North Bay Nugget from North Bay, Ontario, Canada • 25

Wednesday November 9 2005 THE NORTH BAY NUGGET ENTERTAINMENT Winnipeg writer wins Giller Prize CBS NBC banking on TV-on-demand growing time the TORONTO (CP) Winnipegger David Bergen won the lucrative Scotia-bank Giller Prize Tuesday night for his novel The Time in Between the story of a journey from Fraser Valley to Vietnam me I think I'd be up here" the 48-year-old Bergen said as he accepted the $40000 prize at a gala ceremony have to say quite humbled by Bergen is the author of three previous novels: A Year of Lesser See the Child and The Case of Lena The Giller Prize was created in 1994 by businessman Jack Rabinovitch in honour of his late wife literary journalist Doris Giller Since then it has become one of the most anticipated events in the Canadian publishing industry with the glitzy award dinner attracting prominent writers actors musicians and politicians Tuesday attendees included singer Sarah Harmer former governor general Adrienne Clarkson actress Sonja Smits newsmen Lloyd Robertson and Knowlton Nash and CBC president Robert Rabinovitch Guests dined on a feast of pumpkin seed crested salmon sage gnocchi with portobello mushrooms and Hubbard squash For Bergen it was a far cry from his daily writing regime holed up in my office and all of a Isudden thrown out into this pomp this he said earlier in the -evening just a really good added nominee Joan Barfoot of London Ont The winner was announced during a one-hour televised ceremony hosted by Seamus of Canada AM Past Giller recipients have included such literary heavyweights as Mar-garet Atwood Michael Ondaatje and Alice Munro but there were no such names on this list presenting a confounding scenario for Giller prognosticators Bergen carries the distinction of tak- ing home the richest prize in Giller history Scotiabank recently came on board NEW YORK (AP) Will people pay to watch their favourite TV shows when they want to? NBC and CBS are betting on it The two networks delivered a major challenge to the half-century old business model of broadcast television Monday by offering on-demand replays of several top shows including CSI and Law Order: SVU for 99 cents The replays of NBC shows on the satellite broadcaster DirecTV Inc will be commercial-free but viewers will have to buy a new digital video recording box which is going on sale next week The CBS shows will be offered to roughly five million subscribers of Comcast digital cable service a company spokeswoman said Those shows will still have commercials but users will be able to zap through them with their remote controls Both services start up early next year The announcements came just weeks after Walt Disney ABC network said it would make available episodes of its hit shows Desperate Housewives and Lost for viewing on Apple Computer new video iPod for $199 US Together the announcements could mark the beginning of a new way of watching television what you want when you want it Forrester Research analyst Josh Bernoff says the TV distribution model has been wide while Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett called it significant sea change in the way TV is By handing over more control to viewers media companies are responding to rapid changes in the technology used to distribute store and view TV shows much in the way the iPod revolutionized the way people listen to music The emerging use of digital video 'There's a people who to see what's on in that what's show David Zaslav recorders makes it possible for viewers to store TV shows and then skip past the commercials something that bode well for the traditional business of selling 30-second ads At the same time the growth of high-speed Internet connections has also made piracy of music and other media content like movies and TV shows easier By delivering some of the most popular TV shows on demand in a legal way TV networks are hoping to cater to the desires of a growing number of tech-savvy media consumers who already are accustomed to more convenient ways of watching shows such as getting HBO programs on demand from their cable providers or buying episodes of TV shows on DVD overwhelming majority of people are still going to watch television in a linear David Zaslav the head of NBC cable business a growing group of people who looking to see the best show on in that time slot but the best show available We need to stay ahead of Digital video recorders are still a relatively small part of the TV business making up just 11 million of 214 million subscribers But understanding the fact that consumers are now willing to pay extra for the convenience of having the shows they want when they want them has led ABC CBS and NBC to see if they can charge money for something that most people think of as free For Comcast the largest cable operator the addition of top-rated shows like CSI could also become a major boost to its growing video-on-de-mand service After a slow start video-on-demand services have started to take off for Comcast with overall usage of those services jumping to about 85 per cent from 20 per cent in 2003 group of looking the best show slot but best available' NBC Universal David Bergen author of The Time in Between won the lucrative Scotia-bank Giller Prize Tuesday in Toronto cp photo the story of a math professor at Tel Aviv as an award co-sponsor increasing the purse from $25000 to $50000 The runners-up who received $2500 each are: Toronto resident Camilla Gibb 37 who was in the running for Sweetness in the Belly the tale