Hampsteader Scherzer back to promote book on Hollywood

Mark Scherzer

It was 1991 and native Montrealer Mark Scherzer was living in New York City and working for Macy’s Department Store and his way to being appointed a buyer, which at the time looked as if it could lead to a long term career with the potential to rise up the corporate ladder. Then one day he had an epiphany.

“This was not for me,” Scherzer was telling me last week. “My heart was not in it. I always wanted to work in entertainment, so I took a leap of faith and even though I knew only one person in Los Angeles – my sister’s best friend Tammy Adler Green who was in the business. I called and asked if I could stay with her. She agreed, I pounded the pavement and ultimately my dream was realized.”

Scherzer spent the next 20 years shuffling back and forth between LA and New York, securing a regular slew of writing and producing gigs for television and film. It is this experience which led to him co-authoring a new book released recently called Hire Me Hollywood! Your Behind-the-Scenes Guide to the Most Exciting - and Unexpected - Jobs in Show Business. He will be in Montreal on Saturday, October 1 (4 p.m. to 6 p.m.) for a signing at Chapters on Ste. Catherine Street. Two days later he will return to Hampstead Elementary School for the first time since attending classes there 35 years ago and share some stories with the present student body.

Last year Scherzer moved back to New York on a permanent basis, most to be close to his three siblings. A brother also lives in the Big Apple while two sisters reside in New Jersey, one of whom is Linda Scherzer. She was the CNN correspondent in Israel during the Gulf War. He is also focusing a lot of attention on a new initiative he started with his brother-in-law called Ironwill Kids PowerUp, a fun, interactive nutrition experience designed to get kids excited about food and the role it plays in a healthy lifestyle. Based on research and behavior change theory, PowerUp! gives students the knowledge and skills necessary to make healthy food choices. Created especially for fourth and fifth graders, the program aligns with national and state standards and incorporates disciplines like language arts, math, science and social studies.

“I drew on my experience as a kids TV writer to create a character-based nutrition program for kids that's very hands on and a lot of fun,” Scherzer said. “I developed it with a professor from Columbia University and a pediatrician. It's currently being used in schools in the United States and we are expanding. I am thrilled to be sharing it with my first school in Canada, the school I attended as a child. It's character based, so the kids take turns assuming these roles each week. There are scripts for each of the lessons so they put on a mini-play each week. There are also stories written in a kind of Diary of a Wimpy Kid tone. One of the things we hear from educators is how much info the kids absorb through this method.”

As for the book, Scherzer and co-author Keith Fenimore provide not just a “how to,” but a “how did,” with a candid look at 30 people from across the entertainment industry at the top of their game as producers, actors, editors and more. There are a number of interesting names among this group, including Michael Gelman of Live With Regis and Kelly, film critic Leonard Maltin, publicist Gail Becker, Entertainment Tonight co-host Mark Steines and comic book legend Stan Lee.

What will replace So You Think You Can Dance Canada? I ask Jean-Marc

The shocking decision by CTV to cancel So You Think You Can Dance Canada (SYTYCDC) will leaves devoted fans of the show with a big void in their lives next summer? Or will it?

Jean-Marc Généreux, the charismatic judge from STYTYCDC, was in Côte Saint-Luc Saturday to take in La Relance 2011-  the Quebec Amateur Open Championship presented by DanseSport Québec. His 15 year old son Jean-Francis was among the competitors. As readers of The Suburban know, I was a loyal follower of STYTYCDC. This past season I filed weekly reports for The Suburban Magazine and in July my family and I went to Toronto to see two shows live in studio. I have had the good fortune to interview Jean-Marc regularly during the four years the show ran, at auditions and in between. He is a prince of a gentleman. Please see my video interview with  him at the very end of this blog.

“After four seasons and 92 episodes, CTV has decided to pursue other program strategies,” statement reads. “This decision was made after careful consideration, including viewership and economic factors. We remain extremely proud of the legacy of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, including raising.”

