LeiRen-Young.ca
Title
Mark Leiren-Young's Home Page
Description
Maybe it's the mountain air, the stellar views, the open bar and tables loaded with all manner of finger food. Maybe it's the complementary swimming facilities or the accessibility of the best little Irish pub in the West, but something happens to otherwise mild-mannered delegates when they land at the Banff Television Festival. Packing a swank, historic hotel with exuberant, dream-chasing youngsters and the seasoned, successful and sometimes jaded objects of their desire is a little like handing a ravenous carnivore an empty shopping cart and letting him loose in the aisles of Capers. Everything looks so good but they're not quite sure what to do with all that marinated, textured soy. I spoke to seasoned pros and absolute beginners and as I listened to their elaborate deal making stories I began to wonder if for a week every June the Banff Springs Hotel really does morph into some kind of Magic Kingdom.
Mark Leiren-Young is a journalist, as well as a playwright specializing in political satire. Recently, Mark has become a TV scribe. I caught up to him on the crowded hotel stairs, midway through the festival.
MLY: Terminal City launched everything for me in television because TC turned into The Nine o' clock Show which was a six part national variety series on CBC. Out of that I was hired to do the Gemini awards and an Olympic gala special and out of that I was hired to do the Juneau awards, the Genie awards, and a documentary on the history of magic called Grand Illusions. I'm here pitching animation projects I'm working on, and documentaries. I have screenplays that are in various stages of development hell...
