{"id":167863,"date":"2026-08-14T12:19:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:19:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/167863\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T12:19:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T12:19:20","slug":"international-insider-canadas-streaming-stress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/167863\/","title":{"rendered":"International Insider: Canada’s Streaming Stress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tWelcome. It\u2019s another week, another Insider. Jesse Whittock at the wheel this week, speeding along the highway of international film and TV news. Let\u2019s get going. Sign up to the newsletter here<\/a> for the full Insider experience.<\/p>\n

\n\tCanada\u2019s Streaming Stress<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Netflix's<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tNetflix\u2019s Canadian comedy \u2018North of North\u2019. Image: Netflix<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNetflix<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cPreserve the principle\u201d: Canada\u2019s film and TV industry thought they had fought and won their war with the global streamers when the Online Streaming Act was introduced after much debate and hard graft back in 2023. That put into law the obligation for foreign streaming services to pay 5% of revenues back into original production. However, a move by the country\u2019s media regulator to increase that to 15% in May this year appeared to have badly backfired when Mark Carney\u2019s ruling Liberal Party responded by saying the obligations should be reviewed as costs would be passed on to subscribers. It was a gut shot for the industry. This week, a coalition of 50 major Canadian screen bodies, unions and festivals issued an open letter<\/a> to Carney and culture minister Marc Miller, urging them to \u201cpreserve the principle\u201d that foreign streamers should make \u201cmeaningful, predictable and enforceable\u201d contributions. There is a sense in Canada that the change in policy direction is related to the fractious trade relationship with Donald Trump\u2019s administration, though Carney insists it\u2019s about consumers. The open letter also broadly rejected an alternative to invest an annual C$600M ($430M) into production. \u201cInstead of building and sharing our own stories with the world, we would be left watching from the sidelines as foreign content increasingly defines what Canadians see on their screens,\u201d the signatories argued. Netflix, Prime Video and co. have been fighting to scrap levies and obligations around the world, with their position being they already invest tons without the need for regulation. Home to television\u2019s biggest recent hit, Heated Rivalry, Canada has once again become a key front in their global battle.<\/p>\n

\n\tLove For Lucy Davis<\/a><\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Lucy<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tLucy Davis in \u2018The Office\u2019. Image: BBC<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBBC<\/p>\n

\n\tOutpouring of love for original \u2018Office\u2019 star: For Brits like me of a certain vintage, there\u2019s no beating the wonderful will-they-won\u2019t-they love story of Dawn and Tim in Ricky Gervais\u2019 seminal BBC mockumentary The Office. Back in 2001, we all sat glued to the TV, teeth clenched, as the two quietly tried (and usually failed) to become one in the beige surroundings of their paper merchant workplace Wernham Hogg. When they finally made it happen in the finale (sorry for the spoiler), it felt like the entire country rejoiced, so I\u2019m sorry Ross and Rachel, you\u2019ll always be second in my mind. Perhaps that\u2019s why it hit so hard this week when Lucy Davis, who played receptionist Dawn so beautifully two decades ago, bravely revealed<\/a> she had been diagnosed with incurable cancer. What followed was a huge outpouring of emotion and support for Davis, with her U.S. counterpart Pam among those sending love<\/a>. Gervais, who played Dawn\u2019s cringe-inducing office manager David Brent, sent a love heart emoji and Edgar Wright, who directed Davis in zombie comedy\u00a0Shaun of the Dead, replied, \u201cLove you Lucy. Always.\u201d Everyone at Deadline echoes all the sentiment.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Deadline Interview: Mark Turtletaub<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tMarc Turtletaub<\/a> in 2023. Image: Miikka Skaffari\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

\n\tIt has been a minute since veteran producer-director Marc Turtletaub got behind the camera to make a movie, but he\u2019s back with Scottish road movie\u00a0Borges and Me, which is naturally screening this weekend at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Zac tracked him down for a chat about the pic, which is about a St Andrews student (Fionn Whitehead) who embarks on a trip across the Scottish Highlands in the company of legendary poet Jorge Luis Borges (Luis Gnecco). Among highlights of the interview is news of Turtletaub\u2019s next film<\/a>: An adaptation of Ben Reeves\u2019 novel Everything Was Beautiful and Nothing Hurt. >>>Read The Interview<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tGlobal Breakout: \u2018Small Town Scandal<\/a>\u2018<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Rose<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tFelicity Kendal, Tom Sainsbury and Rose Matafeo in \u2018Small Town Scandal\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBBC Studios<\/p>\n