Until Jean-Marc told me on Saturday, I must confess I was completely unaware that CTV pulled the plug on this show which attracted one million plus viewers a week and had a cult following. He pointed out to me that while CTV aired the show and owns the rights to the Canadian version of So You Think You Can Dance Canada, they did not produce it. Danse TV Productions did that and Jean-Marc believes that executive producer Sandra Faire might just have another reality dance show up her sleeve that could air on another network in time for next summer.

“I really hope that can happen,” Jean-Marc said. “Canada needs a dance show  I have  a lot of questions in my head about why a network like CTV, an independent network, who always said they were going to do the best, the best, the best, which is what we were and we’re no longer on air. At the end of the day, I don’t understand why a network would do this. Our production was responsible for the entire dance industry in Canada. (The show) was about one thing: culture and dance. I’m really, really sad, but dancing just lost its platform in Canada.”

This past season five Quebecers made it to the top 22 and it was exciting for me to follow their progress.
I am sure that the first class media relations staff at CTV is devastated as well. They were so on their game, making sure folks like me did not want for any interviews or necessary material.  This is yet another blow to a team which lost Canadian Idol after the 2008 season. At the time CTV said they were simply putting that show on hiatus, but it never returned.

I sure hope that Shaw Media, which owns Global, CBC or City TV connects with Danse TV Productions and comes up with a SYTYCDC replica very soon. If something is to air next summer, auditions need to begin soon. However, there is another route they can go and that is to bring us a Canadian version of Dancing With the Stars. Jean-Marc smiled when I mentioned that option.  Next week he is off to Paris for two months for France’s version of Dancing with The Stars. When he returns, he said there are some unnamed projects he will be working on right here in Quebec.

Here is my personal video interview Jean-Marc from September 24, 2011

Co-CEO of Archie Comics drops into Montreal

Montreal’s Toon Boom Animation certainly made a splash during the highly successful ComicCon Weekend here, hosting legends of the business s Stan  Lee, Lynn Johnston and Archie Comics Co-CEO Nancy Silberkleit. Toon Boom also officially launched its new  Garfield the Cat application

Credit Director of Product Marketing Alissa Anzarut for a job well done. The mother of three from Côte Saint-Luc clearly loves what she does and here are some facts she sent over about ComicCon.

• There were over 20,000 attendees during the weekend
  and a three hour wait to get in on Saturday after 2 pm.
• There was more than two hour wait for Garfield to get his picture taken with Stan Lee.

• Lynn Johnston, creator of 'For Better or For Worse' and   Silberkleit,  signed autographs at the Toon Boom booth.

• Stan Lee  made a surprise four minute visit to athe Toon Boom booth and told the crowd “Toon Boom rocks!!”
• A total of 330 photos were taken with Garfield at the Toon Boom booth.
• Sixty five minutes spent by Francois Grossin in the Garfield mascot outfit in one shift.

 Alissa offered me a choice of interviewing Johnston or Silberkleit. I chose the latter, having always been a big fan of the Archie series as a youngster.

The Archie Comics line of comic books is one of the most successful, longest running brands in the history of the comic industry. Archie Comics have sold 1.5 billion comics and are published in a dozen different foreign languages and distributed all over the world. Archie Comics has spawned characters whose popularity has spilled over into other media and who have become part of popular culture. SABRINA THE TEENAGE WITCH and JOSIE AND THE PUSSYCATS are just some of the many legendary franchises that are part of the Archie Comics Library.

Silberklet is an interesting lady who assumed her post unexpectedly in 2009 after her husband Michael passed away. He was the company's co-chair and the son of one of the founders, Louis Silberkleit.   Nancy Silberkleit had no formal experience in business and was not a comic book reader herself. A former arts educator in New Jersey, she made it her mission immediately to use her educational background  to focus on student literacy and fundraising.  She regrets the fact there has been some internal problems since she took over, including what she calls outrageous allegations and an atmosphere of bullying. Throughout it all she carries on, travelling to different venues to promote events like Comic Book Fairs wherein schools can collect 40 percent of their sales. “One school of 800 just made a profit of $5,000,” she says.

