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Carlton Street, Suite 1032, Toronto, ON
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LE NEWSLETTER
September 10, 2009
What a gorgeous Labour Day weekend huh? Now we're back at it
full pace for the blast of Fall. Already feeling that little
briskness in the air, aren't you? With it comes new TV seasons, TIFF and only a
month away ... Canadian Thanksgiving! Yikes.
I attended the opening of Cirque's OVO last week and OH MY! With all the gasps and the covering of
my mouth I did, I thought I was going to hyperventilate! But in the most
positive of way .... in true Cirque fashion this production is one that is not
to be missed. And they've just extended it to November 8th under
the blue-and-yellow Grand Chapiteau at the Port Lands on Cherry Street.
See more under SCOOP.
I'm not going to waste your time talking about it but let you get right to
it. Like I said, lots and lots of entertainment news this week so please
have a scroll and a read ...
::TOP STORIES::
How A Shy Guy And Matt Damon Are Helping Kids, One By One
Source: www.globeandmail.com - Grant Robertson
(September 08, 2009) Sitting in his corner
office at Rogers Communications Inc., (RCI.B-T30.24-0.56-1.82%) Edward Rogers has just received an unusual request from
Hollywood. Matt Damon needs a favour.
“He wants me to be in his next Jason Bourne movie,” Mr. Rogers deadpans. “But I
just don't have the time.”
It's not entirely implausible, but even Mr. Rogers can't help but laugh at the
joke. “Not really,” admits the son of the late Ted Rogers, who at 40 is starting
to grey like his father, the cable titan who built Rogers Communications.
“Maybe as one of the guys getting shot in the background or something.”
In truth, Mr. Rogers and Mr. Damon have forged an unlikely partnership in
recent years. Their foundation, a charity called One
X One that was
started five years ago to raise money for impoverished children at home and
abroad, has become one of Hollywood's hottest causes. It made CNN at length
last year during the devastating floods in Haiti and, a few weeks from now, it
will be showcased on HBO's Entourage .
It is a rare turn in the spotlight for the normally reserved Mr. Rogers. As the
curtain rises on the Toronto International Film Festival
this week, the most sought-after ticket in town will have nothing to do with
the festival itself. Instead, it will be the private gala he hosts at his
Forest Hill home to raise money for One X One (pronounced “one by one”).
Bill Clinton will attend, Elvis Costello will perform, and a who's who of
Corporate Canada, from Research In Motion co-chief executive officer Jim
Balsillie to Toronto-Dominion Bank deputy chairman Frank McKenna will rub
shoulders with the likes of Mr. Damon and musician Wyclef Jean,
who are the faces of One X One internationally.
Though friends know him as gregarious, Mr. Rogers has often been considered the
shy son of Ted. He continues to quietly head up the cable division at Rogers
and serve as chairman of the trust that controls the family's voting shares
while new CEO Nadir Mohamed takes the reins of the company.
But outside of work, Mr. Rogers says he has big ambitions for One X One. The
foundation began nearly five years ago in his backyard when Joelle Adler, CEO
of clothing retailer Diesel Canada, approached him for funds to backstop her
idea of starting the organization. Neither figured at the time it would spread
to Hollywood, but the growth of the foundation has been a lesson in brand
building.
Named as such because it's based on one person helping one child through
donations, Ms. Adler said the foundation began to gain momentum when Mr. Damon,
an activist for clean water for children in Africa, came to Toronto to host the
group's fundraiser in 2006. Soon after, the actor lent his support full-time,
as other celebrities like Mr. Jean came aboard.
Since then, companies such as Pepsi, through its Quaker and Dole brands, have
signed on. The charity sends food to children in impoverished parts of Canada,
such as native communities in northern Manitoba, as well as children in Africa.
The One X One brand is now on Dole juice boxes and Mr. McKenna has come aboard
as chairman of the charity.
But the moment that put the charity in the spotlight came last year, right
after the film festival, when floods ravaged Haiti, Mr. Jean's homeland.
With international aid slow to materialize, Mr. Jean, Mr. Damon and Mr. McKenna
boarded a plane borrowed from a Canadian executive and departed Toronto to
bring supplies of food and water to the small island nation. Their arrival in
the country made the news on CNN and attracted the attention of the Clinton
Global Initiative, headed by the former president.
“It started out as the building of a brand, and then building the brand to the
point where partners like Pepsi could say, ‘Wow, let's put the One X One brand
on 72 million juice boxes,'” Ms. Adler says. The strategy borrows from the
brand-building approach of Brad Pitt's Make it Right charity that helped build
homes in New Orleans.
Mr. Rogers believes One X One can get a lot bigger. His pet project has the
same structure as running a business, he figures. Though the foundation has
raised $7-million in a few short years, he suspects it can be scaled up. After
opening a U.S. office last year, it has the potential to be taken to other
countries.
“My dad always taught me, some of the difference between people who fail and
people who don't, and companies who fail and companies who don't, is they just
keep going, they never stop,” Mr. Rogers said. “It [One X One] has the ability
to raise many more times the money that it has,” Mr. Rogers said.
The fact that the evening has become a hot ticket, is purely by accident, he
says. “We're not vying for that,” Mr. Rogers said.
TTC Screens Offer Better Way To Film
Fest
Source: www.thestar.com
- Eric Veillette, Special To The Star
(September 05, 2009) Imagine a film festival that requires no
tickets, no line-ups, and is fused into the daily commute of more than a
million city-dwellers.
No need to imagine: the Toronto Urban Film Festival starts next Friday and runs until Sept.
20, presenting 80 short films on more than 270 screens throughout the Toronto
subway system.
"The shorts are incredibly ambitious,
and it reflects well on this city," says writer, director and actor Don
McKellar, this year's guest judge. (McKellar's experimental film Imaginary
Lovers will be featured as part of the Toronto International Film
Festival's Future Projections public screening series.)
Now in its third year, TUFF is a
collaboration between two organizations: Art for Commuters, which is dedicated
to putting art on public screens and is led by TUFF executive director Sharon
Switzer, and One-Stop Media Group, which manages the digital panels on the
subway platforms.
The films run every 10 minutes on every
platform, but those wanting an ad-free experience can visit dedicated film
zones on the north and south platforms of Bloor station. (If you're always
rushing to catch your train, the shorts can also be viewed online at
torontourbanfilmfestival.com.)
This year, TUFF received more than 240
submissions from 11 countries. The films are all one minute long, silent, with
themes such as "Urban Encounters" and "Urban Diversity."
They include live-action parables like I Can, Can You by Neal Cumming,
where a man travels the city by canoe and animated montages like Joe Pascale's Urban
Jungle, bringing the metaphor full circle with wild animals appearing
within our metropolis.
As Toronto celebrates its 175th
anniversary, a sense of civic pride unites many of this year's selections. Of
particular interest is Back in Time by Kwan Ho Tse, which merges
archival photos of Toronto's busiest intersections with contemporary scenes.
McKellar sees TUFF as a great opportunity
to reclaim public space. "Not to get too political about it, but normally
in the subway all we see is advertising," McKellar said during a news
conference at the Drake Hotel. "I was worried when I entered into this
that the shorts would look like ads, but it's not the case. They seem to
distinguish themselves and rise above the visual patter, which is sort of
amazing in this day and age."
In addition to over $10,000 in prizes to
be awarded on Sept. 19, this year marks the introduction of the "Naish
McHugh Award for Emerging Filmmakers," a $2,500 cash prize. McHugh is the
founder of the Toronto Film and Television Office, currently celebrating its
30th anniversary.
"It is fair to say that Naish was a
part of creating Toronto as Canada's centre of excellence in English-language
screen-based media," said Peter Finestone, commissioner of the TFTO.
Jackson Laid To Rest In Private Service
Source: www.globeandmail.com - The Associated
Press
(September 04, 2009)
Glendale, Calif. — Paris Jackson wept as she stepped into the mausoleum
where her father, Michael, was to be entombed. Katherine Jackson,
overcome by sorrow, turned back when she was faced with her son’s final resting
place.
On a sultry Thursday evening, amid a sea
of white flowers and with a bejewelled crown placed atop his casket by his
children, the King of Pop was given an intimate, private version of the lavish
public memorial held shortly after his death in June.
The funeral at Glendale Memorial Park was
simple but touching, according to one guest. The person, who asked not to be
identified because of the sensitivity of the day, said Gladys Knight’s
performance of the hymn “Our Father” (The Lord’s Prayer) soared in the vast
mausoleum and moved many to tears.
When it was over, many of the 200 mourners
hugged each other. Among them were Elizabeth Taylor, Jackson’s ex-wife Lisa
Marie Presley, Barry Bonds and Macaulay Culkin.
The Rev. Al Sharpton, who gave a eulogy at
the public event and at Thursday’s service, also extolled Knight’s earlier
performance of “His Eye is on the Sparrow.”
“Gladys Knight sang her heart out. Now we
prepare to lay him to rest,” Mr. Sharpton posted on his Twitter account during
the service that was held outside and then within the marble mausoleum.
The mourners followed the crowned, lushly
flower-draped casket as Mr. Jackson’s five brothers — each wearing a bright red
tie and a single crystal-studded glove — carried it into the mausoleum. The
11-year-old Paris cried as the group entered the imposing building and was
comforted by her aunt, LaToya.
Paris and brothers Prince Michael, 12, and
Prince Michael II, 7, known as Blanket, began the service by placing the crown
on their father’s golden casket. They were composed through most of the
hour-and-a-half ceremony.
As it ended, Katherine Jackson appeared
extremely weary and had to be helped to her car, according to the guest.
Earlier, she had a difficult time going into the mausoleum; she was overcome,
turned back, and it wasn’t clear if she went in at all, the guest said.
The Jackson family’s tardy arrival delayed
the service for nearly two hours; no explanation was given to mourners. The
invitation notice indicated the service would begin promptly at 7 p.m.; it
began closer to 8:30.
The 77-year-old Taylor and others were
left waiting in the late summer heat, with the temperature stuck at 90 degrees
just before sunset, and some mourners fanned themselves with programs for the
service. As darkness fell, police escorted the family’s motorcade of 31 cars,
including Rolls-Royces and Cadillacs, from their compound in Encino to Forest
Lawn, about a 20-minute journey, with the hearse bearing Jackson’s body at the
end.
About 250 seats were arranged for mourners
over artificial turf laid roadside at the mausoleum, and a vivid orange moon, a
mark of the devastating wildfire about 16 kilometres distant, hung over the
cemetery.
