Montreal Canadiens planning movie: report
Last Updated: Sunday, September 3, 2006 | 4:53 PM ET
CBC Arts
The Montreal Canadiens hockey club plans to mark its 100th anniversary with a film on the history of the team, Le Journal de Montreal reported Sunday.
The proposed docudrama would hit theatres in the fall of 2008 — a year before the team's centennial season of 2009-10 — and would have a budget of $5 million, the French-language newspaper said, citing anonymous sources.
Club officials want to keep the project a secret, but the paper reported the Canadiens have reached a co-production deal with the Cite-Amerique production house.
Montreal Canadiens
The proposed two-hour movie is believed to be the first documenting the history of the team affectionately known as the "Habs."
The Rocket, a 2005 biopic portraying Canadiens legend Maurice Richard, was received favourably by most critics and audiences in Quebec, earning it a nationwide release last April.
One of the National Hockey League's "Original Six" teams, the Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times, more than any other NHL club. Among major North American professional sports teams, only baseball's New York Yankees have captured more league championships.
As part of their centennial celebrations, the Canadiens are planning to retire the sweater numbers of several former players, and the team has entered bids for both the NHL all-star game and entry draft in 2009.
With files from Canadian Press
