS, Calif. Comedian Bob Hope and a tired troupe of entertainers have ended a whirlwind tour entertaining American servicemen throughout the world.

The 84-year-old comedian and his contingent left Dec. 21, and in the course of one week covered more than 43,400 kilometres, entertaining at military bases and aboard naval vessels in the Pacific Ocean, Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf and the Arabian Sea. "Of all the trips I've taken, this one I'll always remember for speed, baby," Hope said. Silent star buried LOS ANGELES Funeral services were held for Alice Terry, a silent film actress who co-starred in movies with such leading men as Rudolph Valentino and Ramon Novarro. Terry died Dec.

22 after a lengthy illness. She was 88. A private burial followed the Saturday services at a mortuary in North Hollywood. This actor's got character SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) -Actor Harold Gould says he is at peace with the character actor's dilemma: a face everyone recognizes, a name no one remembers.

"I'm always Rhoda Morgen-stern's father," he said recently. "They never forget that name." Gould is starring in the Los Angeles Ahmanson Theatre production of Never Sang For My Father. But he is perhaps best known to the public as the father of Valerie Harper's Rhoda Mor-genstern character in the 1970s television series Rhoda. But although he has appeared in 250 television shows, Gould has avoided television series since Rhoda went off the air in 1978. Opera star back in hospital SEATTLE Spanish opera star Jose Carreras, who received a bone marrow transplant to combat leukemia, spent Christmas at his brother's apartment, but was back in the hospital for at least two more weeks.

Carreras was released from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre Thursday to spend Christmas Eve and Christmas Day with his brother and sister and several friends at a Seattle apartment where cancer patients and their relatives stay, an official said. "Dad, you Ve got to nelp me." 123 Queen St. between Metcalfe O'Connor within walking distance of the NAC, Capital Square Place de Ville Cinemas. "Sandy, what's wrong? Are you "No, Dad, I'm fine." "Where are you?" SPS HAPPY NEW YEAR from THE BAYSH0RE HOTEL New Year's Eve Package R7-50 ff per couple This includes hot and cold buffet for two, room for two, and breakfast for two. 2980 Carling Avenue 829-9411 "At Pat's.

We all came over here to celebrate after the game." "It's almost 12:30. Isn't it time you called it a night?" "That's just it. Remember you always told me if I was out never to drive with anyone who's had too much to drink? And not to be afraid to call you if I had no other way of getting home? Well, tonight I'm taking you at your word." "Stay right there. I'm coming to pick you up." "Thanks, Dad. Oh, and something else." "Shoot." "Are you angry with me?" "Angry? No, Sandy.

Not on your life." SINGLES NEW YEAR'S EVE PARTY Join more than 200 singles for the best New Year's Eve Party in Ottawa. Tickets $99 p.p. by reservation only! Includes: Champagne reception Canapes, seven course gastronomic dinner with white red wines, Champagne at midnight, top D.J., party favours, decoration, dancing till 2 a.m. prizes. Place: The Four Seasons Hotel For more info, call The Single Gourmet Club Seagram We beliex't in moderation and we've been saying so since 1934 ree chart drinking limits.

HJG 2M8 How muck alcohol can you safely handle? Write for a. P.O. Box 847. Station Montreal, Qur 1.