There were two oversized portraits of a
youthful, vibrant Jackson mounted next to the casket amid displays of white
lilies and roses. At Mr. Jackson’s lavish public memorial, red roses covered
his casket.
A large, blimp-like inflated light, the
type used in film and television production, and a boom camera hovered over the
seating area placed in front of the elaborate marble mausoleum. The equipment
raised the possibility that the footage would be used for the Jackson concert
documentary “This Is It,” or perhaps the Jackson brothers’ upcoming reality
show.
More than 400 media credentials were
issued to reporters and film crews who remained at a distance from the service
and behind barricades. The few clusters of fans who gathered around the secure
perimeter that encircled the cemetery entrance struggled to see.
Maria Martinez, 25, a fan from Riverside,
California, who was joined by a dozen other Jackson admirers at a gas station
near the security perimeter, gave a handful of pink flowers she had picked at a
nearby park to a man with an invitation driving into the funeral.
“Can you please put these flowers on his
grave?” she told him. “They were small and ugly, but I did that with my heart.
I’m not going to be able to get close, so this is as close as I could get to
him.”
The man consented, adding, “God bless.”
Glendale police said all went smoothly and
there were no arrests.
Mr. Jackson will share eternity at Forest
Lawn with the likes of Clark Gable, Jean Harlow and W.C. Fields, entombed
alongside them in the mausoleum that will be all but off-limits to adoring fans
who might otherwise turn the pop star’s grave into a shrine.
The closest the public will be able to get
to Mr. Jackson’s vault is a portion of the mausoleum that displays “The Last
Supper Window,” a life-size stained-glass re-creation of Leonardo da Vinci’s
masterpiece. Several 10-minute presentations about the window are held
regularly 365 days a year, but most of the building is restricted.
The Jackson family had booked an Italian
restaurant in Pasadena for a gathering Thursday night, and family members and
guests were seen coming and going late into the night.
“I feel like I watched Michael finally
given some peace and I made a commitment to make sure his legacy and what he
stood for lives on,” Sharpton said outside the restaurant around midnight. “So
at one level we’re relieved; another level we’re obligated.”
The ceremony ends months of speculation
that the singer’s body would be buried at Neverland Ranch, in part to make the
property a Graceland-style attraction. An amended copy of Jackson’s death
certificate was filed Thursday in Los Angeles County to reflect Forest Lawn as
his final resting place.
In court on Wednesday, it was disclosed
that 12 burial spaces were being purchased by Jackson’s estate at Forest Lawn
Glendale, about 13 kilometres north of downtown Los Angeles, but no details
were offered on how they would be used.
The King of Pop died a drug-induced death
June 25 at age 50 as he was about to embark on a comeback attempt. The
coroner’s office has labelled the death a homicide, and Jackson’s death
certificate lists “injection by another” as the cause.
Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson’s personal
physician, told detectives he gave the singer a series of sedatives and the
powerful anesthetic propofol to help him sleep. But prosecutors are still
investigating, and no charges have been filed.
Tyler Perry Just Keeps On Working And Working
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009)Tyler Perry and Lionsgate has announced that they once again coming together to to
produce and distribute a new film.
This time it's Ntozake Shange's award
winning 1975 play "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When The
Rainbow is Enuf."
Perry will write, direct and produce. The
film will be the first project for 34th Street Films, Perry's new production
company, which is housed at Lionsgate.
"Colored Girls" will feature an
all-star cast of female actors. Principal photography is scheduled to begin in
Atlanta in November 2009 and continue through December 2009. Lionsgate plans to
release the film in 2010.
The film is the tenth title in Lionsgate's
ongoing franchise with filmmaker Perry, and it is Perry's first film to be
based on non-original material. The franchise's eighth title, "Tyler
Perry's I Can Do Bad All By Myself," opens nationwide on September 11,
followed by the opening of "Tyler Perry's Why Did I Get Married Too?"
on April 2, 2010. Perry is also a co-presenter and executive producer, with
Oprah Winfrey, of Lee Daniels's Sundance Film Festival award-winner
"Precious: Based On The Novel 'Push' By Sapphire," which
Lionsgate is releasing in November.
"We are thrilled to see Tyler take
the helm on 'For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When Rainbow Is
Enuf.' From the very beginning of his career, Tyler has told compelling stories
about women's lives, and he has created a memorable gallery of multidimensional
female characters. He is an ideal person to bring Ntozake Shange's play to the
screen, and this movie will be a major treat for audiences across the
board," said Mike Paseornek, Lionsgate President of Motion Picture
Production.
"Making a film of 'For Colored Girls
Who Have Considered Suicide When Rainbow Is Enuf' is a dream come true for me.
Ntozake Shange's play is a magnificent tribute to the strength and dignity of
women of color, and I think audiences of all generations will be able to
recognize and embrace the experiences these women represent. Creatively, this
movie is one of the most exciting undertakings of my career, and I'm excited to
start production this November," commented Perry
Sapphire's Precious Baby
Source: www.thestar.com
- Peter Howell, Movie Critic
(September
09, 2009) Pop star Mariah Carey says Precious
changed her life.
Rocker Lenny Kravitz rearranged tour plans. Actress Paula Patton
cried. Title star Gabourey Sidibe
found a kindred spirit. Director Lee Daniels couldn't shake the
story.
They're talking about Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire,
the award-winning film, drawn from an acclaimed 1996 book, that has its
Canadian premiere Sunday in a TIFF gala at Roy Thomson Hall. It's set in the
Harlem of 1987, where hope never even gets a chance to die.
Precious searches for meaning in the brutal life of Claireece (Precious)
Jones.
Played by newcomer Sidibe, who actually is from Harlem, she's an illiterate and
morbidly obese teenager who is pregnant for the second time, once again the
result of rape by her own father.
Carey, Kravitz and Patton happily exchanged their usual glamour for difficult
and dressed-down roles as the authority figures who seek to help the angry and
distant teen.
They were joined by Daniels, Patton, Sidibe and screenwriter Geoffrey Fletcher
to talk – make that emote – about this tough little film at a round-table
session with journalists at the Cannes Film Festival in May:
DANIELS: "I read this book many years ago, I don't know when. It stayed
with me; there are very few books that stay with me. I slept with it. I was
like, `Oh, my God, this is harrowing,' but at the end of the day, it was light
at the end of the tunnel.
"I felt that it had to be brought to the screen. (Sapphire) would not give
me the rights; many famous people and studio presidents had been courting her,
but she felt that she wanted it to be safe.
"She's an auteur. She really is one of the most profound writers and poets
that I know. She was very particular about who had her baby and so she kept
passing on it, passing on it for me. I finally showed her a film that I did (he
produced Monster's Ball) and she said, `Okay.'"
CAREY: "I knew Lee was doing the movie years ago. A friend of mine gave me
the book and it changed my life, literally ...
"I just said, `Let me just peel layers away of who the world thinks I am,
of who even I personally feel I am as a performer, as anything, and really
truly become this woman who has a large responsibility.'
"In a way, (Carey's character) is the audience. She is that shocked person
who cares about what goes on and has to bare her soul because she's hearing
something that is so horrific that she's never heard before. And I think a lot
of people feel that way when they see the movie."
KRAVITZ: "Lee had said he wanted to meet me and that he'd been trying to
meet me to work with him in the past, but could never get through to me. We
met, we discussed doing some films together, and I didn't have time at the
time, I was on tour ... and that's how it began.
"The thing that Lee wanted to do was make me disappear: `You can't walk
like that! You can't move like that! Your hand can't do that! You can't talk
like that!' Literally, in an hour, he completely changed my whole vibe. As I
found out when people were screening the movie, they didn't even know it was
me, which I found hard to believe, but that's a great thing."
PATTON: "My husband read the script and he said, `Paula, you have got to
do this movie! Read it!' I read it and it made me cry. Truth be told, I was
afraid of playing this teacher role that I had seen it in movies before ...
(but) I knew I had to do it because my mom was a schoolteacher for 28 years.
"Lee wasn't going to leave until he had your best performance. There's so
much trust in that. ... There's nothing like knowing that you can trust him and
that he wants to get your best work out, even better than you thought you
had."
SIDIBE: "I'm actually from Harlem, which is where Precious is from, so we
have that in common. I wasn't an actress. I was a college student, a psych
student. I had done a lot of plays at Newman College in the Bronx, but I had
never really thought of acting as a career, I always thought it was too hard
and frankly I'm really lazy, I don't like to try. ...
"But I knew of the book. I'm actually a pretty big fan of the book, and my
mother was approached to play Mary (the cruel mother of Precious) years before
I had auditioned, and it broke her heart and she didn't want to do it. She made
me read the book.
"I did, I loved it and I understood why she didn't want to do it. It is a
tough role to take on; it's a tremendous role to take on. She told me that I
should audition for Precious and I was like, `You think I can do everything,
Mom!' ...
"And now I'm a movie star! This is all the sunshine I need; it's perfect.
I'm having the most fun ever, more fun than I imagined myself having. This is
completely glamour. This is nothing like what I ever thought my life would be
heading toward."
Cirque Show Dazzles And Delights
Source: www.thestar.com - Richard Ouzounian
(September 03, 2009) It's ironic that
while Guy Laliberté is seeking glory in space, the company
he founded, Cirque du Soleil, should find it underground.
Ovo, the latest touring show from the
unstoppable Quebecois company, opened in Toronto last night and turned an
exploration of the insect world into an eye-popping, breathtaking,
heart-stopping entertainment delight.
Despite their similarities, each Cirque
show manages to be different and Ovo is no exception. With choreographer
Deborah Colker in firm control of her vision, this show moves with a dance-like
precision unlike any other Cirque production.
Scene melts into scene invisibly, special
effects spring up before we notice their preparation and magical pieces of
gymnastic activity dazzle us and are gone before we have a chance to catch our
breath.
There isn't much of a plot except the
courtship of a ladybug who looks like Queen Latifah with the measles, pursued
by a fly who is the thinnest, bluest creature you've ever seen.
But somehow, that's enough. Colker lets
her insects stand for all of humanity and we get to experience most of the
driving human emotions in her carefully calibrated sequences of movement,
acrobatics and dance.
