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| Industry | Television production |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1983 |
| Founder | Michael Donovan Paul Donovan |
| Defunct | 2003 |
| Fate | Acquired by Alliance Atlantis |
| Successor | Halifax Film Company |
Salter Street Films was a Canadian television and film production company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
The company was founded by brothers Paul and Michael Donovan in 1983. Paul was trained as a director at the London Film School; Michael graduated from Dalhousie University’s Law School and started as a producer of Paul's film projects. Salter Street Films was named after the street in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Paul and Michael had been living.
The company started life with early problems. Its first major feature film was Def-Con 4 (1985), which eventually became profitable, but other films such as George's Island (1989), Buried on Sunday (1992), and Paint Cans (1994), though critically acclaimed, were money-losers. The company's salvation turned out to be the sci-fi TV series Lexx , [1] which was a hit in Germany, Russia, and Eastern Europe. This Canadian-German co-production went on to become a lucrative money-maker through international sales and was one of the first shows to develop a cult following almost exclusively through online.
Concurrently, the Donovan brothers found success with the satirical This Hour Has 22 Minutes becoming a hit on CBC Television as well as other TV series such as CODCO , Emily of New Moon , Made in Canada , Blackfly , children's TV series Pirates, and a TV special Talking to Americans . These shows found homes on the CBC as well as other Canadian networks and cable channels. Salter Street also created the stop motion-animated preschool TV series Poko , which is still in production. In 1994, it has a 20% interest in The Popcorn Channel, which was rumoured to be on the air in the first quarter of 1995. [2] In the 1990s, it meant to mine European co-production with four telefilms, which were planning on to be in production in 1995. [3]
Based on their reputation for political satire, U.S. documentary filmmaker Michael Moore approached Salter Street to produce his project Bowling for Columbine . Michael Donovan agreed and arranged financing in Canada and Germany. The documentary won both the Anniversary Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature Film.
In 2000, a year after the Donovan brothers had taken the company public, Salter Street was awarded the broadcast license for IFC by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission. This potentially lucrative award, combined with Salter Street's reputation as a content-provider, attracted interest from the powerful media corporation Alliance Atlantis. Alliance bought Salter Street from the majority shareholders the following year. [4] Paul and Michael Donovan remained on as producers.
In 2003, two years after the purchase, Alliance closed the operation, transferring Salter Street's ongoing TV productions to Alliance. Paul Donovan has continued as an independent producer and director. In May 2004, Michael Donovan formed the Halifax Film Company with all of the former Salter Street employees. In 2006, Halifax Film merged with Decode Entertainment to form DHX Media (now as WildBrain).
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Canadian media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon, and Sydney.
Made in Canada is a Canadian television comedy which aired on CBC Television from 1998 to 2003. Rick Mercer starred as Richard Strong, an ambitious and amoral television producer working for a company which makes bad television shows. A dark satire about the Canadian television industry, the programme shifted into an episodic situation comedy format after its first season.
Patricia Zentilli is a Canadian performer who has worked in film, television and theatre across Canada.
Lexx is a science fiction television series created by Lex Gigeroff and brothers Paul and Michael Donovan. It originally aired on April 18, 1997, on Canada's Citytv as four made-for-TV movies. Beginning with season two, the format changed to a traditional TV series with each episode running 45 minutes long. The series follows a group of mismatched individuals aboard the organic spacecraft Lexx as they travel through two universes and encounter planets, including a parody of Earth. The narrative includes irony, parody, and sex comedy, and explores ideas of fatalism, reincarnation, the afterlife, and the paradigm of good and evil.
C.O.R.E. Digital Pictures was a Canadian film and television computer animation special effects studio based in Toronto, and founded at the end of March 1994. Its productions included fully animated television series and feature films.
Paul Donovan is a Canadian television and film writer, director and producer best known as the creator of the science-fiction TV series LEXX. He co-founded Salter Street Films (SSF) with his brother Michael Donovan.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 20th Gemini Awards were held on November 19, 2005, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was co-hosted by several celebrities, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was broadcast on Global.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 19th Gemini Awards were held on December 13, 2004, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was co-hosted by several celebrities, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 18th Gemini Awards were held on October 20, 2003, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Seán Cullen, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 17th Gemini Awards were held on November 4, 2002, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Seán Cullen, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 16th Gemini Awards were held on October 29, 2001, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Mike Bullard, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 15th Gemini Awards were held on October 30, 2000, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Steve Smith, took place at the John Bassett Theatre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 14th Gemini Awards were held on November 7, 1999, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Rick Mercer, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 13th Gemini Awards were held on October 4, 1998, to honour achievements in Canadian television.. The awards show, which was hosted by Ronnie Edwards and Kenny Robinson, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 11th Gemini Awards was held on June 6, 1997, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Albert Schultz, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 10th Gemini Awards was held on March 3, 1996 to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Albert Schultz, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 9th Gemini Awards were held on March 6, 1994, to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Albert Schultz and Valerie Pringle, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 9th Gemini Awards were held on March 5, 1995 to honour achievements in Canadian television. The awards show, which was hosted by Paul Gross and Tina Keeper, took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television's 12th Gemini Awards were held on March 1, 1998, to honour achievements in Canadian television. There were two awards ceremonies in 1998; the 13th was held on October 4, 1998. The 12th awards ceremony was hosted by Cathy Jones and Steve Smith. It took place at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and was broadcast on CBC Television.
Michael Patrick Donovan is a Canadian film producer, executive, and screenwriter.
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