Langfield
Entertainment
88
Bloor Street E., Suite 2908, Toronto, ON
M4W 3G9
(416)
677-5883
langfieldent@rogers.com
www.langfieldentertainment.com
NEWSLETTER
Updated: February 2, 2006
Welcome
to February. Here in Toronto, we certainly can't complain about our mild
winter!
I've got a special CD giveaway this week. Thanks to Groove United and
DMD, I'm offering FIVE Wade O. Brown
CDs. The first five people to tell me the name of the first single from
his CD, WIN. CLICK HERE for a clue and CLICK HERE to respond!
Need a makeover - I mean a full makeover!? Check out your chance to win
one under OPPORTUNITY.
Tons of news including Canadian content in MUSIC NEWS,
FILM NEWS,
TV NEWS,
THEATRE NEWS,
and OTHER NEWS!
Have a read and a scroll! This newsletter is designed to give you some
updated entertainment-related news and provide you with our upcoming event
listings. Welcome to those who are new members. Want your
events listed by date? Check out EVENTS. Want to be removed
from the distribution, click REMOVE.
::HOT EVENTS::
KUUMBA
at Harbourfront Centre
KUUMBA means Creativity in Swahili. Celebrate African Heritage
Month with
Kuumba at Harbourfront Centre! Two fun-filled weekends of music,
film, concerts, workshops, kid’s activities, discussion panels and more await
you beginning Thursday, February 2nd!
Highlights include a rare live appearance by UK film and music
legend Don Letts, the Canadian Reggae Music Summit, Showcase and After party,
and the Donné Roberts CD release party. Calypso
legends Lord Superior, Mighty Sparrow, and Calypso Rose participate in a panel
discussion, workshops on Caribbean Indigenous and African contemporary dance,
culinary demonstrations with Chef Dwight Boswell and a celebrity
Cook-up with MuchMusic VJ Matte Babel and singer/songwriter Jully Black are
also scheduled.
For more information the public can call 416-973-4000 or visit www.harbourfrontcentre.com.
All Kuumba events are located at Harbourfront Centre (235 Queens
Quay West, Toronto), and are free unless otherwise noted.
|
Two jam-packed weekends filled with
celebration Join us for Kuumba, a festival of food, film,
readings, panel discussions, concerts, kid’s activities and more! Kuumba Film Kuumba Speaks Kuumba Reads Kuumba Moves |
Black History Month at Mardi Gras!
Mardi Gras Bistro:
This special New Orlean's style restaurant and entertainment hive has some exciting
talent lined
up ... and don't forget to try the baby back ribs and jambalaya -
I'm telling you, it will change your life!
What better way to celebrate this month than with good food, good people and
great entertainment. Check out the line-up below in a calendar
format. Chef Anthony Mair insists on flawless, unobtrusive service and has
managed to master this with his staff while earning their respect and still
delivering the undeniable level of excellence in his food preparations.
In celebration of Black History Month and Mardi Gras we are putting together a calendar of
events featuring some of the city's best and brightest musical talent.
February 2006
MARDI GRAS CELEBRATIONS
1982 Bloor St West
Just outside the High Park Subway Station
416.767.7246
Irie Food Joint – Urban Vanguard Art Showing – February 27, 2006
Regular
patrons of Toronto's Irie Food Joint Restaurant might have
noticed gregarious owner Carl Cassell has
been scarce lately. Little do most know, the business entrepreneur is usually
in the studio apartment just upstairs of the restaurant, preoccupied with
completing his latest works of art of 2006 - the Urban
Vanguard Series II.
The succession of 20 portraits represent for Cassell an emerging creative mass
in Canadian arts and entertainment. Some of his featured subjects include
filmmaker Clement Virgo, photographer
Michael Chambers, opera soprano Measha Brueggergosman, and some emerging
artists breaking ground. It's Cassell's belief these urbanites are in
their own work reflecting, exploring, challenging and/or obliterating popular
perceptions by way of sheer ingenuity. "The industry that defines
North America right now is entertainment," says Cassell.
Catch Carl's own vanguard innovation when he unveils his medium of creation --
a mode that has become his signature style.
Now, we all know that Carl knows how to throw a party so come out to the Urban
Vanguard Series II of 2006 which is slated for showing February 27 at the Irie
Food Joint.
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27
Urban Vanguard Series II
Irie Food Joint
745 Queen Street W.
9:00 pm
www.iriefoodjoint.com
::OPPORTUNITY::
Make Me Over Opportunity!
Do you or does someone you know someone
need a make-over? I mean the works! A really
fabulous make-over that includes cosmetic dentistry (we've spent as much
as $50,000) and/or laser eye surgery, non-evasive cosmetic work
such as chemical peels, botox and laser hair removal as well as professional
hair and make-up. Did I mention the wardrobe, a $500.00 wardrobe?
I just started work on a brilliant series for W
network and we are seeking women 20-55 with great stories for this uplifting
and transformational series. If you're interested or you'd like to submit
a friend or family member for consideration, please send a photo with age,
phone number, profession and a brief description of why you need a makeover to
me at this email address - kim@makemeover.tv.
Kim Kuhteubl
Make Me Over TV
We Remember Coretta Scott King
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 31, 2006) *Coretta Scott King,
widow of slain civil rights activist Martin
Luther King Jr., has died. She was 78. Last August Scott-King suffered a
stroke that left her weakened on her right side, unable to walk, and barely
able to speak. News of her death came from former US Ambassador and
Atlanta mayor Andrew Young this morning on the NBC show 'Today.' Asked how he
found out about her death, Young said, "I understand she was asleep last
night and her daughter tried to wake her up." King had been recovering at
home since her stroke. She was last seen in public when she made a
surprise appearance at a fundraiser on what would have been her husband's 77th
birthday earlier this month. She smiled from her wheelchair as she was greeted
with a standing ovation and thunderous applause from a crowd of 15-hundred at
the Salute to Greatness Dinner at the King Center. Coretta Scott King
played a major back-up role in the civil rights movement until the death of her
husband, Martin Luther King, who was assassinated on a Memphis motel balcony on
April 4, 1968, while supporting a sanitation workers strike in that city.
Coretta Scott was born April 27, 1927, on a farm in Heiberger, Ala. Though the
family owned the land, it was often a hardscrabble life. The young Coretta, her
sister, Edythe, and brother, Obie, all had to pick cotton during the Depression
to help the family make ends meet. An intelligent and hardworking
student, Scott King played trumpet and piano, and graduated from Lincoln High
at the top of her class in 1945. She followed her older sister to Antioch
College in Ohio, where Edythe had been the first full-time black student to
live on campus. At Antioch, Scott King majored in music and education.
When she graduated, she decided she wanted to pursue music instead of teaching.
She received a scholarship to study violin and voice at the New England
Conservatory of Music in Boston, where she met her future husband, Martin
Luther King Jr., who was studying theology at Boston University.
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Spotlight: Fresh I.E.
Source: www.umac.ca
In 2006, Fresh I.E. has made history
again, earning a nomination in the
category of Best Rock Gospel Album for Truth Is Fallin' In Tha Streetz.
In 2003, he became the first Canadian rapper to earn a GRAMMY nod (also in the category of Best Rock
Gospel Album for his album, Red Letterz). Fresh I.E. is also Winnipeg,
Manitoba's only artist to receive a Second GRAMMY Nomination for two
consecutive albums. Congrats, Fresh I.E.!!! Way to represent for Canada! The
48th Annual GRAMMY Awards take place in Los Angeles on February 8 (airing on
CBS at 8 pm).
Following is a re-printed excerpt from a profile UMAC wrote on Fresh I.E. in
Urban Music Minue Vol 1.19 (March 31, 2005), when he was preparing to perform
during on UMAC's urban music showcase during JUNO weekend in his hometown:
Winnipeg Winnipeg's Fresh I.E. has come a long way since life on the streets.
As the first Canadian rapper to ever be nominated for a GRAMMY, this gospel
sensation has knocked down doors for Canadian hip hop like no other artist
before him. I.E., who's name stands for "Fresh In Eternity", grew up
in Vancouver where he crossed paths with Swollen Members and Rascalz.
Prior to his 2003 Grammy nod for Best Rock Gospel recording, I.E. had never
played a show at a local nightclub. In fact, his multi-award nominated album, Red
Letterz, was distributed in the United States by Red Sea Records and only
available as an import at Christian bookstores. However, this obscurity was
short-lived. Fresh I.E. has since been on stage without pause and continues to
rack up his nominations, including: an Outstanding Christian Recording Nomination
at the 2004 Western Canadian Music Awards and Best Rap/Hip-Hop/Dance Album of
the Year (2004 VIBE Awards), where he was also nominated in two other
categories.
For more information on this groundbreaking artist, check out www.freshie.ca.
WOW Gospel 2006
Source: Sony/BMG Music Canada
Gospel’s greatest annual tradition takes place every January, and this coming
year
promises to be no exception. WOW Gospel 2006, the paradigmatic
collection of the ultimate in gospel audio and video from the past year,
returns again to start off your 2006 right!
This ultimate compilation of gospel hits has everything you have come to expect
from years past, spanning genres and generations to bring to you the best of
2005. Perennial chart toppers Donnie McClurkin (“I Call You Faithful”),
Hezekiah Walker (“Lift Him Up”), and Fred Hammond (“I
Will Find A Way”) are all featured with stand out singles from their latest
releases. Breakout stars including phenom Micah Stampley (“War Cry”)
and American Idol’s George Huff (“A Brighter Day”)
preview the next generation in gospel up and comers with their respective
tracks. Not to be outdone by the gentlemen, young ingénues Joann Rosario
(“I Hear You Say”) and Kierra Sheard (“Let Go (Remix)”)
represent with their powerful voices, proving why they are often cited as the
next generation of gospel leading ladies. As a special bonus,
this collection also features a special track from Paul Robbins, the
winner of the Oprah Winfrey’s “Wildest Dream” contest!
As always, a companion DVD brings to life
many of the tracks from the audio release, with concept videos and live
performance footage to enhance your WOW Gospel experience. Prepare to be
delighted, prepare to be moved, prepare to be entertained. Prepare to be WOWed!
Audio Track List will include (may be subject to change) (2CD’s):
1. Donnie McClurkin “I Call You Faithful”
2. Fred Hammond “I Will Find a Way”
3. Kurt Carr “God Great God”
4. Donald Lawrence “I Speak Life”
5. Joann Rosario “I Hear You Say”
6. Deitrick Haddon “God Didn’t Give Up”
7. Tonex “Since Jesus Came”
8. J Moss “We Must Praise”
9. Dorinda Clark-Cole “Great Is the Lord”
10. Marvin Sapp “Do You Know Him?”
11. Ben Tankard feat. Shirley Murdock “Jesus Is Love”
12. Hezekiah Walker “Lift Him Up”
13. Mighty Clouds “House Of The Lord”
14. Kierra Sheard “Let Go (The Godson Concept)”
15. Karen Clark-Sheard “Authority”
16. George Huff “A Brighter Day”
17. Ted & Shari “Celebrate”
18. Nicole C. Mullen “Message 4 Ya”
19. Myron Butler “Set Me Free”
20. Darwin Hobbs “Glorify Him”
21. Smokie Norful “God Is Able”
22. LaShun Pace “For My Good”
23. New Birth “God Is”
24. Antonio Neal “The Only One”
25. Paul Robbins “I’ll Pray” (Oprah “Wildest Dream” winner)—WOW
exclusive!
DVD Track List will include (may be subject to change):
1. Donnie McClurkin feat. Kirk Franklin “Ooh Child”
2. Deitrick Haddon “God Didn’t Give Up”
3. Tonéx & The Peculiar People “Work On Me”
4. Karen Clark-Sheard “We Acknowledge You”
5. Smokie Norful “God Is Able”
6. Kirk Franklin “Looking For You”
7. Darlene McCoy “Fallen In Love”
8. LaShun Pace “For My Good”
9. Fred Hammond “You Are My Life”
10. Donnie McClurkin and Joann Rosario “Saciame Senor…”
11. Marvin Sapp “You Are God Alone”
And more…!
We Turned Our Back On Haiti
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Antonia Zerbisias
(Jan. 31, 2006) The truth is ugly, is it not? But I make no apologies for
bringing it to you alongside whatever celebrity news we have on the other
pages. In fact,
the only thing I regret is not doing so sooner. Canadians, and the
Canadian media in general and in particular, including those who have no
trouble bashing the Bushies for their intervention in Iraq, have had this
collective see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil, hands-over-eyes and ears la!
la! la! I can't hear you attitude towards our role in the hellhole that is Haiti. We have much to answer for, starting
with that economic strangulation — more politely called the "embargo"
— we supported along with the U.S. and France, which was all part of the
"resignation" of the democratically elected (with a whopping 91.8 per
cent mandate) President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
on Feb. 29, 2004.
Said U.S. President George W. Bush (whose father George H.W. Bush was in the
White House when Aristide was deposed in 1991, after winning with 67 per cent
of the vote): "President Aristide resigned. He has left his country. The
constitution of Haiti is working. There is an interim president, as per the
constitution, in place. "I have ordered the deployment of Marines,
as the leading element of an interim international force, to help bring order
and stability to Haiti. I have done so in working with the international
community. This government believes it essential that Haiti have a hopeful
future. This is the beginning of a new chapter in the country's history.
"I would urge the people of Haiti to reject violence, to give this
break from the past a chance to work. And the United States is prepared to
help." Since then, countless Haitians, men, women and children,
whose lives grow more miserable by the minute, have been shot, hacked,
imprisoned and subjected to state terror. There appears to be blood all
over Canada's hands: first because it was on board for the removal of Aristide
and second because it is supporting, both politically and financially, an
illegitimate government that appears dead set on violently crushing any
opposition.
It also has a contingent of some 125 police officers who train the Haitian
National Police accused of massacring civilians. And yet, the fate of the
poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere, perfectly situated between Fidel
Castro's Cuba and Hugo Chavez's Venezuela, sweatshop armpit to Canadian T-shirt
manufacturers, the mine pit to Canadian copper companies, is scarcely discussed
or covered by Canadian media. (I should note that the Star has been
running extensive reports by freelancer Reed Lindsay.) To my knowledge,
but for a Sue Montgomery column in the Montreal Gazette and an op-ed in
the Star by Yves Engler, whose slim volume co-written with Anthony
Fenton, Canada in Haiti: Waging War on the Poor Majority, is a primer on
our shameful presence there, our role was never raised as an issue during the
election campaign. (That said, foreign policy barely registered at all
during the campaign, except when critics accused the Liberals of
"anti-Americanism.") Some Haiti-watchers believe that's because
no politicians wanted to upset the Haitian diaspora, much of it educated elite,
now resident in Montreal. Last month, the shooting death of retired
Mountie Mark Bourque, in Haiti to help with the repeatedly postponed elections,
received a lot of ink, but there was scarcely any discussion of the context.
Next Tuesday, Haiti is yet again scheduled to go to the polls — although
the most recent reports are that there will be none in Cité Soleil, the
unspeakable slum on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince where an estimated quarter
million, and I use this word guardedly, live. Of course giving them the
vote could result in a government that would soon have to "resign"
anyway. Which is not unlike what is going on with Palestinians. You will
have democracy but only if the United States approves it.
It can't be easy to cover this. Haiti is a dangerous place, a Baghdad with
beaches. But to ignore it from the cushy safety of editorial boards is
inexcusable. If you're interested in learning more about what is
happening in Haiti, check out Amy Goodman's very fine reportage at http://www.democracynow.org
or, better yet, on Saturday, Feb. 18 at 7, go see Nicolas Rossier's
even-handed, decide-for-yourself documentary, Aristide and the Endless
Revolution. It's playing at the Earth Sciences Building at the University
of Toronto. Tickets are $5 and are available at the Toronto Women's Bookstore
or by emailing haitiaction@riseup.net.
Flight 93
I watched the movie, Flight 93 on
Monday night. It's a meticulous re-enactment of events surrounding United
93, the last of the four hijacked aircraft on 9/11, in the belief that by
examining this single event something much larger can be found - the shape of
our world today. It was moving account that prompted me to write this
little piece about it.
The terrible dilemma those passengers faced is the same we have been struggling
with ever since. Do we sit passively and hope this all turns out okay? Or do we
fight back and strike at them before they strike at us? And what will be the
consequences if we do? Check out the website at www.flight93project.com
and if you should feel so inclined, there is a Memorial Fund set up for
donations at www.honorflight93.org. The movie was
made with
the full support of the families of those on board.
Cast Your Vote In The 4th Annual FLOW 93.5 Soul Search - Top 5
R&B Finalists
FLOW 93.5 has
announced that the Top 5 R&B Finalists for its 4th annual Soul Search
competition are:
Obie
Janey
Chris Jackson
Krystle Blue
Hans Munoz
To check out audio clips and to cast your vote for your favourite finalist,
visit www.urbanflowcase.com. The FLOW 93.5 Soul
Search R&B winner will be announced live in The Morning Rush on Monday,
February 6, and the Top 10 Hip Hop Finalists face off starting Monday, February
13! The Grand Prize for the FLOW 93.5 Soul Search R&B Winner
and Hip Hop Winner includes the following amazing items:
- $2,500 cash
- Song production by Rashad 'Ringo' Smith and Saukrates
- A professional photo shoot by AlexisFinch.com
- 2,500 units of CD manufacturing
- The opportunity to represent Toronto at the national Urban Star Quest
showcase that takes place during Canadian Music Week (March 4, 2006).
For more info, visit www.urbanflowcase.com.
Lark Turns Into Music Career For Rick Moranis
By Angela Pacienza, Canadian Press
(Jan. 31, 2006) Over the years we've come to know him through memorable TV
and film characters like Bob McKenzie, the beer -guzzling hoser, and Wayne
Szalinski, the nutty scientist who shrunk his kids. After nearly a
decade-long self-imposed hiatus from major screenwork, funnyman Rick Moranis has unintentionally launched a
side career as a singer. Since its release last fall, his offbeat country album
has taken off, earning major label support and a Grammy nomination to boot.
And no one is more surprised than Moranis himself. After all, The
Agoraphobic Cowboy began as a lark. "I sort of pulled out of
everything a few years ago. I needed and wanted to spend more time at home and
then I discovered that I just didn't miss any of it and didn't go back to
it," said the Toronto-born SCTV alumnus who's been raising his kids
in New York since his wife died of cancer in the early 1990s. He's been doing
the odd voice work, most recently Disney's Brother Bear. "I
started writing . . . a couple of years ago out of the blue just started
writing these songs. Inspired by his two teenaged children who'd been
listening to alt-country and bluegrass, the 13 tracks include ones called
"Wheaties Box", "Oh So Bucco" and "It's the Champagne
Talkin'". There's also a parody of Hank Snow's "I've Been
Everywhere" which Moranis called "I Ain't Goin' Nowhere".
"As much as it is somewhat of a departure it's not completely a
departure because I've always done a lot of music," said Moranis, who
started out as a radio DJ in Toronto before moving onto standup comedy.
"I don't know if I'm capable of writing anything straight. I just
can't take myself that seriously." Moranis said country music seemed
a natural genre for his humour. "Country music is a place where from
time to time you hear some really funny stuff," he said pointing to
artists like Johnny Cash, The Statler Brothers, Roger Miller and Ray Stevens.
Moranis, 52, made the album available for sale via his website (http://www.rickmoranis.com)
using Artistshare, Web-based technology that allows artists to sell
self-produced music. The initial release sold a few thousand copies with
barely any effort on Moranis's part. "It just made sense to see if
we could take it a little bit further," said Moranis. "I was running
into people on the street in New York who were saying `Hey I heard about that
thing. I gotta go pick it up.' " As of Feb. 7, The Agoraphobic
Cowboy will be widely available in stores courtesy of deal Moranis struck
with Warner Canada. "I don't know what's going to happen now,"
said Moranis, who's been in over 30 films including Ghostbusters, Little
Shop Of Horrors and Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. For starters
he'll watch the Grammys on Feb. 8 — he's doubtful he'll make it to Los Angeles
for the show — to see how he fares in the best comedy album category.
He's up against some equally stellar comedians including Chris Rock,
Larry the Cable Guy and Family Guy's Seth MacFarlane. He says he's not
expecting much. The last time he was up for a Grammy — for a 1980s comedy album
based on the beer-drinking McKenzie brothers — he lost to Richard Pryor.
He may cut a music video for "I Ain't Going Nowhere", where
Moranis sings "I ain't goin' nowhere, man/Never gonna go nowhere/I'm
cuttin' my own hair, man." "I could probably shoot the whole
thing without leaving the house," he jokes.
Turning serious he adds: "We're just sort of talking right now. This is a
one-man, low budget enterprise." A real challenge, says Moranis, has
been learning to play himself after years of playing other people.
"What feels the strangest is that I'm playing with a band and not as
a character. I'm not in a sketch. That's definitely a departure." And
as he gets more comfortable in his own singing skin, would he consider making
the music biz his career? "I somehow doubt it. I don't know if I'm
cut out for being in a touring band," he said. But he concedes he's
enjoying himself. "I'd like to continue doing this. I've written
some more material." So maybe he'll be persuaded to embark on a
small club tour of Canada after all? Says Moranis: "That would be
fun."
Curtains Comes Down
Source: Hustle Recording
A rapper’s name defines his outlook. For the underground sensation Curtains, his handle reflects his realness.
“When people acting, they’re on stage,” the 19-year-old explains. “But when the
curtains come down, the show is over and it’s back to reality.”
Growing up in Crown Heights, Brooklyn, Curtains was always someone
to pay attention to. His no-nonsense attitude transferred into his vivid raps,
which he started writing before he was 10 years old. While watching music
videos with his brother, young Curtains’ life was changed forever. When he heard
the song “Rampage,” by hip-hop icons EPMD and LL Cool J, he was blown away. “To
this day, that’s the coolest song I ever heard in my life,” he recalls. That
was the first time I sat there and listened to a rap song. It just drew my attention. From then on it was over. All I
wanted to do was rap.” Curtains wrote his own version of “Rampage,”
inserting his own variations here and there. The practice extended to any other
song that moved him. Soon thereafter, he started writing his own raps. Rapping
for friends in and around his neighborhood, Curtains, born Daryl Jackson,
started earning a rep for his stunning lyrics and heavyweight voice. By age 14,
he was rapping on 42nd Street, wowing audiences and earning fans
from those purportedly connected in the music industry. But many of those
contacts failed to deliver. Two years later, he connected with Upscale
Management and Lems Entertainment, who made good on their promise to put him in
the studio and start recording.
Curtains then landed a spot in The Source’s Unsigned Hype column in the June
2002 issue and soon signed a deal with Radar Records (formerly ARTISTdirect),
which will release Curtains’ debut album, It’s Like That. With
sharp lyrics and production from such hip-hop heavyweights as Dame Grease, Trackmasters,
Denaun Porter (of D-12), and Clark Kent, Curtains promises to be one of the
hottest rappers to emerge in years. “I’m bringing truth, youthfulness, a
lot of energy and emotions back to where people really focused on what they
said, not just for the entertainment but to really say something,’ he says. “A
lot of people have strayed away from that.” Throughout Curtains’ debut
album, the highly anticipated It’s Like That, hip-hop fans get
ample doses of reality from virtually every angle. With a smooth, confident and
muscular flow, the wise-beyond-his-years Brooklyn rapper provides stunning
insight to life on the streets, demonstrates his ability to inject social
commentary into his heavy-hitting punchlines and gives an intimate look into
his own sometimes volatile life. “It’s the title of one of my songs and
it stands for a lot,” Curtains says of his album title. “Sometimes when you
have no explanation to something, you can’t explain something, you’re like,
‘Well, it’s just like that.’ That’s like my music. It’s just like that. It’s
bold, upfront and in-your-face”.
