TORONTO, May 7 /CNW/ - The Rogers Media Television group, a division of
Rogers Communications Inc., will be the Canadian broadcaster of Crusoe, a new,
adventure television series. The series is being produced by Muse
Entertainment, Power and Moonlighting Crusoe Productions (Pty) Ltd as an
official Canada/UK/South Africa co-production. This series was also partially
funded by Rogers' Citytv. Incendo Media is the Canadian distributor of the
series. Crusoe will air Friday nights at 8:00 pm on NBC and Citytv this fall.
Crusoe an adaptation of the classic 1719 novel "Robinson Crusoe" written
by Daniel Defoe, is about a young man who has left his wife and his life in
England for a life of adventure on the high seas only to find himself
shipwrecked and then cast ashore onto an island where he survives by building
a home and becoming a master of his life.
Filmed in the UK and South Africa, Crusoe stars Philip Winchester
(Flyboys; Thunderbirds) and features Anna Walton (Vampire Diary; Hellboy II:
The Golden Army) and is directed by Duane Clark (CSI: Miami; CSI: N.Y).
"We are overjoyed," said Leslie Sole, CEO of the Rogers TV Group which
includes Citytv. "We have worked with Incendo in the past and when we got
together to talk about Crusoe, we knew that this series would be a perfect fit
for Citytv. This is the largest project that we have ever funded."
"Muse is a world class quality production company with a unique expertise
in international co-productions and we are certain that this will result in
the highest quality series to be broadcast around the world," Sole continued.
"Our adventure series is adapted from one of the most widely published
books in history - a hit around the world since the day it was published. We
are confident that Crusoe will be a similar hit with audiences in Canada and
worldwide," says Executive Producer Michael Prupas, President & CEO of Muse
Entertainment.
"When we bought Citytv, we were looking for fresh ideas and new
approaches, and this breakthrough programming initiative meets those
benchmarks," stated Malcolm Dunlop, Executive Vice President of Programming at
Rogers.
"We are proud to be part of this initiative from the very beginning in
bringing a top notch quality driven series to the Canadian and U.S. markets
simultaneously. As the Canadian distributor - we knew the value that Citytv
would add to this project and given our history with Leslie Sole and Malcolm
Dunlop - we are certain that they will ensure its success," stated Stephen
Greenberg and Jean Bureau, Executive Producers and Principals of Incendo
Media.
Rogers Media Inc., a division of Rogers Communications Inc., (TSX: RCI;
NYSE: RCI), operates Rogers Broadcasting and Rogers Publishing. Rogers
Broadcasting has 52 AM and FM radio stations across Canada. Television
properties include 5 Citytv stations as well as the OMNI multicultural
television stations. Rogers Sportsnet, Canada's live event leader, offers
viewers four channels and Sportsnet HD and the Shopping Channel is a televised
and Internet shopping service. Rogers Publishing produces many well-known
consumer magazines such as Maclean's, Chatelaine, Flare, L'actualité and
Canadian Business, and is the leading publisher of a number of industry,
medical and financial publications. All media properties are integrated with
their own popular web sites. Rogers Media also owns The Toronto Blue Jays
Baseball Club and Rogers Centre, a year-round sports and entertainment
facility.
Muse Entertainment Enterprises is a leading independent feature film and
television producer known for well-crafted, high-quality productions. Muse is
now filming The Last Templar a mini-series for NBC and Global, starring Mira
Sorvino and Victor Garber. Muse's most recent productions include the comedy
feature The Deal starring William H. Macy and Meg Ryan, and the television
mini-series Durham County. Since its founding in 1998, Muse has produced,
co-produced and provided production services on more than 100 theatrical
features, TV movies, mini-series and series. Among its many award-winning
productions are the mini-series Human Trafficking and Answered by Fire, the TV
series This is Wonderland and Tales from the Neverending Story and the TV
films The Wind in the Willows and The Many Trials of One Jane Doe. Muse was
the production services producer of the award-winning feature films I'm Not
There and The Fountain and of the TV movies The Wool Cap and Rudy: The Rudy
Giuliani Story.
Incendo Media is a Canadian company specializing in the distribution of
television programming and theatrical film. Incendo Media through its joint
venture with Twentieth Century Fox International (FOX/Incendo) is the largest
television distribution company in Canada. FOX/Incendo licenses television
programming in both English and French across the country. FOX/Incendo's
programming can be viewed on all broadcasting tiers in Canada. Incendo Media
is the Quebec distributor for Paramount Vantage. Paramount Vantage is the
specialty film division of Paramount Pictures Corporation.
Incendo Productions specializes in the creation and production of
television programming. Since 2001, Incendo Productions has produced 30 made
for television movies, television series and documentaries that have been sold
and broadcast around the world. Incendo Productions has filmed between 5 and 6
movies a year since its inception. With budgets ranging from $3-5 million per
movies - Incendo has invested more than $90 million in the production of its
catalogue of 30 films.