There is a website (www.comicbookfairs.com) which describes this  new way of generating funds and capturing student interest by tapping into the power of comics. Why comics? “Because they work!” says Silberkleit, noting how trends come and go, but for over 75 years comics have been a powerful way of reaching and inspiring young people.

Silberkleit emphasizes that as schools look for healthier and more substantive alternatives to the traditional bake sale, comic books are becoming a more favored promotion because they stir a unique and communal excitement, stimulating a sense of sharing and adventure that's contagious!

The idea is simple. A school agrees to host a Comic Book Fair on a school day,  an evening, or  a weekend afternoon. Whatever money is raised, the school collects 40 percent of the profits. There are no upfront costs and shipping is free! Family-friendly Archie Comics and Sonic the Hedgehog lines are included in the Comic Book Fair.  

Silberkleit sees how comic books can educate students on issues relevant to them, such as bullying, cultural awareness, and health and wellness.  She completed a dual major at Boston College in art and education and then went on to work as an art teacher. She helped   launch the Hudson Valley Children’s Museum, located in Nyack, New York and collaborated with the East Hampton Library to establish a fundraiser that allowed readers to meet famous authors.  

Born in Englewood, New Jersey, Silberkleit simply found a unique way to move  into a new job she was initially not prepared for nor particularly interested.

"I had no business experience and had never, ever thought about running Archie Comics," Silberkleit says. "I don't know if my husband or his partner ever thought about who could do this if they weren't here. They may have thought about it, gotten headaches, and ended the conversation there."

 Silberkleit shares the co-CEO title  with Jon Goldwater, son of company co-founder John L. Goldwater who died around the  same time as Michael Silberkleit.

Silberkleit spoke me by telephone as she rode a bus to the airport. She gave me her personal cell phone number and email address, something most CEOs would avoid. 

There was no company PR person playing interference. What I heard from this astute individual was a passionate desire to see more young people  read. She would like to come back to Montreal and see some Comic Book Fairs occur. Wouldn’t it make sense for Riverdale High School in Pierrefonds, the same name as the secondary institution the ageless Archie, Jughead et al attend, to get the ball rolling and make a few dollars?

Archie has come a long way from when we were kids. The comics can now be accessed digitally. There is word of a live action Archie movie in the works and the creation of a mobile app. Silberkleit is also excited about partnering with Toon Boom Animation. Their Garfield Comic Boom encourages creativity and storytelling with easy-to-use drawing and colouring tools, props, and library items prompting kids to produce comic panels, comic strips, and even comic books.  The software even allows users to record sound and voice-over, essentially turning the child into the director of their own unique production.  Adding yet another dimension, the final product can be instantly broadcast via e-mail, YouTube, Facebook  and mobile. She has been engaged in discussions with Toon Boom to possibly follow the same path for Archie.

“Toon Boom is active in schools and so am I,” she said. “We have that in common. I think they would fit nicely in my program.”

While she is not directly involved in the actual production of the comic books, Silberkreit says she has shared some of her ideas  related to furthering education via certain storylines with the editors

Will Gazette replace Mike Boone's city column?

Andy Riga

Mike Boone

James Mennie

Will The Montreal Gazette introduce a new city columnist to succeed Mike Boone, who has moved over to the sports section?

My sources at the paper indicate that thus far no decision has been made. There are in fact whispers that they will not fill the position, choosing instead to profile National Post writer Christie Blatchford as their main columnist.

Replacing Boone in the first place will not be an easy task. I rarely missed one of his columns, be it one of his wonderful community or personality profiles or a firsthand account of his frustration with the internet and the memorable pieces about his late mom. Boone really covered Montreal the way a city columnist should.