Over a thumping, piano accented beat, Curtains showcases his stunning lyricism
on the title track. “I ain’t gonna change/cause I got a lil change/I never
change/ I’m the same like racecar backwards,” he raps with controlled fury. The
line pays homage to his days battling on corners throughout his beloved borough
and illustrates his ability to include stinging lyrics into song format.
“I used to be the heavy battle rapper back in the day, so I always got
them sick punchlines in me,” he says. “The more I got into making music and
songs the more I learned it’s not just about what you say or how slick your
punchline is. Can people understand or relate to what you’re saying? I slip a
message in there with a punchline so that people who are not really into the
message can feel me just because I said a punchline. But if they sit down and
really think about what I said, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, wow.’” Hip-Hop
heads will certainly be thrilled when the furious beat for “Buckwiling” blasts
through the speakers. Using the song title and beat similar to the famous
street favorite from Terminator X, the Dame Grease (DMX, Nas) produced cut will
send shockwaves throughout the rap world. Curtains laments the impact on drugs
in the community with this chilling line: “They wonder why our kids are gone/
when they cook crack on the plate that we eat dinner on.” Curtains then
turns the spotlight on himself on the dreary, moving “testimony.” He reaps about
the struggle of his life, from financial hardships to not knowing friend from
foe to his mission to break through as a rapper. “I was in a bad mood and all
this stuff kept coming back to my mind like, ‘You’ve got to do this kind of
record, you’ve got to do that.’ I was like, ‘Oh my God.’
That’s where the first verse came from, where I started talking about what kind
of music I should make. As I got more into it, the second verse came out. I was
thinking about my mother, my father, my ex-girl. The stuff kept coming back. At
the end I was thinking about my little nephew and suicide. It was what kept
coming to me right then and there. I didn’t go in the studio like, ‘Yo I’m
going to make me a record like this today.’ Everything just came out so
naturally. That’s why I think the song is so beautiful.” Indeed, it is
Curtains’ range that makes his music so compelling. Elsewhere, he showcases his
braggadocio skills on “Problems” and gives an in-depth look into the day-to-day
lives of people in Anyghetto, USA on “Tales From The Hood.” With so much
to discuss in his music, Curtains has little time to share the mic with guest
artists. “I didn’t want to come in the game and people get, ‘Well, he only got
hot because such and such is on his album,’” he says. “A lot of people get put
in that category. They could have been really hot, but because they had that
certain person on their album, their album blew up and people recognized them.
I don’t want to be put in that category. I want people to recognize my album
because of me.”
For more info., see www.itzcurtains.com
We Remember Gene Mcfadden: Member Of Mcfadden & Whitehead
Dies Of Cancer
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 27, 2006) *Gene McFadden of the
famous Philadelphia
songwriting and performing duo McFadden & Whitehead has died after a battle
with liver and lung cancer. He was diagnosed in October of 2004,
according to his daughter Cassandra. McFadden, 56, died at his home
in Philadelphia's Mount Airy section around 3:45am Friday morning. McFadden
& Whitehead were best known for their classic smash "Ain't No Stopping
Us Now" which was released in 1979. The anthem rose to No. 1 on the
R&B chart and No. 13 on the pop charts McFadden's partner, John Whitehead
was fatally shot in May 2004 while he was working on a vehicle in the city's
West Oak Lane section. McFadden & Whitehead wrote and produced their hits
for Philadelphia International Records, headed by Kenny Gamble & Leon Huff
who shared their thoughts in a statement. “Our sympathy and prayers go out to
the family of Gene McFadden who joined forces with John Whitehead, teamed up
with Philadelphia International Records and took the music industry by storm
with “Ain’t No Stoppin Us Now.” That classic record has been repeatedly
adopted as a theme song for numerous events, campaigns, initiatives and drives
around the world since its release. May it continue to inspire, encourage
and uplift as McFadden and Whitehead intended it to. As the premier
songwriters and producers within the Gamble-Huff music organization, McFadden
and Whitehead were instrumental in creating The Sound of Philadelphia.
They initially approached us as recording artists but as we did with most of
our artists, we encouraged them to also become writers and producers. The
result proved to be rewarding and profitable as the pair amassed tremendous
success writing numerous songs for the label, including “Wake up Everybody” for
Harold Melvin and the Bluenotes and “Backstabbers” for The O’Jays. Their talent
was indispensable and their music capabilities were uniquely flexible.
Not only could they write sensational singles but they could write amazing
album songs, too. As artists and producers we admired them in the
studio. As songwriters, we appreciated them for sharing our commitment to
creating lyrics of motivation and strength for people around the globe to
enjoy.” McFadden is survived by his wife, Barbara, 57, two sons and two
daughters. According to an Associated Press report, funeral services are
scheduled for next Thursday at Triumph Baptist Church in North Philadelphia.
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The Recording Academy® And Sony BMG Release CD
Source: Lourdes Lopez, The Recording Academy , lourdesl@grammy.com
Angela Salomon, SONY BMG Strategic Marketing Group , angela.salomon@sonybmg.com
(Jan. 31, 2006) Santa Monica, Calif. — The Recording Academy® has
teamed up with Sony BMG's Strategic Marketing Group to release the 2006 GRAMMY® Nominees CD, which
celebrates many of the year's GRAMMY-nominated artists and songs. This year's
compilation — in stores nationwide now — includes some of the year's
best music and features nominated songs and artists from several major
categories. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the CD will benefit the
MusiCares® Foundation and the GRAMMY Foundation®. The disc contains many
of the most widely recognized GRAMMY categories. The 21 tracks from the 2006
GRAMMY Nominees CD represent nominees from the Record Of The Year, Album Of The
Year, Song Of The Year, Best Male Pop Vocal Performance, Best Pop Vocal Album,
Best Rock Album and Best Alternative Music Album categories. The CD is made
possible by a special arrangement with all of the major music distribution
companies and rotates distributors from year to year. "The eclectic
mix of excellent music contained on this compilation provides a great sample of
the work created by this year's extremely talented nominees," said
Recording Academy President Neil Portnow. "We anticipate continued success
on the charts in order to further the important work of MusiCares and the
GRAMMY Foundation. We thank Sony BMG for their support and look forward to
another successful GRAMMY album." "We are proud to continue our
successful relationship with The Recording Academy and are so honoured that we
can once again be associated with one of the music industry's biggest
events," said Sony BMG's Strategic Marketing Group Executive Vice
President/General Manager Joe Dimuro. The 48th Annual GRAMMY Awards will be
held on Feb. 8, 2006 at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, and will be broadcast in
high-definition TV and 5.1 surround sound on the CBS Television Network at 8
p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio via Westwood One
worldwide, and covered online at www.GRAMMY.yahoo.com.
About The Recording Academy
Established in 1957, the National Academy of Recording
Arts & Sciences, Inc., also known as The Recording Academy, is an
organization of musicians, producers, engineers and recording professionals
dedicated to improving the quality of life and cultural condition for music and
its makers. Internationally known for the GRAMMY Awards, The Recording Academy
is responsible for groundbreaking professional development, cultural
enrichment, advocacy, education and human services programs — including the
creation of the national public education campaign What's The Download®
(www.WhatsTheDownload.com). For more information about The Academy, please
visit www.grammy.com.
Mariah Carey: 'The Queen Of Pop'
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com - By
Christopher Hamilton
(Jan. 30, 2006) 2005 was the year of Mariah
Carey. On December 31, 2004, if anyone had written the previous
statement, they would have been
ridiculed. Mariah had been placed in the "career over" section of the
music industry alongside the likes of Whitney, Bobby and Lauryn Hill. How she
got there and how she overcame that stigma is the real story. The music world
is one of young, hot and upcoming artists. It's hard to get on top and it's
even harder to stay there. Every year there is a new artist that rises out of
the woodwork. Back in 1990, that artist was Mariah Carey. Through her work as a
background vocalist, Mariah's music came in contact with Sony head Tommy
Motolla (remember him?), who promptly signed her to Columbia Records. Her very
first single, "Vision of Love," shot to the top of the charts and
multiple number one songs would follow. Mariah owned the 1990s.During this
time, Motolla married his protégé. Is it even ethical for a record head to have
a romantic relationship with one of his artists? (Berry Gordy and Diana Ross'
relationship ultimately broke up the biggest female group ever, The Supremes).
The eventual end of Mariah's marriage to Motolla (which was displayed in her
"We Belong Together video) was the beginning of a strange and peculiar
downward spiral for Mariah. Once Mariah left Motolla and Sony for Virgin
Records for a record $80 million contract, the attack was on. It's been reported
that Motolla took songs intended for Carey's first release on Virgin and gave
them to Jennifer "I'm Real" Lopez. Whether it's true or not is the
subject of much debate; however, record companies have been known to do
whatever it takes to artists they know are leaving their label.
Leading up to the release of her first movie, Mariah began to act erratically.
Combined business and personal matters began to take their toll and Mariah took
a "break" in the middle of the massive promotion for the debut of her
movie and new Virgin CD. With no Mariah to promote them, both projects failed
and the doubters began to write Mariah as a lost cause. Virgin even got in on
the act, quickly buying her contract out by giving Mariah $28 million just to
leave their label. Although she made out in the deal, it's considered a public
relations disaster to be paid to leave your record company to "cut their
losses." Critics had a field day with the downfall of Mariah Carey. Was it
because she could no longer sing or that she was close to breaking records of
the highly acclaimed Elvis and the Beatles? Now a free agent, Mariah was signed
to Def Jam by new head LA Reid (the mastermind behind the chart success of
Usher and OutKast). Even though her first release on Def Jam, "Charmbracelet"
eventually went platinum, it was widely considered that Mariah's days as a top
selling artist were long gone. To prepare for her second release on Def Jam,
Mariah took her time and went to the islands to regroup. After clearing her
head of all the pressures of life, she hooked up with her old producer/friend
Jermaine Dupri and created "The Emancipation of Mimi." (Mimi is the
name Mariah is called by her close friends).A ultra smash, "Mimi"
walked down 50 Cent's "The Massacre" to become the number one selling
cd of 2005 by selling over 5 million copies and counting. (At press time,
"Mimi" is still firmly lodged in the top ten.) Even more
impressively, she scored 2 more number one songs from the CD, giving her a
total of 17. Now she is tied with Elvis Presley for the most number one songs
of all time behind only the Beatles with 20. Does anyone think Virgin jumped
the gun? In other words, Mariah Carey is walking ground no other woman has ever
achieved. She's had more number ones than Whitney, Janet Jackson and Madonna.
She has earned the official title of "The Queen of Pop." More
importantly, she's approaching the holy grail of the Beatles. Does anyone doubt
she won't get there? Christopher Hamilton is a freelance entertainment
reporter. He can be reached for questions or comments at mrcjhamilton@hotmail.com
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World Celebrates Mozart's 250th Birthday
Excerpt from The Toronto Star
(Jan. 26, 2006) SALZBURG, Austria (AP-CP) — Some bad news for those who think
this year of mostly Mozart is too
much Mozart: On Friday, you
can run, but you can't hide. Certainly not in Salzburg, the cobble-stoned
and turreted city of his birth as it pulls out all stops to celebrate its
favourite son's 250th birthday Friday. Or in Vienna, where dozens of events
musical and other are planned. But it isn't only Austria that is seized
with Mozart madness. Symphony orchestras and opera houses worldwide are
going through final rehearsals while radio program directors line up their
Mozart CDs. Piano students are polishing pieces for Mozart marathons and
puppeteers are preparing for jubilee performances as hundreds of cities across
five continents prepare to pay their respects to the musical genius. For
many, Mozart central on Friday will be Salzburg, the city of his birth and
first musical successes. Among them will be European leaders and foreign
ministers gathering for The Sound of Europe — a debate about the future of the
European Union — under Austria's EU presidency. Always a trove for Mozart
souvenirs, Salzburg has outdone itself this year. Store shelves are stocked
with Mozart beer and wine, Mozart baby bottles, Mozart milkshakes, Mozart
knickers and Mozart jigsaw puzzles — along with the usual T-shirts, calendars,
coffee mugs and marzipan-and-nougat filled Mozart Balls. But on Friday,
the music's the thing. Among the most interesting Salzburg offerings: Nikolaus
Harnoncourt and the Vienna Philharmonic play Mozart's Piano Concert No. 18,
before Riccardo Muti takes to the podium and leads the orchestra — and renowned
signers — through their paces in a collage of his works. Vienna, which claims
Mozart in his later years, is staging a new production of his Idomeneo in
one of the city's three opera houses and reviving The Magic Flute (Die
Zauberfloete) in another. Both are offering either musical or
culinary tours built around Mozart's works, his favourite restaurants, his
friends and enemies, and his approach to art and love.
But Mozart will rule elsewhere as well. He'll be the focus of a 12-hour
Swedish documentary, his works will be performed by orchestras or opera houses
in Moscow, Washington, Prague, London, Paris, New York, Tokyo, Caracas, Quito,
Havana, Mexico City, Taipei, Budapest and scores of other cities
worldwide. In Toronto, on Thursday afternoon, the Toronto Symphony
Orchestra was to perform Mozart's first and last symphonies, while TSO
principals were to play his rustic Bassoon Concerto and the Adagio for
English Horn at Roy Thomson Hall. At the centre on Thursday night and
Friday night, the TSO along with musical and theatrical friends, including TSO
music director Peter Oundjian, actor Colm Feore and several soloists were to
take a literary and musical journey through Mozart's life, as portrayed in his
letters and the vocal music they inspired. Even Nashville, more famous
for Martina McBride than Mozart, will tip its hat to Amadeus, with the city's
symphony orchestra performing the maestro's Piano Concerto No. 21.
And there are hundreds of other offerings. Many classical radio outlets
in the United States and elsewhere are reprogramming for the day to play only
Mozart. Hundreds of marionettes will take to the stage in excerpts of his
operas in the German city of Augsburg, where his father was born. Vienna
has set up 50 bright red Calling Mozart booths to allow visitors to listen to
his works and information about his life and times. It will formally reopen the
restored house where he wrote the Marriage of Figaro. Salzburg visitors
are advised to watch the calories — bakers there put the icing Thursday on a
gargantuan birthday cake — two metres high and weighing in at 140
kilograms. Too much hoopla? Consider this. Mozart wrote his first
symphonies before turning 10 and his first well-known opera at age 12. He was
instrumental in changing opera into the form we know and enjoy today. He
was prolific like few others, creating nearly two dozen operas and other stage
works and hundreds of solo and orchestral pieces before his death at 35. Other
greats like Beethoven and Wagner publicly recognized their debt to their wigged
predecessor. There is some comfort, however, for those who feel Mozart
mania is getting out of control — he had his detractors.
Some history books depict his tenure in Salzburg ending ingloriously in 1781
with a kick in the bottom from a servant of Mozart's patron, the city's
imperious archbishop, after Mozart refused to follow orders on how to
compose. But for Mezzo-soprano Angelika Kirschschlager, Mozart is "a
gift from God" and "the light I orient my life around." Others
describe him in more down-to-earth terms (and his letters certainly reveal an
exuberant personality and scatological sense of humour) as they explain why he
can reach out even to those normally immune to classical music
"Mozart as a person was prone to please people, and it's certainly an
aspect of his music," says classic expert Joseph Horowitz who served as a
consultant for the New Jersey Symphony for its Mozart jubilee
preparations. "It's something you can't apply to other composers
such as Beethoven or Wagner."
Not In Nettwerk's Name
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Ben Rayner, Pop Music Critic
(Jan. 29, 2006) Vancouver-based record label and management company Nettwerk Music Group has ruffled industry
feathers on both sides of the border by standing behind one of the thousands of
downloaders facing lawsuits from the Recording Industry Association of America.
CEO Terry McBride made the surprise announcement on Friday that Nettwerk
— which counts among its high-profile clients Sarah McLachlan, Avril Lavigne,
Sum 41 and the Barenaked Ladies — would cover the legal costs in defending
Arlington, Tex., father David Greubel against a suit filed by the RIAA last
August. The RIAA claims Greubel had 600 suspected music files on the
family computer and seeks $9,000 (U.S.) in compensation for the alleged
pirating of nine specific songs, including Lavigne's "Sk8er Boi." It
has dangled a settlement of $4,500 as an alternative if Greubel pays within a
certain time period. McBride made it clear Friday that he was making a
pointed statement against the RIAA's policy of suing "problem"
downloaders, which has already targeted some 16,000 computer users. Studies
have suggested the lawsuits are cutting into illegal downloads, but the
industry is divided over the PR fallout from serving legal papers to
grandmothers and teenagers. "Suing music fans is not the solution,
it's the problem," McBride said in a press release. He was flying home
from England on Friday and unavailable for further comment. McBride and
Nettwerk stepped in after Greubel's 15-year-old daughter, Elisa, emailed one of
the company's management clients, MC Lars, to thank him for the tune
"Download This Song" and to say "my family is one of many
seemingly randomly chosen families to be sued by the RIAA."
"You can't fight them, trying could possibly cost us millions,"
she wrote. "The line `They sue little kids downloading hit songs'
basically sums a lot of the whole thing up. I'm not saying it is right to
download, but the whole lawsuit business is a tad bit outrageous."
Greubel's lawyer, Charles Lee Mudd Jr., said Nettwerk's involvement brought
"a unique perspective" to the case because someone on the industry
side was taking a stand against the RIAA, which purports to speak for the legal
and business interests of musicians and labels. Mudd, a Chicago attorney
who has taken on several similar cases since the RIAA began its volley of
lawsuits in 2003, said these cases usually wind up settling before they come to
court — not just because of the legal fees but because the RIAA's "the
more you fight, the more you pay" perspective makes "the spectre of
an escalating judgment" quite daunting. One Illinois woman was
recently faced with a $22,000 judgment after choosing not to settle for the
standard amount of $3,000 or $4,000.
"We were going down the same road where we were in a position where it
would be in our interest to settle rather than face financial devastation in
the family," said Greubel. He added his family owes McBride and Nettwerk
"a huge debt of gratitude" for giving them the means to fight back in
court next month. "It's huge that he's stepping away from the crowd.
The RIAA certainly likes to foster the impression to the public that they speak
for the music industry, and I think what Mr. McBride is saying is: `No, you
don't. You might speak for a small segment of it but you don't speak for the
industry as a whole.'" The RIAA itself issued a terse statement
taking the same hard line it has all along: "Stealing another person's
property is theft, it's against the law and breaking the law must carry
consequences or no one will think twice. Theft undermines the ability of the
music companies to invest in the new bands of tomorrow and deprives labels,
songwriters and musicians of their hard-earned royalties."
Inventor Of Video Art Dies
Excerpt from The Toronto
Star - Associated Press
(Jan. 30,
2006) MIAMI — Nam June Paik, the
avant-garde composer who was credited with being the inventor of video art, has
died. He was 74. The Korean-born Paik died Sunday night of natural causes at
his Miami apartment, according to his website. Song Tae-ho, head of a South
Korean cultural foundation working on a project to build a museum for the
artist, said he learned of Paik's death from Paik's nephew, Ken Paik Hakuta, in
New York. Paik played a pivotal role in using video as a form of artistic
expression. A member of the Fluxus art movement, Paik combined the use of
music, video images and sculptures. Paik's work has gained international praise
from the Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Museum of Broadcast
Communications in Chicago, among others, and much of his work is on display at
the Nam June Paik Museum in Kyonggi, South Korea. "No artist has had a
greater influence in imagining and realizing the artistic potential of video
and television than Korean-born Nam June Paik," the Guggenheim Museum
website says. ``Through a vast array of installations, videotapes, global
television productions, films, and performances, Paik has reshaped our
perceptions of the temporal image in contemporary art." He completed
degrees in music and aesthetics in Japan before pursuing graduate work in
philosophy. Some of his experiments were in radio and television, and he is
thought to have coined the terms ``information superhighway" and "the
future is now." Paik made his artistic debut in Wiesbaden, West Germany,
in 1963 with a solo art exhibition titled Exposition of Music-Electronic
Television. He scattered 12 television sets throughout the exhibit space and
used them to create unexpected effects in the images being received. Later
exhibits included the use of magnets to manipulate or alter the image on TV
sets and create patterns of light.
He moved to New York City in 1964 and starting working with classical cellist
Charlotte Moorman to combine video and performance. In a performance titled TV
Bra for Living Sculpture, Moorman used stacked television sets that formed
the shape of a cello. When she drew the bow across the television sets, there
were images of her playing, video collages of other cellists and live images of
the performance. One of his pieces, TV Buddha, is a statue of a sitting
Buddha facing its own image on a closed-circuit television screen. Another, Positive
Egg, has a video camera aimed at a white egg on a black cloth. In a series
of larger and larger monitors, the image is magnified until the actual egg
becomes an abstract shape on the screen. Paik also incorporated television sets
into a series of robots. The early robots were constructed largely of bits and
pieces of wire and metal; later ones were built from vintage radio and television
sets. In 1988, Paik erected a media tower, called The more the better,
from 1,003 monitors for the Olympic Games at Seoul. Paik was left partially
paralyzed by a stroke in 1996. Funeral services will be held this week in New
York City, Hakuta told South Korea's Yonhap news agency.
'A Race To Redemption'
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By
Elissa Poole
(Jan. 28, 2006) Calgary Opera has
carefully prepared the ground for tonight's Canadian premiere of Dead Man Walking, an opera by
composer Jake Heggie and playwright Terrence McNally based on the memoirs of
Sister Helen Prejean, a nun and death-penalty activist who turned her
experiences with prisoners on death row into a best selling book (subsequently
made into a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn). Last week nearly 200
people attended a public symposium in Calgary on "biotechnology and control
of criminal behaviour." This week a forum on religion and another on the
making of the opera, hosted by Prejean, were sold out. That's what relevance in
opera means. Topical operas are not new: Mozart's Marriage of Figaro,
inspired by Beaumarchais's scathing comedy on the aristocracy's morals, was
once topical. Verdi's operas started the odd political riot; and John Adams
nearly wrote himself out of a job with The Death of Klinghoffer when his
portrayal of the Palestinian terrorists who killed a Jewish passenger on the
cruise ship Achille Lauro struck some audiences as too sympathetic. Dead Man
Walking, commissioned by the San Francisco Opera and premiered in 2000, is
more topical than most, tied to grim statistics (that Texas, responsible for 39
per cent of the U.S. executions, has put 355 prisoners to death since 1976); to
controversial executions (Tookie Williams, for example, or Karla Faye Tucker);
and the haunt of wrongful convictions (Prejean's latest book, The Death of
Innocents, documents two such cases). Yet the opera is not, ultimately, a
polemic against capital punishment. Its real subject is redemption, which makes
it more of a religious opera than a political one, its closest cousin being
Poulenc's Dialogues des Carmelites. The crux of the story is the
relationship of Sister Helen (sung in Calgary by mezzo-soprano Kimberley
Barber) to Joseph de Rocher (baritone Daniel Okulitch), a condemned prisoner
who has brutally raped and murdered a teenage girl -- there is no question of
his innocence -- and has neither confessed nor shown remorse. The drama lies
not in whether de Rocher will be executed, but what the state of his soul will
be when that happens. It is, as director Kelly Robinson describes the opera,
"a race to redemption," but it's a race de Rocher cannot win without
Sister Helen's help. Her spiritual challenge thus parallels de Rocher's, for
Sister Helen can only help him if she can forgive him first.
