TORONTO — The arrest earlier this week of Peace Arch Entertainment CEO Gary Howsam already is having an impact on the Canadian production outfit’s film slate.
British-based co-producer Studio Eight Prods. was set to start production next week in Barrie, Ontario, on the $15 million psychological thriller “The Boathouse,” but pulled the plug Thursday after it was told by Peace Arch Entertainment to delay the project.
“They (Peace Arch) have decided to put it on hold, because of current internal concerns,” Alex Brown, a principal of Studio Eight in London, said Thursday.
“Studio Eight will be working with them to get going in the immediate future, because we’re so impressed with the quality of Peace Arch’s production arm,” he added.
Peace Arch president and COO John Flock said the movie shoot will go ahead this spring, after the company gets past the crisis caused by the arrest Monday in Los Angeles of its CEO and can return to finalizing bank loans and pre-sales for “The Boathouse.”
“It’s a good project, we like it,” Los Angeles-based Flock said of the picture, which is set at an idyllic summer cottage where a young woman confronts the truth about her role in the disappearance of her mentor.
Earlier this week, Peace Arch placed Howsam on administrative leave and installed former CBS Entertainment boss Jeff Sagansky as interim CEO.
