Degrassi - Degrassi The Next Generation THE MOVIE

nyjoeyla · 06-07-2005, 03:53 PM

YES A MOVIE

It is official there will be a Degrassi the Next Generation Movie to hit the big screens. The movie will start filming in Toronto in August. It has just been confirmed so there aren't a lot of details to be told. Once I know all the cast members and any kind of new information I will post it here. But anyways Im so excited, i think it will be awsome!!

Updated

Silver anniversary, silver screen: Epitome develops Degrassi feature
by Sean Davidson for Playback Magazine

The makers of Degrassi: The Next Generation had a good month in May - bringing in a movie script and $50,000 in spending money just as they are closing in on the silver anniversary of their successful youth franchise.

Producers Linda Schuyler and Stephen Stohn of Epitome Pictures have, for some time, been looking to take their CTV show to the big screen, and, late last month, received the draft script from series writers Tassie Cameron and Aaron Martin.

"We have the first draft in hand," says Stohn. "It just arrived."

The proposed film is in development with help from Telefilm Canada, which no doubt sees the popular Degrassi brand as a better-than-average shot at becoming a commercially successful English-Canadian film. Telefilm also has a hand in the Trailer Park Boys feature, set to shoot this summer in Nova Scotia.

Stohn would not comment on the broader plans, but sources close to the project say Epitome is courting U.S. director Kevin Smith for a late summer shoot. Smith (Dogma, Jersey Girl) guest starred on three TNG episodes last season, along with his sidekick Jason Mewes, and is an outspoken fan of the Degrassi shows.

"We need to absorb this draft and talk with the people that might be involved," says Stohn, possibly going back for more funding for a second draft. Whether the movie will come together "is still anybody's guess."

Other Info:::

Two books and a TV documentary are also in the works. Toronto-based Madison Press will unveil its behind-the-scenes collection Degrassi: Generations and a branded student planner at this month's BookExpo Canada - the former will be on shelves in Canada, the U.S. and Australia by fall - just as 90th Parallel Productions puts the finishing touches on a one-hour Degrassi retrospective for CTV.

The doc features franchise star Stefan "Snake" Brogren in informal chats with past and present cast members.

"My marching orders were 'Give them what they want.' 'Them' being the fans," says director Mike Sheerin. "It focuses mainly on the older, classic Degrassi, but the new show is definitely in there."

It is in post with editor Nick Hector (Dying at Grace) and is expected to air in the coming season. Smith appears in the documentary and also wrote the foreword to Degrassi: Generations.

Meanwhile, the series won $50,000 and the first Shaw Rocket Prize on May 25, voted best Canuck kids show by a jury of some 400 schoolchildren and five international broadcast execs - besting Poko, Franny's Feet and Shoebox Zoo.

The show has "plenty of plot integrity, sophistication and depth," according to one student jurist. "It also has realistic conflicts and is definitely thought-provoking." The win follows and in many ways echoes a glowing review that ran earlier this year in the New York Times Magazine, which cheekily proclaimed TNG "tha Best Teen TV N da WRLD!"

Stohn notes that the Times piece, the doc, the book and movie are putting a lot of momentum behind the Degrassi name, just as its next season gets underway in Toronto.

Season five of TNG will also see the return of showrunner James Hurst, who left the series last season to help launch Epitome's other teen drama, Instant Star. TNG writer Shelley Scarrow takes over on Star, now shooting its second run.

TNG marked a high point in October when it drew its highest ratings ever, just under one million according to BBM, with a controversial episode about bullying and school shootings.

TNG airs on The N in the U.S., where its edgier stories have been known to cause a stir, and is also carried in the U.K., Australia and France.

It is the fourth series to bear the Degrassi name, following Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High and Degrassi High, all of which aired on CBC in the '80s and early '90s. Stohn and Schuyler turned out an MOW in 1991 and then took the latest series to CTV in 2001.

The coming season is being trumpeted as the franchise's 25th anniversary

mixed-berries · 06-07-2005, 05:37 PM

I can't wait for Season 5, and the movie- just hope they release it in the US :-/

simplyxjiberty · 06-08-2005, 01:58 AM

Yesss! Haha. I can't believe there's going to be a movie! It'll be so awesome. I doubt they'll release it in the U.S., to be honest. Maybe The-N will show it? I doubt that, too, for some reason.

froggiepopple · 06-08-2005, 06:24 AM

Well they could release it in the US, they do have a growing fan base here in the US. Plus if Kevin Smith is helping with the movie then people would see it because he is involved even if they never heard of Degrassi. Also there could be people that go see it if the plot itself interests them.

V-Nessa · 06-08-2005, 10:07 AM

OMG i cant wait !!! i hope they release it in the US !! im sure aftr it out in the movies the-n will air it.. i mean Degrassi is their best show with the most ratings.. they aint stupid they'll air it..... but it will be a lo0oo0o0ong time aftr it comes out in theaters. you never know with the-n... i, personally, hate that channel.

Mariael311 · 06-08-2005, 10:11 AM

Hey...that's awesome!! That would be cool that they're making a movie! I can't wait to find out about what the movie is going to be about. Likeis going to answer questions from the old series or maybe bring back old cast members from DTNG!

Ican't wait! Thanks for the news nyjoeyla!

***Johnnie*** · 06-08-2005, 11:37 AM

I wonder if it'll be on of those made for TV movies, that will air on CTV or something. I'd like to see a season 6 though, maybe after the movie. I don't want Degrassi TNG to end.