A gossamer cocoon becomes two artists who
partner in a pas de deux that manages to combine sensuality and spectacle at
once, embracing while performing death-defying feats. An adorable troupe of
ants juggle with their feet and win our hearts, but come back later in the
evening with slyly knowing smiles that let us realize they're not as innocent
as they seem.
Instead of the typical Cirque show, where
the acts can seem tacked on to a story involving an overabundance of
characters, Colker makes it all work toward a central vision. Everyone is
involved with every scene of the show. The star of one sequence becomes the
background watcher in the next. It's a wonderfully unifying device.
Audiences will be taken by the more
flamboyant sequences, including an Act I ending where a chorus of beetles takes
to the skies and an Act II finale that involves trampolines, a rock-climbing
wall and a dozen creatures who all look like the Green Power Ranger.
But I appreciated the gentler parts of the
vision, the amazing look of the costumes, the awesome sunshine and shade of the
lighting and the haunting Brazilian music that ties it all together.
Whether you come to Ovo for the big
effects, or the more miniature moments of magic, you will find plenty to
delight you in this joyous new show.
::TRAVEL::
Jamaica
Is Promoting A Wealth Of Attractions Beyond The Sun And Sand
Source: www.agentathome.com
- By Melanie Reffes
(September 8, 2009) From exploring an old sugar plantation to zip-lining
through the rainforest, the Jamaican vacation experience is more than a day at
the beach. While figures released by the Jamaica Tourist Board (JTB) indicate
modest growth with a 4 percent hike in arrivals this year and a 3.4 percent
jump in visitor spending over 2007, beds are harder to fill amidst this
sluggish economy and the fierce competition from other Caribbean destinations.
In an island-wide effort to stay afloat during the global recession, the
government is aggressively marketing vacations beyond a swim-up bar in order to
grab a lucrative slice of the tourism pie.
“There are 150 licensed attractions in Jamaica, which is the highest number in
the Caribbean,“ says Trina deLisser, director of the Association of Jamaica
Attractions (www.attractions-jamaica.com). “The all-inclusive properties
especially promote outside tours, because it gets guests off the resort, which
is a more sustainable tourism experience for them and for Jamaica.”
Launched in the summer, Island Routes (www.islandroutes.com)
is selling 80 land and water tours, including biking in the Blue
Mountains, deep-sea fishing and the all-day “Root, Rock & Reggae” cruise.
“Our nonstop party on the water is hosted by staff dressed as reggae icons and
is targeted to serious fans of Bob Marley,” says Director Dominique Peterkin.
The largest nature adventure provider, Chukka Caribbean Adventures (www.chukkacaribbean.com) , has added two tours to its roster.
“Flight of the White Witch” in Montego Bay is a series of six traverses, two
rappels, one incline glide and a hanging platform suspended 1,200 feet above
sea level. The “Bird of Paradise Zip-line Canopy” gives tourists a bird’s-eye
view of the White River Valley with its orange groves and lychee orchards. In
Negril, the “Raiders of Negril Cave Tour” will launch later this year.
Authentic Caribbean Holidays (www.authenticcaribbeanholidays.com)
bills itself as a young and dynamic company with a unique cache of tours
designed for the savvy traveler. “Where Reggae Hits Are Made” is a day-long
excursion to the major music studios, including Studio One, where Marley
recorded his hit “One Love.” “The Kingston Night Life Tour” salutes the city’s
nightclubs and musical theatre with a six-hour tour priced at $80.00 per person,
with a reduction to $65.00 for groups of four or more. Transportation from the
north coast resorts can be arranged.
Thrills and chills
Honoured as “Best Attraction” for 2008 by the Jamaica Hotel & Tourist
Association (JHTA), Rainforest Bobsled Jamaica at Mystic Mountain in Ocho Rios
covers more than 100 acres and supports a diverse ecosystem of natural springs,
tropical foliage and a variety of bird species. The year-old attraction
features Sky Lift Explorer, Bobsled Jamaica, Tranopy ride and a three-story
railway station with mountain-top dining and retail outlets. New this year, an
Athletics Pavilion celebrates Jamaica’s sprinters with an interactive exhibit
and Olympic memorabilia. Agent commissions are given for bookings confirmed on
the website: www.rainforestbobsledjamaica.com.
On an 18th-century estate in Ocho Rios, Camel Safari Ride is Jamaica’s only
Camel Trekking Safari. In an open-air carriage “driven” by camels, tourists
stop for a tour of the Prospect Plantation (www.prospectplantationtours.com).
Blue Mountain Bicycle Tours (www.bmtoursja.com)
is an all-inclusive family-oriented adventure. Cyclists pedal nine to 18
miles downhill along misty mountain paths while a van cruises behind to pick up
over-exerted riders. Starting from Ocho Rios or Kingston, the tour lasts up to
two and a half hours.
Aquatic adventures
New on the Hip Strip, Cornwall Beach is a stretch of white sand with a range of
facilities for one entrance price of $5.00. Ideal for travelers not staying at
a seafront resort or for those who come into Montego Bay but want a few hours
away from the stores, the beach park makes snorkelling gear available.
With departures from Cornwall Beach, Dreamer Catamaran Cruises (www.dreamercatamarans.com) is a licensed attraction by
the Jamaica Tourist Board and owned by a team of sailing aficionados. Aboard
one of three catamarans—Tropical Dreamer, Day Dreamer and Island
Dreamer—tourists can buy a three-hour “Sail and Snorkel” cruise, which includes
an open bar and snorkelling instruction or a two-hour “Champagne Sunset Sail
& Dinner” that departs the beach at 5 p.m.. Both cruises are priced at
$65.00 per person with transfers from the nearby resorts.
In Negril, two new tours celebrate the second anniversary of the Kool Runnings
Water Park (www.koolrunnings.com), the largest in
the Eastern Caribbean. “Kool Culinary Heritage Tour” is a palate-pleasing
excursion sampling Jamaica’s indigenous food, while “Kool Kanoe Swamp
Adventure” is a scenic ride through the canals of the Great Morass, one of the
island’s protected eco-systems. Visitors can stay and play all day for $28.00
per person.
Revered for the healing powers of its mineral springs, Bubbling Springs is the
newest attraction on the south coast. Recent upgrades include the addition of a
craft shop, restaurant and outdoor showers. What may be the island’s best-kept
secret: the Fire Hole near Montego Bay is a saltwater spring bubbling with
flammable natural gases that create floating flames when lit. The mystical
firewater officially called Windsor Spring is believed to relieve symptoms of
tired muscles and itchy insect bites. More information can be found at http://visitjamaica.com.
On the highway between Montego Bay and Ocho Rios, Luminous Lagoon is a
bioluminescent bay that appears to glow in the dark due to small phosphorescent
animals that live in the lagoon. Evening cruises depart at 7 p.m. from the
Glistening Waters Marina (www.glisteningwaters.com).
The cost is $20 per person, which includes one drink.
Cascading 600 feet to the sea, Dunn’s River Falls (www.dunnsriverfallsja.com) is a must-do for island
first-timers. Guides lead tourists through tumbling waterfalls and protruding
rock ledges that act like natural stair steps. To avoid the busloads of
tourists, visit the falls on non-cruise ship days.
Adjacent to the Dunn’s River Falls, Dolphin Cove at Treasure Reef (www.dolphincovejamaica.com) is the only dolphin
attraction in Jamaica, and the island’s most-visited marine attraction. On the
coastline of Ocho Rios, the interactive attraction offers swims with Bottle
Nose dolphins, sharks and sting rays. The attraction also offers glass-bottom
kayak rides, snorkelling, jungle trail walks known for sightings of macaws. For
the younger set, Little Port Royal is a replica of Jamaica’s most famous pirate
town.
Whet Your Appetite
The island’s most famous culinary export is also a new tour option guaranteed
to tempt the foodies in the crowd. Launched earlier this year, “Culinary Jerk
Trail” is a self-guided tour of ten of the spiciest spots, including Boston
Jerk in Port Antonio, Ultimate Jerk Center in Discovery Bay, and the Ocho Rios
Jerk Center. “Jerk cuisine has made its way onto menus worldwide, but we invite
travelers to come to Jamaica and sample this dish the way it was meant to be
experienced, which is in our laid-back and tropical environment,” says Tourism
Minister Edmund Bartlett, inaugurating the tour at Scotchies Jerk Centre in
Montego Bay. For more information, www.visitjamaica.com/jamaica-jerk.
The “Appleton Rum Tour” (www.appletonrumtour.com)
includes a visit to the onsite distillery beside the Black River, south
of Montego Bay, and plenty of samples.
Pretty Pictures
For the less adventurous, Shaw Park Botanical Gardens (www.shawparkgardens.com) sits high on a hilltop
overlooking the Caribbean Sea. Admission is $10.00 per person. Tours are given
by Nathaniel McCalla who has been introducing the 25-acre garden to tourists for
more than 25 years.
New at Coyaba Gardens (www.coyabagardens.com),
Ysassis Lookout Point offers panoramic views of Ocho Rios Bay and the
cruise ship terminals. Also on-property, Museum of Island History spotlights
the Taino and Arawak indigenous peoples, a crafts shop, a cut-stone courtyard
shaded by giant banyan and cedar trees, and a natural aquarium filled with koi
and turtles.
Between Ocho Rios and Montego Bay, Green Grotto Caves (www.greengrottocavesja.com) have been delighting
visitors since the 18th century with a labyrinth of limestone and overhead
ceiling pockets. The $20.00 admission price includes rental of hard hat,
45-minute guided tour and a drink.
A Storied Past
The subject of at least a dozen gothic novels, Rose Hall Great House (www.jnht.com)
was built in 1790 by John Palmer, a wealthy British planter. Long in
ruins, the house has been restored with the addition of knowledgeable guides
giving tours by appointment only. Directly opposite the Great House, The
Shoppes at Rose Hall is a new shopping complex with duty-free stores and
designer boutiques.
Also in Montego Bay, Bellefield Great House (www.bellefieldgreathouse.com) is one of the oldest
sugar plantations in Jamaica. The “Taste of Jamaica” is a new interactive tour
that spotlights the islands culinary traditions with stops at a 100-year-old
sugar mill and a jerk pit.