Aaron Derfel

I truly believe The Gazette needs to park someone in his place. But who can that be? If they hire from within, I believe Andy Riga would be an excellent choice. He is married, has a few kids, covers transportation and blogs on community affairs. David Johnston, presently the communities reporter, would provide  some good  angles as well. James Mennie had a regular column in the past. Perhaps it is time to give him another go at it. For anyone who has ever heard him fill in for Tommy Schnurmacher on CJAD, he is opinionated, knowledgeable on a wide variety facts and has a good sense of humour.  Jeff Heinrich has covered news and now works in the entertainment section.  He’d be fun to read. Has Aaron  Derfel grown tired  of the health beat? What about Sue Montgomery, the holds no punches justice reporter whose gutsy pieces on Haiti deserve much praise. I always enjoyed her weekly column in the old Sunday Gazette.

Let’s hope the void is filled. There are a  lot of great city stories out there to cover.

.

Chomedey's Lenkov previews Hawaii Five-0

Hawaii Five-0 makes its much anticipated  return to television on Monday evening, September 19 (10 p.m.) on CBS and Global. Here is executive producer Peter  M. Lenkov, the pride and joy of Chomedey Laval, with a little preview.

Momesso and Dollas get nods for Habs colour commentary

It was no big surprise to learn today that THE TEAM 990 has hired former NHL players Sergio Momesso (above) and Bobby Dollas (below) to provide colour commentary for the station’s full season coverage of the Montreal Canadiens, working alongside play-by-play voice John Bartlett.

A native of Madison Avenue in NDG, Momesso was drafted 27^th overall in the 1983 NHL entry draft by the Montreal Canadiens. He went on to win a Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1986, one of the highlights of an NHL career that spanned 13 seasons. Momesso also worked under former Habs General Manager Bob Gainey for two seasons in player development for the team, and served as an assistant coach with the Hamilton Bulldogs.

“I’m thrilled to be on board THE TEAM 990’s coverage of the Canadiens,” said Momesso. “Becoming a part of the Habs’ radio team has brought me full circle from the days I laced up my skates with the team – it’s truly something special for me.”

Dollas, who also hails from Chateauguay, was a first round draft pick of the Winnipeg Jets in 1983. His 16-season NHL career included stops in Quebec, Edmonton, Calgary and Ottawa. Dollas has also represented Canada internationally, winning a gold medal at the 1985 IIHF World Junior Championships.

“As a proud Montrealer, I can’t wait to be on the frontlines of THE TEAM 990’s coverage of the Habs,” said Dollas. “With the addition of Erik Cole, the stability in goal with Carey Price, the emergence of PK Subban and the healthy return of Andrei Markov, fans have an incredible season to look forward to.”

Momesso did an excellent job alongside Rick Moffat on CJAD last year. Dollas has been a regular contributor to THE TEAM 990 for a few years. They will work games on a rotating basis, which should bring an interesting perspective.

THE TEAM 990 became the home of the Habs earlier this year when it acquired exclusive English radio broadcast rights to all of the Montreal Canadiens games in a landmark seven-year deal.

We are still awaiting word on plans for a pre-game show. Tony Marinaro will handle post-game duties. It will also be interesting to see what role former Habs tough guy Chris Nilan plays. He recently relocated here from Boston on a permanent basis and settled down in Dorval with his girlfriend. James Davidson, who serves as his Montreal representative, expects Nilan to be very busy on radio and making public appearances. He is presently at the Toronto International Film Festival to promote a documentary called The Last Gladiators in which he is prominently featured.

Montreal's Toon Boom Animation spawns Garfield product

Toon Boom Animation Inc. is the worldwide leader in digital content and animation creation software, carrying user-friendly animation applications for all, catering to the needs of children, home users, creative professionals as well as students, educators and schools.

Based in Montreal since 1994, the company’s biggest clients include. Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Television Animation, Nelvana, Warner Bros. Animation; and Fox TV.

However these days, a new software that turns mere mortals into superstar cartoonists based on the popular comic and animated character of Garfield the Cat, has company President and CEO Joan Vogelesang doing cartwheels. Working at putting this product on the map have been Vice-President of Marketing and Communications Karina Bessoudo and Director of Product Marketing Alissa Anzarut, pictured above with Garfield.