Barber, preparing for the role, realized she had "underestimated the
enormity of what it is to confront such a challenge to one's faith in a
truthful way." We need only imagine facing, and forgiving, Paul Bernardo.
Okulitch, for his part, wrote to the real Sister Helen for insight into de
Rocher's character (who is a composite of several individuals). "She told
me that all of us try to shield ourselves from our worst act," Okulitch
said. "That's why her journey with the inmates is about finding the part
of them that's been hidden." It's also why Okulitch does not give way to
the temptation to show de Rocher as either beast or victim. "The
audience," he said, "has to decide for itself." Neither Barber
or Okulitch could think of another modern opera as emotionally intense as Dead
Man Walking. The musicologist Richard Taruskin would locate it as part of a
trend in "sacred entertainments," a category he took to task a few
years ago in a provocative article for the Cambridge Opera Journal. There he
virtually damned nearly every recent, commercially successful attempt to merge
the topical with the spiritual, from John Adams's El Nino to John
Corigliano's First Symphony (each movement dedicated to a victim of
AIDS). Their stylistic eclecticism, he suggests, panders to a shallow,
feel-good spirituality. But, pace Taruskin, Dead Man Walking is
extremely potent theatre, as long as we are willing to take opera off its
pedestal. Heggie's music is not innovative, as critics raced to point out after
the San Francisco premiere. And it is eclectic, steeped in a
Brittenesque neo-romanticism and sliding in and out of American popular music,
from southern blues, zydeco and gospel to Broadway. But the Americana
roots the characters, and it's a musical lingua franca for Sister Helen and de
Rocher, who even sing an Elvis song in unison at a crucial point. One could also
argue that Heggie's accessibility creates a sense of community that in this
opera plays an integral role. Heggie's phenomenal, some might say
anachronistic, lyrical gift is another defining characteristic of his style. He
offers up plangent melodies to singers the way a dramaturge offers good lines,
and that alone raises the emotional bar significantly. "Kelly flat
out refuses to be carried away by the music," said Barber: "He
cautioned us to act against the music, to not spill over into melodrama."
Dead Man Walking also has Terrence McNally's outstanding libretto going
for it. Time and again McNally (who wrote the book for the musical Kiss of
the Spider Woman and award-winning plays Master Class and Love!
Valor! Compassion!) chooses the detail that moves us from the general to
the particular. One thinks: "He'll never get away with this; it will be
kitschy or trite." But he does, with timing that's immaculate. At the very
moment we realize McNally is attempting the impossible (turning such material into
an opera in the first place!), the character of Sister Helen attempts it too
(by trying to connect emotionally with de Rocher). And McNally has created one
of opera's more poignant characters in de Rocher's mother, a pathetically
inarticulate woman of painful shortcomings, but a character audiences
immediately identify with in a way they may not with the more extreme Sister
Helen and de Rocher. "There's not one person who can't relate to Mrs. De
Rocher," said mezzo-soprano Judith Forst, who sang the role in Detroit and
Pittsburgh and reprises it in Calgary. Forst admits she's always "a puddle
on the floor" by the end of the opera. The role is not much more than a
cameo, but when Frederica von Stade sang it in San Francisco, she stole the
show. Don't be surprised if Forst, a singer of formidable stage presence (she
has made me cry at more than one opera), steals it too. Dead Man Walking,
directed by Kelly Robinson, will be performed at the Jubilee Auditorium in
Calgary tonight and Feb. 1 and 3.
Ray J Coming Into His Own
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 30, 2006) *His latest single "One Wish" sits at No. 2 on the
R&B chart
this week, he’s got a regular spot on UPN’s "One on One," a gig on
MTV and his second album "Raydiation" has more than respectable sales
– all of which has contributed to moving Ray J
outside of the long shadow cast by his older sister Brandy. In a
recent interview with the Associated Press, the artist spoke about his
emergence into the spotlight, about being taken seriously, cleansing demons and
his time spent with video vixen Karrine Steffans.
AP: Do you feel misunderstood?
Ray J: I feel like people just don't know what's up. It just takes emotion and
time and being consistent with your music and your fans and just staying out on
the scene. That's when people start to understand and start to get into your
story.
AP: Your voice has been compared to Ralph Tresvant's from New Edition.
Ray J: That's cool. I heard that one time, that's a good look. I was a New
Edition fan.
AP: Why name the album 'Raydiation'?
Ray J: It's a cleansing. I needed to be cleaned. I needed to clean myself from
all my demons. All my bad vibes and just build back on being confident again.
There was a time when I just stopped being confidant and started thinking about
other things.
AP: Brandy is coming out with an album on your label, Knockout
Entertainment?
Ray J: I'm structuring the deal with her, because she co-executive produced my
album and she invested time and money too. So I'll invest money into her album,
I'll get my cut and be a part of it.
AP: You know who speaks very highly of you? Karrine Stephans (the tell-all
groupie author).
Ray J: Karrine Stephans?
AP: Superhead?
Ray J: Oh, oh, oh, yeah. She's cool.
AP: Was there any love there?
Ray J: Love like 'in love?' No, we had fun together. I was at my peak of being
wild and she helped me be wild. We had a great wild life together, it was fun,
exciting, exotic, it was very, very, very intense as far as just being wild. I
was 18, 19, at my peak of exploration and finding out things about women, life
and fun. And she helped me.
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Who Needs A Record Deal? Gamers Launch Careers
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
By Laurence Frost, Associated Press
(Jan. 28, 2006) CANNES, FRANCE -- Music scout Tim
Riley hopes to discover the next Fat Joe, a Latino hip-hop star, but
has no intention of giving him a record deal. If Riley finds the right sound
he'll sign the act straight away -- for the third video game in the hit True
Crime series. "If everything lines up it's an amazing opportunity for an
artist," he said. Riley has already helped launch several new groups in
his job as worldwide music executive for U.S.-based game maker Activision Inc.
As consoles become ever more sophisticated, game budgets swell and record
companies cut back their artist and repertoire departments, video gaming
increasingly offers big breaks for musicians and, potentially, new revenue for
labels. Chicago band Fall Out Boy sold 70,000 copies of their new album in one
week after the music was featured on Tony Hawk's American Wasteland, a skateboarding
game, Riley said. "They weren't on the radio," he said. "The
only thing you can attribute the sales to is the game." Activision has
doubled its music spending in the last five years, he added. When Electronic
Arts Inc. bought Selasee's single Run for its FIFA 2006 soccer game, the
Ghanian reggae singer had yet to sell a song. Sales of his first album have
taken off since the game's October launch; iTunes and Napster now stock it. Now
based in the United States, Selasee regularly plays large venues. "We're
getting album orders from Australia, Turkey, Switzerland, the United Kingdom,
Germany, and of course the U.S. and Canada," said Louis Rodrigue, the
singer's PR manager. "His career is rocketing because of the FIFA
game." Video games may account for only a tiny share of the music
industry's $21-billion (U.S.) global revenue, but record companies are watching
closely. "It's a very small but very interesting growth area," said
Adrian Strain, spokesman for IFPI, the industry's global trade body. The impact
of games on music sales will increase sharply if -- some say when -- consoles
let players buy tracks or albums directly on-line. "We'll have massive
uptake when we have one-click purchasing from games and from TV shows,"
said John Booth, business development associate at Sony Computer Entertainment
Europe. "And that's coming." Microsoft Corp.'s latest console, the
Xbox 360, is not currently configured to allow music to be bought on-line or
transferred to another device. But sales through the company's own MSN site
have taught the U.S. software giant to respect game music's potential.
"We're selling lots of Xbox music on the downloads site," said Jon
Kertzer, business development manager for MSN Music. "There's lots of
interest." Video games increasingly carry tracks by well-known artists
alongside songs by promising unknowns. Rapper Snoop Dogg and Green Day's Billy
Joe Armstrong have been featured in earlier True Crime and Tony Hawk versions
-- both on the soundtracks and as characters within the action. Other games
need their own music, and their makers are devoting more attention and
resources than ever to its composition and production. Film composers like
Harry Gregson-Williams, who wrote the music for Shrek, and Canadian
Howard Shore of Lord of the Rings fame have been enlisted to write
elaborate scores -- often with full orchestras and choirs at their disposal.
"The days of the so-called bedroom musician, the game producer with a mate
down the pub who has a synth and a knocked-off copy of Cubase [software], are
largely gone," said John Broomhall, a British game audio producer with
more than 50 titles to his credit. In Japan, the soundtracks are routinely sold
as audio CDs and downloads, independently of the games themselves. But games
scores have struggled harder to be taken seriously in Europe and the United
States -- where a series of orchestral concerts organized by game composer
Tommy Tallarico ended early last year, following poor ticket sales.
"There's still a bit of a stigma overhang from the bad old days,"
said Alastair Nicholson, a music consultant who worked on The Getaway: Black
Monday, released last year. "In time, there's no reason why a video game
soundtrack shouldn't stand next to a film soundtrack in terms of artistic integrity."
Zanzibar Reclaims Its Rich Musical Tradition
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Karen
Palmer, Special To The Star
(Jan. 28, 2006) Stone Town, ZANZIBAR—To see Zainabu
Athmani on this island's narrow, winding streets is to see a
diminutive woman
wrapped head to toe in a brilliant orange buibui. To see the
27-year-old behind the closed doors of the Dhow Countries Music Academy is to
see that those scarves hid a shoulder-baring tank top, huge hoop earrings,
bleached jeans and black platform boots. To see her wail away on a three-piece
drum kit is to know there is nothing diminutive about her. And to hear
her talk about a musical future teaching children to play the traditional
instruments she has come to love is to know that Zanzibar's unique musical
style — on the brink of extinction as little as three years ago — is undergoing
a renaissance at the hands of the island's women and unemployed youth.
"We need to give our culture, our traditional culture, from our
school," she said in halting English. "I (would) like to teach little
children drums. I'm going to be a strong woman." "Some of them
are playing instruments that have never been played by a woman before,"
said school administrator Kheri A. Yussuf, adding that about a third of the
school's 100 students are female, mostly in their late 20s like Athmani.
"The idea of musical education in Zanzibar is very new. Some parents are
not sure it's very useful to their kids," Yussuf said. Zanzibar, a
conservative Muslim island with medieval architecture and white sandy beaches,
is a 90-minute ferry ride from the eastern coast of Tanzania. Its musical
heritage was shaped by the cultures that visited its shores back in the days
when it boasted legendary markets for both spices and slaves. The roots
of the area's traditional taarab music can be traced to the late 1800s, when
Zanzibar's ruling sultan imported an Egyptian taarab group, then sent a local
musician to Egypt to learn the musical style. When the musician returned, he
established a club to teach and share the music. But the island was also
influenced by the musical styles of the visiting traders and explorers from India,
Europe and the Middle East, resulting in a taarab with a slight Hindi flavour
and a huge African percussion section. Done well, Zanzibari taarab
features huge orchestras offering a harmonious mix of violins, fretless lutes
known as ouds, the accordion, a recorder, dozens of drums, a zither and, over
it all, a voice singing an epic love story. Taarab done not so well,
however, comes across as depressingly screechy and shrill, with a voice that
assaults the ear with its warbling and wavering. In either case, it
rarely appeals to teenagers more comfortable with rap and hip hop.
"It's the kind of music where you sit and listen and ... how can I say
this? You sit and listen and you respect it," said Kwame Mchauru of Busara
Productions, a non-governmental organization devoted to preserving the island's
music. "You can see in (the players') faces some of the sadness and
that reflects on the audience. They start to think, `Maybe we should go to the
disco.' "They want fun and excitement. It's hard for them to inspire
other young people." Mchauru pinpoints the beginning of taarab's
demise in Zanzibar to the advent of breakdancing. When tapes and videos of the
Western craze began appearing on the island, Zanzibari kids lapped it up.
"They were excited they could actually take part," Mchauru said.
"People wanted something more exciting, they wanted to try new
flavours." Plus, the Western videos showed fancy homes, expensive
cars and flashy clothes — things any teenager might covet. "They wanted to
be that, they wanted to have that," Mchauru said. So taarab music,
once the preferred entertainment of sultans, faded quietly. The number of
taarab orchestras dwindled and at one point the island had only one trained oud
player left. Since taarab was a largely oral tradition, passed on from
player to player and rarely transcribed to sheet music, it was in serious
danger of dying out. "Mostly people abandoned their music purely
because of economic reasons, because they couldn't make money making this kind
of music." While West Africans were busy cementing a solid musical
reputation with the genres of mbalanx and highlife, East Africans were
struggling to support a signature musical style and seemed content to import
pop tunes from the West or copy the brash dance music of their central African
neighbours. For a time, it seemed the only people willing to sit through
a taarab performance were tourists eager to soak up a slice of Zanzibar's
unique culture. "They demand it and they pay well for it," said
Yusuf Mahmoud, executive director of Busara Productions. "It's like every
place wants us to perform." Tourist interest became so strong that
traditional musicians found themselves once again in demand. In fact, over this
past holiday season, there were too few musicians to go around, Yussuf said.
Foreigners also seem to be leading the campaign to save Zanzibar's unique style
of taarab. A German woman registered the NGO that funds the Dhow Countries
Music Academy. The Ford Foundation, UNESCO, the American embassy, a Belgium-based
funder and the Norwegian government provide money for the instruments,
education for the teachers and equipment needed to transcribe the taarab
melodies. Even Mahmoud is originally from the U.K., although he now makes
his home on the island and is a regular headliner at beach parties. His
NGO organizes an annual Swahili music festival that showcases talent from
across East Africa. This year's event begins Feb. 13 with bands from Ghana,
Burkina Faso, Swaziland and Kenya, as well as three taarab bands, including a
group featuring 93-year-old Bi Kidude, a Zanzibari institution. Taarab's
champions figure if they can get Zanzibar's children to listen to and pick up
an instrument associated with taarab, they'll soon find themselves playing —
and enjoying — the complex music. It happened to Mchauru, who grew up in
southern Tanzania listening to mostly to traditional drumming, but began violin
lessons at the music academy when he came to Zanzibar to supervise a hotel
kitchen a few years ago. "It changed my feelings because I enjoyed
it," Mchauru said. "It's the music that taught me to explore other
musical styles. Every music has its beauty somewhere." "Our
music is recognized the world over and we need to keep it alive," Yussuf
adds.
Randy Weston: In Synch with the Rhythms of Africa
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
- By Deardra Shuler
(Jan. 31, 2006) Randy Weston sat tall
on his stool adroitly stroking the ebony and ivory keys at Dizzy’s Club Coca
Cola. The rich and original
sounds that emanated from his piano conjured up visions of the Kalahari.
My imagination visualized desert caravans, women with baskets on their heads
swaying to a cadence so in synch with the rhythmic heartbeat of the region that
even the animals swayed to its exotic tempo. Each in concert and part of
the menagerie of shadowy African figures silhouetted against the panoramic
splendour of African skies and sandy arid dunes. Randy Weston’s African
Rhythm Quintet consisted of Benny Powell on trombone; TK Blue on alto saxophone
& flute; Alex Blake, bass; Neil Clarke, drums & percussion and Weston
on piano. Blake was phenomenal on bass. He actually seemed to coax
his bass into spewing out extraordinary tempos and deep rhythmic tones.
So much so, it was as if the bass became a living, breathing instrument.
“I call my music African Rhythms. It is the basic traditional rhythms of
Africa which is already within the Black music of America, the Caribbean, and
Brazil. I just try to project the beauty of our people through
music. My compositions can be inspired by something that happens in New
Orleans, Brazil, or the Fiji Islands. I try to show that all these rhythms come
from Mother Africa. Africa is the most highly developed continent when it
comes to rhythm, sound, and spirit” explained Weston. “It’s the beginning
of humanity and the original civilization. Africa is put down in many
ways so a lot of people on the planet don’t get the opportunity to hear about
the beauty of the African continent. There is no better example of its
beauty than its music,” continued the prolific artist and composer.
Born in Brooklyn, New York, on April 6, 1926, the 79
year old musician’s parents were transplants from Virginia and the West
Indies. His mother, Vivian Moore, was from Virginia and father, Frank
Edward Weston from Panama by way of Jamaica. Randy grew up in the
economically poor community but culturally rich neighbourhood of Bedford
Stuyvesant. “My neighbourhood had the elements of culture. There
was music, art, sports, comedy, and dancing,” recalled Randy. “My father
made sure I took piano lessons and my sister took dancing and singing. He also
gave us Africa through books. He let us know that we were descendants of
Africa living in America.” Weston, who began playing music at 14 years
old, presently stands 6’7,” in height, reflective of the African Baobab tree
that towers over the African landscape. “I was 6 ft when I was 12.
I was so tall I thought I was going to be in the circus,” chuckled the musical
genius. “My parents had tremendous pride in Africa and they gave me our
true history so I have always dedicated myself to doing something to unify our
people. The creator has given me the power of music. I lived in
Morocco for 7 years. My bassist for example, has a Cuban/Panama
influence. I have taken him to Africa where he has heard the black people
of Morocco and has played with them so he also was inspired by their music.”
When one listens to Weston’s music, one develops a picture in their mind of
exotic regions and their splendid sounds. Weston is a master at
portraying his music pictorially. “Our ancestors used to paint pictures
through their music. Duke Ellington was a Master musical painter.
Billie Holliday was a master painter vocally. She was an evolutionary and
poet” explained the recording artist. When Weston played Caravan that
night at Dizzy’s Club Coca Cola, it was impossible not to enjoy the song
because he made you see and feel the story as he played it. “When Duke
composed and performed his music, he knew that whatever song he played had to
tell a story about that song” explained Weston. “Louie Armstrong was
great because every time he picked up his horn he told a story. He wasn’t
just playing notes. I have been lucky to have spent time with Monk and
Dizzy. I was lucky to hear Eubie Blake. I was able to go to their
homes as well as listen to them in the clubs. Black music is original so
the whole idea is to go back and claim what is ours” continued Randy. “We
are a great people and I love my people because my people are a fantastic
people.” Randy Weston’s first recorded back in the 1950s on the Riverside
Records label. He played with Cecil Payne and Kenny Dorham and wrote
tunes like “Saucer Eyes, “Little Niles, “Hi-Fly and “Pam’s Waltz.” He
then went on to record “The Splendid Master Gnawa” with Moroccan musicians in
1992. On that album, each master sang his own song. In 1993, Randy
collaborated with Melba Liston on the record Volcano Blues. Weston
released “Saga” in 1996. “Earth Birth” was released in 1997, which featured
Weston and the Montreal String Orchestra. “Khepera” was released in 1998
and combined the music of Africa and China. He released the well received
“Spirit! The Power of Music,” in 1999, which depicted the story of the
roots of the blues via the Spirits of our Ancestors. Spirit was a piece
which highlighted the religions of Christianity, Islam and Yoruba. His
latest CD is “Ancient Future,” a 2 disc solo piano recording combining 16 solo
piano recordings.
“We try to bring us back with the music and remind everyone of the power of
Africa. When I say bring us back, I am also including Europeans.
Europeans come from Africa as well because they come from us. My Quintet
is not just playing jazz music. We are playing the music of our
ancestors. All civilizations rise and fall. Africans were really
the first Europeans anyhow because we are the original people,” commented the
musical historian. Interested parties can learn more about Randy
Weston and his music at http://www.randyweston.info/
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Rock Act Holds Firm To Faith On New Album
Excerpt from www.billboard.com -
Deborah Evans Price
(Jan. 27, 2006) P.O.D. believes you
can go home again. After tussling with Christian retailers over the
cover of its last studio album, 2003's "Payable on Death," the hard rock band will once again
try to appeal to their mainstream and Christian audiences with its fourth
full-length Atlantic effort. For "Testify," released Jan.
24, P.O.D. teamed with superstar producer Glen Ballard. According to
P.O.D.'s drummer Wuv, the band wanted to work with Ballard on its previous
album, but their schedules never aligned. This time, P.O.D. began recording
with someone else, but after six months decided to approach Ballard again.
"We gave him a call again to see if he had time to listen to some
songs we were recording," Wuv recalls. "Once he heard, he said he was
in." The songs for "Testify" were close to
completion, and Wuv says the band was anxious to get Ballard's take on the
material. "It was a big deal to hear someone like Glen's opinion coming
from all the different backgrounds that he's worked with, from Michael Jackson
to No Doubt to Aerosmith." Wuv credits Ballard with helping the band
craft a more "mature" effort. "We've always done reggae music
and had the hip-hop elements. We've always kept it kind of heavy rock, but I
think something that's going to be obvious just from the band standpoint is
that the music sounds more mature for us," Wuv says. He is joined in the
band by his cousin Sonny on lead vocals, Traa on bass and Truby on guitars.
Guests on "Testify" include Hasidic artist Matisyahu, who joins the
band on "Roots in Stereo" and "Strength of My Life."
Boo-Yaa T.R.I.B.E. and Sick Jacken from Los Angeles duo the Psycho Realm
contribute to "On the Grind." Musically, as Wuv notes, the band
continues to incorporate reggae, rap and hip-hop into its hard rock sound.
Lyrically, it also sticks to writing positive, faith-based lyrics.
"Obviously people know P.O.D. for the spiritual elements that we
bring lyrically and the positive feelings we give," Wuv says. "We
always keep that in our music. We are always trying to dig deep and find
something worth talking about instead of throwing any lyric on the table.
That's always kind of a challenge for us -— [to] find out what we want to say
without repeating ourselves over and over again." Even though the
band's music has always been positive with a Christian worldview, P.O.D. has
sometimes been at odds with Christian retailers, primarily over the issue of album
art. The band's breakthrough album, 1999's "The Fundamental Elements of
Southtown," featured two CD covers, one for mainstream and a tamer one for
Christian retail. And with "Payable on Death," some retailers
objected to the scantily clad female on the cover. However, Atlantic opted not
to do two covers again, and some Christian retailers did not carry the record.
"We've learned in the past to not take those things seriously,
and if that's what they want to do, that's what they want to do and they have
their reasons," Wuv says of Christian retail's refusal to stock the last
album. Wuv says the band has never shied away from relaying its
faith. "We aren't afraid to tell anybody we are human and that we are
sinners," he says. "Your faith is something that nobody can take away
from you. By no means are we perfect or anything like that, but at the same
time, we know what we do is inspiration." P.O.D. will be highly
visible on MTV. The band will also appear on "The Late Show With Jay
Leno" Jan. 30 with Ballard to perform "Goodbye for Now," and a
"Last Call With Carson Daly" appearances is expected. In a rather
unusual promotional effort, P.O.D. will also perform at Wrestlemania events in
Miami and Chicago. "There's a famous wrestler named Raymond
Mysterio," Wuv says. "He actually graduated with me and Sonny at our
high school. We are playing music for him when he comes out, so that will be
fun and kind of cool. You know how those wrestling fans are, they come out in
droves."
The O’Jays Celebrate Valentines Day At The Apollo
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Feb. 1, 2006) (New York NY) - The Apollo Legends Series sponsored by JPMorgan
Chase invites you to get on the “Love Train” this
Valentine’s Day with a special concert starring the O’Jays
at the world famous Apollo Theater.