Jamaican
Resorts A'Plenty
Source: www.Agentathome.Com - By Melanie
Reffes
In the midst of a punishing recession and fierce
competition for the tourist dollar, Jamaica
remains on solid ground with a strong start in arrivals for this year, with the
largest attraction sector in the Caribbean and accommodations that rival the
best in the region. The island’s room stock has increased at a rapid rate over
the past three years, due in large part to the major new all-inclusive resorts
that have been springing up on the north coast. Some 29,794 rooms in hotels,
villas, guest houses and apartments dot the island—and with deals and
discounts, as well as clever add-ons like massages, golf lessons and cooking
classes, it’s a buyer’s market. Following is a roundup of what’s going on with
the major chains and independent resorts, both existing and planned.
Bar-b-Barn
Beach Hotel On the famed Seven Mile Beach, the family-run
Bar-b-Barn Beach Hotel has been a Negril mainstay for more than two decades.
With 30 seaside cottages and an Italian restaurant on the beach, the property
is within walking distance from the Negril Town Square and attracts a high
number of repeat guests with rates as low as $68 per room per night in low
season. For more information, visit www.barbbarn.com.
Couples
Resorts Couples Ocho Rios has reopened as Couples Tower Isle
after a $30 million facelift. With a South Beach ambience, the revamped
226-room, adults-only resort has 16 ocean-view suites with zero-edge walk-in
showers and a floating dock at the resort’s private island. The resort is part
of an all-inclusive portfolio that includes Couples Sans Souci in Ocho Rios,
Couples Negril and Couples Swept Away, also in Negril. For more information,
visit www.couples.com.
Grand
Palladium Bigger is better at the 540-suite Grand Palladium
Resort and Spa and the 444-suite Grand Palladium Lady Hamilton Resort and Spa
sitting side-by-side in the town of Lucea, twenty-five miles from Montego Bay.
Affordable and all-inclusive, the complex, owned by Fiesta Hotel Group, is the
largest on the island, with 10 restaurants, 13 bars, 5 pools and an open-air theatre.
For more information, visit www.fiestahotelgroup.com.
Half Moon
Half Moon resort in Montego Bay, luxury 400-acre property, is now offering
all-inclusive options for group travel. The resort itself is still not
all-inclusive, but clients now have this all-inclusive package program that
includes three all-inclusive group packages: The Half Moon Group Plan (prices
start at $190 person; all F&B, airport transfers, equipment and amenities for
one meeting per day); The Total Golf Experience Group Plan (prices start at
$240 per person, all of the above plus 54 holes of golf at Half Moon, White
Witch, and/or Cinnamon Hill); and the Ultimate in Luxury Group Plan (prices
start at $240 per person; all of the above plus unlimited golf at Half Moon,
water sports and horseback riding for each person). For more information, visit
www.halfmoon.com.
Hilton
Rose Hall Resort Located in Montego Bay and now rebranded as a
Hilton, Rose Hall Resort & Spa is now part of the Hilton Honours loyalty
program with rooms bookable via the worldwide reservation system. The 488-room
all-inclusive on the site of an 18th-century sugar plantation has 54 holes of
championship golf, an elegant Three Palms Restaurant and Sugar Mills Water Park
with thrill slides and cascading waterfalls. A boat dock and trendy nightclub
will open later this year. For more information, visit www.rosehallresort.com.
Iberostar
Three all-inclusive Iberostar resorts are now open in Montego Bay as part of a brand-new
mega property. They include the Rose Hall Beach & Spa, Rose Hall Suites and
Grand Hotel Rose Hall. The $850-million, 978-room complex is the first
Iberostar resort in Jamaica catering to families, couples and singles. For more
information, visit www.iberostar.com.
Island
Outpost New in the upscale Island Outpost portfolio, Geejam is
near Frenchman’s Cove in Port Antonio. Posh sea-view cabins built in the middle
of banana trees are outfitted in a music theme befitting the onsite recording
studio that attracts top names in the music business. Near Ocho Rios, in the
town of Oracabessa, Goldeneye is adding a multimillion dollar village with 200
rooms and a lagoon. The chic hotel is known as the birthplace of the James Bond
novels, with Ian Fleming’s original Suite 007 being the most requested. In
Negril, a four-bedroom villa with a butler, cliffside swimming pool and
underground tunnel leading to the main hotel is now open at Caves. At Jakes on
the south coast, 45 new rooms and the Driftwood Spa have been added. While
there are no TVs or telephones at the bohemian boutique hotel, Wi-Fi is
available. For more information, visit www.islandoutpost.com.
Jamaica
Inn The Jamaica Inn is much like it was a half a century ago
when Winston Churchill painted in watercolours and Marilyn Monroe sunbathed on
the beach. Located in Ocho Rios, the elegant inn boasts one of the top
restaurants on the island under the watchful eye of Chef Kai Bechinger. The
Kiyara Spa high atop Cutlass Bay is an oasis of rest and relaxation. For more
information, visit www.jamaicainn.com.
Kanopi
House Ratcheting up the market in luxury resorts, Kanopi House in
Port Antonio is now open with five wood-frame tree-house suites priced at $500
per night or $5,000 for the entire House, which comfortably sleeps 10. A sister
property to the exclusive Kamalame Cay private island resort in the Bahamas,
Kanopi House is eco-astute with green certification and organic dinners. For
more information, visit www.kanopihouse.com.
Ritz-Carlton
Rose Hall Resort In Montego Bay, the Ritz-Carlton Rose Hall
Resort sets a gold standard for luxury. The resort is offering an all-inclusive
package, “Escape to Luxury,” priced at $409 per night per room through October.
It features meals at any of the gourmet eateries, including the award-winning
Horizon’s, unlimited drinks from a selected menu at all restaurants and bars,
20 percent discount on mini-bar purchases, shuttles to the White Witch Golf
Course and Shoppes at Rose Hall, and complimentary Blue Mountain coffee every
morning. For more information, visit www.ritzcarlton.com.
Riu Close
to the airport, Riu Montego Bay is the fourth Riu resort to open in Jamaica,
adding to the mega-all-inclusive landscape on the north coast. Easy to spot
with its signature lavender exterior, the 681-room beachfront property is
directly next to Sandals Royal Caribbean. For more information, visit www.riu.com.
Sandals/Beaches
Cashing in on the sluggish economy, all-inclusive Sandals and
Beaches are selling a “No Worry Guarantee,” which gives guests a full cash
refund should they be fired from their jobs. The policy is an add-on to the
Trip Mate Travel Protection Plan and sold by Unique Vacations Inc. Property
enhancements include new suites at Sandals Negril Beach Resort and upgrades to
the 74-room Royal Plantation Resort in Ocho Rios. On the drawing board is a
unique over-the-water spa at the Royal Plantation Island, two-bedroom suites at
Beaches Negril and Infinity River suites at Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort. For
more information, visit www.sandals.com or www.beaches.com.
Sunset
Resorts Targeting the seemingly recession-proof wedding and
honeymoon market, Sunset Resorts is selling a “Romance at Sunset” package at
all three all-inclusive properties, including the recently upgraded, 430-room
Sunset Beach Resort & Spa in Montego Bay, the 730-room Sunset Jamaica
Grande Resort & Spa in Ocho Rios and the 65-room boutique Sunset at the
Palms in Negril. A travel agent rate of $89.00 per person per night has been
extended through December at the Montego Bay and Ocho Rios properties. For more
information, visit www.sunsetresorts.com.
SuperClubs
The granddaddy of the all-inclusive concept, SuperClubs saw a modest increase
of 8 percent in bookings at its Breezes properties during the first quarter of
this year. “When flat is the new ‘up’, it’s good to be able to report an
increase this past winter at our most successful brand,” says Paul Pennicook,
president of International Lifestyles, worldwide representative for
SuperClubs’ brands. As part of the chain’s realignment to the Breezes brand,
several properties will be repositioned and renamed. On Nov. 1, for example,
Grand Lido Negril Resort & Spa will become Breezes Grand Negril Resort
& Spa, and the Grand Lido Braco Resort & Spa will be renamed Breezes
Rio Bueno Resort & Spa. The family-friendly Starfish Trelawny will become
Breezes Trelawny, with the “kids stay free” and “single parent supplement”
waiver remaining intact. The low-frills Ocho Rios Rooms and Negril Rooms will
keep their names as will the two Hedonism resorts. For more information, visit www.breezes.com
or www.superclubs.com.
Tryall
Club West of the airport in Montego Bay, Tryall Club is an
upscale collection of 78 one- to eight-bedroom villas with chefs and butlers.
Built on a century-old plantation, the property has an 18-hole golf course,
tennis courts, and seaside hammocks strung between almond trees, and it offers
unbridled privacy popular with honeymooners, celebrities and dignitaries. For
more information, visit www.tryallclub.com.
In addition to the existing resorts above, following is a rundown of planned
properties. Adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton in Montego Bay, Palmyra Resort (www.thepalmyra.com)
is set to open in the fall with 299 suites. Celebration Jamaica,
developers of the Palmyra project, also plan to open a 65-acre property in Rose
Hall with 2,080 rooms, as well as restaurants, golf courses and casino. Harmony
Cove (www.harmonycove.com) in Trelawny is on track to start
construction of a 4,500-room resort and the island’s second casino early next
year. Finally, AM Resorts’ all-inclusive Secrets brand (www.secretsresorts.com) broke ground for its Secrets
St. James and Secrets Montego Bay all-inclusive adults-only resorts in
December, marking the debut of the brand in Jamaica. The side-by-side, 700-room
complex is scheduled to open by end of this year with 14 bars, a concierge on
every floor and oceanfront massage cabanas.
::MUSIC NEWS::
A Soul Queen's Long Reign
Source: www.thestar.com - Ashante Infantry, Pop & Jazz Critic
(September 03, 2009) The enduring Soul
Queen of New Orleans is celebrating a half-century of performing, but her love
for music goes back longer.
"I can't remember when I couldn't
sing. It was just something that was natural," Irma Thomas said in a phone
interview from her Crescent City home.
"Singing was a form of
self-entertainment I thought everyone did. We sung the hymns of the day, gospel
music, and then on the radio was what we used to call hillbilly music, now
called country, or country and western. It all sounded like rhythm and blues to
me."
Out this week, The Soul Queen of New
Orleans: 50th Anniversary Celebration is a retrospective with three new
songs and gems such as "I'm Your Puppet," "Back Water
Blues" and "I Count the Tears" from the last two decades.
The 2007 Grammy winner, who plays a free
show at Harbourfront on Sunday, maintains a respectable schedule, travelling
with a seven-piece band.