Born in France, Bessoudo lived in Israel for five years and immigrated to Canada in 1989. She graduated with a BA in Economics from Tel Aviv University in 1988 and an MBA from HEC Montreal in 1994. She has been working for Toon Boom Animation for 12 years. Winning the Primetime Emmy Engineering Award for one of Toon Boom's high end solutions was certainly a peak in her career. To keep close ties with Israel, she takes care of Toon Boom's customers and partners mainly located in Jerusalem and Tel Aviv.

Anzarut graduated with an Honours Business Degree from University of Western Ontario in 1993 and began working in tier one marketing companies in Toronto where she lived for 11 years, working on brands such as Aquafresh and Oxy (at Glaxo SmithKline Consumer) as well as Nescafe and Nesquik Chocolate Milk (at Nestle Canada). In 2004, she and her family moved to Montreal. She worked in the Aeroplan Rewards team for over six years, joining Toon Boom last May Her work encompasses marketing consumer animation products including apps in the Apple store, products for SMART Tech's SMART Boards and the new Garfield's Comic Boom.

Bessouda was quick to point out that Toon Boom Animation is active in 122 countries, including Israel. She and Anzarut have been intimately involved with the Garfield account, communicating regularly with comic strip creator Jim Davis. On September 17 and 18

Garfield’s Comic Boom will make its first public appearance at the prestigious Montreal Comic Convention (ComicCon) at the Place Bonaventure downtown. While Davis is unable to attend, the Garfield mascot will be there. Davis' friend and peer, Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse) will conduct a workshop on Saturday (creativity and storytelling) and Toon Boom will sponsor a Saturday evening “meet and greet” with former Marvel Comics legend Stan Lee on the Saturday night. Lee was born Stanley Martin Lieber in New York City on December 28, 1922, in the apartment of his Romanian –born Jewish immigrant parents.

Davis is full of praise for the Toon Boom creation. "Back in my day we had only pencils and paper,” he says. “This new software is like adding a jet pack to creativity. Kids can craft characters and backgrounds and tell a story with such ease and speed that I'm a little worried I might be out of a job soon."

Garfield's Comic Boom encourages creativity and storytelling with easy-to-use drawing and coloring tools, props, and library items prompting kids to produce comic panels, comic strips, and even comic books. The software even allows users to record sound and voice-over, essentially turning the child into the director of their own unique production. Adding yet another dimension, the final product can be instantly broadcast via e-mail, YouTube, Facebook, and mobile.

As an added bonus, Davis offers cartooning tips and tricks-of-the-trade for budding cartoonists in an exclusive tutorial for Garfield's Comic Boom users. Why choose Garfield? “Jim Davis actually chose us,” says Vogelesang.

The new software is available for purchase via the Toon Boom product store — http://toonboom.com/garfield. Customers can use a promo code: GARFIELD, to receive $10 off the purchase. The promo code is valid until October 1, 2011.

"Garfield's Comic Boom is a great addition to Toon Boom's family of fun products,” says Vogelesang. “We are very proud to work with Jim Davis on this project and look forward to seeing the entertaining comic books this easy-to-use application will inspire to kids of all ages!"

The product will make its first public appearance at the Montreal ComicCon, September 17-21. Davis' friend and peer, Lynn Johnston (For Better or For Worse) will conduct a workshop on creativity and storytelling. A demonstration will be given on the product's capabilities at the ComicCon main stage.

“This is an entirely new wave of education,” says Vogelesang, a resident of Westmount.

Garfield is a humorous strip centered on the lives of a fat, lazy, cynical orange cat who loves lasagna, coffee, and his remote control. Today, the strip appears in over 2,310 newspapers and is read daily by over 200 million people around the globe. Garfield recently added a new edutainment site to his accomplishes. He engages kids in interesting and pedagogically sound activities to promote literacy at www.professorgarfield.org.