DancerChild018 · 06-08-2005, 11:40 AM

OMg r u serious? that's awesome!!!

froggiepopple · 06-08-2005, 12:03 PM

I am also wondering what the plot would be about????

Mariael311 · 06-08-2005, 12:09 PM

Maybe they will show the movie at the end of Season 5 and it like ties up all the loose ends!

nyjoeyla · 06-08-2005, 01:29 PM

Nope you dont have too worry, it will be a Feature Film not on Tv

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnnie

I wonder if it'll be on of those made for TV movies, that will air on CTV or something. I'd like to see a season 6 though, maybe after the movie. I don't want Degrassi TNG to end.

**JustMe2000** · 06-08-2005, 01:34 PM

The Exec made these two posts right after this story first broke on Sunday.

Quote:

sorry I've been away a bit, but from the post of that article on the potential Degrassi movie now you know where I've been spending my time and why I've been visiting L.A. so much! I hope to have some real news on the potential movie in about a month...

Quote:

The fact that we're working on a movie doesn't mean the end of the tv series! We're hoping the series will carry on for quite a while!!

It won't be a TV movie. The article mentions that Degrassi will be hitting the "big screen," and with Stephen & Linda haven't been spending all this time in LA to talk about a CTV TV movie. And whatever studio in LA that ends up producing this is also going to release it in the US. This looks like a clear attempt to dramatically raise the profile of the show and the Degrassi franchise as a whole- so I think it would make little sense for them (or CTV) to want to stop after the 5th season.

Speaking of the US, if they do in fact film later this summer, they'll probably release it next summer sometime. That should put some pressure on the N to air the S5 episodes in a more timely manner. At least one would hope.

It will probably take place in the summer between the 5th and 6th seasons, with the Grade 11's getting ready to head into their last year of high school and the Grade 12's getting ready to head to college, life, prison, the brothel, the convent, whatever suits their needs.

I have to admit, I was a little leery when I first heard about this, but the more and more I think about it, the more and more excited I get.

Mariael311 · 06-08-2005, 01:37 PM

brothel?!?!?

Interesting...

Welll,,, if it comes out to the big screen...that wouldbe awesome! I would so love to see that!

Mariael311 · 06-08-2005, 02:16 PM

In case you don't read this at the news thread....

From cinematical.com

Quote:

Kevin Smith to direct Degrassi movie?
Posted Jun 7, 2005, 10:32 AM ET by Peter Sciretta
Filed under: Deals, RumorMonger, Drama, Family Films

Hollywood Reporter North says that Toronto's Epitome Pictures is developing a big screen feature based on Degrassi: The Next Generation, with Kevin Smith in the directors chair. Smith has been a long time fan of the series and recently appeared alongside Jason Mewes in a three episode story arc. THR reports that the film will shoot in late August on location in Toronto. If this is true, that would mean Clerks 2 will delayed yet again, which seems very unlikely. Smith did recently meet with Degrassi's Stacie Mistysyn, and reported as much in hid blog, but I'm betting there is more to this story - either the date is wrong, or Smith's name got reported in some name-dropping secenrio. We'll just have to wait for a confirmation.

From ViewAskew

Scooped By: Sam Mendelsohn, Brian McGowan

Quote:

Could some BIG news have leaked a bit early? Could Canada be slowly taking over Kevin as he films up there this month? Seems so! Toronto's Epitome Pictures reports that they are developing a big screen feature based on CTV's high school teen series "Degrassi: The Next Generation" (says the Hollywood North Report):
Toronto's Epitome Pictures, with support from federal agency Telefilm Canada, are developing a big screen feature based on CTV's high school teen series "Degrassi: The Next Generation", with Kevin "Jersey Girl" Smith tapped to direct for a late August shoot in Toronto.
Smith recently appeared on the series alongside "Jay And Silent Bob" sidekick Jason Mewes.

Two "Degrassi: TNG" books and a TV doc are currently in the works, with the fifth season now prepping for Toronto production.

"Degrassi: TNG" airs on The 'N' network in the US, also broadcasting in the UK, Australia and France.

The series was removed from the broadcast schedule of publicly-funded PBS network, following complaints from citizen's rights groups objecting to the series' realistic portrayals of teens involved with drugs, sex and rock 'n roll.

The show is filmed in a mock-up village/school south of Toronto's Eglinton Avenue East, with daily usage of classrooms, training the next generation of Degrassi actors.

"Degrassi" is the name of an actual street in downtown Toronto's east end.

Sneak Peek TV and Dark Horizons have already reported the story. Expect a quick denial or confirmation on this one, we've got no idea if it's legit or just a rumor gone wild, though astute readers will note that Kevin DID recently meet with Degrassi's Stacie Mistysyn.
If true, we'll find out the impact on the Clerks 2 shoot, of course, and get you all the latest. If false, we'll let you know that as well. Stay tuned, folks. We certainly were surprised to see this one come across the desk today. In a way, it seems like fanboy speculation, especially due to Kevin's recent appearances on the program (prom ninjas!), though with his open fandom of the program, and a possibly low production cost for such a film, we're not totally calling this out of the question just yet

robinepowell · 06-18-2005, 12:42 PM

WOW! The Degrassi name/francise has a lot going for it now. I'm glad to see that it's so popular in other countries outside of North America. Degrassi has always been a big hit but stayed close to home with it's storylines.