The O’ Jays concert will also be the first show after the completion of
the theatre’s seat restoration giving concertgoers the first opportunity to
enjoy the restored 1940’s style seats. The masters of soul will perform for one
night of soul and romance on Tuesday, February 14th, 8pm. Tickets are
$70*, 55*and $45* (*plus $2 facility fee) and are available through the Apollo
Theater Box Office, 125th Street between 7th and 8th Avenues, 212/531-5305 and
Ticketmaster, (212) 307-7171, www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are on sale
now. The first 300 people to purchase $70 tickets will receive one
complimentary glass of champagne per ticket. A complimentary
non-alcoholic beverage option is also available. With their string of R&B
classics, The O’Jays defined American soul music in the 70’s and placed the
“Philly Soul” sound on the musical map . Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall
of Fame in 2005, the O’Jays have released some of the greatest music in
recorded history. The legendary group is well known for promoting messages of
love through their music, whether the funkiest of cuts or the sweetest of
ballads. Led by the passionate, powerful baritone of Eddie Levert and the
smooth honeyed tones of Walter Williams, no one can set the mood quite like the
O’Jays. For their Valentine’s Day concert at the Apollo Theater, joined onstage
by the newest member of the group Eric Nolan Grant, the O’Jays will give their
fans some “true soulmance” - O’Jays style. The O'Jays’ journey began in
1958 when five high school friends started a singing group by the name of the
Triumphs. Originally consisting of Walter Williams, Bill Isles, Bobby Massey,
William Powell and Eddie Levert, the fledgling band went through several
transitions on the road to stardom. By the late 1960's, the group had changed
their name to "The O'Jays" in honour of their manager DJ Eddie O'Jay
and whittled down to their final three member format with Eddie Levert, Walter
Williams, and William Powell. Though they began charting singles as early as
1963 with ”Lonely Drifter” and their first Top Ten R&B hit "I'll Be
Sweeter Tomorrow (Than I Was Today)", it was when they joined forces with
super writers/producers Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff in the early 70’s that the
O’Jays achieved national recognition. From the phenomenal success of their
debut with Philadelphia International Records, Backstabbers, in 1972, the
O’Jays became an unstoppable force. The title track, Backstabbers and their
first number #1 pop hit “Love Train” marked the beginning of an incredible run,
with the O’Jays going on to place more than fifty singles on the R&B charts
including the classic For the Love of Money and Used To Be My Girl. Even after
switching labels, producers and members, the O’Jays continued to produce
countless hits. They scored their ninth R&B chart-topper, “Have You Had
Your Love Today,” in 1989. Emotionally Yours (1991) yielded three R&B
smashes, including their choir-filled arrangement of the Bob Dylan-penned title
track.
Now in their 43rd year of making music together, the celebrated trio have
amassed a body of work that includes 24 Top Ten smashes and 59 total charted
songs. The O’Jays have been recognized for their achievements, receiving
several awards over the years and their February 2005 induction into the Rock
N’ Roll Hall of Fame. With their place in music history firmly locked, the
O’Jays continue to record and perform pleasing generations of fans the world
over. Since 1934, when the Apollo Theater first introduced its
world-famous "Amateur Night," launching the careers of legendary
artists like Ella Fitzgerald, James Brown, Michael Jackson, Luther Vandross and
Lauryn Hill, the Apollo has been the nation's premier arena for emerging and
established black and Latino performers. Based in the heart of Harlem,
the national historic landmark hosts major pop, R & B concerts and special
events and continues its tradition of discovering future stars in the
syndicated television show, "Showtime at the Apollo," which is taped
at the world famous venue and airs weekly in over 150 markets nationwide, and
the historic and popular weekly stage show, "Apollo Amateur Night."
One of New York City's top tourist attractions, the Apollo Theater draws 1.3
million visitors annually. The world famous Apollo Theater, “where stars
are born and legends are made” ™ is located in the heart of Harlem at 253 West
125 Street, between Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Blvd (7th Ave.) and Frederick
Douglass Blvd (8th Ave.). www.apollotheater.com
MUSIC TIDBITS
CRTC To Hold Review Of Commercial Radio Policy In May 2006
Source: www.umac.ca
The Canadian Radio-Television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) recently
announced that it will hold a public hearing to undertake a comprehensive
review of its Commercial Radio Policy. The review of radio hearings will take
place in Gatineau, Quebec starting May 15, 2006. Key issues that will affect
Canadian artists include policies with respect to Canadian Content regulations
and Canadian Talent Development funding investments. For more info, check
out the CRTC site.
CBC To Air Documentary Featuring k-os And The CBC Radio
Orchestra
Source: www.umac.ca
Burning to Shine: K-OS and the CBC Radio Orchestra is a musical
documentary telling the story of two vastly different musical traditions trying
to find common ground. It airs this Thursday, February 2 at 9 pm on Opening
Night (CBC-TV) and on Tuesday, February 7 at 11:25 pm on Zed Real (CBC-TV). For
more info, visit the CBC web site.
Brandy Jumps Into The Video Game Arena
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 26, 2006) *Having conquered music and television, Brandy is
poised to invade the video game world via a sci-fi/action project for the
company Matty/Markus Games, founded by director Matty Rich ("Straight Out
of Brooklyn") and video game veteran Frederic Markus ("Marc Ecko's
Getting Up: Contents Under Pressure"). Brandy will provide her voice and
likeness for the as-yet-untitled project, and Rich is hoping to incorporate her
personality, emotions and music into the game as well. "We
want the talent involved in our games to be part of the game's
development," Rich tells the Hollywood Reporter. "Brandy will play a
strong female character who is put into a situation that she must react to --
one which has the fate of the world hinging on it. She'll play a very dynamic
character. The success of games like 'Tomb Raider' has shown that there's a
need for strong female characters." The singer, who has sold
more than 14 million albums worldwide, will also develop an original soundtrack
for the game. Plans are for the CD to be released right before the video game
ships.
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It’s Dre Day For Floetry’s Ambrosius
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 30, 2006) *Singer Marsha Ambrosius says she wasn’t about to pass up the rare opportunity
to sign a solo deal with one of hip hop’s most
groundbreaking producers when it practically dropped in her lap. The moment
came one night toward the end of last year when the singer/songwriter was
performing at the Roxy in Los Angeles with Natalie Stewart, the other half of
her acclaimed singing duo, Floetry. In the audience that night was Dr. Dre, the
musical mastermind that pioneered hip hop’s G-Funk era of the 90s. Ambrosius
met up with Dre later that week, and next thing she knew, she was recording the
hook for one of his beats. She tells Billboard that 50 Cent walked into the room
and was "nodding his head, saying the track is on fire and maybe he'd get
on it." The experience led Dre to offer Ambrosius a solo deal on his
label, Aftermath. "I'm still kind of in a daze about it. It's
all very much a dream," she says. "I've always wanted to do a solo
album. However, I didn't expect this to come when it did. But I'm ready for
it." Meanwhile, Floetry is preparing to shoot a new video for "Lay
Down," the next single from their 2005 album, "Flo'Ology."
Cannon to Motown
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 30, 2006) *Nick Cannon has left Jive Records and signed with
Motown, where he will operate his own imprint, Can I Ball. The first
project under the deal will be his sophomore album, "Stages," due
this spring. The set features production from Kanye West and guest appearances
from Talib Kweli, Anthony Hamilton and 112. "Stages" also features
contributions from his first Can I Ball artist, Izzy. Cannon wrote and produced
all of the songs on the new album. The first single is titled
"Dimepiece."
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New CD From Soul-Jazz Flutist Althea Rene Drops Feb.
21
Source: Rick Scott / Great Scott Prods. / greatscottproductions@earthlink.net
(Jan. 30, 2006) The soulful third chapter from flutist Althea Rene, the
In The Moment album, is scheduled to be released on February 21st by
Chocolate Caramel Music/SoulVibe Entertainment, which is distributed nationally
by Koch Entertainment. Although the title cut is presently being added to
playlists at smooth jazz radio, this is an urban instrumental collection, an
aural seduction comprised of sensual R&B grooves and danceable funk with
laid back contemporary jazz nuances. Rene produced or co-produced seven
of the album’s tracks and had a hand in writing five new songs. Beyond
playing a variety of flutes on the disc, she also contributed vocals,
keyboards, percussion, bass and drum programming. Rene makes
the flute funky and sexy. Her instrument sings mellifluously with
passion. She’s backed by a tight rhythm section that keeps the beats
driving and the grooves deep, gifted horn players who bring energy and warmth,
guitarists who subtly dispense scorching riffs, classy keyboardists, and dreamy
vocalists. Musically Rene’s upbeat jams, mid-tempo grooves, and
"Quiet Storm" ballads explore elements of R&B, pop, jazz and
reggae. In addition to the first single, standout selections include the
affirmative "I Can"; the rhythmically spicy "Campari Juice";
Rene’s breathy vocal number, "More Than You Know"; "Number
One," the anthem-like Patrice Rushen composition; a cover of Beyonce’s
hit, "Me, Myself and I"; and the cuddle up close album closer,
"When You’re Around." The Detroit native is a physical presence
with her sculpted body and long braided hair. She’s focused, exudes
confidence and is very present. In fact, that’s what In The Moment is all
about to her." The present moment is perfect if we put all of our
attention and energy on it and not on the past or the future," explained
Rene. "Both in my life and musically, it feels like everything is
coming together to lead me toward my goals. This is my third album and
I’ve never been able to express myself musically better than now. I’m
aiming to make the most out of this musical moment and hope that people enjoy
it with me." Next month, Rene has a handful of live performances on her
schedule, including a high-profile gig at Detroit’s Ford Field prior to the
Super Bowl on February 5th. Other appearances with her band include Galveston,
TX on February 16th (Historic Balinese Room) and Chicago, IL on February 21st
(Oakton Community College). Additional concert dates to support the album
release will be announced.
VJ Search Series Kicks Off Tonight
By Sandy Caetano, Metro Toronto
(Jan. 30, 2006) Edgy outfits, great cheekbones and the ability to stay cool
while chatting up celebrities aren’t all it takes to be a MuchMusic VJ. Traci Melchor, a Much- MoreMusic host, says
you need a firm grasp of music and an original personality to score one of the
coveted on-air posts. Melchor is one of the four judges who’ll be rating
candidates as part of MuchMusic VJ Search: The Series, which debuts tonight on
Citytv at 8 p.m. The remaining judges are longtime MuchMusic VJ Steve Anthony,
Canadian rocker Robin Black and rapper and producer Kardinal Offishall.
"We’re looking for someone who can be a fan of everybody from Hilary Duff
to 50 Cent, a pop culture junkie," says Melchor. "We aren’t looking
for carbon copies of people that have been VJs in the past or even in the
present." Hosted by Dina Pugliese of Star! Daily, the show will feature 20
semi-finalists who were selected from the thousands of entries submitted from
across the country. Those 20 contestants will be whittled down to 10 finalists,
who will be flown to Toronto to live in a luxurious downtown penthouse, where
they will stay for the duration of the competition. During the nine weekly
hour-long episodes that include a two-part live finale, the contestants will
endure gruelling tasks and challenges to prove they’ve got the skills, style
and character to win a place at the music channel. "It’s so clichéd, but
expect the unexpected. You’re going to have 10 finalists go head to- head for
their dream job, so it’s very much a tough competition. It’s not all fun and
games," says Pugliese. "All I can tell you is that there (are) going
to be a lot of twists and turns and just when you think you’ve figured stuff
out, it’s going to change." Devon Soltendieck, who got his start at
MuchMusic after beating out 2,500 competitors in the MuchMusic VJ Search in
January 2004, says being a VJ entails more than just having fun on live
television. "It’s about knowing your music, knowing how to pick yourself
up when you’ve made a mistake and keeping viewers coming back," says
Soltendieck. "We do research and write our own stuff, so it’s a lot of
hard work, but it’s worth all the hurdles you had to jump to get here."
New Orleans' Jazz Fest Won't Be Deterred By Katrina
Source: Associated Press
(Jan. 31, 2006) New Orleans — Katrina couldn't stop the music. The 2006 New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival will go on as usual in post-Katrina New Orleans this spring,
buoyed by a deal with a first-ever presenting sponsor, the Shell oil company,
producer Quint Davis said Tuesday. New Orleans native Fats Domino, whose home
in the Lower Ninth Ward was flooded by Hurricane Katrina, will be among the
featured acts. Davis said the festival will take place at its usual location —
the historic Fair Grounds horse racing track — on the last weekend of April and
the first weekend in May, its traditional dates. "In light of the great
financial challenges of presenting the 2006 festival on the grand scale
everyone is accustomed to, we simply could not have produced Jazz Fest without
unprecedented corporate support from Shell...," Davis said in a statement.
Ten other corporate sponsors also are supporting the event. Along with Mardi
Gras, Jazz Fest is one of New Orleans' major tourist attractions. Average
annual attendance, including locals and tourists, is roughly 500,000. The
festival features a variety of musical acts playing simultaneously on numerous
stages on the Fair Grounds infield, along with food booths featuring Louisiana
cuisine and numerous arts and crafts venues. Among the challenges facing this
year's organizers: attracting big-name acts, as well as rounding up local
musicians who have scattered around the nation after their homes, and their
local performance venues, were damaged by Katrina.
A Bryan Adams Moment For Karachi Teen
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By Sonya Fatah
(Jan. 31, 2006) Karachi -- Bryan Adams didn't know he had a following in Pakistan until his debut performance at Karachi's Arabian Sea Country Club
pulled in more than 10,000 fans. Most had travelled 40 kilometres from Karachi
to witness, on Sunday, Pakistan's first international celebrity music concert
in recent history. The benefit concert was a fundraiser for schools in
Pakistan's earthquake-affected regions. But to most Pakistanis, it symbolized
an openness for which the country's more secular elite has hungered.
Halfway through, Adams called out for someone in the audience to join him
in singing the hit single, When You're Gone. From the hundreds of
excited fans who threw up their hands, for a chance to share the mike with the
singer, whose popularity penetrates the middle and upper middle class segments
of Pakistani youth. Adams chose Atika, a bubbly high-school teenager, and when
the song was done, he hugged her tight and lifted her. In any other venue, the
scene would have been ordinary. But in Pakistan, a country that has been in the
news primarily for its connection to growing Islamist extremism, the moment
seemed extraordinary. Part of the magic on Sunday night was Adams's music
selection. Adams sang only two songs from his latest album; otherwise, he sang
the songs his audience knew best -- hits such as Summer of '69, Run
to You and (Everything I Do) I Do It for You. Lit-up mobile phones
and burning lighters swayed to the tune as excited concertgoers sang along.
"Music has brought us together," said Adams to a roaring crowd at the
show's end.
EMI Canada Drafts Auf Der Maur For A&R
Excerpt from www.billboard.com
- Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.
(Jan. 31, 2006) While she completes recording for her sophomore album,
expected by year's end via Capitol, Melissa
Auf Der Maur will also be scouting up-and-coming bands
as part of a new job in the A&R department of EMI Canada. The
assignment is a by-product of Auf Der Maur moving back to Montreal in recent
months, after spending much of the past decade encamped in Los Angeles and New
York, as well as touring the globe with Hole and Smashing Pumpkins.
"Although I am signed to EMI, I'm signed through Capitol in the United
States," Auf Der Maur tells Billboard.com. "So, I have practically no
relationship with my label here in Canada. But they heard I'd moved back, came
down to one of my [showcase] events [at the Pop Montreal festival] and
approached me. They want to bring some more creative thinking to their
business. When you think about it, artists should be running the
business!" Auf Der Maur will scout bands in Canada and in the midst
of her travels, and is also evaluating music sent to her by colleagues at the
label. "The major labels in Canada are almost more like independents in
the States," she notes. "It's pretty different. This department here
is two people! They don't have as many resources." "If I can bring
any quality music into the system, I feel really, really happy to be able to do
that," she continues. "Offering advice to young musicians trying to
figure out the pros and cons is what I've been doing since as long as I can
remember. All my friends are musicians. I want to do right by music."
Monday, January 30, 2006
Baby
Wicked, Girls,
It Ain't Easy, East Side
Frankie J, Un Nuevo Dia, Sony
Knightowl,
Blue
Rag Soldiers, East Side Records
Planet
Asia, The
Sickness, Pt. 1, Copter Records
Sam &
Dave, Hold
On, I'm Comin' [Atlantic], Collectables
The Trammps,
Disco
Inferno [Collectables], Collectables
Dude In A Dress Rules Box Office
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Associated Press
(Jan. 30,
2006) LOS ANGELES—Moviegoers embraced a supersize momma in a wig and a governess who tames an unruly brood as family
friendly films dominated the weekend box office. Big
Momma's House 2, with $28
million (all figures U.S.) in estimated ticket sales, turned in the second-best
January opening ever, trailing only the $35.9 million scored by the 1997
release of a special edition of Star Wars, according to Exhibitor
Relations, which tracks box-office results. As in the original Big Momma's
House, Martin Lawrence layers on the bulges and dons billowy, floral-print
dresses, along with a wig. It was followed by another new release, Nanny
McPhee, starring Emma Thompson, with $14.1 million in ticket sales,
according to studio estimates. Underworld: Evolution tumbled to the
third spot, with $11.1 million in sales, a 59 per cent decline from its strong
first week. The fourth spot was claimed by the new release Annapolis, one
of three Disney films in the top 10. The story of a quick-fisted undergraduate,
shot on location at the U.S. Naval Academy, pulled in $7.7 million. Hoodwinked,
an animated update of the Little Red Riding Hood story, fell to the fifth
spot with $7.4 million in sales. Oscar contenders proved resilient, turning in
modest drops in attendance weeks after their release. Brokeback Mountain,
in its eighth week in theatres, ranked sixth with $6.3 million in sales.
Rounding out the top 10 were Glory Road, Last Holiday, The Chronicles
of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Matador.
Crash Wins An Upset Victory
Source: Associated Press
(Jan. 30, 2006) LOS ANGELES—Crash, the movie about simmering racial
tension in L.A. directed by Canadian Paul Haggis, scored an upset
victory last night, beating out Brokeback Mountain for the top cast
honours at the Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Brokeback, director Ang Lee's gay cowboy romance, went into the contest
as the odds-on favourite, having swept other major awards in the run-up to the
March 5 Academy Awards. It's been considered the best-picture front-runner at
the Oscars, whose nominations come out Tuesday, but its loss to Crash
could prove a speed-bump on the path toward becoming the first explicitly
gay-themed movie to win a best picture Oscar. Brokeback led the Jan. 16
Golden Globes with four wins, among them best dramatic film and director for
Ang Lee, who took the same prize Saturday from the Directors Guild of America.
But the film was shut out by the Screen Actors Guild, despite the leading four
nominations it had going into the awards. Brokeback's Heath Ledger lost
in the best male actor category to Philip Seymour Hoffman, considered an Oscar
front-runner for his role in Capote. Michelle Williams ceded supporting
female actor honours to Rachel Weisz for her role as a rabble-rousing
humanitarian-aid worker in the murder thriller The Constant Gardener.
And Brokeback's Jake Gyllenhaal lost out in the supporting actor
category to Paul Giamatti for his role as the manager of Depression-era fighter
Jim Braddock in Cinderella Man. Crash follows the lives of a
far-flung cast of characters over a chaotic 36-hour period in Los Angeles.
"This celebrates the definition of what an ensemble is all about. There's
74 of us," Crash co-star Terrence Howard said of the film's huge
cast. If Crash is nominated for a best picture Academy Award, it would
be the second trip in a row to the Oscars for Haggis, of London, Ont. He was
nominated for a screenwriting Oscar last year for Million Dollar Baby,
the story he adapted for the Clint Eastwood picture that went on to win Best
Picture. In another upset last night, Felicity Huffman, the best-actress Oscar
front-runner for her gender-bending role in Transamerica, lost the SAG
award for best female actor to Reese Witherspoon for her role as June Carter
Cash in Walk the Line. But Huffman didn't leave empty-handed, picking up
the guild prize for best female actor in a TV comedy for Desperate
Housewives, which also won for best comedy ensemble.
The best female actor honour for a TV drama series went to Canadian Sandra Oh
for the medical drama Grey's Anatomy. Oh said she was gratified at how
the casting of the show reflected real-world diversity. "To all my fellow
Asian-American actors out there, I share this with you, and be encouraged and
keep shining," she said. Another Canuck, Kiefer Sutherland, won as best
male actor in a TV drama for the action series 24, while the
airplane-disaster show Lost won for TV dramatic ensemble. Lee's
Directors Guild win affirms his position as favourite for best director at the
Academy Awards on March 5. He has captured more than 10 honours for his work on
the film, which follows a 20-year forbidden love affair between two Wyoming
ranch hands. The Directors Guild award is one of Hollywood's best barometers
for the Academy Awards. Only six times in the 57-year history of the guild
honours has the winner failed to go on to win the directing Oscar. Lee was one
of them. He won the guild prize in 2001 for Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon,
but Stephen Soderbergh took home the best director Oscar for Traffic.
The SAG awards are one of the last major film honours before the Oscars and
have a solid record of forecasting Oscar winners. All four guild acting
recipients for 2004 — Jamie Foxx for Ray, Hilary Swank and Morgan
Freeman for Million Dollar Baby and Cate Blanchett for The Aviator —
went on to win Oscars. The 12th annual SAG awards also honoured former child
star Shirley Temple Black for life achievement.
Canadian Film Honoured
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Peter Howell, Movie Critic
(Jan. 29, 2006) PARK CITY, Utah—Canadian film Eve
and the Fire Horse received a special jury prize last
night at the close of the
Sundance Film Festival. The heartwarming story of two young sisters
attempting to reverse a Chinese curse they believe is responsible for their
family misfortune was written and directed by Vancouver's Julia Kwan. The movie premiered at the
Toronto International Film Festival last September, but had its most
enthusiastic reception here at Sundance 2006. For the first time in the
festival's 22-year history, both the Grand Jury Prizes and Audience Awards for
Documentary and Dramatic Competitions were presented to the same two films.
"This year we've seen a number of films that deal sensitively with
the timely and complex issues of cultural assimilation and community,"
said Geoffrey Gilmore, festival director. "Clearly, these compelling
stories along with the quality of filmmaking have resonated with audiences and
jury members alike" The Grand Jury Prize: Documentary was given to God
Grew Tired of Us, directed by Christopher Quinn. In the late 1980s, 27,000
Sudanese lost boys marched barefoot over thousands of miles of barren desert,
seeking safe haven from the brutal civil war in their homeland. The film
chronicles the experiences of three of these boys who seek refuge in the United
States as they work to adjust to a strange new world.
The Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic was presented to Quinceañera, written and
directed by Wash Westmoreland and Richard Glatzer. Disaffected Latino teenagers
come of age in a gentrifying community in the Echo Park district of Los
Angeles. The World Cinema Jury Prize: Documentary was given to In the Pit
(Mexico), written and directed by Juan Carlos Rulfo. The World Cinema Jury
Prize: Dramatic was presented to 13 Tzameti (France), written and
directed by Géla Babluani. The Audience Award: Documentary was presented to God
Grew Tired of Us, directed by Christopher Quinn. The Audience Award:
Dramatic winner is Quinceañera, The Audience Awards are sponsored by
Volkswagen of America, and are given to a documentary and a dramatic film
screening in competition, as voted by Film Festival audiences. The World
Cinema Audience Award: Documentary was presented to De Nadie (Mexico),
directed by Tin Dirdamal. The World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic was
presented to No. 2 (New Zealand), written and directed by Toa Fraser.
The Dramatic Jury also awarded Special Jury Prizes for Independent Vision
to In Between Days directed by So Yong Kim and written by So Yong Kim
and Bradley Rust Gray. The movie was filmed in Toronto.
Sutherland, Oh Honoured by Screen Actors Guild
Excerpt from The Globe
and Mail - By David Germain, Associated Press
(Jan. 30, 2006) LOS ANGELES -- Canadians Sandra
Oh and Kiefer
Sutherland took home honours for their television roles at the Screen Actors Guild Awards last night. Ms. Oh,
who was born in Nepean, Ont. received a best-actress award for her work in the
medical television drama Grey's Anatomy. Mr. Sutherland was named best
actor in a TV drama for the action series 24. Ms. Oh said she was
gratified at how the casting of Grey's Anatomy reflected real-world
diversity. "This is unbelievable. I thank every single actor out there.
