Happy New Year!

A "Happy New Year" to all readers of The Alberta Movie Guide! Thanks for all the support during the past year while I continued to learn more about Alberta's film industry, the history and people behind it, and future productions and initiatives. Your e-mails, stories, and positive comments provide welcome encouragement to soldier on.

To measure the effectiveness of the blog, I've been analyzing the site's stats during 2005. It's exciting to see that readers are visiting from all over the world, (not just Albertans who are curious about being casted in productions) and that other film industries are watching Alberta in hopes of emulating our success. This is proof that the blog is having the desired effects I was aiming for:

Local and internationl promotion in support of the province's Film Commissions,

providing information for potential cast and crew, and

fostering appreciation for Alberta's film and television production legacy.

As I continue to develop the book version of The Alberta Movie Guide, I've also found it immensely helpful to have this blog as a repository of stories and news about the industry. However, this resource wouldn't be possible without the many talented (and dedicated) reporters, photographers, reviewers, and industry personnel that provide the articles and news about our film business.

Since I'm a proud Albertan who holds a stake in film and television production in our province, I look forward to continuing to promote our talent, locations, and crews in 2006. I hope you'll be able to continue the journey with us.

Cheers!