of a Muslim nurse who flees to England from Ethiopia Edeet Ravel 50 of Guelph Ont who received a nod for A Wall of Light University Barfoot 59 of London Ont who was cited for Luck a novel chronicling the journey of a suddenly widowed artist Lisa Moore 41 of St John's NL who was recognized for Alligator about a cast of memorable characters living in contemporary Newfoundland Colbert Report ribs Canucks success sparks growth TORONTO (CP) sister to the was skewered in the Canadian debut episode of The 'ol-bert Report a new spinoff parody from Comedy The Daily Show with Jon Stewart On Monday episode on (TV and the Comedy Network host Stephen Colbert welcomed Canadian viewers with some pot shots although many were directed not necessarily at Canada but at stereotypes and in a way at US policies too those of you who live in Toronto Montreal or Vancouver this is called Colbert said patient ly makes words and images fly through the He proceeded to mock toonies Prime Minister Paul Martin and beer But he also thanked Canadians for at least using American guns to commit half of the gun-related crimes He was also seen debriefing a correspondent he had sent north of the border eagerly inspecting a paper bag he brought back see we got the codeine we got the Vicodin that is yummy and the Tamiflu just in He then demanded to know where the OxyContin was give it to me Daniel the correspondent replied Colbert replied angrily back on notice you BY NEIL DAVIDSON The Canadian Press Infinity Ward is hiring Again The successful video game developer from Encino Calif has 12 different kinds of help wanted signs on its website from animator and level designer to systems administrator and associate producer even an opening for company events co- ordinatorconcierge Infinity Ward is no stranger to rapid growth after the success of its debut title Call of Duty The Second World War first-person shooter won a slew of awards sold 26 million copies for the PC and spawned a console version (Call of Duty: Finest Hour) for publisher Activision by another developer It also paved the way for Infinity just released Call of Duty 2 on PC An Xbox 360 version of the game will be available later this month The success of the original Call of Duty prompted radical change at Infinity Ward The company made the first version of the game over 18 months for $45 million US with a staff of 25 The sequel cost $145 million and resulted in the studio tripling in size to a staff of 75 over two years That growth raised all sorts of challenges said Infinity Ward president Grant Collier who founded the company in August 2001 Infinity Ward began with 22 developers who worked on Electronic Medal of Honor Allied Assault game was a real close tight-knit group of Collier speaking of Infinity small beginnings told the recent Montreal International Game Summit kind of had a family atmosphere We had this real drive to be successful We wanted to be the dominant World War 11 first-person shooter out The success of the PC game Call of Duty prompted California developer Infinity Ward to triple its staff in two years in making the sequel to the Second World War first-person shooter cp photo A Rockin Christmas with An evening of comedy and the greatest Rock A Rollers of all time! Makes a-great Christmas 0ifN 1 there can turn on a dime with 25 people pretty intimate You know names You know who their wives are their girlfriends who their boyfriends are whole kind of small company culture real kind of precious and dear We tried to kind of hold on to that culture as long as we could But once you get past 50-60 people basically So Infinity Ward looked for ways to the culture while growing in size The company instituted Monday morning meetings to get everyone on the same page and allow staff to ask any questions gives people kind of a pipeline into They also added to management bringing in new layers to help Collier and his two partners Key employees from the first game were promoted to lead positions overseeing others in their section The Infinity Ward team includes lead designer Steve Fukuda of Surrey BC Mississauga man Worst Driver TORONTO (CP) Described as polar opposite of the aggressive male Chris Ferguson of Mississauga Ont was named Worst Driver on the TV show of the same name The eight-part Discovery Channel iseries pitted eight licensed drivers each nominated by a friend family member or colleague against one another in an intensive 25-day education course Nominees had to go through a series of road challenges such as driving in the dark coming to a screeching halt in a blizzard and parallel parking a station wagon into a tight spot on an icy hill with a firehose blasting water onto the car A panel of experts picked the most improved driver each episode and that person was allowed to leave the Rehabilitation Centre at a converted military base in Pieton Ont Ferguson a 31-year-old architectural intern was the last to go after the final episode Monday in which drivers had to manoeuvre a car through the icy streets of Montreal tried everything with said the executive producer Guy who described Ferguson as a and the opposite of the aggressive male stereotype With your hilarious comedic host Danny Jackman Wednesday December 28th 2005 at the Capitol Centre IZCDO Tickets $2950 Advance $3350 at the door jmm All proceeds to the 4r General Child Senior $598 Tuesdays All Tickets $598 PPi' Galaxy North Bay Mall 300 lakeshore Drive 476-61 5 1 ujuiujgalaxyciriemascom BOX OFFICE OPENS: 12PM SAT-SUN 6PH FRI MON-THURS SHOWTIMES EFFECTIVE NOV 4-102005 I.