I'm so grateful for having a job." The airplane-disaster show Lost
won for TV dramatic ensemble. In addition to awarding television performers,
the Screen Actor's Guild also honours movie actors and its awards have a solid
record of forecasting Oscar winners. All four guild acting recipients for 2004
-- Jamie Foxx for Ray, Hilary Swank and Morgan Freeman for Million
Dollar Baby and Cate Blanchett for The Aviator -- went on to win
Oscars. This year's Oscar nominations will be announced tomorrow. Last night,
Oscar prospects for Reese Witherspoon and Philip Seymour Hoffman intensified
with their wins as best actor and actress. Ms. Witherspoon won for her role as
singer June Carter in Walk the Line and Mr. Seymour Hoffman for
portraying author Truman Capote in Capote. Ensemble drama Crash
pulled off an upset win over Brokeback Mountain for the overall cast
award.
Rachel Weisz and Paul Giamatti were boosted with their guild awards for best
supporting actress and actor. Ms. Weisz was honoured for playing a
rabble-rousing humanitarian-aid worker in the murder thriller The Constant Gardener,
and Mr. Giamatti won for his role as the manager of Depression-era fighter Jim
Braddock in the boxing drama Cinderella Man. "I can't imagine a
greater honour than being acknowledged by my peers," Mr. Giamatti said.
"Being an actor is a hell of a thing. It's a hell of a thing. It's up and
down. It's great, but I found the best thing about it is hanging around the
craft-service table with other actors and crew people, eating doughnuts."
"It's so special to be honoured by fellow actors, so thanks very much to
the tribe," said Ms. Weisz, who also won the Golden Globe
supporting-actress prize. Among those Ms. Weisz beat out was Michelle Williams
of the cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain. Felicity Huffman, the
front-runner for a best-actress Oscar for her gender-bending role in Transamerica,
won the guild prize for best actress in a TV comedy for Desperate Housewives,
which also won for best comedy ensemble. Ms. Huffman was up for best film
actress for Transamerica later in the evening. The 12th annual SAG
awards also were honouring former child star Shirley Temple Black for life
achievement.
Brokeback Leads The Herd
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - David Germain, Associated Press
(Jan. 31, 2006) BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. - The cowboy love story
Brokeback Mountain led the Academy
Awards field Tuesday with eight nominations, among them best picture and
honours for actor Heath Ledger and
director Ang Lee. Also
nominated for best picture were the Truman Capote story Capote; the
ensemble drama Crash; the Edward R. Murrow chronicle Good Night, and
Good Luck; the assassination thriller Munich. It was breakout
year for Haggis, who received a nod for best director and earned an original
screenplay nomination with Crash co-writer Bobby Moresco. The
Johnny Cash biography, Walk the Line, considered a likely best picture
nominee, was shut out, though Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon earned
acting nominations for the film. Three films were tied with six
nominations each — Crash, Good Night, and Good Luck and Memoirs of a
Geisha, though Geisha was shut out in the top categories. Munich,
which had fallen off many awards analysts’ best-picture picks after a lukewarm
reception, scored well with five nominations, including director for Steven
Spielberg. King Kong, helmed by Lord of the Rings director
Peter Jackson, earned only technical nominations, losing out in the major
categories. George Clooney picked up three nominations: as supporting
actor for his role as a steadfast CIA undercover agent in Syriana and
best director and co-writer for Good Night. It was the first time
ever that a contender was honoured with acting and directing nominations for
two different movies. Along with best-actor contender Ledger, and
directing nominee Lee, Brokeback Mountain scored nominations for Michelle
Williams as supporting actress, Jake Gyllenhaal as supporting actor and Larry
McMurtry and Diana Ossana for their screenplay adaptation of Annie Proulx’s
short story. Director Lee said he was gratified at the reception both
homosexual and heterosexual audiences have given Brokeback Mountain,
which has proven a steady box-office draw across the country.
“I didn’t know there were so many gay people out there. Everywhere, they turn
up,” Lee said. “More importantly, I think I’m amazed how people
everywhere have had the sensitivity to want to get into the complexity of the
issue, the probability of love, the illusion of love, all those things. It’s
not simple things you can categorize as right or wrong.” The acting
categories were a mix of familiar Oscar faces such as past winners Judi Dench
and Charlize Theron, veterans like Clooney, Witherspoon, Rachel Weisz, David
Strathairn and Felicity Huffman gaining their first academy attention, and
young performers such as Williams and Amy Adams. Philip Seymour Hoffman,
the best-actor favourite for his remarkable impersonation of author Truman
Capote in Capote, joined Ledger in the best-actor category. Hoffman has
triumphed at earlier film honours, including the Golden Globes. Along
with Hoffman, Ledger and Phoenix, the other nominees were Terrence Howard as a
small-time hood turned rap singer in Hustle & Flow and Strathairn as
newsman Murrow in Good Night, and Good Luck. The best-actress race
presumably will shape up as a two-woman contest between Huffman in a
gender-bending role as a man about to undergo sex-change surgery in Transamerica
and Witherspoon as singer June Carter, Cash’s musical companion and future
wife, in Walk the Line. Huffman won the Golden Globe for best
dramatic actress, while Witherspoon earned the Globe for best actress in a
musical or comedy. Witherspoon beat Huffman on Sunday for the best-actress
prize at the Screen Actors Guild Awards. Also nominated for the
best-actress Oscar were Dench as a society dame who starts a nude stage revue
in 1930s London in Mrs. Henderson Presents; Keira Knightley as the
romantic heroine of the Jane Austen adaptation Pride & Prejudice;
Charlize Theron as a mine worker who leads a sexual-harassment lawsuit against
male co-workers in North Country. “I am so thrilled to be
nominated for something I loved working on every single day,” Dench said.
Brokeback Mountain led a wave of lower-budgeted independent films that
scored big in the nominations, instead of the studio fare that normally
dominates the Oscars. Other than Munich, most bigger budget movies that
had been on the best-picture radar, such as Walk the Line, Memoirs of
a Geisha and Cinderella Man, were overlooked in the top Oscar
category. The year’s biggest hit, Star Wars: Episode III — Revenge of
the Sith, earned only one nomination (for makeup) — but was shut out
otherwise — including the visual-effects category, a blow to George Lucas and
his Industrial Light & Magic outfit that has pioneered special effects. The
visual effects nominees were The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch
and The Wardrobe, King Kong, and Spielberg’s War of the Worlds.
With key prizes at earlier Hollywood honours under its belt, Brokeback
Mountain heads into the March 5 awards as the best-picture front-runner,
potentially the first film with explicit homosexual themes to claim the grand
prize at the Oscars. The film stars Ledger and Gyllenhaal as Western
roughnecks who share a summer of love while tending sheep together in the
1960s, then carry on a lifelong romance they conceal from their families.
Williams co-stars as Ledger’s wife, who overlooks her husband’s affair to try
to hold her family together. Weisz, playing a humanitarian-aid worker in The
Constant Gardener, won the supporting-actress prize at the Golden Globes
and SAG awards, giving her the inside track for the same honour at the Oscars.
Along with Weisz and Williams, supporting-actress nominations went to
newcomer Adams as a big-hearted Southern waif in Junebug; Catherine
Keener as To Kill a Mockingbird author Harper Lee in Capote; and
Frances McDormand as a miner coping with debilitating disease in North
Country. Besides Gyllenhaal and Clooney as a bullheaded CIA agent in Syriana,
nominees for supporting actor were Matt Dillon as a racist cop in Crash;
Paul Giamatti as boxer Braddock’s manager in Cinderella Man; and William
Hurt as a ruthless mobster in A History of Violence. Hurt was a
bit of surprise since he only appears for a few minutes at the end of the film
in scene-stealing role. Lee, who won the Directors Guild of America
honour Saturday for Brokeback Mountain, is the clear favourite to win
the best-director Oscar.
He’ll compete against Spielberg, Clooney and Haggis, as well as Bennett Miller,
who was nominated for Capote. It was the first time since 1981
that the same five movies were nominated for directing and best picture.
And for the first time since the animated feature film category was added
in 2001 that no nominees were made using computer-generated imagery. The
nominees: the hand-drawn Howl’s Moving Castle, and the stop-motion films
Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride and Wallace & Gromit in The Curse of
the Were-Rabbit. Wallace & Gromit creator Nick Park said
he was thrilled by the nomination. “It’s fantastic,” Park said, toasting
the nomination with champagne at Heathrow Airport as he waited for a flight to
Los Angeles. “You never know with these things. It’s so unpredictable.
“You make the film for its own sake really. You don’t make the film for
this reason. It’s just a great bonus.” Oscar nominees in most categories
are chosen by specific branches of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences, such as directors, actors and writers. The full academy membership of
about 5,800 is eligible to vote in all categories for the Oscars themselves.
ABC will broadcast the Oscars live from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre, with
Jon Stewart as host. Filmmaker Robert Altman, who has been nominated five
times for best director but has never won, will receive an honorary Oscar for a
career that includes such films as M-A-S-H, Nashville, The Player and Gosford
Park.
Why Disney Wooed A Crazy Canuck
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail -
By Gayle MacDonald
(Jan. 28, 2006) When Walt Disney Co.'s lucrative distribution deal with
'toon darling Pixar ended in late 2002, the Mouse House went looking for
talented, edgy animators with whom it could partner up. It ended up on the
doorstep of San Francisco-based Complete Pandemonium, a tiny firm whose
eccentric creative brain is Toronto-born Steve
(Spaz) Williams, a special-effects whiz who lives in the United
States but remains a fervent — some would say fanatical — Toronto Maple Leafs /
Don Cherry-loving Canadian. Disney was specifically wooing Williams, a graduate
of Oakville, Ont.'s Sheridan College, to direct The Wild, an $80-million
(U.S.) animated feature film about a madcap troupe of animals who run away from
the zoo. At first, Williams waffled, unsure about working for a monolith of
Walt's proportions. But finally he accepted — on one whopping condition.
Williams wanted to team up with a Toronto-based special effects / animation
house named CORE, co-founded 12 years ago by Star Trek's William
Shatner. The 44-year-old director also insisted that all the work be done by
Canadian animators on their own turf: right in Hogtown. Wanting him bad, Disney
caved. And Williams, a rough-around-the-edges guy who always speaks his peace,
started hiring. Before The Wild went into production, CORE employed 120
employees. Within the space of a few months, the company had expanded to 450
people, and moved to a much bigger shop — from 25,000 square feet to three
times that much in a converted warehouse on Toronto's high-creativity King
Street West. Now in postproduction and due to be released in theatres Good
Friday, April 14, The Wild ranks as the largest animation production
ever done in Canada. And Williams — whose second hero after Cherry is Stompin'
Tom Connors — is damn proud of that. “It really was a long time coming,” says
Williams, whose standard garb is a ratty T-shirt (or Leafs jersey), combat
boots and camouflage fatigues. “It's an all-Canadian talent doing it in Toronto
instead of in some U.S. studio. We killed ourselves, we truly did. It was
tough, because production — on that size budget — was difficult. Making a film
of this quality for under $80-million is a triumph, seeing as the majority of
them, like Chicken Little, cost $150-million.
Academy Award Nominations —
Full list
Source: Associated Press
(Jan 31, 2006) List of the 78th annual Oscar nominations announced
Tuesday in Beverly Hills, Calif., by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and
Sciences:
1. Best Picture: Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, Good Night, and Good
Luck, Munich.
2. Actor: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Capote;
Terrence Howard, Hustle & Flow; Heath Ledger, Brokeback Mountain;
Joaquin Phoenix, Walk the Line; David Strathairn, Good Night, and
Good Luck.
3. Actress: Judi Dench, Mrs. Henderson
Presents; Felicity Huffman, Transamerica; Keira Knightley, Pride
& Prejudice; Charlize Theron, North Country; Reese Witherspoon, Walk
the Line.
4. Supporting Actor: George Clooney, Syriana;
Matt Dillon, Crash; Paul Giamatti, Cinderella Man; Jake
Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain; William Hurt, A History of Violence.
5. Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, Junebug;
Catherine Keener, Capote; Frances McDormand, North Country;
Rachel Weisz, The Constant Gardener; Michelle Williams, Brokeback
Mountain.
6. Director: Ang Lee, Brokeback Mountain;
Bennett Miller, Capote; Paul Haggis, Crash; George Clooney, Good
Night, and Good Luck; Steven Spielberg, Munich.
7. Foreign Film: Don't Tell, Italy; Joyeux
Noel, France; Paradise Now, Palestine; Sophie Scholl - The Final
Days, Germany; Tsotsi, South Africa.
8. Adapted Screenplay: Larry McMurtry &
Diana Ossana, Brokeback Mountain; Dan Futterman, Capote; Jeffrey
Caine, The Constant Gardener; Josh Olson, A History of Violence;
Tony Kushner and Eric Roth, Munich.
9. Original Screenplay: Paul Haggis &
Bobby Moresco, Crash; George Clooney & Grant Heslov, Good Night,
and Good Luck; Woody Allen, Match Point; Noah Baumbach, The Squid
and the Whale; Stephen Gaghan, Syriana.
10. Animated Feature Film: Howl's Moving
Castle; Tim Burton's Corpse Bride; Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the
Were-Rabbit.
11. Art Direction: Good Night, and Good
Luck, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, King Kong, Memoirs of a
Geisha, Pride & Prejudice.
12. Cinematography: Batman Begins,
Brokeback Mountain, Good Night, and Good Luck, Memoirs of a Geisha, The New
World.
13. Sound Mixing: The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha,
Walk the Line, War of the Worlds.
14. Sound Editing: King Kong, Memoirs of
a Geisha, War of the Worlds.
15. Original Score: Brokeback Mountain,
Gustavo Santaolalla; The Constant Gardener, Alberto Iglesias; Memoirs
of a Geisha, John Williams; Munich, John Williams; Pride &
Prejudice, Dario Marianelli.
16. Original Song: In the Deep from Crash,
Kathleen Bird York and Michael Becker; It's Hard Out Here for a Pimp from Hustle
& Flow, Jordan Houston, Cedric Coleman and Paul Beauregard; Travelin'
Thru from Transamerica, Dolly Parton.
17. Costume: Charlie and the Chocolate
Factory, Memoirs of a Geisha, Mrs. Henderson Presents, Pride & Prejudice,
Walk the Line.
18. Documentary Feature: Darwin's
Nightmare, Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room, March of the Penguins,
Murderball, Street Fight.
19. Documentary (short subject): The
Death of Kevin Carter: Casualty of the Bang Bang Club, God Sleeps in Rwanda,
The Mushroom Club, A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin.
20. Film Editing: Cinderella Man, The
Constant Gardener, Crash, Munich, Walk the Line.
21. Makeup: The Chronicles of Narnia:
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Cinderella Man, Star Wars: Episode III -
Revenge of the Sith.
22. Animated Short Film: Badgered, The
Moon and the Son: An Imagined Conversation, The Mysterious Geographic Explorations
of Jasper Morello, 9, One Man Band.
23. Live Action Short Film: Ausreisser
(The Runaway), Cashback, The Last Farm, Our Time Is Up, Six Shooter.
24. Visual Effects: The Chronicles of
Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, King Kong, War of the Worlds.
---
Academy Award winners previously announced
this year:
Honorary Award (Oscar statuette): Robert
Altman.
The Gordon E. Sawyer award (Oscar
statuette): Gary Demos.
Canuck Director Haggis Gets
Oscar Nods For Crash
By John McKay, Canadian Press
(Jan. 31, 2006) It's turning out to be a pretty good week for Canadian
director Paul Haggis. On Sunday, his edgy
race-relations film Crash was a surprise winner at the Screen Actors
Guild Awards. Then on Tuesday, the London, Ont., native woke to news that
he'd received Academy Award nominations for best director and best original
screenplay. Crash is also up for best picture. "It's
been a little crazy," Haggis said of the Oscar hoopla during an interview
with CBC Newsworld. Asked how such huge Hollywood success has affected
him, the director joked: "It's completely changed me, I'm now huge."
Haggis, based in Santa Monica, Calif., cut his teeth as a TV writer,
winning awards for his work on series like Thirtysomething and the
Canuck classic Due South. He eventually made the jump to movies,
earning an Oscar nomination last year for his adapted screenplay of the
best-picture-winning Million Dollar Baby. Haggis initially wanted to
direct the boxing drama but backed off when Clint Eastwood showed interest.
Then came Crash, the much-discussed film that follows the
intersecting lives of a group of L.A. citizens over a 36-hour period.
"I was trying to talk about where we are right now as a society, and
talk about the fear we all live in, and certainly since 9-11, how it's affected
us and the world," Haggis said of the film on Newsworld. Crash also
earned Oscar nominations for film editing, original song and a supporting actor
nod for Matt Dillon. Haggis shares his screenplay nomination with Crash
co-writer Bobby Moresco. The Oscar recognition, he said, opens new
doors. "The nice thing about these nominations . . is they give you
the credibility to do projects that are riskier," said Haggis, adding that
he's currently working on a script about Iraq.
Other Canadian Oscar connections this year include:
— Murderball, a best documentary nominee
about the surprisingly vicious world of disabled rugby players. It features
several Canadians, including Dave Willsie, co-captain of the Canadian
wheelchair team.
— Capote, with five nominations including best picture, was
majority-financed by Vancouver's Infinity Features.
— Toronto's David
Cronenberg was shut out in the best director category but his film A
History of Violence was nominated for best adapted screenplay (Josh Olson)
and best supporting actor (William Hurt).
— There are also two best-picture nominees that were shot in
Canada. Capote was filmed in Winnipeg in the winter of 2004. And Brokeback
Mountain was filmed in Alberta, even though the film is set in Wyoming.
Haggis Doubts Oscar Chances
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Peter Howell, Movie Critic
(Feb. 1, 2006) Crash filmmaker Paul
Haggis stands to become the most successful Canadian at the Oscars since
James Cameron with Titanic, but he thinks he doesn't have a chance
against the Brokeback Mountain juggernaut. "You won't be
seeing me on the stage, but you'll see me in the audience with a good
smile," the London, Ont.-born writer/director told the Star from
Los Angeles yesterday, after his ensemble road drama scored six Academy Awards
nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. (Titanic
took 11 Oscars in 1998, tying with Ben-Hur and The Lord of the Rings:
The Return of the King for most Academy Awards.) Crash is just
behind Ang Lee's cowboy romance Brokeback Mountain, which leads with
eight nods, and tied with George Clooney's journalism inquiry Good Night,
and Good Luck. Rounding out the Best Picture pack are Bennett Miller's
character study Capote and Steven Spielberg's payback drama Munich,
each with five nominations. "I'm shocked and delighted, but honest
to God, I didn't think we'd get them," the 52-year-old Haggis said from
the West Hollywood hotel room where he's holed up penning his next movie, an
Iraq war reckoning tentatively titled Death and Dishonor. "Brokeback
is going to go all the way, I think. And how could you feel badly about that,
being in the company of all these wonderful films this year? They're all
passion pieces and all from filmmakers who took real risks. I would have been
proud to have been associated with any of those films. If any of them win, I'll
be thrilled." He was equally generous last year when his Oscar-nominated
adapted screenplay of Million Dollar Baby, the 2004 Best Picture winner,
lost to Sideways on awards night. Had Haggis listened to his
doctors while making Crash two years ago, he might not be where he is
today. Haggis suffered a heart attack during the filming, and his medics wanted
him to hand over the reins to another director to finish the job.
"Never listen to doctors!" Haggis said, only partly in jest.
"I had to finish the movie, no matter what. There was never any
option for me. The doctors were worried and they had a nurse on the set taking
my blood pressure every 15 minutes. But I milked it for everything I could get.
The actors and the crew were all walking on their tiptoes."
The Academy Awards will be handed out March 5 in a worldwide broadcast from the
Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. This is the year of the topsy-turvy Oscars, where
small is big and the unexpected suddenly becomes the obvious. Many of the
big-ticket and big-studio films touted as Oscar candidates before Christmas —
including King Kong, Memoirs of a Geisha and Walk the Line —
came up short of the nominating votes needed to secure a Best Picture berth.
Just a few short weeks ago, Spielberg's Munich was touted as the
film to beat for Best Picture honours on down. Prior to its Christmas release,
it ranked No. 1 on most pundits' Oscar prediction lists before virtually anyone
had seen a single frame of the top-secret project, due to Spielberg's outsized
influence in Hollywood. But that was before the slow-burning Brokeback
Mountain caught fire, and Crash turned from roadkill into road
warrior. Of the five main contenders, Spielberg's movie is now the least
likely to take the top prize, since it doesn't have a single acting nomination
to accompany it — and that lonely situation has triumphed just three times in
the past 48 years. Munich has also been hobbled by debate about
Spielberg's pacifist intentions in probing the aftermath of the 1972
Palestinian massacre of Israel's Olympic athletes. Lee's saddle soaper Brokeback
Mountain was simply a worthy little love story two months ago, but after rising
steadily through guild and Golden Globe awards, it's now Oscar's main squeeze
and a social phenomenon to boot. It dominates the field with its eight
nominations: best picture, director, actor (Heath Ledger), supporting actor
(Jake Gyllenhaal), supporting actress (Michelle Williams), adapted screenplay
(Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana), cinematography (Rodrigo Prieto) and original
score (Gustavo Santaolalla). If it wins Best Picture, it will be the first
explicitly gay romance to do so in Oscar history. Following close behind
with six nominations is the ensemble L.A. street story Crash, which
Haggis wrote, directed and produced — he could end up on the Oscar stage three
times on March 5, no matter what he says. The six nominations for Crash
are for best picture, director, supporting actor (Matt Dillon), original
screenplay (Haggis with co-writer Robert Moresco), original song ("In the
Deep") and editing (Hughes Winborne). Crash came from much
further behind than Brokeback Mountain. Released last May, outside of
the usual fall release pattern for Academy worthies, it had been all but
written off for Oscar consideration, overlooked by many critics and industry
guilds in year-end kudos. It failed to land a Golden Globe nomination in the
best motion picture (drama) category, normally a prerequisite for an Oscar run.
But the tide began turning earlier this month when the Broadcast Film Critics
Association gave two of its Critics' Choice awards to the film, for
screenwriting and for ensemble acting. Most pundits had predicted fellow
Canadian David Cronenberg would be winning Academy favour for A History of
Violence, his karmic reckoning that fared well in year-end honours. But
Cronenberg's Oscar chances are limited to just two nominations: Best Supporting
Actor for William Hurt and Best Adapted Screenplay for Josh Olson. The Toronto
director wasn't taking journalists' questions yesterday. Tied with Crash
for six Oscar nods is George Clooney's journalism ode Good Night, and Good
Luck, the first black-and-white movie since Schindler's List to be
considered for Best Picture. The well-loved Clooney is one of the five
nominees for Best Director for the film, his second as helmer, and he shares an
adapted screenplay nom with co-writer Grant Heslov. (Clooney is also in the
running for best supporting actor, as part of the ensemble cast of the oil
exposé Syriana). But first-time Oscar nominee David Strathairn
gets the best actor nod for Good Night, and Good Luck, in the central
role of crusading 1950s broadcaster Edward R. Murrow. Bennett Miller is
another writer/director winning Oscar attention, for his feature debut Capote,
the story behind author Truman Capote's writing of the iconic crime saga In
Cold Blood. The film has five nominations, for best picture, director,
actor (Philip Seymour Hoffman, the front-runner for the prize), supporting
actress (Catherine Keener), and adapted screenplay (Miller again).
