TERMINAL CITY

Not picking up the phone means you don't have to hear the bad news: you've got a lump in your breast. And that's exactly what Katie Sampson has — a tumour — along with a loving husband, a difficult father-in-law who survived Auschwitz (and will make sure you never forget it), a rebellious daughter, a teenage son who worships pot and older women, and a seven year-old who's obsessed with God and death.

D-Day: right after having a core biopsy performed on her right breast, Katie runs into an ailing reality TV show, broadcasting live from the hospital. Katie cracks joke after joke (under the circumstances, what else is she going to do?), and stuns the TV world. In fact, she's born for TV and ends up taking over the show.

If you think Revelations is interesting, stay tuned as all is revealed.

Learn more about Katie and Episode 1 »

About the Production

TERMINAL CITY never came from an inspiring event. Battling, dying, and surviving cancer, inspires; being diagnosed with it does not. Primo Levi's "Survival at Auschwitz", is as inspiring as it is profound; the Holocaust is not. TERMINAL CITY allowed me to delve into subjects that have fascinated me for a long time: cancer, sex, celebrity culture, the Holocaust, television, and literature. To be celebrated, these subjects are in pointed contrast to one and another and provide the underpinnings for the show.

One of the triggers to the story begins with our family. Four years ago, my mother woke up one morning and discovered a lump on her hip, of all strange places to find one. At the same time, a friend of mine, whom I'd worked with over the summers as I'd paid my way through college, learned his father was diagnosed with lung cancer. At the outset it looked like both of our parents were facing severely shortened lives. My mother was to go into surgery right away. An operation was scheduled 12 days from the day the tumour was discovered and chemo was to start shortly thereafter. It was all for naught: two days before the operation was to commence, the Chief Bone Radiologist pronounced the tumour benign, and instead she went in for day surgery. My friend's father passed away eight months later.

The story’s other triggers are more obscure and are tied to our baser desires rather than our loftier goals. Once in a pitch meeting after a bottle of scotch had been consumed and was rolling around on the floor, a friend of mine and a network executive leaned over and said, "All great TV writing is rage." The phrase has always fascinated me. Having completed all 10 episodes of TERMINAL CITY, I can say there is truth to these comments. We live with guilt, rage, atonement, just as we live and experience serendipity, happiness and love. But the first three, more often than not, inform the words on the page and take you to where the wild things are when you don't have time for dinner.

by Angus Fraser, Writer/Creator

Production Notes

TERMINAL CITY was originally conceived as a feature film, but as Angus Fraser points out, "television is now the realm of serious discourse and, arguably, adult drama." He decided to partner with Crescent Entertainment and their team of Jayme Pfahl, Harold Tichenor, and Gordon Mark. In less than a year, TERMINAL CITY was financed with three television broadcasters participating: CHUM, The Movie Network, and Movie Central. "They're the risk taking networks," says Fraser. "They're all interested in pushing the envelope."

Shortly thereafter, directors’ reels started to be screened and casting began in earnest. Fraser and Pfahl were intent on finding directors who bonded with the material and would bring a cinematic edge to the show. Director Steve Surjik explains, “I was drawn to the material because it is so uncommon to find this in television. At once it’s extremely serious but Angus has a way of writing scenes that are not melodramatic and really unexpected that are very truthful.” Similarly, TERMINAL CITY resonated with actors and they fought hard for their parts. Maria Del Mar who stars as Katie Sampson remembers that she had 4 scripts she had to read in her backyard during the summer. The first script she read only 10 pages. Next script 15. And then she picked up TERMINAL CITY. Before she knew it she had finished the script and decided she had to have the role. What drew her? Del Mar quips, “There are not very many strong female characters out there that are multi-layered, written for people over 26 years old. TERMINAL CITY is full of life’s dramas. It’s articulate. It’s real. I had to have the part.” Other cast members shared similar stories. Gil Bellows who plays Del Mar’s husband, Ari Sampson, adds, “there were many reasons I wanted to play the role. First of all, the writing is first class. Anytime an actor has the opportunity to explore a character where the writing supports you in many, many different ways you should jump out and grab it. And the story was relevant to me. I’m a father, a husband and the grandson of a holocaust survivor. Mortality has touched me in many different ways.”

When it came to selecting talent, Fraser and Pfahl cast against type. They combined veteran actors with up and coming talent and looked for actors who were not only good in front of the camera, but had a strong theatre background. Fraser elaborates, "the stereotype about theatre being a family is true. But it's that support, it's that cocoon, that allows you to develop the role. We wanted actors who saw themselves adding to a 2500 year tradition."

The dinner table is an important motif for Fraser. In his opinion, everything starts at the dinner table: politics, culture, civil war, relationships, love, life, birth, family, conversations, everything. Fraser is very clear in this: “You’ll see your family, father, mother, kids, friends around this table.”

The writing now combined with a believable family significantly impacted the set of TERMINAL CITY. Producers, talent and crew alike all talked about unity. There was a family dynamic on and off set. The cast all hung out together; in fact several of the female actors lived in a house together (that was interesting).

