Briefs Magazine Sanctions Advance In Canada

The House of Commons passed a contentious bill Monday that would limit U.S. magazine operations in Canada, but the government indicated it was open to compromises to avert a trade war that would almost certainly extend to film and TV. The bill, which now goes to the Senate, would impose fines on foreign publishers who carried Canadian advertising in special "split run" Canadian editions of their magazines. The bill, which cleared the House of Commons on a 193-46 vote, has been assailed by the U.S. government.



Scott Thomas bookending Cannes festival

LONDON -- Kristin Scott Thomas will preside over the opening and closing night ceremonies at the 52nd Cannes International Film Festival in May. According to Canal Plus, Scott Thomas ("The Horse Whisperer," "The English Patient") has accepted the offer to follow in the footsteps of actress Isabelle Huppert last year. Canal Plus will broadcast the ceremonies live. Representatives for the festival and Scott Thomas could not be reached for comment. French news reports said Monday that the master of ceremonies will be formally unveiled April 22.



Streep's true for Gotham lifetime honor

Meryl Streep will receive the 1999 IFP Gotham Award for Lifetime Achievement. Event chairmen Bob and Harvey Weinstein will present the award at the ninth annual IFP Gotham Award ceremony Sept. 22. The awards celebrate New York as a filmmaking center and honor individuals who have excelled there. The ceremony takes place during the Independent Film Market sponsored by the Independent Feature Project. Streep has been nominated for Oscars 11 times, including this year for "One True Thing."



Flanagan senior vp editorial director at VH1

NEW YORK -- Bill Flanagan has been promoted to senior vp editorial director at VH1. Flanagan, who served as editor of the now defunct Musician magazine from 1985-95, was most recently vp editorial director at VH1. He is the executive producer of VH1's "Storytellers," "Legends" and "Midnight Minutes" series and the author of "Written in My Soul" and "U2 at the End of the World." Flanagan will continue to report to Jeff Gaspin, executive vp programming and production.



John, Turner partying with Caesar

Elton John and Tina Turner will launch New Year's Eve festivities in Las Vegas with a Dec. 30 concert in the newly remodeled Thomas & Mack Center. John and Turner will do separate sets and perform together onstage. Tickets range from $100-$600.



Fragetti chief finance officer for Miramax Talk Media

NEW YORK -- Veteran News Corp. executive Gerard Fragetti has been named chief financial officer of Miramax's Talk Media. He will oversee all financial and business operations for Talk Media, which includes Talk magazine and Talk Miramax Books. Fragetti was most recently chief financial officer of News Corp.'s direct marketing division. The premiere issue of Talk, a monthly general interest magazine edited by Tina Brown, will be on newsstands in August. Talk Miramax Books' first catalog will be out this fall.



Doyle's 'World' finds cable home at TNT

TNT has picked up the premiere commercial TV rights to TeleScene Film Group's and Village Roadshow Pictures Television's pilot movie "Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Lost World." The movie premiered recently on DirecTV as one of the first original pay-per-view productions. TNT will present the movie at 8 p.m. on Sunday, April 4.