North Country

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co is set to announce it is closing its two Australian auto plants and will cease production in the country by 2016 as it struggles with sliding sales, high costs and a strong Australian dollar, local media reported on Thursday.

Just For Laughs, the producer of the Montreal International Comedy Festival, has signed with UTA. The company was at CAA. Just For Laughs is looking to ramp up its production slate with stand-up specials, scripted and unscripted television and digital content and to expand into social media and licensing. Founded in 1983, the Just For Laughs Group is behind the Montreal comedy fest, which annually attracts more than 1.5 million attendees, with additional festivals in Toronto, Chicago and Sydney. Just For Laughs is a leading producer of stand-up comedy specials that have aired on CBC, The Comedy Network and HBO in Canada as well as the BBC and Channel Four in the UK and HBO, Fox, BBC America, TBS and Showtime in the U.S. The company also has produced original series including Bullet in the Face, starring Eddie Izzard, for IFC and The Tournament for CBC in Canada and Versus in the U.S.Just For Laughs currently has a scripted development deal at CTV in Canada and is in its second season producing the hidden-camera game show Deal With it for the W Network .On the Internet, JFL’s Gags channel on YouTube logs more than 4 million views per day. Just For Laughs also is involved with live shows (Canadian tour dates for Jerry Seinfeld and Louis C.K., North American dates ... Read More »