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                                August 15, 1994

 

SECTION: Pg.17

 

LENGTH: 782 words

 

HEADLINE: Liberty Street

 

BYLINE: Janice Lee

 

BODY:

   Production Diary

 

   By Janice Lee

 

   Late 1991: Principal photography wraps on School's Out!, the last chapter in

the Degrassi chronicles. Kit Hood and Linda Schuyler, executive producers of

Toronto-based Playing With Time, feel they have told all the stories they had to

tell about the Degrassi characters.

 

   Schuyler's fascination with the teen generation, however, does not end with

the series. She wonders about following these "inexperienced adults" as they

mature and live on their own for the first time. She thinks an apartment

building would make a great forum for this idea.

 

   Early 1992: Having recently completed Degrassi Talks, a six-part, half-hour

primetime documentary series for cbc, Hood and Schuyler embark on yet another

project. They pitch a two-hour feature documentary, Degrassi TalksOn the Future,

about the offspring of the flower children. cbc gives them the go-ahead and

signs on as the broadcaster.

 

   Mid 1992: Knee-deep in research for the documentary, Schuyler begins to feel

the material dictates a different genre. Using the information they have

uncovered, the pwt partners put the documentary on hold to develop a one-hour

dramatic series, X-Rated.

 

   As creative producer, Schuyler begins to develop the initial characters and

outline of the series, which is set against the overeducated and underemployed

tapestry of the twentysomething generation. Telefilm Canada kicks in $310,000

from the Canadian Broadcasters Program Development Fund and the Production

Revenue Sharing Program for development. Much of the money will be invested in

actor's workshops.

 

   Late 1992: It is becoming more and more apparent that, professionally, the

longtime partners are going in different directions. Hood wants to concentrate

on one-offs while Schuyler is committed to producing dramatic episodic

television.

 

   The first three episodes of the X-Rated series are almost completed. Hood and

Schuyler amalgamate them into a two-hour mow. This works well as a last project

for the pair - Hood gets to work on a one-off mow and Schuyler gets to see her

characters on screen. They form Epitome Pictures for the purpose of making the

mow and begin their search for "The Pit" - the apartment building that will

house the twentysomethings.

 

   June 1993: A good omen: they find the perfect Pit!

 

   July 1993: Epitome holds a series of actor's workshops before shooting

begins.

 

   August 1993: Principal photography begins on X-Rated, budgeted at $2.2

million. Schuyler develops the series as one-hour episodes concurrently with the

mow.

 

   September 1993: Schuyler buys the rights to the series and Epitome. She

begins talks with cbs for an American presale of the series.

 

   February 1994: cbc broadcasts X-Rated.

 

   March 1994: After X-Rated airs, Schuyler and cbc focus test the mow, taking

out the bits that didn't work and finding out which ones did. The series will be

based on some of the characters from the movie and will be called Liberty

Street. Creative players for the series are Susin Nielson, Barry Stevens and Yan

Moore.

 

   cbc informs Schuyler that its 1994/95 primetime schedule will not have room

for a one-hour dramatic series. Schuyler is resistant at first, but redesigns

the series and the scripts to fit a half-hour format. She realizes that the new

format will make getting an American network impossible - it has already cost

Epitome the potential of an American presale to cbs. Creatively, however,

Schuyler sees the change as a blessing in disguise - American sales are often

accompanied with a lot of creative interference.

 

   Funding for the series comes from the Telefilm Broadcast Fund, Schuyler's

share of the prsp, cbc, Health Canada, tax shelters, the Ontario Film Investment

Program and Schuyler's own personal investment.

 

   Outside of North America, Atlantis Releasing will handle distribution.

 

   July 1994: Schuyler holds an intensive three-week workshop for the actors.

 

   Principal photography begins on Liberty Street, budgeted at $450,000 per

episode. Although the schedule is hectic (11 episodes by mid-October), the cast

and crew are very enthusiastic about this project. Two weeks into the shoot,

Schuyler has started to screen cuts for the first two episodes.

 

   The first three episodes of Liberty Street will be directed by Paul Lynch.

Other directors for subsequent episodes include Gail Harvey, Canadian Film

Centre director trainee Alex Chapple, Bruce McDonald and Nick Kendall.

 

   Ann-Marie MacDonald and Paul Aitken have also joined Epitome's writing team.

 

   The 11 episodes of Liberty Street will air on cbc beginning January 1995.

Schuyler hopes to use the episodes, which only have a Canadian broadcaster, as

an extended pilot.