"It started with a vision, a dream," says Gretha Turner, owner and president of the Canadian Screenwriters Alliance (CSA) located halfway between Hollywood and Cannes on Prince Edward Island, Canada.
In business only a few weeks, and not knowing that for most it is impossible to break through the barriers of Hollywood, Turner faxed an overview of a client's screenplay to Ron Howard (Apollo 13). "...a long shot...you won't hear back...it doesn't happen that way..." local film experts chided.
Two days later, at home in her kitchen, with her young children yelling in the background, Turner was in conversation with Imagine Entertainment. Would she talk to Howard's executive assistant about her client's screenplay? Could they be the first to consider the final draft? The doors to Hollywood were open. Today Turner's Agency fields hundreds of calls a week and has the ear and attention of some of the top producers and executives in the world.
Representing Canadian writers and producers in the development and marketing of screenplays and projects for the Hollywood and global marketplace, Turner feels she has brought the CSA "to the centre of the most recognized industry in the world...show business."
Fourteen years as an entrepreneur, Turner saw the "niche" for an Agency, with international film companies heading and looking North with and for projects, because of location, incentives and an attractive dollar value. Turner knew if she could work with her clients to have projects that were acceptable to the studios and production companies of Hollywood, which is the most competitive market, then the doors to the world would open. In keeping with her vision, her company's philosophy is to not just be an agent, but to provide networking and education through conferences, script critiquing, consultations and workshops.
Turner and her conference co-ordinator, Evie Davidson, are bringing six Hollywood power players to the first annual HOLLYWOOD NORTH CONFERENCE FOR FILM AND TELEVISION in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, for a three-day event, June 21-23, 1996.
Seminars cover screenwriting, film development, pitching multimedia, production and the opportunity to learn from and meet one-on-one with presenters such as DAMON LEE, VP Production, Silver Pictures (Die-Hard 1-2, Lethal Weapon 1-3); CRAIG BERENSON, VP Production, Davis Entertainment (The Firm, Grumpy Old Men); KATHIE FONG YONEDA, Senior Development Analyst for Paramount; PAMELA WALLACE, Oscar Award Winner for Best Screenplay (Witness); CHRISTIAN GAINES, Director of Sundance/Hawaii Film Festivals; and DEBORAH TODD, Multimedia/Animation for Disney.
Turner paraphrases Goethe: "Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it." With Turner's dream, boldness, genius, power and magic, a sprinkle of stardust has fallen on Prince Edward Island...halfway between Cannes and Hollywood.