21 June 2008
CASTING CALL!
X-Weighted: Families
Are you tired of being the chubby kid? Are you a parent worried about your children’s weight and troubled by your own flab? Are you sick of the excuses and the judgments of others? If you’re ready to take on the challenge of unplugging PlayStations, saying “NO” to fast food, and dragging you and your family – kicking and screaming if necessary – into a healthy, active lifestyle, the producers of the weight-loss series X-Weighted want you!
Airing on Slice™, X-Weighted is a series of one-hour documentaries about individuals fighting their unique personal war on fat. For its upcoming fourth season, X-Weighted is looking for entire families ready to come to terms with their unhealthy reality. Each episode will follow a different family in their struggles and successes in effecting positive change in their own lives over a period of four months. We’re looking for families who want to go from fat to fit, inspiring both themselves and audiences everywhere.
If your family:
- Is frank and feisty;
- Wants to shed excess weight;
- Is sick of living an unhealthy lifestyle and wants to make positive changes;
- Has children between the ages of 8 and 17, and;
- Lives in Vancouver, Calgary, or Edmonton,
To apply, please download and complete the questionnaire and submit with a recent full-length family photo or individual photos to Karrie, via:
EMAIL: karrie@anaid.com
FAX: 780-465-0580
Or MAIL:X-Weighted IV
c/o Anaid Productions Inc.
208, 3132 Parsons Road
Edmonton, AB T6N 1L6
Applications must be received by our office no later than September 2, 2008.
Participant Application Questionnaire
Anaid Productions is also looking for both a Medical Doctor and a Family Therapist / Psychologist to appear as on-camera experts in X-Weighted Season IV.
Expert Recruitment Information
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21 April 2008
X-Weighted nominated for Banff Rockie Award.
Edmonton, AB. X-Weighted joined an elite group of 100 international television
programs nominated for a Banff World Television Rockie Award last Thursday.
9 April 2008
X-Weighted Breaks the Weight-Loss Scales. Season III premieres Wednesday, May 7 on SLICE.
Edmonton, AB. A record-setting 809 lbs. came off the scales in Season III of X-Weighted, Slice™’s hit weight-loss documentary series which starts airing 13 brand new episodes starting Wednesday May 7 at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
18 March 2008
Anaïd Productions Expands West.
Edmonton, AB. Edmonton’s Anaïd Productions is expanding into Vancouver this summer according to the company’s president Margaret Mardirossian.
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21 January 2008
The Family Restaurant Season III - Production Launches WITH BIG LUCK.
Edmonton, AB. Old-style elegance and family warmth are the hallmarks of The Lingnan, the eating establishment featured in Season III of The Family Restaurant, the hit documentary series returning to Food Network in January 2009. Filming gets underway in Edmonton on Saturday January 26, launched with the traditional Big Luck Ceremony that heralds the start-up of important Chinese projects.
19 December 2007
Alberta's Booming Oil Industry Takes the Spotlight When The Rig: Oil Sands Premieres December 26 on OLN.
Climb into the middle of an amazing crew of oil workers when The Rig: Oil Sands premieres Wed., Dec. 26 at 9 p.m. ET/11 p.m. PT on OLN. The second season reunites us with 31-year-old Donny MacPhee, the tough-minded, straight-shooting rig manager from season one.
5 July 2007
OLN Original Series "The Rig" Begins Production on Second Season
Edmonton, AB (July 5, 2007) – OLN together with Edmonton based Anaid Productions announced today that principal photography has started on season 2 of the original OLN series “The Rig: Oil Sands.” In the new season, travel to the Athabasca oil sands belt on Bigstone Cree Nation land in the Wabasca/Desmarais area of Alberta where hundreds of young people struggle to hit pay dirt in the greatest blue-collar cash haul since the gold rush.
30 June 2007
X-Weighted Returns to the Scales July 5
Edmonton, AB/Toronto, ON (June 19, 2007) – Thirteen brand new episodes of Slice™’s hit weight-loss documentary series X-Weighted is on deck to inspire a whole new wave of Canadians seeking the motivation to get off the couch, get out of the fridge, get on their bikes and begin a new life. X-Weighted Season II premieres Thursday July 5 at 8 p.m. ET/PT. (Check local listings).
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27 June 2007
X-Weighted finds 13 new stories in Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg
Edmonton, AB (June 27, 2007) – Thirteen new weight-loss journeys begin this week in Toronto, Calgary and Winnipeg for participants who have signed up for the third season of Slice’s hit television series X-Weighted.
17 May 2007
The Family Restaurant is searching for new family restaurateurs for third season on Food Network Canada
Edmonton, AB – Seeking lively, loud, outspoken, fun-loving, camera-friendly families who
run their own restaurant and are unafraid to share their passion for family, culture, and
their business with an adoring television audience.