"I'm not working as much as I'd like
to, because a lot of folk are using the economy as a crutch to lean on in hopes
to get me cheaper," she said. "But I won't do it. My theory is this:
if you can book people who are charging you $100,000 a night, why can't you
book someone who is charging you far less without telling me the economy is
rough right now? Tickets are selling at $45 to $65 ... and these people are
filling these arenas and you're going to tell me the economy's bad and you
can't book me? You tell that to somebody that's not savvy."
She said she varies her set lists to suit
the audience.
"I travel around with a 3 1/2
inch ring tablet – I'm going to put it on laptop, but now it's the
old-fashioned way – with lyrics of songs I've done over the years and even some
I've recorded recently, 'cause oftentimes I finds it's easier to not try to
guess it, and since I don't rehearse as often as I used to because most of my
guys have day jobs.
"I bring my lyrics with me and if the
audience say they want to hear something, I just open it – `gimme a minute' –
and I do it, whether the band remembers it or not. I do it a cappella if they
don't.
"I don't believe in shoving stuff
down people's throats. They paid their bucks to come. I feel they're entitled
to hear what they came to hear, not `Look at me, what I can do.' And I don't
get caught up in having a special dress on; I try to dress showy, but
comfortable, so I'm not up there worried about my feet hurting ... If my feet
hurt, I can't think. I been out of high heels for a long time."
For many years, Thomas and her husband,
Emile Jackson, who have a blended family of seven children, 15 grandchildren
and 10 great-grandchildren, ran a popular New Orleans nightclub, but didn't
reopen after Hurricane Katrina.
Now, she stays active tending to her
progeny, her church community and her well-being.
"I'm blessed with a pretty decent
smile and I have a good dentist who makes me take care of my teeth," she
said. "I've put on a few pounds, but I'm dealing with that, too; I manage
to find clothes to cover a multitude of sins. I was never a heavy smoker or
drinker, and I try to exercise as much as a 68-year-old woman can on bad knees."
Just the facts
WHO: Irma Thomas
WHEN: Sunday, 9:30 p.m.
WHERE: Sirius Stage, Harbourfront Centre, 235 Queens Quay W.
COVER: Free
Kevin Liles Leaves Warner
Music Group
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009) *Warner Music Group announced Thursday that
Executive Vice President Kevin Liles has decided to step down from his day-to-day role at the
company to pursue his own entrepreneurial opportunities.
However, the industry veteran will maintain a consulting relationship
with the company, WMG said in a statement.
"Kevin Liles is an exceptional executive and one of the most
dynamically creative individuals in the industry," said WMG Chairman and
CEO, Edgar Bronfman, Jr. "During his tenure at WMG, he helped to design
and implement our industry-leading artist services strategy that in just a few
years is already producing meaningful results. With WMG now positioned for
future growth, Kevin is following his heart. His presence will be missed in 75
Rock."
Lyor Cohen, WMG's Vice Chairman and Chairman and CEO, Recorded Music -
Americas and the UK, said, "Kevin and I have worked together since the day
he joined Def Jam as an intern 18 years ago. He has become a trusted friend, a
brilliant executive and an incredible business partner. Together, we have built
companies, signed and developed fantastically talented artists, and brought
some outstanding music to the world. Even though Kevin's chosen to pursue a new
challenge, we'll continue to work together in many aspects of the entertainment
industry. I'm so excited to see what's next for Kev, and he takes with him all
my love and respect."
Liles said, "In the past couple weeks I've made one of the most
important decisions of my life -- to depart the Warner Music Group in order to
focus more on new entrepreneurial endeavours in talent management,
entertainment, media and my personal philanthropic and political passions. I am
thankful for the opportunities that Edgar and Lyor have given me, most recently
in entrusting me with driving the company's global artist services strategy,
which is redefining the way labels and artists work together. My work here is
now complete and I'm excited about the next chapter of my life."
Susan Boyle's Debut Jumps The Charts
Source: www.thestar.com - MTV.com
(September 07, 2009) YouTube star Susan Boyle has
dropped out of the headlines lately, but she's still top of mind with music
buyers.
The first album by the Britain's Got Talent contestant isn't due until
Nov. 24. But online sources say the Scottish singer's debut album, I Dreamed
a Dream, has already jumped to the top of the Amazon.com charts, thanks to
tens of thousands of pre-orders. The album's release date was announced just a
few days ago.
The frenzy even has Boyle beating out Whitney Houston and the Beatles
for the top spot.
Boyle took some time out of the Britain's Got Talent tour in July to
record some songs for the album. American Idol and Britain's Got
Talent judge Simon Cowell, whose label is producing the CD, said, "She
sounds fantastic on record. She's so good, the album is not just going to be
show tunes. We're going to take our time with this," according to People
magazine.
Boyle became a sensation this year with her rendition of "I Dreamed a
Dream" from Les Misérables on the British talent show, which was
watched millions of times on YouTube. She finished in second place. Boyle
became overwhelmed by the spotlight, however, and had a temporary meltdown.
But Boyle seems to be back on track to top the charts, competing with other
Cowell protégés including Carrie Underwood, Kris Allen, Adam
Lambert and Leona Lewis, who are also set to release new music in
November.
Sean Kingston
Prepares To Tour
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 03, 2009) *Reggae/pop performer Sean Kingston will spend fall on a
headlining tour to support his forthcoming sophomore studio set,
"Tomorrow."
The outing kicks off Sept. 15 in St. Johns, New Brunswick, the first of 12
Canadian dates before dipping Stateside on Oct. 8 in Seattle. The 36-city tour
continues through a Nov. 13 show in Decorah, IA. Dates are below.
September 2009
15 - St. Johns, New Brunswick - Harbour Station
16 - Sydney, Nova Scotia - Centre 200
18 - Toronto, Ontario - Guvernment
19 - Montreal, Quebec - Metropolis
27 - Thunder Bay, Ontario - Rock House
28 - Winnipeg, Manitoba - Blush Nightclub
29 - Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - TCU Place
30 - Medicine Hat, Alberta - Cypress Centre
Jamaican
Music Producer And Musician Steely Is Dead
Source: www.eurweb.com - By Kevin Jackson
(September 03, 2009 \) *Wycliffe
'Steely' Johnson, half of the influential
production duo Steely and Clevie, has died. The keyboardist, who was in his
early 50s, passed away in a New York City hospital on Tuesday.
This column has learnt that Johnson suffered heart failure.
His medical problems began last December when he was being treated for kidney
failure at the University Hospital of the West Indies. He went to New York for
further medical treatment, where it was discovered he had a benign tumour on
his brain the size of an orange. It was successfully removed but he later
contracted pneumonia. Johnson also suffered from diabetes.
Johnson was best known for creating some of dancehall's biggest techno jams of
the 1980s and 1990s with drummer Cleveland ‘Clevie’ Browne, he started his
career as a studio musician.
He worked with several producers, including Augustus Pablo, and was a founding
member of the Roots Radics studio band for producer Henry 'Junjo' Lawes, owner
of the Volcano label.
Johnson and Browne teamed up during the 1980s, after playing on Bob Marley and
the Wailers' Confrontation album. They were members of producer Lloyd 'King
Jammys' James red-hot team that played on a flood of hit songs by Admiral
Bailey, Shabba Ranks and Nitty Gritty.
While they were one of the most in-demand producers in 1990s dancehall, Steely
and Clevie said one of their most cherished projects was a Studio One tribute
album they recorded in 1992.
The set featured covers of 10 songs from the legendary studio. One of them,
Dawn Penn's cover of No, No, No, became an international hit two years after
the album was released by Heartbeat Records and resurrected the career of Penn,
who first recorded the song at Studio One in 1969.
The following year, the duo scored big again when their production of Sean Paul
and Sasha's I'm Still In Love With You entered Billboard magazine's pop chart.
The song was originally done in the 1960s by Alton Ellis and his sister
Hortense.
Culture Minister Olivia Grange paid tribute to Johnson, saying in a statement,
"Jamaica has lost another brilliant musician but we must give thanks for
Steely's creativity and abundance of talent which enriched our music
immeasurably."
Among the hit singles that Steely and Clevie produced on their Steely &
Clevie label were Boom Wah Dis by Burru Banton, Last Night (Constant Spring) by
Mr Vegas; and Old Crook by Mr G.
XM
Satellite Radio Sued Over Royalties
Source: www.globeandmail.com - Karim Bardeesy
(September 07, 2009) Two groups
representing Canada's music composers and publishers are taking Canadian Satellite Holdings Inc.'s (XSR-T1.400.1411.11%) XM Satellite Radio
to the Federal Court of Canada for non-payment of royalties.
The payments were mandated by Canada's Copyright Board on April 9, and are due
monthly. Royalties covering the broadcast of Canadian-produced music going back
to 2005 had come due on July 31 of this year.
“The creative people who write the music have not received the compensation
owed to them,” said C. Paul Spurgeon, general counsel for the Society of
Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, which brought the claim
along with another copyright collective.
XM has paid interest on the arrears owing, said Mr. Spurgeon, but has only
offered to start paying the principal in September, 2010.
In a statement, XM said, “The company is committed to meeting its obligations
but notes that its royalties include a significant retroactive tariff to 2005,
coming due during a very challenging economic time.”
XM started broadcasting in 2005, but the royalty rates were only set by the
Copyright Board this year.
“They have known for four years that they would owe these fees,” said Mr.
Spurgeon
The amounts owed could be substantial for XM Radio, which has yet to turn a profit.
Just for SOCAN members, the royalty rate is 4.26 per cent of the lion's share
of the company's revenue. XM Radio has made $106.4-million in cumulative
revenue to May 31, 2009, but only had $3.46-million in cash on hand.
Sirius Satellite Radio Canada, XM's competitor in satellite radio broadcasting
in Canada, has made its payments in full and up to date, SOCAN and Sirius
confirmed.
Source: www.globeandmail.com - Simon Houpt
(September 08, 2009) Of all the decisions Abbey Road Studios engineer Allan Rouse faced over the four-year process of remastering the full Beatles catalogue, one was indisputably tougher than all the rest.
"Starting," he says.
Given the intense relationships Beatles fans have with the band's music and their own memories of it, any project that implicitly offers an alternative view of that history would be automatically suspect.
"These are the originals," Rouse explains, sitting in a Greenwich Village recording studio for a listening session of the new masters with Abbey Road co-worker Guy Massey. "So: Did we shit ourselves a little bit? Yes. Because we knew that whatever we do, some people will like 'em, some people won't like 'em."
