Canwest announces start of production on highly anticipated original series - Copper from Thump Inc. and E1 Entertainment

         DRAMA TO BE SIMULCAST ON GLOBAL AND ABC TELEVISION NETWORK

              MISSY PEREGRYM (REAPER, HEROES) AND GREGORY SMITH
                    (EVERWOOD) LEAD STELLAR CANADIAN CAST

    TORONTO, July 20 /CNW/ - Developed by Thump Inc. and produced in
partnership with leading indie studio and distributor, E1 Entertainment,
Copper (working title), began production last week and will continue shooting
in and around the GTA through November 2009. This one-hour, 13-episode series
commissioned by Canwest and picked up by ABC Television Network during
development, will be simulcast on Global and ABC Television Network later this
season.
    Copper is a workplace drama about five young rookie cops just out of the
police academy. They have bonded together, fought together, drank together,
worked together and slept together. Now they're on the job together. They're
kids with guns, experiencing firsthand the hardest kind of policing there is.
They are first responders, and they are about to learn that no amount of
training prepares you for life.
    "From cast to crew, the pedigree of talent involved in this original
series is simply incredible," said Christine Shipton, Senior Vice President,
Drama and Factual Content, Global Television. "We're so excited to be joining
forces with Thump Inc., E1 Entertainment and ABC Television Network on Copper,
and bringing these amazing scripts to screen. It's a creative, smart and sexy
police drama sure to resonate with audiences on both sides of the border."
    "Tassie, Ilana and the entire Copper team have crafted an exciting,
innovative new twist on the traditional cop franchise," said Noreen Halpern,
President, Dramatic Programming, E1 Entertainment. "This project is unusual.
While it was originally developed with Canwest, ABC has been actively
involved, early on, since the pitching stage. The result has been a series
with a truly international sensibility and E1 couldn't be more excited about
what this augurs for the future of international co-productions."
    Vancouver's Missy Peregrym (Reaper, Heroes) portrays Andy McNally, a
young woman who has grown up fast and carries a gun, but feels like a fraud
half the time. She comes from a police family and all she's ever wanted to be
is a cop. A born rescuer, Andy is the soul of the close-knit group of five
rookie officers plunged into the high stakes world of big city policing - a
world where even the smallest mistake can have life-or-death consequences.
    Joining Missy is Gregory Smith (Everwood) whose character, Dov Epstein,
is the thrill-seeker in the group. After spending many years watching Starsky
& Hutch as a sickly child sucking on his asthma inhaler, he is now living his
dream and is thoroughly jacked to be a cop. Enuka Okuma (24) plays Traci Nash,
a girl from a working class family raised in a tough neighbourhood. She is a
serious party girl and a single mother, a fact she's hiding from her
colleagues. Travis Milne (My Green House) is Chris Diaz, the police poster boy
-- handsome, athletic, clean-cut. A good soldier with a surprising temper,
Chris follows orders and believes in defending the weak.
    Charlotte Sullivan (M.V.P.) is Gail Peck, the group's politico, whose
mother is a superintendent next in line to be Chief of Police. Coming from cop
royalty, she is determined not to let her parents down, no matter what it
takes.
    The all-Canadian cast is rounded out by Ben Bass (Would Be Kings), Eric
Johnson (Smallville), Matt Gordon (Rent-A-Goalie), Noam Jenkins (Flashpoint),
Melanie Nicholls King (Law & Order: Special Victims Unit) and Aidan Devine
(M.V.P.).
    Celebrated Canadian producer Ilana Frank (Would be Kings) serves as the
series Executive Producer. Gemini Award winning screenwriter Tassie Cameron
(Flashpoint) will undertake the roles of Copper's showrunner and head writer.
E1 Entertainment's Noreen Halpern (Hung) and John Morayniss (Hung) round out
the team as Executive Producers.
    Alongside Cameron, Copper was co-created by award-winning writers Ellen
Vanstone (At the Hotel) and Morwyn Brebner (Hotel Metropolitan). Copper's
directing team is comprised of notable Gemini Award winning directors with
David Wellington (Queer as Folk, The Eleventh Hour) taking the helm directing
five episodes followed by, John Fawcett (Da Vinci's Inquest), Charles Biname
(Hunt for Justice) and Alex Chapple (Law and Order).
    E1 Entertainment handles the international distribution for the series.

