Life Rights Secured for Paul Shaffer Documentary;
Producers Attached, UTA Independent Film Group Handling World Sales
“It’s about time someone did a documentary on Paul Shaffer.”
-Longtime friend and Godspell castmate, Eugene Levy
PRESS RELEASE
(Toronto, ON – Sept. 11, 2025) The life rights to Canadian music legend Paul Shaffer have been secured for a feature documentary, with three leading Canadian production companies set to bring his story to the screen.
The film, titled Say Hello to Our Good Friend Paul Shaffer, will be produced by Ballinran Entertainment, Grace Street Media, and White Pine Pictures. During the Toronto International Film Festival this past week, the producers met with UTA Independent Film Group, which has come on board to represent worldwide sales for the project.
Executive Producers are Vern Freedlander (Grace Street Media), Craig Thompson (Ballinran Entertainment), Peter Raymont and Stephen Paniccia (White Pine Pictures).
The film will chronicle Shaffer’s rise from Thunder Bay, Ontario, to the world stage; his start in Godspell, his years with the original Saturday Night Live Band, three decades as David Letterman’s bandleader and comic foil, and collaborations with icons including James Brown, Aretha Franklin, Sly Stone, and Ray Charles.
“I’ve been the luckiest guy in showbiz,” said Shaffer. “I’ve had a front-row seat to music history. This film isn’t just about me. It’s about the soundtrack of our lives, and how music connects, inspires, and remembers us.”
The rights signing was made between Paul Shaffer, Vern Freedlander, Craig Thompson, Peter Raymont, Stephen Paniccia.
About GRACE STREET MEDIA
Founded in 2016 by producer and technology executive Vern Freedlander, Grace Street Media is a Toronto-based production company and media consultancy focussing on niche content and streamed distribution. The company recognizes and responds to changing demographic, sociocultural and technological shifts in the media industries that are making it increasingly challenging to reach a mass audience. Grace Street focuses on strategically converting niche audiences into fan-centric communities through the hyper-curation of content to create highly targeted solutions in SVOD, AVOD, FAST channels, DOOH, and immersive.
Learn more at: gracestreetmedia.com
About BALLINRAN
Founded in 1995 by former journalist and foreign correspondent Craig Thompson, Ballinran Entertainment is celebrating 30 years as Southwestern Ontario’s most prolific and enduring film and television production studio. We specialize in captivating, cinematic documentary programming for Canadian broadcasters and global platforms including Netflix, Discovery, and Amazon. Notable productions include The Truth is in the Stars, Alex Trebek: Game Changers; Inside Wuhan, Exclusion: Beyond the Silence; Mostly Sunny and The Captains.
For three decades, our passion for illuminating extraordinary stories has taken us around the world. At the heart of Ballinran is a commitment to storytelling that inspires, informs, and entertains. Driven by deep industry expertise, journalistic curiosity, and a spirit of creative exploration, we continue to push boundaries through traditional production, immersive media, and innovative co-productions worldwide.
Learn more at: ballinran.com
About WHITE PINE PICTURES
Founded 46 years ago by Emmy-Award filmmaker Peter Raymont, White Pine Pictures is a Toronto-based film and television production company. Its documentary features include the Emmy and Sundance award-winning Shake Hands with the Devil and the Oscar short-listed Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould and A Promise to the Dead: The Exile Journey of Ariel Dorfman. White Pine Pictures produced the TIFF and DOC NYC 2019 Opening Night Gala film, Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band and the 2023 International Emmy Award-winning Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It. The widely broadcast TV drama series, The Border and Cracked were also produced by White Pine Pictures.
Learn more at: whitepinepictures.com