New Canadian Production Outfit from Vancouver Film Studios

VANCOUVER: The McLean Group’s Vancouver Film Studios (VFS) has tied up with L.A.-based EveryWhere Studios to create 50° North Productions, a Canadian TV and film studio with full in-house production capability.

The structure of 50° North will allow the company to produce filmed content in Canada using the financial and operational advantages of a single, Canadian-based company. The outfit will have development offices in Vancouver and L.A., production facilities in Vancouver, and a team of veteran entertainment industry executives.

The new partnership anticipates announcing its first production under the 50° North banner this month, and has projects in development at Universal, Hallmark, UPtv and Lifetime.

“This partnership is a natural extension of our film business, enabling us to seamlessly deliver the full production process, from content origination to shooting and staging,” said Sacha McLean, the chairman of 50° North Productions and vice chairman of The McLean Group. “50° North is a proudly Canadian, vertically integrated entertainment company and we are excited to be partnering with EveryWhere and their visionary leadership.”

“Vancouver Film Studios can take considerable credit for building Vancouver’s and Canada’s reputation as a production destination and we are delighted to partner with them in this new venture,” said David Calvert-Jones, the chairman of EveryWhere Studios. “Bringing our respective skill sets together is a natural fit and we look forward to quickly bringing to life some of the exciting new concepts currently in development.”

Charles Lyall will lead 50° North’s physical production team. Among his many credits, Lyall line produced 66 episodes of the children’s series R.L. Stine’s The Haunting Hour, as well as production managed the first two seasons of The Flash.