    About Canwest Originals:

    Canwest is the proud home of the most diverse slate of Canadian Original
programs across the Dramatic, Lifestyle and Entertainment genres. As a
steadfast supporter of the Canadian production community, Canwest is dedicated
to bringing the best of the country to audiences nationwide - including award
winning shows such as; The Guard, Howie Do It, Sarah's House, Holmes on Homes,
X-Weighted, Kenny vs. Spenny, and the nation's number one entertainment
newsmagazine Entertainment Tonight Canada.

    About Canwest Broadcasting:

    Canwest Broadcasting operates two conventional television networks,
Global Television and E!, and eighteen of the country's most popular specialty
channels, including HGTV, Mystery TV, National Geographic Channel, Showcase,
History and TVtropolis. Canwest Broadcasting is a division of Canwest Media
Inc.

    About Canwest Media Inc.:

    Canwest Media Inc is a subsidiary of Canwest Global Communications Corp.
(www.canwest.com; TSX: CGS and CGS.A). An international media company, Canwest
is Canada's largest publisher of paid English language daily newspapers and
owns, operates and/or holds substantial interests in conventional television,
out-of-home advertising, specialty cable channels, web sites and radio
stations in Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Turkey, Indonesia, Singapore, and
the United States.

    About Thump Inc.:

    Thump Inc. was established in 1998 by Ilana Frank, one of Canada's most
celebrated and respected producers of long form drama, to produce the feature
film the The Life Before This (1998), starring Stephen Rea, Catherine O'Hara,
Sarah Polley and Joe Pantoliano. Catherine O'Hara went on to win a Genie Award
for her role in the film.
    In 2001, Frank moved into dramatic series television production as the
Co-Creator and Executive Producer of The Eleventh Hour, a 13-part one hour
dramatic television series set in the world of Investigative Journalists at a
major television network. Over the course of its run, The Eleventh Hour was
nominated for more than thirty Gemini Awards, and won more than fifteen
Gemini's in all major categories including Best Writer, Director and Actor.
    In 2007 Frank produced the powerful four-hour mini-series Would Be Kings
directed by David Wellington, starring Ben Bass, Currie Graham and Natasha
Henstridge who won the Gemini Award for Best Actress. Recent television
projects include Of Murder and Memory, a made-for-television movie for CTV and
Lifetime starring Annabeth Gish (Brotherhood, The West Wing), Chandra West
(John from Cincinnati, NYPD Blue), Hugh Dillon (Durham County, Flashpoint) and
a one-hour drama pilot for Showcase entitled Clean.

    About E1 Entertainment:

    E1 Entertainment (AIM: ETO) is a leading independent entertainment
content owner that acquires film, television and music rights and exploits
these rights in all media in more than 190 countries.
    The company currently operates in Canada, the U.S., the UK, Holland and
Belgium through its four primary businesses units: E1 Television, E1 Films, E1
Music and E1 Distribution. These businesses collectively represent E1's
extensive expertise in film distribution, television and music
production/distribution, Kids content, Licensing and Distribution.
    E1's content library includes more than 3,700 feature films, 2,700 hours
of original television programming and 15,000 music tracks.

For further information: For media inquiries, please contact: E1 USA,
Pam Wilson, Ink Media Corporation, Tel: (818) 655-6010, Cell: (310) 849-7303,
pam.wilson@inkmediacorp.com; Canwest Broadcasting, Grace Park, Global
Television, Tel: (416) 967-2484, Cell: (416) 543-5869, gpark@globaltv.com;
Holmes Creative Communications Inc., Samantha Taus, Beth Sulman, Unit
Publicity, Tel: (416) 628-5612, Cell: (416) 557-2207, (416) 628-5602, Cell:
(416) 434-5259, staus@hccink.com, bsulman@hccink.com; ABC Television Network:
Cathy Rehl, Tel: (212) 456-6749, cathy.rehl@abc.com