Allan Novak
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Allan Novak is a Canadian television director and editor. Mostly known for "The Newsroom", "Punched up", "Naked News Uncoved" and "Guys and Gurus".


Biography

Born in
Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...
,
Manitoba Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...
, Novak moved to
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
at age 20 and earned a
Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students pursuing a professional education in the visual arts, Fine art, or performing arts. In some instances, it is also called a Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA). Background ...
degree in film and television at
York University York University (), also known as YorkU or simply YU), is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's third-largest university, and it has approximately 53,500 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, ...
. He lives in Toronto.


Vocation

Novak and Toronto comedian Bruce Bell created a one-hour television movie called ''The Rise and Fall of Tony Trouble,'' which screened at the 1984
Toronto International Film Festival The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world. Founded in 1976, the festival takes place every year in early September. The organi ...
and was broadcast on Group W Cable in Manhattan. It has been described as a "cult classic." While working as a producer/editor for First Choice, Novak produced a series of comedy videos with voice actor Ron Rubin. They won awards at the Video Culture International New Media Festival in 1985 and 1986. Novak was described by the ''Toronto Star'' as one of "the world of entertainment's newest crop of movers and shakers." He produced comedy videos in the mid-1980s for Toronto's
The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise. It is the oldest improvisational theater troupe to be continuously based in Chicago, with training programs and live theaters in Toronto and New York. Since its debut in 1959, it has b ...
. Novak worked on the 1985
Genie Award The Genie Awards were given out annually by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television to recognize the best of Canadian cinema from 1980–2012. They succeeded the Canadian Film Awards (1949–1978), known as the "Etrog Awards" for sculptor ...
telecast as a writer, and was nominated for the 1986 Gemini Awards. He began directing a children's music video and comedy series called ''Vid Kids'' for M&M Productions in 1986 and then ''
The Elephant Show ''The Elephant Show'' (from the second season onward, ''Sharon, Lois & Bram's Elephant Show'') is a Canadian preschool television show. It premiered on CBC on October 8, 1984, and ended on February 26, 1989, after 65 episodes over five seasons. ...
'' for Cambium Productions. He later directed episodes for Breakthrough Films & Television's ''
The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon ''The Adventures of Dudley the Dragon'' is a Canadian children's television series which aired on YTV in Canada and on public television stations (through Tampa, Florida PBS member station WEDU) in the United States. It aired from 1993 to 1997 a ...
'', Arts and Youth for
TVOntario TVO (stylized in all lowercase as tvo), formerly known as TVOntario, is a Canadian Public broadcasting, publicly funded English-language educational television network and media organization serving the Canadian province of Ontario. It operates ...
, ''
OWL/TV OWL/TV is a Canadian children's educational television series that aired on CBC, from 1985 to 1990, and then later on CTV, from 1990 to 1994. It focused on nature and science discovery, emphasizing to viewers how they can affect their own envi ...
'' for CTV, and ''Dealing with Drugs'' and ''Mission Reading'', both for TVOntario. In 1986 Novak directed and edited comedy segments for a
CBC Television CBC Television (also known as CBC TV, or simply CBC) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English-language terrestrial television, broadcast television network owned by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, the national public broadcasting, p ...
summer series called '' It's Only Rock & Roll.'' Notable on the series were several location-based sketches that Novak directed featuring
Mike Myers Michael John Myers, (born May 25, 1963) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. His accolades include seven MTV Movie & TV Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2002, he was awarded a star on the Hollywood W ...
as 'Wayne Campbell' and another that debuted Myers' well-known 'Dieter' character - later to appear on 'Sprockets' on
Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
. Another sketch Novak directed featured Second City's Dana Andersen and Bob Bainbourough as
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English musician. He is known as the lead singer and one of the founder members of The Rolling Stones. Jagger has co-written most of the band's songs with lead guitarist Keith Richards; Jagge ...
and
Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943) is an English musician, songwriter, singer and record producer who is an original member, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-principal songwriter of the Rolling Stones. His songwriting partnership wi ...
. It was reviewed as: "surely the funniest three minutes you are likely to see on the CBC this summer. Maybe even the year." In 1989 Novak edited the first season of the Canadian comedy series '' The Kids in the Hall'' and then directed location comedy segments for the Newfoundland-based series ''
CODCO ''CODCO'' is a Canadian comedy troupe from Newfoundland, best known for a sketch comedy series which aired on CBC Television from 1988 to 1993.Salter Street Films Salter Street Films was a Canadian television and film production company based in Halifax, Nova Scotia. History Salter Street Films was founded by brothers Paul and Michael Donovan in 1983. Paul was trained as a director at the London Film S ...
. In 1995, he began collaboration with writer-producer-director
Ken Finkleman Ken Finkleman (born 1946) is a Canadian television and film writer, producer, director, actor, and novelist. Biography Finkleman was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba. In Canada, Finkleman is best known as the writer, creator and producer of the CBC ...
