La Presse
Wednesday 16th March 1994
Roy Dupuis in an American series - more than probable
If the pilot programme passes the test, Roy Dupuis will partner Kelly McGillis in a television series conceived in Canada for the American network ABC. This was revealed yesterday to La Presse by the spokesman for Alliance Vivafilm, Pierre Brousseau. The American network ABC, he said, has signed an agreement for a pilot of a new weekly hour long drama series entitled Dark Eyes, produced by Alliance. ABC will handle the distribution.
It depends on the pilot, M. Brousseau stated, but when this represents two to three million dollars, it’s a sign that they intend to pursue it. Roy Dupuis went to Los Angeles to do the requisite screen tests; they found over there that he had a "winning personality" and he didn’t have to fight to impress.
Kelly McGillis, who has been seen in Witness, The Accused and Top Gun, will herself be making her television debut.
Dark Eyes, conceived by Barbara Samuels and Wayne Grisby, two screenwriters at Alliance, tells the story of a policewoman who heads up a unit fighting organised crime, but who, on a personal front, has a lot of difficulty living the life of a single mother, her marriage having failed. Roy Dupuis will play the role of her partner. For the actor who is "on the boil", this may be the entrance to his dreamed-of career in the United States.
This is not Alliance’s first dealings with the American networks. The company has also produced or co-produced Night Heat, Black Stallion, Counterstrike (with Christopher Plummer) and North of 60.