Leila Basen

Leila Basen (born 1955) is a Canadian film and television writer and producer, most noted as one of the writers of the 2006 comedy film Bon Cop, Bad Cop.^[1]

A graduate of York University, she began her career as a writer for the CBC Television sitcoms King of Kensington and Hangin' In.^[2] She later wrote the screenplays for films such as Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid^[3] and Killing 'em Softly.^[2] balancing her writing career with her family life with theatre director Alexander Hausvater.^[2]

She was predominantly a television writer thereafter,^[2] writing scripts for series such as Urban Angel, Max Glick, Street Legal, Road to Avonlea, African Skies, Bob and Margaret, Ready or Not, Riverdale, Emily of New Moon and Blackfly.^[4]

After Bon Cop, Bad Cop she returned to television, serving as a writer and producer on Heartland, Strange Empire and Big Top Academy.

Awards

She received a Gemini Award nomination for Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series at the 9th Gemini Awards in 1995, for the Ready or Not episode "Am I Perverted or What?"^[5]

For Bon Cop, Bad Cop, Basen and co-writers Alex Epstein, Patrick Huard and Kevin Tierney received a Jutra Award nomination for Best Screenplay at the 9th Jutra Awards,^[6] and won the Canadian Comedy Award for Pretty Funny Film Writing at the 8th Canadian Comedy Awards.^[7]

References

^ Peter Howell, "Guns, bon mots bridge two solitudes". Toronto Star, August 18, 2016.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "TV scripts earn living for `housewife'". Montreal Gazette, September 8, 1991.
^ Stan Shatenstein, "Your Ticket Is No Longer Valid". Cinema Canada, December–January 1979.
^ Monique Pollack, "Screenwriter on her own odyssey". Calgary Herald, October 31, 1994.
^ "The 1995 Gemini nominees". Playback, January 30, 1995.
^ Brendan Kelly, "‘Cop,’ ‘Sunday’ lead Jutra nominations". Variety, January 23, 2007.
^ James Reaney, "2007 Canadian Comedy Awards". London Free Press, October 13, 2007.