Spielberg's Munich rounds out the five Best Picture nominees, also
with five nods: director, editing (Michael Kahn), original score (John
Williams) and adapted screenplay (Tony Kushner and Eric Roth).
The four acting categories canvass a wider range of movies, indicating the
desire of Academy nominators to include as many good performances as possible.
Joining Ledger, Strathairn and Hoffman in the Best Actor tussle are
Joaquin Phoenix, who masterfully recalls Johnny Cash in Walk the Line,
and Terrence Howard, the hip-hop star of Hustle&Flow, last year's
Sundance sensation. Howard might benefit from the fact that he's also part of Crash,
and shared in the recent ensemble acting award given to the movie by members of
the Screen Actors Guild, the largest voting bloc in the Academy. But Hoffman
looks invincible in this category, having already aced most of the bellwether
awards. Reese Witherspoon seems to have a lock on the Best Actress prize,
for her portrayal of June Carter Cash in Walk the Line. She has also
dominated earlier prize derbies. But she has impressive competition in Felicity
Huffman (Transamerica), Charlize Theron (North Country), Keira
Knightley (Pride & Prejudice) and Judi Dench (Mrs. Henderson
Presents). The Best Supporting Actor category has a surprise
nomination in William Hurt, who appears only briefly — albeit memorably — at
the end of A History of Violence. He faces stiff opposition from Paul
Giamatti's Cinderella Man nod, which many view as recompense for his Sideways
snub last year, and from Clooney's Syriana bid, which Clooney may
well cash in on if voters do the expected and choose Ang Lee for Best Director.
Also in the hunt, and with solid prospects, are Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback
Mountain) and Matt Dillon (Crash). Best Supporting Actress has
a surprise only for people who didn't follow the Critics' Choice Awards on Jan.
9, where Amy Adams's Junebug performance tied with Michelle Williams in Brokeback
Mountain for the supporting actress trophy. The two will face off again for
the Oscar, along with Catherine Keener (Capote), Frances McDormand (North
Country) and Rachel Weisz (The Constant Gardener).
FILM TIDBITS
Sarah Polley Film Wins Spain's Oscar
Excerpt from The Toronto
Star - Associated Press
(Jan. 30, 2006) MADRID — The Secret Life of Words, a psychological drama about love under extreme
circumstances, won four trophies at the
Goya film awards, Spain's version of the Oscars. The English-language
film starring Tim Robbins, Sarah Polley and Julie Christie won the trophies for best film,
best original screenplay, best director and best production at a gala ceremony
that began Sunday late night, lasted more than four hours and was widely
described in newspapers as agonizingly slow. The movie, directed by Isabel
Coixet, tells the story of love that blossoms between a man severely burned in
an offshore oil rig accident and a nurse sent to treat him. The woman carries
with her painful memories of having been tortured during the war in Bosnia.
"This story never would have been possible without the women of Sarajevo
who lent me their words, their silences, their secrets," Coixet said. The
award for best actor went to Oscar Jaenada for his portrayal of the late
flamenco singer Camaron de la Isla in a film called Camaron. Best
actress honours went to Candela Pena for her portrayal of a young prostitute
and the friendship she develops with another escort in the film Princesas.
The ceremony marked the 20th anniversary of the Goya awards and featured clips
from top Spanish films over the past two decades. Woody Allen's Match Point won
an award for best foreign film shot in Europe.
Terrence Howard Nominated For Oscar
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 31, 2006) *What a fitting way to cap a breakout 2005. The award season
leading up to the Oscars in March has been very kind to
Terrence Howard. This morning, it got a
whole lot better, as the 36-year-old's work in last year's “Hustle & Flow”
received an Academy Award nomination for best actor. Howard appears in the
category with “Brokeback Mountain’s” Heath Ledger, “Walk the Line’s” Joaquin
Phoenix, Phillip Seymour Hoffman of “Capote” and David Strathairn of “Good
Night, and Good Luck.” While Howard did not receive a nomination for his
supporting role in “Crash,” the film earned five, including best picture, best
screenplay (Paul Haggis), best director (Haggis) and a supporting nod for Matt
Dillon. Meanwhile, the South African film “Tsotsi,” about the
violent life of a young gangster in Johannesburg, was nominated for best
foreign film. The 78th Annual Academy Awards will be handed out on March
5.
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Samuel L. Jackson A Permanent Fixture In Hollywood
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Feb. 1, 2006) *Samuel Leroy Jackson became a part of Hollywood history Monday in a ceremony marking
his long film career, which includes
roles in more than 100 films. The 57-year-old Washington D.C. native placed his
hands and feet into wet cement in front of Grauman’s Chinese Theatre, where the
imprints will sit forever alongside those left by such legends as Bette Davis,
Elizabeth Taylor, Jimmy Stewart and Judy Garland. "It's an awesome sort of
experience, the kind of thing you don't really think about as a young actor,"
Jackson said at the ceremony. "You sort of stop to pause and say to
yourself, 'Wow, you're in a very elite club.'" Jackson, whose first movie
was "Together for Days" in 1972, has gone on to film memorable turns
in “Pulp Fiction”; the Spike Lee films "Do the Right Thing" and
"Jungle Fever"; and as the Jedi master Mace Windu in episodes I, II
and III of “Star Wars.” His next
film, “Freedomland,” opens Feb. 17.
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Groovy, Uninhibited Canadian Rock
Excerpt from The Globe
and Mail - By Guy Dixon
(Jan. 30, 2006) It's the height of the 1960s. Tucked inside The New Penelope, a
basement coffeehouse in Montreal, The Guess Who are
watching a small-town Ontario singer perform a 60-minute set of his own songs.
There are only 50 people in the audience, but Burton Cummings and Randy Bachman
are envious and keep nudging each other, saying, "some day that'll be
us." Bear in mind, The Guess Who at this point is already a promising
singles band, on the cusp of rising as high as most Canadian groups in the
sixties could dream. But the figure performing has already hit something higher
artistically. The singer is Gordon Lightfoot. The two-hour special Shakin' All Over: Canadian Pop Music in the 1960s
is filled with such pivotal moments and musical connections weaving
together early Canadian rock and folk, from Buffy Sainte- Marie to Steppenwolf.
Writer Nicholas Jennings and director Gary McGroarty have fulfilled every pop
historian's dream by digging out forgotten footage and creating a beautifully
concise, music-laden special airing tonight on CBC Television. It's the sixties
Canadian rock scene at its groovy, uninhibited peak. So much came out of what
many must have considered back then to be utterly innocuous stuff, such as
CBC's teen pop show Let's Go. The house band, when the show was taped in
Vancouver, was The Classics, a fairly traditional R&B group. That band then
blossomed into The Collectors, helping to establish Vancouver's 4th Avenue
psychedelic scene and clubs such as The Afterthought and Retinal Circus. L.A.
beckoned, and The Collectors became a success there too with a big billboard on
Sunset Strip. By the end of the decade, the group reinvented itself yet again
as Chilliwack, a staple of Vancouver rock in the 1970s.
But more than just rock genealogy or a nostalgic walk through Dad's LPs, the
music represents not only the birth of the Canadian rock industry, but what it
was to be young and alive in the 1960s -- if not today. "[We] really
didn't want to make this an oldies show," Jennings says. "We wanted
to make it clear that these songs have a life. There's a legacy there which
resonates with people no matter what age." The little history of CBC's Let's
Go had other historic offshoots: The house band for shows taped in Winnipeg
was none other than The Guess Who. By the second season, the CBC producer of
the show agreed to hear some of the band's own songs and, if he liked them, to
let them play them on air. One was These Eyes, which went on to solidify
The Guess Who's career and open the door a little wider for countless other
Canadian bands. Take The Staccatos. The Guess Who were asked by Coca-Cola to
write and record half an album (sold for 10 bottle caps and $1, Bachman said),
as part of a rock-oriented promotion. The Staccatos wrote the other half. That
group later became the Five Man Electrical Band and penned the major 1971 hit Signs,
an immediately recognizable song programmed into everyone's DNA, whether you
recognize the title or not. But none of this cross-nurturing compares to the
exchange of ideas and band members in Toronto's Yorkville and Yonge Street
scenes. The message in Opportunity, the headstrong hit by Mandala with
the late guitar great Domenic Troiano, seems so prophetic now. From Yonge
Street and what was then called the Toronto Sound -- a mix of rock and soul
(and small traces of reggae given the Jamaican influence in Toronto) -- came
such powerhouse acts as Ronnie Hawkins and The Hawks, which (minus Hawkins)
became The Band, David Clayton Thomas, who went on to join Blood, Sweat and
Tears, and Toronto's hugely popular, scream-inducing band Jon and Lee and The
Checkmates, just to name a few. From the coffeehouses of Yorkville came bands
such as Neil Young's early group The Squires, The Sparrow, which would turn
into Steppenwolf, and the high-voltage psychedelic group The Paupers opening for
Jefferson Airplane and utterly stealing its spotlight. There was also the
harmonic, Summer of Love-imbibed Kensington Market, managed by Bob Dylan's
Albert Grossman. A clip of the band features the two legendary Toronto singers
Keith McKie and Luke Gibson, performing the incredible Side I Am, a song
that should top any best-of-the-sixties song list, if only it had been lucky
enough to get more exposure.
But as some note in the documentary, it's the regional garage bands that had a
sound which seems so utterly contemporary today. These were the groups that
never got beyond the high-school dance circuit and small clubs despite their
hard-edged sound, channelling the same blues as The Rolling Stones. Groups
like: Vancouver's The Seeds of Time, Toronto's The Ugly Ducklings (said to have
been Mick Jagger's favourite Canadian band), Halifax's kilt-wearing The Great
Scots and especially Montreal's The Haunted. With their single 1-2-5 playing
as the soundtrack, the CBC filmed The Haunted in the mid-sixties for a "youth
culture" documentary called The Restless Years. For sheer sixties
iconography -- the horn-rimmed glasses and overgrown haircuts, the Beatle
boots, the tamed R&B raunch -- the ultra-rare clip remains Canada at its
coolest. "It was really important to go beyond the usual Canadian
icons," Jennings says, "and to put them in the context of all the
other music that was coming out of Canada in the sixties. My urgency was to
find that music and save it before it's lost to the mists of time." Also
appealing for its folk-rock air, op-art backdrops and Sassoon hairstyles is
footage of Toronto's The Stormy Clovers performing Leonard Cohen's Suzanne. Both
acts shared the same manager, Mary Martin (also credited with hooking The Band
up with the newly electrified Bob Dylan). Even though some artists were
recording his material, such as Judy Collins, The Stormy Clovers undoubtedly
gave Cohen that extra push into what became his near mythical, late-blooming
musical career. Jennings says he's currently in talks with labels to reissue
the songs featured in the documentary, which would be a godsend. There are also
plans to make two other films, one running from the 1970s to the rise of music
videos in the mid-1980s and another from the mid-1980s until the current
explosion of Canadian indie bands. In the meantime, if there was ever a CBC
special to tape, Shakin' All Over is it. The footage is as valuable as
the dimming memories of the long-disappeared Yorkville and 4th Avenue scenes,
while the music only gets better and better over time. Shakin' All Over airs
at 8 tonight on CBC-TV.
CBC And Global Rebrand In A Bid To Catch CTV
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Antonia
Zerbisias
(Jan. 29, 2006) Not long ago, there were many channels and yet nothing on.
Now the problem is how to watch all the stuff you've recorded on your
PVR, ordered on VOD, bought on DVD or downloaded on MP3. Even without the
fancy new hardware, the typical digital household with 300 channels still faces
an estimated — wait for it — three million programming decisions a year.
No wonder TV viewing is going up, not down. That's why broadcasters —
especially conventional broadcasters — are trying to make themselves heard
above the din. In Canada, CTV
has done an excellent job of positioning itself as the purveyor of popular
programming, including most of the top-rated home-grown shows. From Canada
AM to Corner Gas to CSI, the network has a distinct face —
the round red C, the blue square T, and green triangle V — that appears during,
before, after and on programs, often with stars of the shows. It even has its
little flutey theme music, which every Canadian recognizes. True,
programming has catapulted CTV into the ratings stratosphere. But its branding
promises couch potatoes that the network is a reliable source of great viewing.
Which could be why both CBC and Global are rebranding. Most viewers have
already seen the in-house designed swirly maps and whirly words and heard the
five-note "mnemonic" that go with all CBC news programming. Even
radio newscasts and CBC.ca have been overhauled with a unified look that was
unveiled during the second English-language leaders' debate in the election
campaign, when millions would be checking in. The changes were accompanied
by a relaunch of the supper-hour newscasts, locally at 6 p.m. and nationally at
6:30. Other tweaks included abbreviated, primetime newscasts at the top of the
hour on Newsworld. Three-minute weather hits at the bottom of the hour,
including on The National. A move to more populist, less political
process reportage. And CBC isn't stopping at news: The entertainment is yet to
come. In the works: a "sports centre."
All of this was the product of the network's News Study, a massive pan-network
effort that, CBCers hope, will lead to the renewal of the news.
"What we wanted to say, the things that you've come to like and
trust about CBC News go beyond just what you see on television," explains
John Bozzo, executive director of communications for CBC English services.
"It extends to radio. It extends to online. "So if we perform
well on news, it actually has a halo effect on the rest of the network,"
says Bozzo. "Getting news right is absolutely critical." At
Global, which has been getting clobbered by CTV, the rebranding will make its
debut on Super Bowl Sunday next weekend. Its graphics are red and white,
angular and fast-moving. The changes will affect Global's newscasts,
which are also getting a makeover. A week from tomorrow, Global National
with Kevin Newman bumps up an hour to 5:30 p.m., to be followed by the
local newscast at 6. "The reason for rebranding is to make sure that
Global is clearly positioned in the minds of viewers," says Walter Levitt,
CanWest's senior vice-president of marketing for television and radio.
"This company has made a huge commitment to rebuilding Global,''
continues Levitt. "We're making a big investment in news, we're making a
big investment in the branding, we're making a big investment in
advertising." And Global is going to need it. The network has
undergone considerable upheaval in recent years, thanks to changes at the
parent company, CanWest Global. Bad programming decisions and bad management
moves knocked the network out of top spot, a position CanWest CEO Leonard Asper
wants back. But will whooshing graphics do the trick?
"Everybody realizes that a new logo is not going to make people
watch a channel more," says Levitt. "Rebranding is not about a new
logo. It's about a new promise to viewers ... Everything that we do is going
have a completely new look, feel and promise on Feb. 5."
Oprah, Bishop Jakes, Chris Tucker Trace Roots On PBS
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 31, 2006) *If ever there was a time to tape “American Idol” and watch
something else, this Wednesday is it. On second thought,
maybe it’s best that the PBS two-part series “African
American Lives” (airing 9 to 11 p.m. Feb. 1 and 8) is stored on your
TiVo as a permanent reference guide, as host Dr.
Henry Louis Gates meticulously explains the process of tracing one’s
family heritage back to its roots in Africa using as examples eight prominent
black Americans, including Oprah Winfrey
and Bishop T.D. Jakes. “There’s been
a great dispute in Africa over which tribe I belong to,” Jakes told a group of
journalists at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour held in
Pasadena, CA earlier this month. “So this dispels any myths. And it is
impacting on a very deep way to fill in those blanks.” Jakes – who has done
extensive philanthropic work in Africa and confirmed through Gates that his
people come from the Ebo tribe – joins Winfrey and fellow subjects Whoopi Goldberg, former NASA astronaut Mae Jemison, composer Quincy Jones, neurosurgeon Ben Carson, author Sara
Lawrence-Lightfoot and Chris Tucker
as the lucky few assisted by Gates in tracing their roots. “We know that
there were only 500,000 Africans from the United States,” Gates told the
critics. “We know where they came from and we know the ports that they came
from and we know that 50 percent – if you do a DNA test for the black people in
this room, half of you are from an ethnic group between Senegal and Sierra
Leone. That’s called the Windward Coast. Sixteen percent are from the Biafra,
the name of the independent republic of Eboland, and 26 percent are from
Angola. Two percent are from Mozambique. It’s very fascinating.”
You won’t find a more moving moment on television next month than Oprah Winfrey
collapsing in tears after being handed a deed between a white Mississippi
landowner named Watson, and one of her ancestors, a freed slave named
Constantine Winfrey. Gates somehow got hold of the deed, signed by Oprah's
second- or third-great-grandfather, in which he is granted so many acres of
land in exchange for picking what amounted to 5,000 pounds of cotton in a given
period of time. “If I got anonymous people, you all would’ve watched. My
students would have watched, but the core group that would watch Quincy Jones
or watch T.D. Jakes or watch Oprah only, they wouldn’t watch,” Gates told the
critics, explaining his reasons for selecting only well-known blacks for the
series. “So I wanted a scientist, Dr. Jameson. Ben Carson was my
classmate at Yale. He’s the chief of pediatric neurosurgery down at John’s
Hopkins. He was the first surgeon successfully to separate Siamese twins joined
at the brain.” Gates said the celebrities were used to seduce young black kids
into the pursuit of their own genealogies. “It’s one thing to hear a
lecture about the double helix and Watson and Crick. It’s another thing
learning that if you swab yourself 20 times on each cheek, in three weeks,
somebody will send you back a card saying, ‘Your ancestor came from Nigeria,
and more specifically from the Ebo people,’” says Gates of a new program
offering buyers of a DNA kit a chance to mail in their swabs and pinpoint their
origin. “Who wants dusty ol’ research in dusty ol’ archives? If you could
produce your lineage back to slavery, back to the American Revolution, wouldn’t
that be more compelling? I think that that’s what we’ve been able to achieve.”
Chris Tucker, whose roots were traced back to a tribe of Africans
in Angola, was the only one of Gates’ eight to actually travel to the
birthplace of his ancestors.
“I thought what a hoot to take Chris to Angola, and I’d never been to Angola,”
Gates said. On the African American side, Tucker’s
great-grandfather owned a lot of property in Georgia and a community called
Flat Rock. Noting that the blacks in Flat Rock mysteriously stayed put during
the great migration north, Gates discovered through property records that
Tucker’s great-grandfather was selling off acreage in Flat Rock at 80 and 100
acres a pop to area blacks. “When people would come to him and say,
‘We’re moving to Chicago,’ he would say, ‘I will sell you five acres for $20. I
will give you reason not to go,’ and he kept his entire community together by
dividing up his estate. That’s amazing.”
Gates said he found more about Oprah’s ancestors in slavery than any of
the other seven subjects, and less about her African ancestry because her
genetic signature is very common in West Africa, “so we couldn’t pinpoint the
tribe or ethnic group,” adds Gates. He does know enough about Oprah’s African
lineage to declare that the talk show host, despite her previous announcement
on one of her shows, is not Zulu. “None of us are Zulu,” Gates
affirmed. “There are no African Americans who come from the Zulu people.”
He says Winfrey’s family was traced back five generations in the South by
finding the wills of the white people who owned her family, as well as property
tax information and estate division records. “We found Adam,” Winfrey’s
fourth great-grandfather who was ten years old in 1852. Her second or
third great grandfather, Constantine Winfrey, was a former slave listed in the
1870 census as “illiterate,” but in 1880, he is classified as “literate.”
“So he mastered literacy,” notes Gates. “In 1876, Constantine Winfrey goes to
this man (Watson) and says, ‘If I pick 80 bales of cotton in a certain period
of time for you, you will give me 80 acres of land,’ and the man does. We give
Oprah the deed that Constantine Winfrey gets in 1881 from this man, presenting
him with 80 acres of land. I mean it’s
astonishing.” Gates also handed Whoopi
Goldberg a petition filed by her family in Florida under the Southern Homestead
Act, which got them 104 acres of land in Florida. “Never again will
‘40 acres and a mule,’ the Southern Homestead Act, the complexity of black
people in Alabama and Mississippi – never again will I approach those subjects
and not think of these individual cases,” says Gates. “You could read black
history books from here to Timbuktu and you won’t find a story like that.”
CRTC Issues Drama Policy
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By
James Adams
(Feb. 1, 2006) The federal broadcast regulator has ordered Canada's three major
English-language private television networks to increase
the money they spend on homemade drama and to try to raise viewership of these
dramas. In a seven-page notice, the Canadian Radio-television and
Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) says it wants CTV,
Global and CHUM to
increase their annual expenditures on Canadian
drama to 6 per cent of total annual gross revenues from the current
industry average of 3.3 per cent. That threshold would be achieved in
increments over five years. Similarly, the CRTC is now requiring the networks,
through marketing and scheduling, to boost the viewing of English-language
drama programming so that by 2008-2009, Canadian productions will enjoy at
least 16.5 per cent of the networks' total drama viewership. In 2003-2004, the
industry average was 9.2 per cent, with CTV reporting that 10.5 per cent of its
total drama viewership was of Canadian shows, CHUM 9.1 per cent and Global 8.4.
The CRTC first floated its proposed targets for viewing and expenditures last
August, then sought comments from industry players before making its decision
to order increased commitments from the networks. In its notice, the commission
acknowledges that it "will be a challenge for" CTV, Global and CHUM
to reach these targets, which, if achieved, will represent an 80-per-cent
increase in both investment and audience from current levels. But the CRTC
believes they're "achievable" if the major networks "take
advantage" of an incentive program the CRTC announced in November, 2004.
That program permits broadcasters to air additional advertising on popular
U.S.-made prime-time programs.
According to the CRTC, the networks would be able to show between 30 seconds
and eight minutes more advertising for each hour of original Canadian drama
they telecast in prime time. Bonus seconds and minutes are awarded, too, if
ratings increase for these Canadian shows or if a network hikes its Canadian
drama spending. Private broadcasters have been lashed in recent years by the
Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists and the Canadian Film
and Television Production Association, among others, who claim the networks
have shirked their commitment to homemade drama since 1999, when the CRTC
expanded the definition of "priority programming" to include reality
TV, documentaries and entertainment magazines. Yesterday, ACTRA's director of
public policy and communications Ken Thompson repeated his organization's
opinion that "an incentive program on its own is not enough. It has to be
part of a more comprehensive regulatory program," including requirements
that networks show Canadian drama in prime time. Thompson urged the CRTC to use
licence-renewal hearings for CBC, CTV and Global to review its TV policy.
The Canadian Association of Broadcasters had no comment yesterday, but has
previously told the CRTC that "a 40-per-cent increase in viewing would be
a more reasonable and attainable industry objective," instead of the 80
per cent mandated. Friday's CRTC release also said Canada's specialty channels
have to reach a 7.5-per-cent increase in their viewing targets for Canadian
drama, using a 1.5-per-cent increase per year over the next five years. The
commission noted that, given the wide disparities between English-language
specialty services -- in 2003-2004, Canadian drama on these was as low as 1 per
cent and as high as 44 per cent -- "a single industry objective for all
services would be impracticable."
Toronto Director Busy Keeping It 'Real'
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Ashante Infantry
(Jan. 29, 2006) Ostensibly, Andrew Moodie
is spending his rehearsal
lunch break with a Toronto Star reporter to discuss writing and
directing The Real McCoy,
which opens Thursday at Factory Theatre. But when the conversation turns
to Toronto the Good, Moodie's
script-in-progress about racial profiling, he's the one probing — for reaction
to Toronto's rash of shootings. "What are you feeling?" he
asks, head cocked to one side. "What do you think the causes are?" he
presses, between bites of pasta. Fork aloft, he declares, "You're
one of the people I should talk to, because you work in journalism and you're a
black woman." Reality has always informed Moodie's work. His
Chalmers Award-winning first play, Riot, was about the aftermath of the
1992 L.A. riots; and Oui dealt with the 1995 Quebec referendum. The
Real McCoy arose from the writer's conversation with a stranger at a party.
