''Paint Cans'' is a 1994 Canadian comedy film written, produced and directed by Paul Donovan and based on his book of the same name. A satire of Canadian film and television production, the film stars

Chas Lawther Charles "Chas" Lawther is a British-born Canadian actor, comedian and writer. Lawther came to local prominence in Toronto when in the 1980s he created the character of Chuck The Security Guard for CFMT-TV's '' The All-Night Show'', on the ostens ...

as Wick Burns, a bureaucrat in the Film Finance Office of Canada (a parody of

Telefilm Canada Telefilm Canada is a Crown corporation reporting to Canada's federal government through the Minister of Canadian Heritage. Headquartered in Montreal, Telefilm provides services to the Canadian audiovisual industry with four regional offices in V ...

) who is trying to help secure funding for ''Paint Cans'', the directorial debut of his film school classmate Vittorio Russo (

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

), while simultaneously trying to navigate a new romantic relationship with Arundel Merton (

Robyn Stevan Robin Miriam Carlsson (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn (), is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. She arrived on the music scene with her 1995 debut album, ''Robyn Is Here'', which produced two ''Billboard'' Hot 100 t ...

), a journalist he met at the

Cannes Film Festival The Cannes Festival (; french: link=no, Festival de Cannes), until 2003 called the International Film Festival (') and known in English as the Cannes Film Festival, is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films o ...

Gerald Pratley Gerald Arthur Pratley (September 3, 1923 – March 14, 2011) was a Canadian film critic and historian. Piers Handling"Gerald Arthur Pratley" ''The Canadian Encyclopedia'', September 18, 2011. A longtime film critic for the Canadian Broadcasting Cor ...

, ''A Century of Canadian Cinema''. Lynx Images, 2003. . p. 164. Production on the film began in 1993, although some filming had to be postponed to early 1994 after Stevan broke her collarbone in a fall from a scooter. The film premiered in the Perspective Canada program at the

1994 Toronto International Film Festival The 19th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada between September 8 and September 17, 1994. '' Whale Music'' by Richard J. Lewis was selected as the opening film. The festival's name changed from ''Festiv ...

. It was subsequently screened at the 1994

Atlantic Film Festival FIN: Atlantic International Film Festival (known as The Atlantic International Film Festival until 2017) is a major international film festival held annually in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada since 1980. FIN is the largest Canadian film festival eas ...

, where it won the awards for Best Direction and Best Writing in an Atlantic Canadian Film.Ian Johnston, "Paint Cans satire sweeps top Atlantic film awards". ''

Halifax Daily News ''The Daily News'' was a tabloid newspaper in Halifax, Nova Scotia, that was published from 1974 until ceasing operations in February 2008. History ''The Daily News'' owed its existence to David Bentley, who, along with his wife Diana and Patric ...

'', September 22, 1994.

Cast

as Wick Burns *

as Arundel Merton *

as Vittorio Musso *

Nigel Bennett Nigel Bennett (born 19 November 1949) is a British-Canadian actor, director, and writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series ''Forever Knight'', for which h ...

as Bryson Vautour *

Don Francks Don Harvey Francks (February 28, 1932 – April 3, 2016), also known by his stage name Iron Buffalo, was a Canadian actor, musician and singer. Career Don Harvey Francks was born on February 28, 1932, and was adopted shortly after his birth. H ...

as Maitland Burns * Andy Jones as Neville Lewis *

Paul Gross Paul Michael Gross OC (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian actor, director, writer, producer, and musician born in Calgary, Alberta. Gross is known for his lead role as Constable Benton Fraser in the popular Canadian television series ''Due So ...

as Morton Ridgewell *

Ann-Marie MacDonald Ann-Marie MacDonald (born October 29, 1958) is a Canadian playwright, author, actress, and broadcast host who lives in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. MacDonald is the daughter of a member of Canada's military; she was born at an air force base near ...

as Inge Von Nerthus *

Neve Campbell Neve Adrianne Campbell (born October 3, 1973; ) is a Canadian actress. She is known for her work in the drama and horror genres. She has appeared on ''People'' magazine's list of "50 Most Beautiful People" twice. Following a series of minor ...

as Tristesse

References

External links

* * 1994 films 1994 comedy films Canadian comedy films English-language Canadian films Films based on Canadian novels Films directed by Paul Donovan 1990s English-language films 1990s Canadian films {{1990s-Canada-film-stub