Corporate body

Muse Entertainment (Firm)

1998-

Muse Entertainment Enterprises Inc. is an independent Canadian film and television production company based in Montréal, Québec. Founded in 1998 by President and CEO Michael Prupas, Muse has produced, co-produced or provided production services on over 150 television movies and mini-series, television series and feature films both domestically and internationally. Muse Entertainment provides the services of legal and management consultants who specialize in financial structuring, tax credits and incentive funds. The company works in co-productions with counterparts and creative teams in countries such as the U.S.A., Australia, Great Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, Sweden, Romania and South Africa. In 2000, a distribution arm was established: Muse Distribution International brings Muse Entertainment and other productions to a worldwide audience.

In 1998, Pebblehut Productions Inc. became the Muse affiliate in Toronto. Marilyn Stonehouse and Susan Murdoch founded Pebblehut in 1995, and were subsequently joined by Edythe Hall in 1996. Pebblehut’s principals have been represented on the Muse management board since then. Dogwood Pictures Inc. has been the Muse affiliate in Vancouver. Other company names affiliated with Muse have included Finances Film Canada, and Pearson Television International.

Michael Prupas is President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Muse Entertainment Enterprises Inc. He has a longstanding connection to McGill. He holds a BA, B.C.L., and LL.B. from McGill University. He established the first entertainment law course at McGill University’s Faculty of Law, and taught this course from 1997 to 2002. He practiced entertainment law at the law firm Heenan Blaikie for twenty years, where he was head of their entertainment law practice and senior partner. His experience and knowledge in the field of entertainment law led Prupas to form Muse Entertainment Enterprises Inc. in 1998 and the company quickly established itself as a successful organization in both domestic and international arenas.

At the time this fonds was acquired, other key executive positions at Muse were held by Jesse Prupas, VP Development and Distribution; Lorri Faughnan, VP Business Affairs; Sandy Jession, Chief Financial Officer; Irene Litinsky, head of Quebec production. Over the years, individuals holding management board positions at Muse have included Michael Jaffe, Pierre-Marc Johnson, and Howard Braunstein.

Muse productions have received prestigious domestic and international nominations and awards, including Gemini, Genie, Golden Globe and Emmy Awards. Human Trafficking won the Gemini Award for Best Dramatic Mini-Series and the Director’s Guild of Canada Team Award for Outstanding Television Movie/Mini-Series in 2006. The critically acclaimed television show Homicide: Life
on the Streets won several Emmy Awards for casting, directing, writing and acting, as well as three Peabody Awards for excellence in television broadcasting. Their television productions including This is Wonderland (2005) and Savage Messiah (2003) have also won several best-acting awards.

Muse Entertainment continues to bring award winning productions to an international audience. Since 2007 Muse has produced or co-produced acclaimed productions such as Durham County (winner of 5 Gemini Awards, 2008); the Bob Dylan bio-picture I’m Not There (winner of the Venice Film Festival CinemAvvenire Award for Best Film 2008); the 8 hour mini-series The Pillars of the Earth (nominated for 3 Emmy Awards and the Producer’s Guild of America Award, 2010). The controversial 4-part historical drama, The Kennedys airs in April 2011.