Showrunner credits often abused, directors and writers guilds say

While a recent public consultation on production tax credits has provided the Canadian Audio-Visual Certification Office (CAVCO) with some ideas for improvement, creators’ groups still have concerns about the criteria used to gauge Canadian control of productions. The genesis of Public Notice CAVCO 2006-02, issued on June 8, hearkens back to November 2003, when the ministers of Finance and Canadian Heritage began a review of the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit (CPTC) to ensure it was as accessible and beneficial for Canadian producers as possible (Public Notice 2005-01). After identifying several facets of the tax credit program that could be improved or streamlined – especially pertaining to Canadian control of productions – the ministries launched a two-stage consultative process in early 2005. Later in 2005, auditor-general Sheila Fraser issued a report on Heritage’s various funding programs, in which she warned that "the key risks CAVCO and the face is that they might issue tax credits to non-Canadian productions or to productions with significant foreign investment that are not under the effective control of Canadians." That issue was brought to the forefront by the Writers Guild of Canada (WGC) in its comments on PN 2006-02 late last month. In her submission, WGC executive director Maureen Parker notes that while live-action productions, through their hiring practices, must achieve a score of six out of 10 on the CAVCO scale to qualify as Cancon and therefore be eligible for the CPTC, the system is often abused through a special exemption designed to woo foreign partners by granting them an honorary production credit in exchange for financing. "Since six-point projects often receive a significant portion of their financing from the US, in exchange, the Canadian production partner is usually required to accept a US showrunner on the project," Parker writes. Those foreign showrunners are usually given a courtesy credit on the program – usually as an executive producer or creative consultant – if they provide an affidavit certifying that they do not and will not hold any creative or financial control over the production. Despite the WGC’s earlier objections to the current open-ended litmus test for showrunners, CAVCO determined in PN 2006-02 that it wasn’t necessary to arrive at a definition for the role; instead, a collection of criteria would suffice. The WGC says that from 1995 to 2000 a total of 82 drama productions – accounting for 43.7% of the total production budget for the genre during that period – received such courtesy credits, implying that they’re given out too liberally. The guild adds that foreign showrunners tend to further weaken the CAVCO point system by bringing in collaborators from outside the country. "There is often an increase in the non-Canadian writing staff when there is a non-Canadian courtesy credit executive producer or creative consultant," Parker observes. Another creators’ group, the Directors Guild of Canada (DGC), may have even more invested in the process than the WGC: it doesn’t just represent directors but also art directors and picture editors, giving it sway over four of the possible 10 points for a live-action production. While the DGC didn’t weigh in on the latest round, it too has issues with the current definition for what constitutes a showrunner, but acknowledges it’s hard to come up with a catch-all definition that will cover all possible instances of how someone might exert control over a production. "I think why they’re not trying to do anything with that definition," says Monique Twigg, research and policy manager at the DGC. "It’s a really complicated thing for CAVCO to come up with criteria that are reasonable but also enforceable – I don’t envy them the task."

Showrunner credits often abused, directors and writers guilds say

Broadcast | September 13, 2006

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