"He said `You know the origin of (the saying) "the real
McCoy" don't you?' And I said `The Hatfields and the McCoys?' And he said
`No, no, no.'" Moodie was moved by the unfolding tale about African
Canadian engineer Elijah McCoy, who in the 1800s invented a lubricating cup
(that automatically oiled working machinery), making trains run more
efficiently. But he was denied recognition because of racism. "It
was a revolutionary thing that he created with such a high degree of expertise
and quality that when people would ask for a lubricating cup, they would always
demand the McCoy lubricating cup, henceforth the expression `the real'" —
and here the playwright extends his hand with flourish, beckoning the reporter
to fill it in. "There's something about the story that speaks to how
everybody has something that's unique about them; and often that special gift
is not recognized or appreciated." The Dora Award-winning actor clears his
throat noisily when asked about his special gift. "Umm ... I don't know.
You should maybe ask my wife on a good day," says the father of two girls.
A few years ago, Moodie told the Star: "I only write when I am not
acting, so if you see another play from me, it means my acting career is not
going too well." Now here he is with several scripts on the go and
directing, to boot. When reminded, Moodie mimics using a defibrillator —
"Clear! Somebody call .... It means my acting career is dead."
As Factory's playwright-in-residence this season, Moodie uses the
theatre's resources to develop other projects. At the Feb. 23 performance of The
Real McCoy, audience members will be asked their opinions about the city's
crime wave in aid of Toronto the Good. "Like a lot of
Torontonians, I'm really shocked and confused by a lot of the gun violence in
Toronto and I wanted to write something that spoke to what we're all feeling
right now. "You, like me, like a lot of middle-class, educated
African Canadians, or whatever, of many different origins, I think part of our
frustration is that feeling of a certain amount of helplessness. "We
grew up in Bill Davis's Ontario, which was a different place ... I think that
certain youth, of all colours actually, are the victims of a system and that
system has failed them in a way that it hasn't failed Ontarians before.
"That's what I want to say to that kid who's thinking `I gotta go
get and gun, and go out and whatever': `Dude, it's not you. Do you realize it's
a whole system and you have to break out of that?' "Granted, I have
a father whom I love — though we fought a lot and we didn't get along for
awhile — and a lot of kids don't have that, but still, the resources are here. "It's
all about one's attitude and outlook towards the world. And that's one of the
things that inspired me about Elijah McCoy. He had a sharp intellect and he had
self worth. His attitude when faced with adversity was, `I'm worth more than
this.' If he saw a young black person walking down the street, he would say,
`How you doing son? Do you have an education? You thinking about getting an
education? If not, come work for me." Moodie is working on two other
scripts: one about acting, the other about Harlem Renaissance writer Wallace
Thurman. "It's all about love," he explains. "Nothing to
do with race. Nothing. "The reason I picked Wallace Thurman and his
life is that as a writer he, too, got sick and tired of race dialogue. I have
to balance it out, or else I just want to slit my wrists." The
Real McCoy runs Feb. 2-26 at Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst St. Tickets
$20-$35 at theatre box office, 416-504-9971, or http://www.factorytheatre.ca
Leading the Fellowship
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Richard Ouzounian
(Jan. 29, 2006) Webster's Dictionary defines "wizard" both as
"One who practices magic or sorcery" and "Someone who is
dazzlingly skilled in
any field." They could have just said, "See Brent Carver." When the 54-year-old
Tony Award-winning actor was cast as Gandalf in the production of The Lord of the Rings, which starts
previews at the Princess of Wales Theatre this Thursday, it came as no great
surprise to anyone familiar with Carver's theatre work. They've been used
to his wizardry for years. From Kiss of the Spider Woman to Hamlet,
from Fiddler on the Roof to The Wild Duck, he's a performer who
always manages to bring something otherworldly to a role. When Carver pauses on
stage, you often get the feeling he's waiting for divine inspiration, not just
his next cue. Who better, then, to play the man who is — for all intents
and purposes — the spiritual leader of Middle Earth? That title stops
Carver short on a recent luncheon break from rehearsals and he pauses mid-air
with a forkful of omelette. "I think that's a fantastic phrase,
`spiritual leader,' but it's a frightening one as well. When they first talked
to me about playing Gandalf, I realized it was an incredible opportunity, but I
also thought what a frightening responsibility it was as well."
Director Matthew Warchus emphatically thought Carver was up to it, not only
hailing "his dazzling versatility and prowess," but asserting that
"he is aptly suited to be the inspiring leader and father figure to this
dynamic young company." Statements like that embarrass the painfully
shy Carver and he shakes his head to throw off the compliments like a dog
shedding water after an unwanted bath. "No, it's the people in
charge of the show who deserve all the praise. None of the choices Matthew and
his team have made are obvious ones. They all display care and thought and
originality. And they're generous, too. There is a well of imagination inside
all of us that is being tapped in rehearsal."
When asked to give an example of what he means, Carver takes a sip of coffee to
collect his thoughts before responding. "There was a very
interesting exercise. We all sat around one day in a circle and were asked what
our version of faith was. Fifty-five people. Some were spiritualists, or
agnostics or Christians or Muslims or Jews or Buddhists. I think there were
nine different groups. "Then every group was asked to explore how
they would move to express their own particular faith. Explore it and then
present it to the whole company." Carver's voice thrills with the
discovery. "What was extraordinary about it was that within every group,
there were movements and gestures that were the same. There were major
differences but it was the similarities we remembered. "Think about
it. People were asked to look inside themselves, discover something profound
and then share it with others. That's what this whole rehearsal process has
been like." Faith is a word with particular resonance for Carver,
who describes himself as "spiritual, but not necessarily religious,"
and this kind of exercise fits exactly with his world view. "No one
has a patent on faith. No one has a patent on God. We can all write our own way.
But to do that, you have to be open, you have to listen and believe that the
answers will be there." That belief has stayed with Carver through a
life that has had its share of personal tragedies to match his professional
triumphs. Born in Cranbrook, B.C. on Nov. 17, 1951, his childhood was
haunted by his family's memory of his brother Danny, who drowned at the age of
two, just before Carver was born. And in 1990, his greatest friend, actor
Susan Wright, died tragically during a fire in Carver's Stratford house while
he was working out of town. He's talking now about Gandalf's path in The
Lord of the Rings, but it could just as easily be his own road he's
describing. "In everyone's journey in this life, we know that if
we're going to move forward, we have to go through something terrible. To be
born again with new energy and ideas, you have to die, in a way, to your old
life. "What is the process that takes you through the mountains,
through the mines? I don't know what will happen when I let go of power, but I
have to trust that I will be caught and that I will not fall."
He speaks from experience. A few months after Wright's death, at the depth of
his grief, he was cast as Molina in Kiss of the Spider Woman. It played
Toronto and London before bringing him to Broadway in 1993. "This
first-rate actor guided his audiences through the labyrinth of one man's very
conflicted interior," raved the New York Times. He won the Tony
Award for Best Actor in a Musical, but only three months later, at the height
of his fame, he suddenly left the show and quietly resumed working in Canadian
theatre. He has returned to New York several times; still, that initial
departure has always remained a mystery. It starts to make sense
when Carver discusses the nature of the golden band that lies at the centre of
the Tolkien masterpiece. "Everyone in the story has to be careful
about wanting the ring too much. It becomes your weakest point, because it is
your greatest desire. Sometimes the strongest choice is to walk away, but we
must remember that everyone who finds the ring is meant to find it."
When Carver describes how he sees Gandalf it's revealing how much of his own
personality he imbues into the character — and vice versa. "Gandalf
is aware of his own limitations ... He cannot use his power to change things.
It must be hidden; it must be shared. It's not demonstrated or show-offy.
"At one point, he says, `I can see no farther than you. Even the very wise
cannot see all ends.' He is sent to see suffering, wake someone up to it and
enable them to end it, but he is not the fixer." Since Carver is a
performer who has made an equal mark in both musicals and non-musicals, he's
well suited to lead The Lord of the Rings. Although filled with music
and song, its creators don't want it to be perceived as "a musical,"
with the connotations of triviality that word can have. But Carver
relates strongly to the music composed by A.R. Rahman and Värttinä, describing
it "like a calling from somewhere else. I find it familiar, not like I've
heard the tune before, but like I've known it somewhere in this life or another
one. "I think we were sung into existence. Because when you least
expect it, a melodic phrase comes through that cuts right into the heart of our
being. Nothing has the primal power of music and that's something the creators
of the show understand."
At this point in rehearsals, Carver is immersed in the show's technical
details, which should seem enormous. "But so far I find it
remarkably intimate," he confides. "I also find it breathtakingly
beautiful. Not in the shallow, pretty, picture-postcard way, but something much
deeper. The beauty of nature. It's always back to nature with Tolkien, isn't
it? " Reminded that a giant tree trunk is the image behind the central
playing area on stage, he lights up and raises his voice beyond its usual
whisper. "The symbol of the tree is perfect! The roots go down deep
into the earth." He stretches his arms towards the ceiling. "And then
they reach up ... to Father, or God ... or whatever you choose to call
it." He lowers his hands in wonder. "Every show I do feels
totally new to me. When you least expect it, you can accept it." And
he seems ready for the people who will begin filling the Princess of Wales on
Thursday night. "What we need now is what an audience will bring into the
theatre. Their hopes and their fears. "They'll give us the rest of
the information we need to continue our journey."
With A Production Of Our Town, Soulpepper Launches Its New
Distillery Home
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Richard Ouzounian, Theatre Critic
(Jan. 28, 2006) On Thursday night, Albert Schultz will be the first actor
to
step forward on the stage of the Baillie Theatre at the Young Centre for the
Performing Arts. He'll touch the brick wall of the Gooderham & Worts
Distillery tank house that's been there since 1832 and walk toward the
audience, preparing to speak the opening lines for the Soulpepper Theatre production of Our
Town. Most people would say it's a moment Schultz and his company
have been aiming at since their initial performance in 1998, but it actually
began long before that. "The dream was always there," admits
Schultz, sitting in his book-lined office and looking out at the $14-million
facility that once only existed in his imagination. Started in 1997 by 12
actors with a passion for theatre and spurred along by one of them (Schultz)
with a particular gift for forward motion, Soulpepper has made a bigger impact
on this city in less time than any other arts organization in recent
memory. In its brief history, it has created 35 productions, which — at
their best — stand at a world-class level of achievement. While our major
classical festivals like Stratford and Shaw suffer from a disconcerting
tendency to rely on Broadway musicals to balance their budgets, Soulpepper has
adhered to its vision and presented nothing but plays of the highest
calibre. And even though not every production has been of equal merit,
they've set a benchmark of artistry they usually reach. The other major Toronto
companies (CanStage, Tarragon, Factory, etc.) are all wildly erratic by
comparison. This intellectual rigour has paid off. Phillip Silver, Dean
of Fine Arts at York University, commends Soulpepper for "having
established a clear mission in respect to the classics and delivering those
works with a standard of consistently high quality." Derrick Chua,
president of the Board of the Toronto Fringe Festival, also draws attention to
the stability of their work. "I have high praise for those who
strive and succeed in presenting dynamic and exciting theatre," Chua says.
"For a company to do this so consistently well over a period of years is
an incredible achievement."
Although the 42-year-old Schultz confesses to having wanted to be an artistic
director "ever since I was 23 years old," the actual growth of the
company took just a decade. It began in 1988, when Stratford's
then-artistic director John Neville dissolved the festival's Young Company,
leaving a group of talented young classical performers — including Schultz
—without a place to ply their craft. "There was an almost-Soulpepper
that happened in 1989," recalls Schultz with a grin. "We got together
and nearly did it in Cornwall. They had one of the beautiful atmospheric
theatres they were going to tear down and so some of us who had been at
Stratford went down and met with them. "We planned a season and we
were going to open with Our Town. You see? I told you this was brewing
for a long time. We got a lot of press on it, but then the city politicians did
some sleight of hand and the thing turned into a parking lot."
Schultz put theatre on the back burner for the next five years as he moved into
the cast of two popular TV series, Street Legal and Side Effects.
But another group of actors had a galvanizing experience in 1991, when they
worked on Chekhov's The Three Sisters for Masterclass Theatre under
Hungarian director Laszlo Marton. Schultz's wife, Susan Coyne, was in that
production as well and couldn't stop telling her husband about it.
"There were Joe Ziegler and I," rants Schultz, "in the bowels of
the CBC building. Two classically trained actors turned out of the Stratford
fold, working on TV series. We'd sit around on our breaks saying things like,
`We have to do Uncle Vanya!'" Finally in 1997, 12 refugees
from the Stratford Festival and the Masterclass Theatre came together with a
common goal: to do classical theatre in Toronto. But they needed
leadership. "For a few months," remembers Schultz, "we had
an artistic directorate made up of Nancy (Palk), Diego (Matamoros), Diana
LeBlanc and me. We had one meeting and I said, `I don't think this is going to
work. We need one person and I think it's got to be me.' Fortunately they
agreed." It was now the fall of 1997 and Schultz moved quickly.
First he went to Don Shipley, then head of theatre at Harbourfront and told him
their plans. He promised them a home if their mentor Robin Phillips came on to
direct their opening shows. Schultz brought Phillips on side and soon
actors Brent Carver and Peter Donat agreed to be guest artists. David Mirvish
also consented to mount a Soulpepper production of Our Town as part of
the Royal Alex subscription season in the spring of 1999.
The company boldly opened on two successive July nights in 1998 with German
playwright Schiller's seldom-performed tragedy Don Carlos and Molière's
comedy The Misanthrope. The critical response was overwhelming,
with the Star's Vit Wagner calling the Schiller "nothing short of a
revelation." Audiences packed the DuMaurier Theatre at Harbourfront and
the company was launched in fine style. The second year was an even
greater success, with five productions that earned raves and filled the
theatres. Beckett, Chekhov, Molnar, Wilder and Williams proved that Soulpepper
could make serious theatre and great box office as well. Then came the
summer of their discontent. "We avoided the sophomore slump,"
quips Schultz, "but we made up for it in our junior year." The
2000 season was a rough time for Soulpepper. They began with an adaptation of The
Mill on the Floss, with Phillips returning in what everyone hoped would be
triumph. It didn't work out that way. Rehearsals were tense and on
opening night Phillips informed the audience they were going to see "a
glorified dress rehearsal" and crouched beside the stage hissing
directions to the cast. Schultz shakes his head at the memory. "I
sat there and knew this will be a moment people would never forget."
The reviews were brutal and the attendance sparse. Phillips hasn't worked with
Soulpepper since. "Would I ask him back?" ponders Schultz. "You
never know. Life is long." But fate wasn't through with the
organization yet that summer. A production of Romeo and Juliet directed
by Matamoros was cancelled days before it was due to open. The official
reason was a serious knee injury that had sidelined the Romeo, Anthony McLean.
At the time, Schultz told the Star's Robert Crew, "I have every
intention of doing the show next year," but he never did. And now, Schultz
concedes that in addition to McLean's genuine injury, "the production
wasn't ready to open."
For the first time, the golden company was in trouble. "You have to
understand," explains Schultz. "We made all the decisions. We took
all the financial risks. Company members mortgaged their houses to get things
on the stage. It was our asses on the line." Up until that point,
there had been no board of directors. "We grew up around so many stories
of boards doing terrible things to artists." But the time had come
for help and it fell right into Schultz's lap. "Roger Garland called
me out of the blue and asked if there was anything he could do."
Garland was then vice-chairman of Four Seasons Hotels and a well-known arts
supporter. "We had lunch," Schultz relates, "and I let him
know our situation. I asked him to be chair of our board. Together we
handpicked the rest of our members. Roger told all of them, `The reason you're
here is to help this company financially.' They've never once
meddled." Schultz breathes with relief. "The summer of 2000 was
a big dip for us, but it immediately turned into an ascendancy." He
was right. The last five seasons have shown Soulpepper to be at the top of its
form most of the time, getting rave reviews from the Chicago Tribune and
the New York Times as well as the Toronto media. The company was
in excellent shape; all it needed was a home of its own. Schultz had his
eye on the Distillery District long before the plans for its development were
announced. "I was shooting a made-for-TV movie called Breakfast
with Dick and Dorothy down there in 1999, I think, and I scoped out the two
tank houses we eventually used." Then in December 2001, when Garland
and Schultz heard the people from Cityscape Development on CBC Radio discussing
their plans for the district, they sprang into action. A long-discussed
proposal to work on a cooperative learning facility with the George Brown
Theatre School added fuel to the fire, and before too long, the Young Centre
for the Performing Arts was born. Unlike many other new arts facilities,
it's coming into the world on time, on budget and without substantial trauma.
Schultz credits it to one man.
"Roger Garland. He had the gravitas, the moral authority, the leadership,
calm and expertise to get us here today. We couldn't have done it without
him." But with so much history behind him, what will be going
through Schultz's head as he walks out on stage Thursday night?
"It'll be a huge honour to be the first actor to walk forward on that
stage. I'm going to feel immense pride in all of the people who are there. And
I'll be thinking, `This is just the first of many, many stories we will tell
you in this space.'"
Backstage Genius Must Appear On Stage
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By
Kate
Taylor
(Jan. 28, 2006) And so, Soulpepper nears the summit: The Toronto classical theatre company began
preview performances of two plays in repertoire this week, launching both its
first-ever winter season and its permanent residence in the city's Distillery
Historic District at the sparkling new Young Centre for the Performing Arts.
Next week, the company founded on a shoestring by a group of frustrated
mid-career actors in 1998 will be popping the champagne corks to celebrate its
opening nights -- and awaiting the reviews. No doubt they will be friendly: In
a mere eight years, Soulpepper has emerged as the most routinely praised and
now most beautifully housed troupe in the city. In the hardscrabble world of
Canadian theatre, Soulpepper has climbed this mountain in record time. No
wonder some thespian types, tired of watching from below, are predicting the
company's reach has finally exceeded its grasp and half-hoping that it might
take a tumble. Such a fall, however, is unlikely: As always, Soulpepper's risks
are carefully calculated ones. Soulpepper has succeeded so rapidly partly
because it has filled a niche on the English-Canadian theatre scene -- well, a
whole shelf actually -- that was puzzlingly vacant. Before Soulpepper, the only
consistent staging of the classics was done at the two Ontario summer
festivals, Shaw and Stratford. Because the development of an indigenous theatre
scene in Toronto in the 1970s was a nationalist project, the founding fathers
-- Tarragon, Passe Muraille and Factory -- all concentrated almost exclusively
on new Canadian plays. Meanwhile, CanStage has served as Toronto's regional
theatre, focusing on recent American and British hits just like its sisters
across the country. Banking that downtown types might actually like some
serious, indoor theatre in the summer, Soulpepper launched two plays in rep at
Harbourfront Centre in 1998, soon building into what had become, by 2005, a
five-play, three-month season. There is a similar logic to its move to a
nine-show, year-round schedule. A national theatre scene so dominated by
Shakespeare-in-the-park in the summer, and Canadian and international
contemporary work the rest of the year, will now pay serious attention to the
classics in the time and place where it might seem to actually make the most
psychological sense: in the city in the wintertime.
The company begins carefully with a revival of its own production of Thornton
Wilder's Our Town and a new production of Nikolai Gogol's The
Government Inspector. The first Soulpepper staged to good reviews in 1999,
giving an old American favourite a very belated professional Toronto premiere;
the second was last performed in the city in 1985, so the program upholds the
Soulpepper tradition of reintroducing Toronto to solid classics it hasn't seen
in decades. The critics will be happily anticipating next week. They generally
liked Our Town back in Soulpepper's second season and the Gogol satire
stars one of the company's most reliable tragi-comedians, Diego Matamoros. The
media, unlike the theatre fraternity, have no reason to be resentful: Things
were definitely less interesting before Soulpepper came along. Soulpepper has
succeeded with audiences and critics because it has filled in gaps. It has
also, in an era when public grants have been scarce, succeeded spectacularly
well with private-sector donors and corporate sponsors. Again, this achievement
is something of a no-brainer. Albert Schultz, the company's relentlessly
charming artistic director, has said as much over the years, noting that his
great success in fundraising was simple: He matched blue-chip companies with
blue-chip plays. That corporate charisma is also the source of the bitter envy
you can sometimes sense out in the smaller theatre community, which often lacks
the well-heeled contacts that could turn a $700,000 budget into a $6-million
one in the space of seven seasons, and then raise the capital to build a
brand-new, state-of-the-art theatre, too. The three key mid-sized companies
devoted to Canadian plays do already own their own homes, but all are housed in
roughly adapted heritage buildings in bad need of updating. Only the Tarragon,
the richest of the three, has been able to afford an overhaul in recent years.
With their cramped lobbies, minuscule washrooms, creaking radiators, dubious
roofs and slummy green rooms, these are the makeshift sites that have nurtured
English-Canadian drama. And, of course, that is another gripe against
Soulpepper's great success: The critics and donors have lavished attention on a
company that is performing old theatre, not new. But in that regard, Soulpepper
is filling yet another gap. Theatre artists need to work on the classics to
build their skills and, in Canada, if you can't or don't want to join Stratford
or Shaw, the opportunities are few and far between. Where else would Schultz
get the opportunity to play Hamlet, as he did last summer, or William Webster
get the chance to try Lear, as he will next fall? Meanwhile, the company, which
has always run significant artistic training and youth-outreach programs on the
side, is banking on its new academy, a developmental program for young artists
who will produce a collective creation annually, to add a bit of contemporary
playmaking to the mix.
Is that enough? Tarragon, Factory or Passe Muraille were institutions founded
to build a national theatre; as an actors' company Soulpepper is one dedicated
to the easier task of building actors. The emphasis on developing both young
audiences and young performers has given Soulpepper a heart and a mandate --
using the plays of yesterday to nurture the artists of today and the audiences
of tomorrow -- but not a specific directorial vision. Schultz's forte has
always been leading the company in the community rather than directing it on
stage. If the calibre of its members guarantees strong performances, the
success of the actual productions depends largely on which director has been
hired and what idea he has brought to the play. (Soulpepper has worked with
both some noted foreigners especially Laszlo Marton of Hungary and leading
Canadians including Robin Phillips and Daniel Brooks.) But despite the presence
of these formidable directors, the point of a Soulpepper show often seems to
lie largely in the casting: Albert Schultz will essay Hamlet; William Hutt in Waiting
for Godot, of course. Perhaps because of this actor-centred approach,
Soulpepper has had clearer success with the more manageable 20th-century
classics by Harold Pinter and Samuel Beckett and late 19th-century plays such
as those of Anton Chekhov than it has had with earlier and larger plays,
particularly Shakespeare's. The coming challenge will lie not merely in
managing the expenses and cares of owning a new home nor in luring audiences
well east of downtown; in that regard, the company has always been well run and
its plays successfully marketed. The real job for Schultz and Soulpepper's
artists will be to make it clear on stage why the company is producing what it
is. ktaylor@globeandmail.com
Wendy Wasserstein, 55: Feminist Playwright
Source: Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press
(Jan. 30, 2006) NEW YORK — Playwright Wendy
Wasserstein, who celebrated women confronting feminism, careers,
love and motherhood in
such works as The Heidi Chronicles and The Sisters Rosensweig,
died Monday. She was 55. Wasserstein, who had been battling cancer in recent
months, died at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Lincoln Center Theater
spokesman Philip Rinaldi said. Andre Bishop, head of Lincoln Center Theater and
a close friend of Wasserstein, said the cause of death was lymphoma. Her
writing was known for its sharp, often wry observations about what women had to
do to succeed in a world dominated by men. In The Heidi Chronicles,
which won the best-play Tony as well as the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1989,
its insecure heroine (played by Joan Allen) takes a 20-year journey beginning
in the late 1960s and changes her attitudes about herself, men and other women.