The shoot lasted 76 days and Fraser wrote 3000 pages of script. And true to the material, as the production moved closer to its end, incredible things happened on set. Director Rachel Talalay observed, “the set atmosphere is different than most sets because the material itself stirs the pot." Executive Producer Pfahl concurs. “Every crew member was reading the script which is very unusual. And crew members were fighting for cuts. I’ve never seen crew or cast so involved in processes going on. Usually, crew doesn’t read scripts let alone want to watch the program.”

The shooting style of TERMINAL CITY is again a departure from traditional television fare. Director of Photography, Tom Burstyn, recommended the VIPER camera that gave TERMINAL CITY its cinematic qualities. Focused on giving television viewers a feature film look, TERMINAL CITY used mise en scene blocking within shots, compositionally interesting frames, and sweeping masters. The ambitious style tied to a daunting schedule make the look of TERMINAL CITY all the more impressive. Fraser explains, “The shooting style was ambitious. Each director had to shoot two episodes in 15 days. Television is a clock and it can kill you financially and creatively. Tom Burstyn gave us an amazing looking show and did it in a real pressure cooker environment."

TERMINAL CITY was an emotionally and physically demanding shoot. Fraser concludes, "I think all those who worked on TERMINAL CITY will remember this shoot for its intensity and their contribution to making something that matters. I always said from the beginning, 'it's not good enough to be good, we have to be great.'” Pfahl echoes those sentiments, "I think the cast and crews' experience on this show will stay with them for a long, long time.” Gil Bellows summed it up by saying, “This has been the chance to destroy a few myths about Canadian television. It has never been thought of as a pioneer of dynamic, compelling, groundbreaking storytelling. I think TERMINAL CITY is going to change that.”

The Creator

Angus John Keays Fraser, Writer
Series Creator & Executive Producer

Angus John Keays Fraser is an award-winning writer/producer for the stage, television, and film.

In 1995, Fraser started having his work read regularly at Naked Angels in New York City. In 1995, Fraser’s first play, LA, enjoyed critical success and a four-week run at the 28th Street Theatre in Manhattan.

In 1996, Fraser co-wrote Kissed with director Lynne Stopkewich. The film, which stars Molly Parker and Peter Outerbridge, won a Special Jury award at the Toronto International Film Festival, and competed at Cannes, Berlin, Sundance, and numerous other festivals. The following year, Fraser was nominated for a Genie award in the category of writing.

In 1997, Fraser co-wrote, A Girl Is A Girl, with Reginald Harkema. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival. Two years later, he won a New York Emmy for writing and producing, Witnesses and Wiseguys, a network special for NBC starring Nicolas Turturro.

In 2003, he wrote The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess. It premiered in Toronto and went on to screen at the Berlin Film Festival in February, 2005.

In 2005, Fraser created, wrote, and produced the award winning and critically lauded Terminal City with Crescent Entertainment. The 10-hour television mini-series stars Gil Bellows and features Maria Del Mar and has aired in over 25 countries.

Currently, he is moving with two new television series: Insurgenc,y an 8-hour mini-series with Crescent Entertainment; and The Kult a 13-hour series with Crescent Entertainment and Toronto-based Chokolat. On the feature film front, he is completing Charley Barley with Anagram Pictures.

Last year Fraser set up a new company called LEFT BANK PRODUCTIONS.

The Producers

Jayme Pfahl, Executive Producer

Jayme Pfahl is the President of Crescent Entertainment, and has been involved with Crescent since its inception. A versatile and skillful manager of both people and money, Jayme handles the overall administration of Crescent. With extensive producer credits ranging from drama to reality-based television, Jayme also develops and produces television and documentary projects.

Jayme was the Associate Producer on the television movies Other Women's Children for Crescent/ABC Productions, and Frostfire for CBC/Alliance. He has also acted as Co-Producer on three television movies for ABC/Lifetime, and produced the television movie Beauty’s Revenge for NBC. He was Executive Producer on the feature film Naked Frailties and was the Supervising Producer on the Discovery Channel documentary series Storm Warning. With strong skills in managing post-production, Jayme supervises post-production on most Crescent projects.

Jayme was Supervising Producer on several series and six one-hour specials for The Discovery Channel and The Learning Channel. Jayme was the Executive Producer on the documentaries K-9 Corrections and MockStars and produced the highly successful reality television series No Boundaries for Global Television and The WB Network. In 2003 Jayme was Executive Producer on the feature film Moving Malcolm written and directed Benjamin Ratner and starring Elizabeth Berkley and John Neville. Most recently, he was Executive Producer for the black comedy pilot Pure Evil for Showcase Television, and the miniseries Terminal City for CHUM TV, The Movie Network and Movie Central.

Beyond day-to-day management and producing with Crescent, Jayme has also spoken on panels at the Vancouver International Film Festival’s Trade Forum, Canadian Music Week Conference, Canadian Film Centre, and Women in Film.

View Jayme’s Internet Movie Database Profile

Gordon Mark, Producer

Gordon Mark has been involved in filmmaking for almost three decades, the last fifteen as Principal and Vice-President of Production at Crescent Entertainment. Gordon oversees the logistics, scheduling and budgeting on all Crescent’s projects. From 1999 to 2004 he served as Executive in Charge of Production for Lions Gate Television - Vancouver.