Which is why, says Rouse half-jokingly, a team of about a half-dozen people was involved in the project. "No one man was going to take responsibility for getting it wrong. We can all take the blame."
Rouse has faced the fans' ire before, but he has worked at Abbey Road Studios since 1971, and his Beatles bona fides are mighty. About 20 years ago, he got the assignment of making a backup tape of every original Beatles recording. Since then, his projects have included numerous other Fab Four spinoffs, including the 5.1 surround-sound and stereo mixes for the reissued Yellow Submarine in 1991, as well as the Love anthology and the Let It Be...Naked remix.
With the new catalogue remasters, Rouse and his co-workers are so far getting nothing but credit. Remastering the catalogue was both a simple and painstaking process. Working chronologically from first Beatles recording to last, Rouse and his team members took the original ¼-inch stereo master tapes, transferred them into the digital recording software ProTools (at 24-bit, 192-kHz), listened to each song five or six times on headphones and different sets of speakers in a variety of rooms, and then subtly addressed any noises they considered extraneous by altering equalizer levels.
But they couldn't go too far in changing the EQ levels, even if they wanted to: This wasn't a remix process, which would have allowed them free rein to fix any imbalance between instrumentation and vocals. Remastering offers limited choices, and any improvement has a potential cost. "If you want to get the voice out a bit, you start eating into the guitar frequencies," notes Massey.
Rouse agrees that the project is like a sonic equivalent of the Sistine Chapel cleaning. Still, he insists it was a mild cleaning that avoided some potential pitfalls. The urge to apply "no-noise" technology, which dampens any hisses or pops but also sucks away some vitality in a recording, was resisted. "We've done five minutes of de-noising across the whole catalogue," says Rouse. "We've been very careful about the restoration."
Pakistan's Howard Stern
Source: www.thestar.com
- Mark Magnier, Los Angeles Times
(September 08, 2009) ISLAMABAD–Fasi Zaka settles his 320-pound frame into a chair in
the small, stuffy FM studio, pulls his microphone close and lets it rip.
An upwardly mobile caller seeks a girlfriend and wonders if he should move
overseas for love and fortune.
Adopting an exaggerated posh South Asian accent, Zaka gently mocks the man's
concerns.
"I want young girl. I am engineer," he says, speaking in a clipped,
whiny fashion for comic effect. "Give me green card. I love America,"
he continues, before letting out a belly laugh and moving on to the next
caller: "Okay, buddy, hope you get someone."
In a country with conservative Islamic values that's battling the Taliban,
corruption, terrorism and a limping economy, Zaka skirts the edge, insulting
listeners, questioning sacred truths and dispensing mass therapy.
The idea of a Pakistani shock jock underscores some of the nuances, complexity
and diversity of a society often seen by foreigners as a land of suicide
bombers, inflammatory mullahs and political turmoil.
In a recent tongue-in-cheek article, Zaka speculated what two fictional Taliban
leaders, Breath (bad) Nullah from Waziristan and Fuzz Gandah Nallah from Swat,
might say at an English tea party.
"We should also take action against Cartoon Network."
"Yes, we should. Tom is always chasing Jerry. They are always naked."
"Yes, it is an American conspiracy to spread sex."
Even as he's panned as frivolous or ignored by some critics and establishment
types, Zaka's irreverent tone has hit a chord with 16- to 25-year-olds, making
his radio show among the most popular in the nation. A core operating
principle: Pakistanis are so weighted down by daily life, they need a laugh.
The "Fasi Zaka Show" on FM 91, which airs nationwide, has been
described as part Jon Stewart, part Monty Python, part stripped-down Howard
Stern.
"Stripped down because Howard Stern has no limits," says Hassan
Gulfaraz, a frequent co-host. "We're in a very conservative country ...
which means we have to be more creative."
Zakia's irreverence occasionally draws threats. A couple years ago, not long
after he had launched his show, a religious caller threatened repeatedly to
kill him. Some critics have chided the program's disrespectful tone, widespread
use of slang and "lightweight content."
"I wouldn't call it frivolous – it has its moments," says Nadeem
Farooq Paracha, a cultural critic. "But it's a bit silly."
Others say Zaka is squandering a golden opportunity to be constructive and
foster moderation in a confused younger generation.
But radio hosts don't have to be boring and didactic to get their message
across, counters Zaka, pointing to frequent discussions on extremism, women's
equality and the violence sweeping Pakistan.
"They presume preaching is the way for change," he says. "It
isn't."
Blige, Brown To Perform At Vienna Jackson Tribute
Source: www.thestar.com
- Veronika Oleksyn, Associated Press Writer
(September 08, 2009) VIENNA (AP) – Mary J.
Blige, Chris Brown and Natalie Cole will be among the top artists performing at
a Sept. 26 Michael Jackson tribute concert in Vienna, organizers said Tuesday.
But they left open the possibility that major stars such as Madonna might still
be part of the show that will take place outside a 17th-century palace in the
Austrian capital.
"Just hold your horses!" Jackson's brother Jermaine told reporters at
a packed news conference in Vienna's city hall.
Event promoter Georg Kindel said that up to 25 performers are expected to
participate in concert that is being billed as the main global tribute for the
King of Pop, who died June 25 in Los Angeles. More names will be unveiled later
this week in London and Berlin, Kindel said.
Sister Sledge, Akon, Angela Bassett, and the Germany-based boy band US5 also are
among the 13 artists confirmed so far, Jermaine Jackson said. In addition,
Jackson's original band and dancers will take part.
"We're very excited – the list is growing more and more,'' Jermaine
Jackson said, adding that "many major Bollywood names'' and artists from
the Middle East also would be involved.
All the artists will play some of Jackson's greatest hits at the concert,
including "Thriller,'' "Billie Jean,'' "Black or White" and
"Bad.''
"We will honour on this night not only the musician and artist Michael
Jackson but also the humanitarian," Kindel said. "He's really someone
who changed the history of music.''
Jackson's family and children – as well as 65,000 fans – are expected to attend
the tribute to be held on a large stage with a crown on its roof and two
runways in front of Vienna's former imperial Schoenbrunn Palace, one of the
Austrian capital's top tourist attractions, Kindel said. A "significant
portion" of the proceeds from the event will be donated to charity, he
added.
Over the course of the evening, Jermaine will perform live, with video of his
late brother projected onto nearby walls, organizers said. All artists will
sing either "Heal the World" or "We are the World" as a
grand finale.
When asked why stars such as Madonna and Whitney Houston – mentioned in
Austrian media reports – were not on the list made public Tuesday, a defensive
Kindel stressed the list of performers was still not set in stone. "This
is not the final line-up – maybe some of the names you mentioned you will hear
within the next couple of days," he said.
A sly Jermaine Jackson, meanwhile, acknowledged in response to another question
that organizers were "in contact" with artists such as Madonna,
Stevie Wonder and Diana Ross.
Jermaine Jackson has said Vienna was chosen as the venue because his brother
"loved castles," and because Jermaine was impressed with how a
smaller tribute held in July outside a mothballed nuclear power plant was
organized.
"The beauty of the city is what just really knocks us out because it's
just a wonderful setting," to keep Michael's legacy alive, Jackson said.
Tickets went on sale last month.
Erykah Badu On Homeschooling Son Seven
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September
09, 2009) *Erykah Badu talks about
homeschooling, homebirths and more in a new interview
with Babble. The 38-year-old singer says she felt compelled to homeschool son
Seven Sirius, 11 ½, through kindergarten and first-grade.
“I wanted to give [him] special attention academically, to give him an
advantage,” she said. The results? Seven “learned how to solve problems in a
non-traditional way” which has served him well now that he is enrolled in a
traditional school.
“He developed an edge in his schoolwork,” notes Badu. “He enjoys challenges…He
pushes himself…He does his homework voluntarily.
“He does not want to miss school or be late or be untidy or not have his things
in order because that was a big part of how he was brought up. I don’t have any
idea what Seven is going to choose to do, but he knows how to be disciplined
and how to learn, and because of that he’s one of the top students in his
school, and one of the top students in Dallas.”
Citing “parents not participating in kids’ schooling,” as her biggest parental
pet peeve, Erykah adds, “I don’t think it matters what school you go to, but I
think it’s important for parents to be involved. And to know that when school
stops, learning continues, and to continue teaching at home.”
Read more of Badu's parenting interview here.
Jay-Z Moves Up Album Release
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September
09, 2009) *Less than a week after Jay-Z's
entire album "The Blueprint 3" leaked online, the
set's initial Sept. 11th release date was scrapped and pushed up to yesterday.
Also, dates for the rap mogul's fall tour and "Oprah Winfrey Show"
episode were announced on Tuesday.
With 21 dates confirmed, the tour will make stops at a mix of college campus
arenas and traditional venues across North America starting at Penn State
University on Oct. 9. Tickets go on sale in select markets beginning on Friday,
Sept. 11 at www.LiveNation.com.
[Scroll down to see tour dates.]
As previously reported, Jigga will precede the tour kickoff with a charity
concert at New York's Madison Square Garden on Sept. 11 in support of the New York
Police & Fire Widows and Children's Benefit Fund. One hundred percent of
the proceeds from tickets sales and concert merchandise will go directly to the
charity. For more information please visit www.answerthecall.org.
Meanwhile, the interview Jay-Z gave to Winfrey's O magazine will air on her
talk show Sept. 24.
The two stars were filmed last month visiting the rapper's former home in
Brooklyn's Marcy Projects as well as his grandmother's old home in Bedford-Stuyvesant.
Appearing Tuesday on New York's Hot 97, Jay-Z told morning show jocks Cipha
Sounds and Peter Rosenberg he wanted to bring Winfrey to Brooklyn so local
residents could see that her success is tangible.
"I brought her around there really for the neighbourhood," he
explained. "'Cause a lot of times when you see people or you hear about
Oprah Winfrey, she seems almost untouchable. When I saw her, it was shocking to
me. So I know how that feels, to see someone on TV and hear their name and know
there so hugely successful. They seem unattainable ... but for them to be
around the way and for kids to just see that."
Jay-Z said he wasn't worried about returning to his old neighbourhood, joking
that Winfrey had a presidential-like level of security with her.
"There was a lot of people out there," he said. "It was Oprah,
you know? You don't want people to come snatch her up. [There was] like secret
service and helicopters all around."