The Sisters Rosensweig, which moved from Lincoln Center to Broadway in
1993, concerned three siblings who find strength in themselves and in each
other. Her most recent work, Third, which ended a New York run Dec. 18,
2005, dealt with a female college professor, played by Dianne Wiest, whose
liberal, feminist convictions are put to the test by a student she sees as the
epitome of the white male establishment. In public, Wasserstein was genial,
often quite funny, presenting herself as a rumpled observer of the baby-boom
generation. Many of her plays were initially seen at off-Broadway's Playwrights
Horizons and later at Lincoln Center Theater, both under the direction of
longtime mentor and friend, Andre Bishop. Wasserstein was first noticed with Uncommon
Women and Others, written as a Yale School of Drama graduate thesis. The
one-act play was expanded and done off-Broadway in 1977 with Glenn Close, Jill
Eikenberry and Swoosie Kurtz in the cast. A year later, this satire about the
anxieties of female college graduates was filmed for public television with
Meryl Streep replacing Close. The playwright continued her off-Broadway success
with Isn't It Romantic? — about a free spirit who rejects her fiancé and
tries to find a life as a single woman.
In 1997, Broadway saw An American Daughter, Wasserstein's story of the
political downfall of a perfect career woman, played by Kate Nelligan. It was
followed in 2000 by Old Money, her look at money, manners and morals at
the beginning and end of the 20th century, done at Lincoln Center's small Mitzi
Newhouse Theater. While primarily a playwright, Wasserstein also wrote for TV
and the movies, most notably the screenplay for the 1998 film version of
Stephen McCauley's novel, The Object of My Affection, about a gay man
and a pregnant woman who meet and move in together. Wasserstein was the author
of the bestselling children's book, Pamela's First Musical (1996). She
also wrote two collections of personal essays, Bachelor Girls, published
in 1990, and Shiksa Goddess: Or, How I Spent My Forties (2001). At age
48, Wasserstein had a daughter, Lucy Jane, born in 1999, three month
prematurely. Despite persistent speculation, she always declined to reveal the
identity of the girl's father. "The thing about having a baby (at an)
older (age) is that she doesn't have to live her life for me," Wasserstein
said in an interview with the Forward. "I can see her, I hope, as a
person." Born Oct. 18, 1950, Wasserstein, the youngest of four children,
grew up first in Brooklyn in what she has called, "a nice, middle-class
Jewish family," and later in Manhattan. Her father, Morris, was a textile
executive. She attended Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts and then went to
Yale University where she became friends with such budding playwrights as
Christopher Durang and Albert Innaurato and began her theatre career. "I
find myself being more interested in my old friends and in deeper
alliances," Wasserstein said in an interview with Time last year.
"My 50s are also about being a mother and the joy of my daughter Lucy Jane
and about loss. Real loss. My sister Sandra died of breast cancer at 60, so I
know about things I didn't know about before. My father died two years ago, and
then my friend (director) Gerald Gutierrez died. He was 53. I think if you
experience loss, you also on some level try to treasure joy. It can be as
simple as going to the ballet or being with your child."
THEATRE TIDBITS
Dynasty Stars Plan Toronto Rematch
Excerpt from The
Toronto Star - Richard Ouzounian
(Jan. 31, 2006) Alexis and Krystle are at it again and this time, the cat
fight is going to start in Toronto. The Star has learned that Joan Collins and Linda Evans, who sent sparks flying
through the world of 1980s television as the duelling divas of the night-time
soap opera Dynasty are going to come here this fall as part of the
Mirvish subscription season in a play called Legends. The script
by James Kirkwood deals with two aging screen stars, once the bitterest of
enemies, who plan to revive their careers by co-starring in a Broadway show.
With Carol Channing and Mary Martin in the leads, the show played a
23-city tour in 1986 but never got to New York. Kirkwood (best known as one of
the authors of A Chorus Line), later chronicled the trauma-riddled
proceedings in a hilarious memoir called Diary of a Mad Playwright.
Rumours of this Collins/Evans theatrical bitch-fest have been circulating
for over a year now, with Collins on her own website saying she "will be
starting rehearsals in the summer of 2006 for Legends" and
admitting she has already been "eyeing a Toronto tryout."
Sources close to the production confirm that the show will indeed be
opening here, probably in September. But there's no indication that Blake
Carrington will be coming along for the ride.
Who Will Helm Heritage?
Excerpt from The Globe and Mail - By
Val Ross And James Adams
(Jan. 28, 2006) The last time it looked as if a Stephen Harper government would
take office, in June, 2004, Canada's cultural industries were in panic mode:
The Conservatives would abandon arm's-length policies governing the Canadian
Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission, they said. They'd open the
Canadian heavens to U.S. satellites. They'd starve the Canada Council and the
CBC. Yet the last time Conservatives did take the reins, under Brian Mulroney,
cultural nationalists recall it as a golden age. Ministers Marcel Masse and
Flora MacDonald brought in ownership restrictions, tax protections and funding.
This time, the cultural industries are watching to see how the Conservatives
face three tests. The first involves honouring Canada Council funding promises.
The second involves federal-provincial turf issues. The third concerns whether
they'll top up the huge arts and heritage building projects now under way in
Toronto and other cities. Some lobbyists are hopeful the Conservatives will
keep the money flowing for projects such as Toronto's opera house and Western
art galleries. "The fact that the Conservative Party will want to make a
dent in the very large urban centres should help focus their attention,"
suggests Alain Pineau, national
director of the Canadian Conference of the Arts. Cultural lobbyists also cite
the Conservatives' desire to consolidate their newfound base in Quebec, and
hope this will suggest a Mulroney-era strategy that recognizes (at minimum) the
strategic importance of culture -- at least in Quebec. They take as a hopeful
sign the Conservative promise to establish a francophone secretariat within the
Heritage Department, and their offer that Quebec could play a role in
international institutions such as UNESCO. These promises, meanwhile, feed
rumours that the next Heritage minister could be a Quebecker (or someone with a
strong Quebec lieutenant). Then again, that might send a signal of
accommodation with Quebec, with memories of the way things have always been
done -- and neither are messages the Harper Conservatives want to send. One
thing is sure: In the days following a change in government, speculation itself
becomes an art form. Some of the names rumoured to be candidates for Heritage
minister:
THE FRONT RUNNER
Bev Oda
61, MP for Clarington-Scugog-Uxbridge, Ont. Pluses: Said be the author of
the Conservative culture platform. "She knows her stuff," is the
consensus. No wonder: veteran of TVOntario, City-TV, a former CTV executive and
CRTC commissioner, she has worked as a policy adviser to three secretaries of
state. Drawbacks: No western base, no Quebec base, and despite her impressive
CV, she's still remembered as the one who scared the artsy horses when she
said, "If no one's watching CBC television, English language, then does it
justify the utilization of those dollars in that way?"
THE EMINENCE GRIS
Lawrence Cannon
56, MP for Pontiac, Que., a riding that stretches from the civil servants of
Ottawa suburbs to first nations in the north woods. Pluses: Handsome,
bilingual, described by one gushing Albertan reporter to be
"Trudeauesque." A seasoned politician, he was member of the Quebec
National Assembly from 1985-1994 and served as provincial communications
minister under Robert Bourassa in the early 1990s. Drawbacks: He is said not to
want culture, a minor portfolio. And is an old pal of Sheila Copps.
EVEN MORE TELEGENIC
Josee Werner
AGE XX, MP for Louis Saint-Laurent, a Quebec City riding once represented by
Wilfrid Laurier and Louis St. Laurent. Cut her political teeth as an aide to
Lawrence Cannon (see above). Pluses: Named by Stephen Harper to his Quebec
shadow cabinet, and for the francophonie, she chaired the Conservative Party's
Quebec caucus. Drawbacks: Mixed loyalties? Once a provincial Liberal, then
involved with Action Démocratique du Québec, she is part of an ADQ presence in
the Quebec Conservatives that worries more right-wing red-meat Conservatives
(so does her social liberalism).
THE OUTSIDE CHANCE
Michael Chong
34, MP for Wellington-Halton Hills, which includes one of Canada's artsiest
small cities, Guelph.
Pluses: Young, well-spoken, former information officer for the NHL Players
Association and, in 1997, one of the founders of the Dominion Institute which
has endeared itself to Tories for its promotion of Canadian history and values.
Impressed Ottawa types last year with his presentation on creative cities at
the Rideau Club. Also on the board of the internationally renowned Elora
Festival of Music. Negatives: He's not fluently bilingual, and a political
novice, having first been elected in 2004.
THE VETERAN
Jean-Pierre Blackburn
57, MP for Jonquiere-Alma. Pluses: Bilingual. Well-known in Quebec, having
first been elected MP in 1984 as a Mulroney Tory and again in 1988. Also, since
his riding is one of the most francophone in Canada -- almost 97 per cent of
registered voters named French as their mother tongue -- Prime Minister Harper
will be keen to hang on to. Member of the Standing Committee on Communications
and Culture during the Mulroney years (Communications became Canadian Heritage
in 1996). President, Blackburn Communication Inc., a public relations firm.
Negatives: May be seen as more businessman than cultural maven in Quebec. Has
been out of electoral politics since 1993. Touted as cabinet material but even
though Quebec is often consumed by cultural issues may think Heritage is too
modest a perch.
Canada’s Black History Heritage A Click Away
Source: Torstar News Service
(Jan. 30, 2006) A new Internet site will allow students to explore Black
Canadian history materials in an organized manner over the Internet
instead of having to rely on vast American cyber-sources which may distort the
Canadian experience. The site, www.blackhistorycanada.ca, features categories
such as slavery, early settlement and human rights. It was launched yesterday
as the Ontario Black History Society kicked off Black History Month at a
downtown Toronto hotel. Rosemary Sadlier, a Toronto writer/activist and
president of the Black History Society, says the month long program of
educational and cultural events is "tremendously" important because,
"African Canadian students need to feel affirmed, be aware of the
contributions made by other Blacks in Canada, have role models, and understand
the social forces that have shaped and influenced their community ... They need
to feel empowered." Eleven-year-old James Valitchka says he felt empowered
to know that he could learn so much about Black experience in Canada over a
Canadian website. He logged in and zeroed in on Oscar Peterson. James, a Grade
6 student from Brampton, will undoubtedly deserve his place on the site. He is
already the author of six books, including I’m Not Brown, I’m Human and
Superheroes Don’t Have Dads. The website is funded by the Toronto Dominion Bank
and produced by the Historica Foundation of Canada which also publishes the
online Canadian Encyclopedia. TD Vice-President Scott Mullin says he got the
idea for the website after reading a Toronto Star report on a panel at last
year’s opening of Black History Month which explored why many Black youth
identify with a particular U.S. Black experience — the condition reflected in
pop cultural portrayals of poverty, violence and isolation.
Our Queen Of The Slopes: Jennifer Heil
Excerpt from The Toronto Star - Randy
Starkman
(Jan. 29, 2006) The Turin Olympics give Jennifer
Heil an opportunity to enjoy
two of her great passions — moguls skiing and chocolate. The two-time defending
World Cup moguls champion is a chocoholic and Turin crafts some of the world's
best chocolate. But there's no doubting her first priority. Heil, who has
been a force again this season, can put Canada on the medals board on the
opening day of competition in Turin on Feb. 11. In Salt Lake City four years
ago, she was the youngest Canadian Olympian at 18 and placed fourth, missing a
medal by 1 /100 of a point. The 22-year-old native of Spruce Grove,
Alta., spoke with Unplugged recently about navigating the Amazon, her healthy
appetite, and travelling with the comforts of home.
What would be the first thing you'd do if you became Prime Minister?
I think being so involved in sport, I would want to work on the overall program
in sports, build it from the grassroots up. But first thing there would be
other priorities. I'm an environmentalist so I would want to put in place some
laws that protect the environment.
What's your favourite Internet site?
Right now, I'm on GORP (gorpaway.com) and I'm planning my trip to Brazil on
that site. It's affiliated with Outside magazine so it's got a lot of
great adventure ideas. There's one about taking a riverboat through the Amazon.
Basically, you buy a hammock on the dock, you sleep in the hammock outside for
four nights. If I can be brave enough, I'd like to do that.
What's your most annoying habit?
It would be my desire to eat chocolate all the time. I've thought about the
difficulties I'm going to have when I retire and am a little less active. We'll
have to deal with that when it comes (laughs).
If you could invite any three people in history to dinner, who would they
be?
Hmmm. I would invite probably Albert Einstein. I would like to meet Leonardo Da
Vinci. And third person? ... Bono.
What's your go-to song to get cranked up before an event?
I have a list for comp (competition) day and I have to play them in a certain
order. Right now, it's Justin Timberlake, Senorita. I've had that one on
the iPod for two years now. I like the more dancey tunes. I have Alicia Keyes.
I don't listen to her right before I go, but I listen to her early in the
morning. You don't want too much energy too soon and she keeps it in check. I
have a ton of stuff.
What's the strangest thought you've ever had in the start gate?
The worst thought is if I have to go to the washroom (laughs). Then, you're in
trouble because it's too late.
What's the best thing about the Olympics being in Italy?
The people are so passionate. We went to the Olympic site when we were in
France competing in Tignes. We drove down on a day off. We went for lunch and
we tried to order pizza. The man was like, "No, no, no, we don't serve
pizza here. We serve pasta and this is my specialty and this is what you'll
have" (laughs). So we asked for a cappuccino and he said, "No, I
don't like cappuccino, there's no cappuccinos here" (laughs). He was so
passionate about his cuisine and his pasta and I thought it was pretty neat.
What's the most underrated pleasure?
Eating (laughs heartily). I'm not sure if it's underrated, though, because
there's a lot of great restaurants out there and a lot of people enjoying it.
But I love a great meal with a glass of red wine. Actually, I'm really hungry
...
What's the biggest extravagance in your life?
I wouldn't say there are a lot. I don't really have a permanent residence. I
don't have a car. I wouldn't know what to say to that. I would say maybe the
number of boots I own.
What are we talking about here?
I've got a winter pair of boots. I've got a pair of white crazy boots from
Belgium that everybody thinks are ski liners. Then I've got a casual black pair
of boots from Montreal for every day and then I have a pair of dressy black
boots (starts giggling) and those are just the ones that came to mind.
What's your biggest pet peeve?
People who double park. I grew up on wide roads where everyone parallel parks.
Having to adjust and drive around downtown Montreal, that's been a difficult
time for me (laughs).
What's the best thing about being a freestyle skier?
Actually, there's two things. Definitely this sport is an exciting sport and
there's a lot of great people. I think it goes a long way when you can speak to
your competitors, hang out with them and then go and race against them the
following day. I think that's pretty neat. And also the travel. I mean it's
really challenging and draining at times, but it can be so incredible just to
see so many great things and countries and cultures. I've really enjoyed that.
What's the worst thing about being a freestyle skier?
I would say the travel (laughs). I would love to be in one place a little bit
longer than we are. Just because during the off-season we're travelling all
over the world — I was in Australia, Switzerland, France, Whistler — because
we're chasing the snow. It would be nice to be in one place for half of the
year.
What's the one thing you can't live without on the road?
This year my luggage has definitely gotten a little bit heavier because I think
I'm at the point where I really want to decorate my own place and that hasn't
been able to happen because I'm not in one place. Right now, I'm
travelling with a sheepskin rug (laughs hard). It's pretty small but, oh, I
love it. It's right next to my bed every time. It's the first thing that comes
out of my bag.
What about hobbies?
I love architecture. So I have a little bit of an architecture journal that I'm
making of just different photos from around the world and design ideas maybe
for houses in the future. It's a possibility (as a future career). I'm really
passionate about it and I love the idea of building things. Right now, I'm in
business (courses at McGill University). I think I'll stick with that for now.
What's the biggest misconception about you?
I don't really know, because I don't know what's all out there. I know a lot of
people always say, "I can't believe how short you are. You look so much
bigger on TV." (She is 5-foot-3.)
When was the last time you cried?
It was only a couple of days ago. Actually, that's the way I deal with stress.
It's a good release for me. So I cry quite often.
Do you have any superstitions?
I try not to have superstitions. There's enough stress on competition day I
don't want to worry about stuff I put on first (laughs). I had more when I was
younger, but I really did try and get away from that.
Who makes you laugh?
I love the TV show Just for Laughs. It's filmed in Montreal. I love when
they play pranks on people. I watch that in hysterics all by myself from start
to finish (laughs). They're great.
Now that you're working with a nutritionist, what foods are you dying to
have but you're being told you can't?
Well, it's been a little disappointing in some respects because now I know
what's good for me and what's not (laughs). I'm definitely having to make some
better choices — and I love to eat. I still have allowed chocolate to
remain on my menu, just because I love it so much. I figure that if it keeps me
happy that's quite important (laughs). I've had to eat a lot more fish and
that's tough for me.
Not a big fish eater?
Only if it's sushi. It's hard to eat that four nights a week.
What is your comfort food?
Chocolate. When I go home to Alberta, my neighbour brings over a chocolate cake
with fudge icing. That's a definite favourite at the top of the list. Then, in
Switzerland, I mean I tend to eat all the Swiss chocolate and chocolate fondue
and chocolate chip cookies, it really doesn't matter.
I understand Turin has some pretty good chocolate.
I love the cappuccinos over there, too. You have to take what they're good at
in each place and the cappuccinos are at the top over there.
SPORTS TIDBITS
Tiger comes from behind to win Buick
Excerpt from www.eurweb.com
(Jan. 30, 2006) *It was another Sunday nail-biter for fans of Tiger Woods won
the Buick Invitational in a three-way playoff against Australian rookie Nathan
Green and two-time Masters champ José María Olazábal. Woods sunk an
8-foot birdie on the 18th hole to get into the three-way playoff at San Diego’s
Torrey Pines, then simply had to par the final two holes to claim the victory
following crucial mistakes by the other two players. For Woods, it was the
fourth time in 10 years that he won in his first PGA Tour event of the year,
and he became the first four-time winner at the Buick Invitational on a course
he played regularly as a kid.
::FITNESS::
Nine Secrets of Top Trainers
By Tom Storms, CPT, eFitness Guest Columnist
(Jan. 30, 20060 Don't you wish sometimes that you had your own personal trainer
to guide you through your workout and give you hints about getting
more out of your exercise? You may not be able to afford a trainer of your own,
but by incorporating these trainer hints and tips into your day, you'll be on
your way to making your workout even more effective!
1. Buddy up. One of the best benefits of having a personal trainer is
having someone to hold you accountable for your exercise. A trainer is paid to
do this for you, but the easy (and free!) solution is within your own circle of
friends. Ask a reliable friend to be your workout partner and just the
knowledge that they are depending on you to work out will increase your odds of
staying on track with your exercise.
A unique way of ensuring success is to allow each partner a certain number of
cuts per month at a price. Failing to show up for a session with your trainer
still costs you money and so should skipping your workout with your friend.
Pony up $10 for each cut and let it accumulate for six months or longer. At the
end of a predetermined time frame, count the money and use it to treat you and
your workout partner to a luxurious splurge.
2. Shorter workouts can be as effective as longer ones. Sure, everyone
would like to be able to workout for 45 minutes of uninterrupted time, but let's
be serious! With today's busy schedules and demanding jobs, finding time to
exercise can be a struggle. The good news is that you don't need a huge block
of time to see results. Studies have shown that workouts as short as 10 - 15
minutes can strengthen the body and improve your health.
Fit several brief workouts in your day and you not only increase your
metabolism, but you also reach the ideal activity level of 45 minutes to one
hour. Don't let yourself be discouraged by a lack of time; do the best with
what you've got.
3. Gym membership isn't required. It's too easy to use lack of a gym
membership as an excuse for not getting it done. The fact is, bodyweight
workouts are just as effective, if not more than conventional gym equipment. It
reduces the risk of injury, and everybody has one! I have quite a few clients
who've seen tremendous results while working out at home, with or without equipment!
4. Add variety to see results. Undoubtedly the fastest way to see
changes in your body is to keep surprising it. Changing up your routine every
few days prevents your body from becoming conditioned to the same exercise day
after day and requires it to call on different muscles for different activities.
This means more muscles are worked over the course of just a few days, so you
see the effects on your body in much less time than usual. An excellent method
of adding variety is to incorporate weight lifting into your cardio routine.
This requires the body to respond to challenges to balance. It speeds up your
results, too!
5. Intensify for more strength. Most trainers recommend increasing the
intensity of your workout to see improvement in your strength and aerobic
capability. Too often people become comfortable with their level of exertion
and aren't working as hard. Boosting the intensity keeps the body challenged
and working harder. Taking deep, wide steps during aerobics and squeezing the
buttock and thigh muscles challenge the body to a higher level of exertion and
produce some amazing changes in just a few workouts. Those of you who weight
train should try adding 3-5 pounds to your current weight and see the
difference in toning and strength after a few sessions.
6. Know your excuses and head them off. As a personal trainer I often
deal with clients who make all kinds of excuses to get out of a session or to
avoid a certain exercise, and I must keep the client on track without
offending. When you are your own personal trainer, it can be difficult to
discipline yourself to your exercise schedule unless you give yourself an
advantage. Sit and write down all the excuses you would use to avoid exercising
or eating better. Once you've done that, go back and counter all your excuses.
If you wrote down lack of time as an excuse, oppose it with suggestions for
short, frequent workouts rather than one long session. If you wrote down sugar
cravings in the evenings, be prepared for those by having a pre-determined meal plan. If you can
anticipate your own excuses and know how to respond to them, you've won half
the battle.
7. Make it fun! Perhaps the most common complaint about exercise is that
it becomes boring too quickly. Personal trainers help you get through boredom
by changing your routine or offering you new choices for activities. Help
yourself break out of the boredom by choosing activities that appeal to you.
Instead of spending 30 minutes inside on the treadmill, go for a hike on a
local nature path. Rather than doing your aerobics video for the millionth
time, go outside with your kids and jump on the trampoline for a while. The
goal is to choose an activity that you enjoy and that requires physical activity.
8. Schedule and commit. Signing up for a personal trainer is a
commitment of your time, money and energy, and perhaps because of that
commitment people with personal trainers tend to stick with the program and get
results. Apply that same sense of obligation to your personal at-home exercise
program and you'll increase your chances of having a consistent workout plan.
Schedule your workouts just like any other appointment and write it on your
calendar or Palm. Knowing that you have set aside time for exercise can help
you follow through and stick to a successful program.
9. Reward yourself. Set checkpoints throughout your exercise program to
assess your progress. Whether your goal is to lose weight, build muscle, or
simply improve your health, take the time to check up on your improvement and
then reward yourself for all the hard work!
::MOTIVATION::
Motivational Note Are You Really Ready To Get Busy?
By Willie Jolley, Visit www.williejolley.com
Do you want to do more, be more and achieve more? If the answer is yes then it
is important you make a commitment to work on you, and sometimes that is hard,
yet you must realize that if you want to succeed in life it will be because you
face those hard things and deal with them, and that takes motivation.
Motivation is taken from the Greek word "motere" which means,
"to act". See it is one thing to talk about what you want but it
takes motivation to do something about it, to act on it! I love the story about
three little birds who are sitting on a telephone wire. One of them decides to
fly away! How many birds are left? Three! Why? Because until you take action on
your decisions nothing happens! You must be motivated! You must ACT! Get busy
right now and act! You'll be so glad you did!