Gordon began his career as an Assistant Director and moved on to become a Location Manager and Unit Production Manager on such features as First Blood, Never Cry Wolf, Neverending Story II + III, Gold Diggers, and films for television such as The Penthouse, Grounds for Murder, Trust In Me, and The Titanic miniseries.

Gordon served as Associate Producer of Needful Things, a Castle Rock feature directed by Fraser Heston, starring Ed Harris and Max von Sydow; Producer of the German-French co-production Knight Moves, directed by Carl Schenkel and starring Christopher Lambert and Diane Lane. He co-produced the Castle Rock feature Alaska, starring Thora Birch, and Executive Produced the award-winning ensemble feature film Best in Show for Castle Rock directed by Christopher Guest. He produced the episodic television series The Crow: Stairway to Heaven for Crescent Entertainment, Alliance Communications and PolyGram, as well as the series The Adventures of Sinbad, shot in South Africa for Atlantis and All American.

As Executive in Charge of Production for Lions Gate Television (Vancouver), Gordon has overseen production on various projects including Shutterspeed, Higher Ground, Mysterious Ways, No Boundaries and The Dead Zone as well as two direct to video movies The Void and Cabin Pressure. He also produced the miniseries Five Days to Midnight for Lions Gate Television and The Sci-Fi Channel.

Most recently, Gordon produced the Crescent ten one-hour miniseries Terminal City for The Movie Network, Movie Central and CHUM.

For the past five years Gordon has served on the Canadian Film and Television Association’s Industrial Relations Committee and has been involved in long-term negotiations with all of the Vancouver based Guilds and Unions providing services to the industry.

His awards include an American Film Institute Movie of the Year, Cable ACE best dramatic special, Gemini best dramatic program, Golden Globe best comedy nomination, and an American Comedy nomination.

View Gordon’s Internet Movie Database Profile

Composers

Schaun Tozer

Prior to TERMINAL CITY, Schaun’s scores include the series Da Vinci’s Inquest (part Season 5, all of Seasons 6 & 7), The Handler series on CBS, and the television film The Life. He is currently working on the two hour pilot Intelligence, and the complete Season 1 of Da Vinci’s City Hall.

Ben Mink

The body of Ben Mink's work represents a career that has left its varied stylistic mark on countless albums, Grammy Awards, Annals, Films and Television programs.

As a producer/songwriter and instrumentalist, he has been nominated for seven Grammy Awards, (winning with KD Lang for their collaboration, Constant Craving from the groundbreaking album, Ingénue). In addition to KD Lang, he has worked with artists as diverse as Barenaked Ladies, Geddy Lee, Ian & Sylvia, Bruce Cockburn, Daniel Lanois, Raffi, Gordon Lightfoot, Anne Murray, FM, and Paul Shaffer.

His film credits include the soundtrack for Gus Van Sant's Even Cowgirls Get The Blues.

Credits

A CHUM Television, Movie Central and The Movie Network original production
In association with Crescent Entertainment and Big Dog Productions

TERMINAL CITY

Starring GIL BELLOWS, PAUL SOLES, JANE MCLEAN, KATIE BOLAND, ADAM BUTCHER, NICO MCEOWN,

and MARIA DEL MAR as “Katie”

Production Designer ROB GRAY Director of Photography THOMAS BURSTYN, CSC
Executive Producers JAYME PFAHL and ANGUS FRASER
Produced by GORDON MARK
Directed by RACHEL TALALAY, LYNNE STOPKEWICH, KARI SKOGLAND and STEPHEN SURJIK
Written and Created by ANGUS FRASER

Developed and Produced in Association with CHUM Television and Movie Central, A Corus Entertainment Company
Produced in Association with The Movie Network
Produced with participation of the Canadian Television Fund created by
the Government of Canada and Canadian cable industry

Telefilm Canada: Equity Investment Program
CTF: License Fee Program
Rogers Cable Network Fund
CanWest Western Independent Producers Fund

Developed with the Participation of British Columbia Film
Produced with the Assistance of The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and Film Incentive British Columbia

Our Partners

CHUM
www.chumlimited.com

The Movie Network
www.themovienetwork.ca

Movie Central
www.moviecentral.ca

Telefilm
www.telefilm.gc.ca

Canadian Television Fund
www.canadiantelevisionfund.ca

Rogers Cable Network Fund
www.rogers.com

CanWest Independent Producers Fund
www.cwipfund.ca

BC Film
www.bcfilm.bc.ca

Crescent Entertainment
www.crescent.ca

Mastermynde Mediaworks
www.mastermynde.com

Macaulay Media
www.macaulaymedia.com

Contact

For more information about the show contact:

Crescent Entertainment Ltd.
343 Railway Street, Suite 304
Vancouver, BC, Canada
V6A 1A4

Phone: 604.357.3606
Fax: 604.357.3605

email us: terminalcity@crescent.ca

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email us: crescent@crescent.ca

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