Application Questionnaire
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12 April 2007
BSKYB Acquires Exclusive UK Rights to "X-Weighted" - Season Two From Picture Box Distribution
Toronto, ON – Picture Box Distribution announces that British Dky Broadcasting has acquired the exclusive UK broadcase rights to season two of "X-Weighted".
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26 March 2007
"The Rig" honoured by Petroleum History Society
Edmonton, AB – Anaïd Productions is to receive the Petroleum History Society’s Preservation Award for its portrayal of the lives of riggers in its OLN series The Rig.
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22 February 2007
The Rig hits pay dirt with second season on OLN
Edmonton, AB – The Rig is back. OLN’s 13-part series revealing the real-life drama behind Alberta’s oil industry hit its own form of black gold – a following.
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10 February 2007
Casting Call for X-Weighted and Taking it Off
Edmonton, AB – The producers of X-WEIGHTED and TAKING IT OFF are searching for overweight participants with unique, affecting and inspiring stories to share and explore.
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4 January 2007
Anaïd Productions Finds the Way - David Way to become Anaïd's VP, Production and Development
Edmonton, AB – Anaïd Productions is delighted to announce the newest addition to the team, David Way, as Vice President of Production and Development (Factual Programming) effective January 2, 2007.
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30 October 2006
X-Weighted Season II exposes cross-country weight-loss
Edmonton, AB – After an exhaustive search of six Canadian cities, Anaid Productions
found 13 new participants who have invited the world into their lives as they share their dramatic weight-loss struggles on camera for Season II of Life Network’s X-Weighted.
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14 September 2006
OLN Exposes The Wildcat World of Alberta's Oil Rigs
Toronto, ON – There are fortunes to be made in the oil fields of Alberta, but working on a rig is a filthy, backbreaking job. Enter the world of Alberta’s oil industry and find out which “riggers” will hack it long enough to reap the rewards and make a career for themselves amidst the black gold, on OLN’s original 13-part series The Rig, airing Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/10:30 p.m. PT beginning Oct. 19.
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5 September 2006
The Family Restaurant is back for a Fall Feast
Edmonton, Alberta - Chaos reigns right off the top in Season II of the Anaïd Productions hit documentary series The Family Restaurant, when fiery Greek restaurateur Yianni Psalios and his family return to Food Network Canada for 10 brand-new episodes starting Monday, October 2, at 9 p.m. ET. The first season’s six episodes will be aired back-to-back on Sunday, October 1 at 8 p.m. ET..
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31 August 2006
Family Restaurant up for Gemini Award
Edmonton, AB--The Family Restaurant, the Food Network’s hit documentary series, is up for a Gemini Award. Sophie Mardirossian has been nominated for Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series, for her work on Episode 1004, “Echoes of Cyprus.”
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01 June 2006
X-Weighted Searching for New Participants
Edmonton, AB/Toronto, ON--Anaid Productions, producers of the popular weight-loss documentary series X-Weighted, is announcing a casting call for the second season of X-Weighted, slated to air over 13 episodes on Life Network during the 2007 broadcast year. Casting calls are set to take place in Vancouver, Kelowna, Calgary, Edmonton, Toronto and Halifax June 23-25, 2006. Based on response to the casting call, the producers will narrow down production to three of these cities.
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The Rig
OLN together with Edmonton-based Anaid Productions announced today that production has started on The Rig, a new 13-part, 30-minute original series that explores the wildcat world of Alberta oil rigs. This documentary series will follow 5-6 members of the rig’s 16-person crew and their numerous support staff across a number of oil fields throughout central Alberta.
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Bulge-Busting Like Never Before
Fresh from the producers of the Gemini Award-winning series Taking It Off, X-Weighted is a new weight-loss series featuring 13 one-hour chronicles about adult Canadians fighting their individual war on fat. X-Weighted makes its debut on Life Network Sunday, April 9 at 5 pm ET during a special programming marathon. The series will air weekly Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET beginning April 11.
The Family Restaurant on Food Network Canada
ANAÏD PRODUCTIONS SERVES UP THE FAMILY RESTAURANT ON FOOD NETWORK CANADA, DEBUTING OCTOBER 3 — New documentary series simmers with Greek spirit and passion—
X-Weighted starts production in Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver
Production has begun in Halifax, Calgary and Vancouver on Anaid Productions' newest documentary series, X-Weighted. The 13-part, one-hour series probes the lives of 13 Canadian adults who are fed up with being fat, as they strain to transform themselves physically and emotionally through weight loss. New documentary series a triumphant showcase to winning the war on weight
1 March 2005
The Family Restaurant
Edmonton’s Anaid Productions is behind the scenes once again, but this time their cameras are sniffing out the drama served up by the fiery Yianni Psalios and his family-run Greek restaurants in a 6 x 30 minute documentary series called THE FAMILY RESTAURANT for the Food Network.
