Refusing to comment on the decision that will be rendered Friday by the trustee of Juste Pour Rire, the firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers, Parent-Bédard nevertheless confirmed Wednesday that he would move forward with his foray into the metropolis. “Yes, we are launching in Montreal for our 25th anniversary with a festival which will take place from July 18 to 28 at Place des Arts and Place des festivals,” Parent-Bédard told Le Soleil, adding that the Montreal festival would have with a budget of 10 million dollars.
The ComediHa! Fest de Québec, which will take place just after, from August 1 to 24, has a budget of $18 million. “In Quebec, the event lasts longer, from 24 to 30 days, so we can say that in summary, the two festivals will have the same scope,” assures Parent-Bédard
Potential buyers
ComediHa! is one of five potential buyers of Just for Laughs with two groups from outside Canada, the consortium formed by Cirque du Soleil and KOTV, the production company of comedian Louis Morissette, and another composed of the Group Entourage, founded and chaired by Trois-Rivières Eric Young, a former member of Donald K. Donald and Juste Pour Rire, and an international company.
After Just for Laughs took shelter from its creditors on March 5, weighed down by debts of 50 million, ComediHa! had already resumed the production of three events produced by the Montreal festival, namely the musical Waitressthe recording of the show A boy like no other by Jean-Sébastien Girard and the JMP event with comedian Jean-Marc Parent, which took place every year at the Juste Pour Rire Festival and will be transported to Quebec during ComediHa! Fest this year.
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