Jay-Z's tour dates are listed below:
September 2009
11 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
October 2009
9 - University Park, PA - Bryce Jordan Center
10 - Highland Heights, KY - Bank of Kentucky Center
13 - Edmonton, Alberta - Rexall Place
14 - Calgary, Alberta - Pengrowth Saddledome
15 - Kelowna, British Columbia - Prospera Place
16 - Vancouver, British Columbia - General Motors Place
17 - Seattle, WA - Key Arena
24 - Providence, RI - Dunkin Donuts Center
25 - Amherst, MA - Mullins Center
27 - Baltimore, MD - 1st Mariner Arena
28 - Columbus, OH - Value City Arena
29 - London, Ontario - John Labatt Centre
30 - Montreal, Quebec - Bell Centre
31 - Toronto, Ontario - Air Canada Centre
November 2009
1 - Ottawa, Ontario - Scotiabank Place
12 - Champaign, IL - University of Illinois - Assembly Hall
19 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
20 - El Paso, TX - Don Haskins Center
22 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center Arena
Source: www.globeandmail.com - Reuters
(September 09, 2009) ‘ London — British hip-hop act Speech Debelle upset the odds to win the Mercury Prize on Tuesday, one of Britain's most prestigious annual music awards.
The bookmakers' favourite in a field dominated by the debut albums of emerging acts was Florence and the Machine, but it was Ms. Debelle's debut album Speech Therapy that took the 20,000-pound ($32,810) prize.
“This feels so much better than I had imagined ... I'm from South London, I don't really get emotional, but I'm emotional,” said Ms. Debelle following the live broadcast of the award.
In nomination notes, the Mercury judges described Ms. Debelle's music as “a remarkable new voice in British hip-hop, tough, warm and reflective.”
Speech Therapy was released in June 2009 on the Big Dada label and features the popular single The Key alongside a number of other collaborations.
The other nominees were: Friendly Fires, Glasvegas, Kasabian, La Roux, Led Bib, Lisa Hannigan, Bat for Lashes, Sweet Belly Pilgrim, The Horrors and The Invisible.
The winner of the 2009 Barclaycard Mercury Prize was chosen by a panel of industry figures, musicians and journalists to celebrate the best of UK and Irish music.
Previous winners include Primal Scream, Franz Ferdinand, Suede, Pulp, Klaxons and Elbow.
Source: www.globeandmail.com - Brad Wheeler
(September 09, 2009) ‘Oh, we have a very swinging company, working hard from day to day,” Smokey
Robinson cheerfully sang in 1961, “Nowhere will you find more unity than at
Hitsville, USA.”It wasn't a hit, but The Motown Company Song portrayed a communal environment at the Detroit-based pop-music factory that, true to its flipside capitalistic motivations, had its first chart success in 1959 with Money (That's What I Want) , a syncopated and blatant R&B demand for cash written by Motown founder Berry Gordy, Jr. Money (sung by Barrett Strong; later famously covered by the Beatles) was released on the Tamla label, a precursor to the Motown company that churned out hit after hit in the 1960s.
Most of those tunes – radio-friendly rhythm and blues that told of heartbreak and romance three minutes at a time – featured the backbeat of the Funk Brothers, the house band of 13 or so musicians that included guitarist Eddie Willis (that's his signature lick at the beginning of Stevie Wonder's Signed, Sealed, Delivered ) and bassist Bob Babbitt (you know him from the menacing bass line of the Temptations' Ball of Confusion ).
On the occasion of Motown's 50th anniversary and an appearance by the surviving members of the Funk Brothers at this weekend's Southside Shuffle in Port Credit, Ont., Willis and Babbitt recall the label's glory days and the people who made the studio at Motor City's 2648 West Grand Boulevard grand:
Guitarist Willis (who like many of the Funk Brothers played jazz clubs when they weren't in the Motown studio), on the never-stop atmosphere at Studio A, the pit-like room where music was made 24/7: “It reminded me of shift work – we did a lot of late night recording. We'd be playing in the nightclubs until 2 at night. You'd think you'd be going home, but then somebody would walk over and say ‘When you leave here you have to go into the studio.' You'd be geared up already. It was challenging, but it was a lot of fun, especially when somebody you hadn't seen in a while turned up. You wouldn't know what time it was until somebody went outside and said ‘Hey, it's daylight already.'”
Bassist Babbitt, who joined the Funk Brothers in the late 1960s, on producer/songwriter/singer Smokey Robinson: “He made you feel relaxed. That was one of things about Motown – there was always that loose, relaxed feeling. It wasn't like that way at other places. You felt welcome there; it was like a family.”
Willis on Robinson, who urged his friend Berry Gordy, Jr. to form the label in the late 1950s, gave the company its first million-seller and its first No. 1 hit, and eventually became Motown's vice president: “He knew what he wanted when he came into the studio. Those [song-introducing] guitar parts you heard on the radio, they were really his ideas. If they weren't on paper or part of the arrangement of the song, he would hum it.”
Willis remembering the late songwriter and producer Norman Whitfield: “We worked with him on the Temptations on some of the ballads and, later, the psychedelic stuff like (I Know) I'm Losing You . That was two guitars [hums the intro], but it sounds like one. There were quite a few like that.”
Babbitt on 1970's Ball of Confusion (That's What the World Is Today) , a socially topical track by the Temptations that was produced and co-written by Whitfield: “In the late 1960s, people like Jimi Hendrix and Sly and the Family Stone were starting to get popular. I think Norman wanted to go in that direction. In those days they called it ‘psychedelic.' He used the term ‘electric' some times. I don't think Ball of Confusion was even a song yet when he came in the studio. Norman had an idea he built the music around – he had a few chords, and we took it from there. Barrett Strong may have had some lyrics. It was kind of written right on the spot.”
Babbitt on the anti-Vietnam anthem War , another political statement from Whitfield and Strong, recorded first by the Temptations, but not released as a single until Edwin Starr's stunning soul-shouting version in 1969: “I didn't know that it was going to be called War . Just like I didn't know Ball of Confusion was going to be called Ball of Confusion . But it blew me away when I heard the final version. Sometimes you could hear a track and not even know about the vocals going on it, and you had the feeling it was going to be a hit, regardless of what they were putting on top of the track.”
Berry Gordy, Jr., who started Motown on a loan of $800, was just one of the guys, according to Willis: “He didn't do a lot of recording, but he'd put his hand in there. We'd do a session every now and again, and he would tell us ‘I don't know what I'm doing. I'm depending on you guys [the Funk Brothers].' It'd always work though. He was the boss man, but we didn't change a thing when he was in the studio. We'd say bad things to him, just like we would to any of the producers. It was all in fun, a bunch of men in there.”
When Willis met Little Stevie Wonder, the sightless 11-year-old prodigy was a bongo-playing bundle of get up-and-go: “He was trying to learn about the studio. He couldn't see, naturally, but he was so enthusiastic. He'd be bumping into instruments, running over chairs and things. It was funny. He didn't want any pity.”
Later Babbitt toured with Wonder, an inquisitive genius with plenty of drive: “We were in Baltimore for an arena show. We had to get there early for a sound check, but we got there so early they weren't even open yet. So, we were in a car in an alley about three blocks long. Stevie was behind the steering wheel, I was on the passenger side, and there were a couple of guys in the back. We were listening to some music on the radio, and Stevie started feeling around. The next thing I know the car started and he began driving. We were laughing so much. Finally I put my foot on the brake. It was a spur of the moment thing.”
Willis recalls the Jackson 5, who arrived at Motown in 1969 and quickly peeled off four consecutive No. 1 hits. The quintet (the last of the great Motown acts) was led by a strutting and oddly mature 11-year-old singer: “I don't know how old Michael Jackson was when he first got there, but he was no kid, I'll tell you that. [Michael's father] Joe Jackson took that youth out of him. He was a kid, but the way he talked and sang, he was very grown up.”
Even though the Motown sound was a radio-dominating brand new beat, Willis never would have believed that the label's legacy would be celebrated decades later: “It was sounding good in those days. The people appreciated it. But now, it's a different tune. Those songs, they make cry and they make me happy. I can't explain that. I'll put on something from Motown at least once a week. I'll be tripping out – I'm like ‘play it again, play it again,' because I'm hearing something that really gets my ear.”
The Funk Brothers play the Southside Shuffle festival (tomorrow to Sunday), tomorrow, 10 p.m., at Memorial Park, Port Credit, Ont., www.southsideshuffle.com .
New Beatles Collection 'A Wonderful Thing'
Source: www.thestar.com
- Greg Quill, Entertainment Columnist
(September
09, 2009) The folks at Apple Corps and EMI – the empire the Beatles built – certainly know their
stuff.
With the CD format in its final throes, they're making one last effort to
convince music fans that their new boxed set of the entire Beatles back
catalogue, available today for the first time in painstakingly remastered,
digitized stereo, will make all your old Beatles recordings obsolete; and that
the $300 asking price for the 13 studio albums, plus double CD of non-album,
extended-play and alternative cuts, as well as a DVD of mini-documentaries with
rare footage, voice-overs and photographs, is a small sacrifice for such a
noble and exhaustingly complete post-modern masterpiece.
They're right on the money, of course. The new Beatles boxed set is a wonderful
thing, containing some 217 songs repolished to crystalline perfection and
reformatted deferentially into two audio channels without, for the most part,
diminishing the enduring charm and excitement of the original versions of the
songs, most of which were mixed and released in the single channel format, the
standard format 40 years ago.
For subsequent generations who've grown up in a stereo world this set may be
something of a revelation.
The songs do have additional dimension and clarity, with each sound ascribed a
distinct position in the stereo spectrum. Musicians and hi-fi perfectionists
may actually be able to hear the click of a plectrum on George Harrison's steel
guitar strings, the spittle frothing at the end of Paul McCartney's tongue, the
sardonic sneer that shapes John Lennon's vowels and even the occasional squeak
of Ringo's bass drum pedal.
They will also hear succinct evidence of each player's individual technique:
little errors in timing and quirks of musical judgment that were buried in the
mono mixes for the greater good of the song.
And with the stylish extras – each album comes with a booklet featuring the
original art work, liner notes, extra photographs and historical data about the
recording – it's no surprise that Amazon.com has already sold out its original
pre-release allotment and is taking back orders for future delivery.
The Beatles' marketers have been particularly cunning, however, by banking on
the belief that high-end audiophile consumers, collectors and true Beatles fans
will eschew the stereo jiggery pokery for a boxed set of the Beatles' 10
original mono albums (up to and including The White Album) cleaned up,
digitized and remastered in glorious mono. It's on sale today too.