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14 December 2004
Taking It Off Viewers are Biggest Winners on New Year's Day
Taking It Off takes on its own new look starting New Year’s Day 2005 when Life Network gives viewers a sneak preview (3 p.m. ET, repeats 10 p.m. ET) of Season Four, which gets into full swing with 13 all-new one-hour episodes on Saturday, January 15 at 3:00 p.m. ET. The portions are bigger and the drama wider as Taking It Off expands to two cities (Calgary and Halifax), 10 participants and one hour of quirky, poignant and galvanizing television. The new episodes will premiere Saturdays at 3 p.m. ET and then repeat Sundays at 7 and 11 p.m. ET and Wednesdays at 12 p.m. ET.
23 June 2004
New series seeking Edmonton's next teen comedy stars
Edmonton, AB--So, you think you're funny? The Second City and Edmonton's Anaid Productions want to know for sure! They are looking for 16 talented Edmonton teens aged 14-19, who will write and perform skits for a half-hour sketch comedy show called LMAO TV. The new show, to be written and performed for teens by teens, takes its inspiration from such hit comedies as MAD TV, SCTV, and Saturday Night Live.
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24 March 2004
Weight Loss + Time Travel = Award Nominations
Edmonton AB - Tackling the real life challenge of weight-loss and the fantasy world of time travel has proved to be a successful combination for Edmonton’s Anaid Productions. Mentors and Taking It Off have been nominated for a number of Rosies at this year’s Alberta Film and Television Awards.
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22 October 2003
Gemini win adds heft to hit weight-loss series
Edmonton AB - Winning a Gemini Award for Best Lifestyle/General Interest Series only adds to the inspirational heft behind Taking It Off, the hit documentary series that follows six participants over six months as they struggle against life’s challenges on their path to weight loss. (see release for further information)
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29 May 2003
ANAID PRODUCTIONS ANTICIPATES RECORD GROWTH
Announces Production Activity for 2003-2004
Edmonton, Alberta - Margaret Mardirossian, founder and president of Edmonton-based Anaid Productions, celebrated the company’s tenth anniversary today with news of continued growth and expansion. In addition to the company’s continuing television series, plans are in development for four different major projects during the next 12 months. (see release for further information)
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02 April 2003
Become a Participant on Taking It Off Season 3!
Taking It Off Season 3: Call for Participants
April 25th & 26th, 2003
12:00pm until 8:00pm
Commonwealth Stadium Sports & Fitness Centre (11000 Stadium Road)
Edmonton, Alberta
See the Special Report for details.
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06 December 2002 (updated 02January 2003)
Life is Taking It Off Again!
A New Year, a new you. Everyone seems to make that New Year’s resolution to lose weight but finds it hard to stay motivated. No more. Starting January 6th at 9:00 PM EST, audiences can tune into Season Two of Taking It Off on Life Network and be inspired weekly by six Canadians as they struggle against the challenges everyday life throws at them on their path to weight loss and wellness. There will also be a special marathon broadcast of Season One on January 5th from 11:30AM to 6:00PM EST on Life Network. Produced by Anaïd Productions, Taking It Off is the hit weight loss documentary series that follows ordinary people grappling with often extraordinary circumstances while striving to change their lifestyles. (see release for further information)
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26 September 2002
Best Series Nomination for Mentors
(Edmonton, Alberta)…Anaid Productions and Minds Eye Pictures are delighted to announce the nomination of their hit family series, Mentors, for a Gemini Award in the "Best Children’s or Youth Fiction Program or Series" category. This is the third year in a row that Mentors has received a Gemini nomination and all fingers are crossed that one more Gemini will grace the mantel, joining the two others won for Best Writing in a Children’s or Youth Series (Gerard Lewis) and Best Performance in a Children’s or Youth Program (Matt Frewer). (see release for further information)
For more information, please contact:
Larissa Banting APR, Publicist
(780) 619-6510
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15 April 2002
Take it Off on TV
Edmonton, Alberta - Local television and film company ANAID Productions is inviting the public to become part of the lifestyle documentary series, Taking It Off. A select group of Edmontonians chosen from an open casting call, will be followed by a television crew for six months, documenting their personal journeys to weight loss and wellness.
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08 April 2002
Mentors Earns Most Nods for Alberta Motion Picture and Television Awards
The Alberta Motion Pictures Industry Association (AMPIA) announced on April 4 the nominees for the annual television and film industry awards, and the children’s series Mentors leads all entries with nine nominations. The series was recognized in all the major categories including Best Series, Best Director, (Francis Damberger), Outstanding Performance by a Male (Chad Krowchuk) and creator Josh Miller for Best Script.
