Film industry cheers as Ang Lee slams Bill C-10

Renowned Oscar-winning director Ang Lee has joined the growing chorus of artistic voices strongly opposed to Bill C-10, the government's pending legislation that will deny tax credits to films and videos deemed offensive to the public.

"People should be free to say anything," said Lee, when asked about the controversial bill during a question-and-answer session on the weekend with young Vancouver filmmakers.

He noted that he has never been censored, even when "I was making a film about gay cowboys in Calgary", referring to his best known movie Brokeback Mountain that garnered the Taiwan-born director an Oscar.

Not even Chinese authorities censored him during filming in the Communist-ruled country for his most recent film, Lust, Caution, Lee added.
He said financially-assisted films should not be treated as propaganda "or as a salesman for the tourist industry. I think that's just too low. They (the government) should know better than that."

Afterwards, as youthful film-makers gathered around him, Lee urged them to "make a noise, whatever" to stop Bill C-10. "It's almost like censorship."

Almost?

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Bill C-10 fixes non-existent problem

The federal tax credit change that sparked a film censorship uproar is designed to fix a problem that has never presented itself, a government spokesperson has confirmed.

Bill C-10, currently seeking Senate approval, contains an amendment that would allow bureaucrats to withdraw tax credits for Canadian films and TV shows deemed in violation of the Criminal Code.

Yet the problem is a hypothetical one, because no such film has ever been presented for tax credit consideration, said Andrew House, a spokesperson for Heritage Minister Josée Verner.

"Canadian Heritage has not received an application for a production containing criminal content," House said via email.

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Hollywood productions can dodge proposed tax rule

Under the proposed changes to federal tax legislation [Bill C-10], Canadian films that receive public funding may be scrutinized by the government for their moral suitability. Yet Hollywood films shot in Canada that have applied for tax credits will get a free pass.

Film director David Weaver (Century Hotel, Siblings) said yesterday that he finds it preposterous that the Department of Heritage would apply this only to Canadian producers, not to Americans or other foreign parties. "The message seems to be big-time American producers can come and produce anything they want, but [Ottawa is] going to undermine and perhaps make impossible smaller Canadian productions. It's outrageously discriminatory."

That's Conservatives!

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C-10, censorship, Liberal outrage and double standards

If the facts in this post are accurate, then our government bares watching, Liberal or Conservative.

I tell ya, it's never been easier to point out a double standard! While Taber does great work reporting on the Liberals coming forward first to suggest that they've done something similar, what she fails to mention is that the controversial section of the legislation limiting grants for subjectively offensive films is virtually word for word the same as the Liberal legislation!

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Make Public Draft Guidelines for Bill C-10

I agree that if the government says this has 'nothing to do with censorship', then they must state clearly just what exactly it is.

This is too important.

The Government of Canada is reassuring the film and television industry that the guidelines informing tax credit eligibility for productions have 'nothing to do with censorship' – "well," says Maureen Parker, Executive Director, Writers Guild of Canada, "if they want to reassure us, then make the draft guidelines public now, and let's have the debate. Enough secrecy, enough speculation – we need to know now. The industry cannot do business in the dark."

Read more here.

"Start Something." Say no to Bill C-10

We haven't stopped them, but boy did we draw attention to their slimy ways.

No one is really saying it, but it's the Christians under the Canadian Family Action Coalition that scared the crap out of everyone. Even the government.

There's hope yet, this is not America.

The slogan at the bottom of David Kahane's University of Alberta web page says it all: "Start Something."

Kahane certainly did. The associate professor of political science--specializing in democratic theory and practice--got an email Thursday from a friend, playwright Brad Fraser, outraged at something he'd read in the Globe and Mail. Attached was the story, "Tories plan to withhold funds from offensive productions."

Inspired by a Facebook group looking at new copyright legislation, Kahane--contacted by TV Feeds My Family through Facebook--decided to see if he could "help to make a difference around C-10 using such a group."

The result: within 24 hours, 5000 people had joined "Keep your censoring hands off of Canadian film and TV! No to Bill C-10!"

Read more here.

Also from the same blog, tvfeedsmyfamily.blogspot:

Separation of Church and State.

No to Bill C-10

Join the Facebook group fighting this sneaky new law. That Christian nutcase should have kept quiet.

Canada's Tory government is using clauses hidden away in Bill C10, an omnibus piece of legislation tweaking the Income Tax Act, to set itself up as the arbiter of which films and TV programs made in Canada are offensive, or not in the public interest. If C10 passes, the Heritage Minister will develop guidelines to deny tax credits (a key part of film and TV financing in Canada) to shows that step over the line--and it's anyone's guess how the Tories will define 'decency', 'obscenity', or 'contrary to public policy'.

Join here.