Making History: The Remarkable Story Behind Canada: A People's History

By Mark Starowicz

How to make a successful television series when there's no money,everyone has been laid off, andyour bosses are fighting Canada: A People's Historywas a monumental undertaking for the CBC and its executive producer, Mark Starowicz: thirty-two hours of film, aired in seventeen episodes over two years, and the first ever co-production between the CBC and Radio-Canada. Making Historyis Starowicz's shockingly candid account of the making of the series. Proposed at a time when the CBC was laying off veteran staff en masse and shutting down its production facilities because of government cutbacks, the very idea of the series was more like the last gasp of a dying corporation than a sound proposal. The obstacles the series faced were enormous: the incomprehension and lukewarm support of some of the CBC brass; the technical and political challenges of being the first ever French-English co-production in Canadian television; the exasperating job of searching for corporate partners. Despite these huge obstacles, when the series went to air, it took the country by storm, gathering record numbers of viewers each episode. A madcap adventure story, an insider's account of a major corporation at its nadir, and the story in microcosm of relations between English and French Canada,Making Historyis brutally honest and often very funny.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0771082576
• ISBN13: 9780771082573
• Release Date: March 2003
• Publisher: McClelland & Stewart
• Length: 352 Pages
• Weight: 1.54 lbs.

Customer Reviews

Canadian History - Mark Starowicz

As a Canadian for a large part of my adult life I'm surprised by what I didn't know regarding Canada's heritage. Mark Starowicz is a legend in Canada and his writing is easily digested - not like the standard History class back in grade 9! After reading the book I found he has a website www.markstarowicz.com with many more informative articles on the topic.