\n\tIf you\u2019re a fan of What We Do in the Shadows or Flight of the Conchords (and why wouldn\u2019t you be?), you should try out the latest comedy breakout from New Zealand, Small Town Scandal. Billed as an Oceania version of Only Murders in the Building, the show stars Tom Sainsbury, Rose Matafeo, Morgana O\u2019Reilly and British sitcom royalty Felicity Kendal. The story is about disgraced journalist turned podcaster Toby (Sainsbury), who returns home to investigate the bizarre death of his millionaire uncle, who has apparently perished in an automatic lawnmower accident. Ouch. Sainsbury, who wrote and acted in What We Do in the Shadows and spin-off Wellington Paranormal, initially created Small Town Scandal as a podcast, and its journey to TV provides another example of how the medium is becoming a breeding ground for scripted TV and film. >>>Read The Breakout<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tSecrets Of Sarajevo<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Sarajevo<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tSarajevo Film Festival<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSamir Jordamovic\/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images.<\/p>\n

\n\tBalkan up: Diana spoke to leaders at the Sarajevo Film Festival (SFF) ahead of the southeastern European event, which kicks off today in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Festival director Jovan Marjanovi\u0107 was keen to talk up<\/a> Pawe\u0142 Pawlikowski\u2019s opening film,\u00a0Fatherland, and to pay tribute to a jury comprising the likes of president Emily Watson, Woody Harrelson and Diego Luna. As Marjanovi\u0107 says, there will be \u201ca lot of good, big filmmaking names in Sarajevo.\u201d Sounds tasty. In a separate interview<\/a>, Marjanovi\u0107 and SFF industry head Masa Markovi\u0107 called their CineLink Industry Days strand a \u201creally well-oiled machine that creates a platform for talent at each stage of their careers.\u201d Guess you have to get down there to see if they\u2019re right. More on Sarajevo here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe Essentials<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Keiko,<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\tKeiko, the orca who appeared in \u2018Free Willy\u2019<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNetflix<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Hot One: Netflix has greenlit<\/a> a feature documentary out of Mexico about Keiko, the orca who became world famous after appearing in the 1993 movie Free Willy, which Warner Bros. and the Russo brothers are planning to reimagine.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udf36\ufe0f Another One: Camille Delamarre will direct<\/a> Andrea Iervolino\u2019s sports car movie Bugatti: The Final Race, with Iervolino himself penning the script alongside Albert Ferrari.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udd25 A third for luck: Anson Boon, Ellie Bamber and Eddie Marsan will star<\/a> in Halftime Hero, which is based on the remarkable true story of when soccer manager Harry Redknapp pulled a mouthy fan out of the stands to play in a professional match.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udd0e Investigation: ITN is facing questions over workplace culture<\/a> after an external review concluded that journalist suffered disability discrimination when raising concerns about his working environment.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udcbc New job: Matt Creasey has landed a big role<\/a> at the enlarged Banijay Rights, overseeing outposts including L.A., Miami, Sydney and Mumbai. All3Media International\u2019s Singapore and New York bases will shutter and be folded into the newly combined entity.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u26bd Disney+ has struck a deal<\/a> with Gary Neville for podcasts from his Global Studios-owned company, The Overlap.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83d\udcc5 Diary date:\u00a0Saturday Night Live UK\u2018s expanded second season will debut<\/a> on September 12.<\/p>\n

\n\t\ud83c\udfa5 Trailer: For MobLand Season 2<\/a> shows the Harrigan clan spiraling out of control.<\/p>\n

\n\tPhoto Of The Week<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\"\"<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\u00a9 Locarno Film Festival \/ Ti-Press<\/p>\n

\n\tDoors Opening<\/a> \u2013 The winners of the Locarno Film Festival\u2019s project and incubator initiatives First Look, Alliance 4 Development and Open Doors gather to celebrate.<\/p>\n

\n\tInternational Insider<\/a> was written by Jesse Whittock and edited by Stewart Clarke. Send any tips, comments or ideas for international coverage to jwhittock@deadline.com<\/a> and mgoldbart@deadline.com<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Welcome. It\u2019s another week, another Insider. Jesse Whittock at the wheel this week, speeding along the highway of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":167864,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[17,53881,53882,53883,53884,53885,53886,53592],"class_list":["post-167863","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-canada","tag-canada","tag-global-breakouts","tag-international-insider","tag-lucy-davis","tag-marc-turtletaub","tag-sarajevo-film-festival","tag-small-town-scandal","tag-streaming-levy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167863","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=167863"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/167863\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/167864"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=167863"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=167863"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=167863"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}