on a series of television programs over the next five years. Novak edited: '' Married Life'' which received a Cable ACE nomination for best editing; '' The Newsroom'', season one, a Gemini award winner for best editing; ''
More Tears ''More Tears'' is a 1998 seriocomedy television series that was broadcast by CBC Television, as a short run programme; it was written and produced by Ken Finkleman following the success of '' The Newsroom'' (1996), and was partly a remake of '' ...
'', '' Foolish Heart'' and '' Foreign Objects''. The ''Globe and Mail'' columnist John Haslett Cuff called '' The Newsroom'' "the hippest and most hilarious show the CBC or any network has produced," and other critics credited Novak's contributions to the structure and pacing as being a significant part of their success. Toronto arts columnist John Allemang said: "Allan Novak's compressed editing did much to give Ken Finkleman's satire its distinctive look" In 1999, Allan created the
Gemini award The Gemini Awards were awards given by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television between 1986–2011 to recognize the achievements of Canada's English-language television industry. The Gemini Awards are analogous to the Emmy Awards given in t ...
-winning ''Loving Spoonfuls,'' a cooking and culture series about grandmothers, for Winnipeg-based WTN network. The show was renewed for a total of 65 episodes and has been licensed to broadcasters in Finland, Italy, New Zealand, Israel, Nigeria, Singapore, South Korea, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Brunei and Singapore. Novak then founded his own company, Indivisual Productions. In 2002, Novak was executive producer and director of ''The Joke's on Us - 50 Years of CBC Satire.'' The 90-minute special was nominated for a Best Direction in a Variety Special Gemini award. The next year Allan was executive producer of ''The Joe Blow Show,'' a Gemini-nominated pilot for
The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy) is a Canadian English-language discretionary specialty channel owned by BCE Inc. subsidiary Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming and operates two time-shifted feeds, runni ...
; he also helped create ''Second Time Around,'' a 13-episode comedy reality series for
W Network W Network (often shortened to W) is a Canadian English language discretionary specialty channel owned by Corus Entertainment. The channel primarily broadcasts general entertainment programming oriented towards a female audience. W Network was ...
, with host David Gale. As a freelance director, Novak's credits in the 2000s included ''
Puppets Who Kill ''Puppets Who Kill'' is a Canadian television comedy series produced by PWK Productions and originally broadcast on The Comedy Network. It premiered in Canada in 2002, and Australia on The Comedy Channel in 2004. It has also been broadcast in Ind ...
'' for The Comedy Network, '' Canada's Worst Handyman'' for
Discovery Channel (Canada) Discovery Channel is a Canadian exempt discretionary service owned by Rogers Sports & Media. Based of the U.S. cable network of the same name, the channel focuses primarily on programming related to nature, science, and technology. History D ...
, and ''My Parent's House'' for HGTV. In 2006 and 2007 Novak created and produced ''Punched Up,'' a hybrid comedy-reality series for The Comedy Network. Novak then began a four-series relationship with Toronto broadcaster Ralph Benmergui. They co-created and co-produced ''5 Seekers,'' a reality series and Gemini nominee for Best Reality Series, ''Guides and Gurus'' (profiles of healers), ''Ralph Benmergui:My Israel'' (a five-part series on Israel), and ''God Bless America'' (religion and politics in America) Novak has been praised as an original creative force. He is a two-time winner of the
Banff World Television Festival Founded in 1979, the Banff World Media Festival (formerly known as the Banff World Television Festival) is an international media event held in the Canadian Rockies at the Fairmont Banff Springs Hotel in Banff, Alberta, Canada. The festival is ...
I-Pitch award (2004 and 2005), and is a two-term board member of the
Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is a Canadian non-profit organization created in 1979 to recognize the achievements of the over 4,000 Canadian cinema of Canada, film industry and television in Canada, television industry professionals ...
. Between September 2008 and August 2010, Novak was a vice president at
Temple Street Productions Temple Street Productions was a Toronto-based Canadian television & digital media production studio. Formed in 1996 by Patrick Whitley and Sheila Hockin, it was sold to Ivan Schneeberg and David Fortier—who had led the studio's drama unit since ...
, a Canadian production company partly owned by
BBC Worldwide BBC Worldwide Ltd. was the wholly owned commercial subsidiary of the BBC, formed out of a restructuring of its predecessor BBC Enterprises in January 1995. The company monetised BBC brands, selling BBC and other British programming for broadcas ...
. Responsible for the company's non-scripted television shows, branded entertainment, and factual programming, Novak developed and sold the concept for a series called '' Recipe to Riches'', which combined the supply chain of a major food manufacturer and store chain,
Loblaw Loblaw Companies Limited is a Canadian retailer encompassing corporate and franchise supermarkets operating under 22 regional and market-segment banners (including Loblaws), as well as pharmacies, banking and apparel. Loblaw operates a priva ...
, with a reality TV concept. In each episode, a new food product was created and launched in the stores the following weekend. The series aired on Shaw Media's Global TV and Food Network Canada, and then on CBC Television. In 2011, Novak and producer-director Barri Cohen launched AllScreen Entertainment, a Canada-based production company.


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Novak, Allan Canadian television producers Canadian male television writers Canadian television writers Living people Screenwriters from Toronto Writers from Winnipeg Year of birth missing (living people) York University alumni Screenwriters from Manitoba Canadian Screen Award winning editors