Again, they're on the money. The Beatles in Mono set, featuring
miniaturized exact replicas of the original covers and artwork, costs about
$100 more than the stereo collection and is selling twice as fast.
No surprise, really. To use one musical wag's analogy, listening to the mono
set is like dipping into fresh, organic guacamole. Listening to the stereo set
is akin to being served a dish of chemically enhanced avocados, tomatoes,
onions, lime and salt, and a mortar and pestle. Make of it what you will, but
it probably won't taste like the real thing.
Jay-Z Opens Up In O Magazine
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009) *Jay-Z discusses his not-so-secret wedding day and his early life as a hustler dealing drugs in Brooklyn in an interview for Oprah Winfrey's current issue of O magazine. Asked about the secrecy of his wedding, Jay said some friends and family were actually disappointed not to receive an invite. "Very few people knew about it. The sad part is that we offended some," he told the TV host. "But people who love you understand because, at the end of the day, it's your day." The rap mogul also opened up about his tough childhood growing up in Brooklyn's Marcy Projects, and how he pledged to give back to his neighbourhood if he ever made it out. Explaining how he felt drug dealing was a "natural" course for him to take, he said: "If anyone did become something like a lawyer or doctor or something like that, they moved out. "They never came back to share the wisdom of how they made it. If anyone made it, you never knew it. That's why I always said if I became successful, I'd come back here, grab somebody, and show him how it can be done."
Rocawear Has Arthur Ashe T-Shirts
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 03, 2009) *Jay-Z's Rocawear is offering a new limited-edition T-shirt featuring African-American tennis great Arthur Ashe. The shirt is being sold at the 2009 US Open and celebrates the USTA National Junior Tennis and Learning (NJTL) network’s 40th anniversary, with proceeds benefitting the NJTL and the Arthur Ashe Endowment for the Defeat of AIDS. The tees are also available at USOpen.org for $36. Meanwhile, the rap mogul appears unconcerned about reports that his new album, "The Blueprint 3," has leaked online before its official Sept. 11 release date. "I may be the most bootlegged artist in history," he told MTV News. "It's a preview. I'm excited for people to hear the album. I'm very proud of the work I've done, so enjoy it." "The Blueprint 3" features collaborators Kanye West, Rihanna, Empire Of The Sun's Luke Steele and Pharrell Williams. The rapper recently announced details of a Sept. 11 concert at Madison Square Garden to benefit the New York Police and Fire Widows' and Children's Benefit Fund. Titled "Answer the Call," the show will be televised live on Fuse at 9 p.m. EST on Sept. 11th. All tickets will be priced at $50, with 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales and concert merchandise going to the two charities. Additional information can be found at www.answerthecall.org.
CD Reviews ; Willie Nelson
Source: www.thestar.com – Ashante Infantry
Willie Nelson American Classic (Blue Note/EMI) (out of 4)
(September 08, 2009) The country icon strolls through the American Songbook – "Fly Me to the Moon," "Come Rain or Shine" – in his halting, subdued style, accompanied by first-call jazz musicians like bassists Christian McBride and Robert Hurst and drummers Lewis Nash and Jeff Hamilton. Nelson, 76, doesn't vary much in range or phrasing, but his scraggly, seen-it-all voice evinces the heartache of tunes like "I Miss You So," "Because of You" and an updated version of his trademark "Always on My Mind." The warbler's black-tie getup in the liner-note photos belies the recording's casual vibe. Its only pretensions are the strings producer Tommy Lipuma inserted on a couple of tunes, rendering unnecessary smoothness and grandeur. Otherwise, Nelson sounds like he's doing sound check in an empty club. Standout players are pianist Joe Sample, guitarist Anthony Wilson and Nelson's harmonica vet Mickey Raphael, who does a stirring turn on "Since I Fell for You." Top Track: Norah Jones outshines fellow guest vocalist/pianist Diana Krall on her and Nelson's spirited, dare I say sexy, duet of "Baby, It's Cold Outside."
CD Reviews ; Trey Songz
Source: www.thestar.com – Ashante Infantry
Trey Songz Ready (Atlantic/Warner)
(September 08, 2009) The Virginia native best known around these parts for singing the hook on Drake's "Successful" drops his third album since 2005. He blends lusty R. Kelly brashness – "Panty Droppa (Intro)," "I Invented Sex" – with Usher emo and youthful trendiness: "LOL :-)," "Hollalude." A catchy combo of grinding R&B, sure, but despite the fetching falsetto showcased on "Neighbours Know My Name" Songz's nimble voice is generally indistinguishable from say, Chris Brown or The Dream. He even mimics Jamie Foxx's stuttering, Auto-Tuned liquor ode "Blame It" for "Say Aah." The 24-year-old closes out the disc with more serious, heartfelt offerings – "Black Roses," "Love Lost" – but the overall impression is of a promising talent trying to find his way. Top track: "I Need a Girl" features live guitar over the canned beats.
CD Reviews ; Raekwon
Source: www.thestar.com – Corey Mintz
Raekwon Only Built 4 Cuban Linx ... PT II (EMI/ICEH2O)
(September 08, 2009) The In a direct plea for retroactive continuity, the first notes of Raekwon's new album repeat the last ones from his 1995 debut. The fantasy that interim albums Immobilarity and The Lex Diamond Story never happened is too appealing to dismiss. Plus, this time he's surrounded by the best beats he's had in a decade. RZA shows off with an iconic Godfather theme sampling on "Black Mozart" while providing an unobtrusively lush soul background to the aptly titled "New Wu." Dr. Dre drops piano loops so popping and crackling that no one need shout the producer's name over the track. A dozen Ghostface team-ups, plus snippets of kung-fu dialogue and the assembling of all surviving teammates, signal the album's aim at Wu-Tang glory redux. As an MC, Raekwon still simmers with the same confident tempo, as if never breathing in or out. Top track: For a die-hard Wu-head, there is no resisting the marching onslaught of lead track "House of Flying Daggers."
CD Reviews ; Kobie Watkins
Source: www.thestar.com – Ashante Infantry
Kobie Watkins Involved (Origin)
(September 08, 2009) Drummer Kobie Watkins goes for subtlety on his debut. The Chicago native, who's a regular with jazzers Sonny Rollins, Kurt Elling and gospel singer Kim Burrell, utilizes different small combos on these songs penned mostly by him and producer Harold Mims. With the forward sounds of mellow guitarist Bobby Broom, scintillating saxists Jarrard Harris and Geof Bradfield, and a deft Ron Perrillo on Fender Rhodes, it's easy to forget it's a drummer's album. Watkins' specialty is shading and texture rather than bombast, from his delicate build-up on rarely covered 1995 Stevie Wonder ballad "Taboo to Love," to the moody congas on "Movin' On." This is pleasant, straight-ahead jazz, but the compositions are not particularly memorable. Top Track: Watkins kicks off burner "Spastic" with a relentless volley.
Jennifer Hudson Added To 'VH1 Divas'
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 09, 2009) *Jennifer
Hudson has been booked to perform at the "VH1 Divas"
concert, to be
televised live from the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) Howard Gilman Opera
House in Brooklyn on Sept. 17 at 9 p.m. J-Hud joins fellow musical guests
Sheryl Crow, Martina McBride, Cyndi Lauper and Melissa Etheridge. The ceremony
will be hosted by former "American Idol" judge Paula Abdul. "We
are excited that Jennifer Hudson will share her award-winning talent with our
'VH1 Divas' audience next week. Adding Jennifer to our roster of young yet
hugely successful performers guarantees that the show will truly be a night to
remember," said Tom Calderone, President, VH1. "We can't wait for our
viewers to enjoy the performances that will reflect the talent, hard work and
tenacity that has come to define this new generation of divas." Kathy
Griffin, Toni Braxton, Ryan Kwanten, Lauren Conrad, Whitney Port and the cast
of MGM film "Fame" (Asher Book, Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, Kherington
Payne, Naturi Naughton, and Walter Perez) will serve as presenters for the
evening. Previously-announced "Divas" include Adele, Kelly Clarkson,
Leona Lewis, Jordin Sparks and Miley Cyrus.
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::FILM NEWS::
Vallée Throws Himself Into His Work
Source: www.thestar.com
- Richard Ouzounian
(September 05, 2009) Here's some Toronto
International Film Festival trivia to start you anticipating the cinematic orgy
that begins on Thursday: What do the festival's breakaway hit from 2005, C.R.A.Z.Y.,
and this year's closing gala, The Young Victoria, have in common?
After all, one is about a mixed-up kid
coming to grips with his gayness in the Quebec of 40 years ago, while the other
is about the infamous "we are not amused" ruler and her struggle to
claim a throne that was rightfully hers.
It doesn't just sound like two different
movies, it sounds like two different worlds – yet, somehow, they share a great
deal.
If you guessed they were both directed by Jean-Marc Vallée, you'd only be partially right and it's
up to Vallée himself to put the rest of the pieces in place.
"They're both about young rebels who
wanted to test themselves against the society they grew up in," he says.
"Deep down inside, Zac was just a rock 'n' roll guy and Victoria was just
a rock 'n' roll girl. They're really the same person."
And they're really both Vallée as well.
Now, that doesn't mean the soft-spoken
46-year-old director is either gay or a member of British royalty. It's not the
literal facts of a project that draw Vallée to it but the emotional
undercurrent.
"Yes, I'm Zac; yes, I'm
Victoria," he laughs over the phone from his home office in Montreal.
"Yes, I'm the leading character in all of my films, no matter how
different they seem."
He is surprised to be asked to revisit his
childhood days ("I haven't thought about some of that stuff for
years!") but he willingly journeys back.
Born in 1963 in Montreal, he describes
himself as "from a very humble middle-class French-Canadian family. My
father was a worker in a printing shop. My mother was a housewife. In those
days, it was common for the mother to stay home with the family, while the
father worked hard with his hands all day."
It was a lively household for Vallée and
his siblings, two brothers and a sister.
"My parents were both pop music
lovers and I grew up with the sound of it all around me," he recalls.
"My dad would be a DJ sometimes in the evenings. They were big, big fans
of Elvis Presley.
"I still remember the day he
(Elvis) died in 1977. I was with my mother
in the kitchen and we heard the news on the radio. `What? Impossible!' was our
reaction, because it seemed like he could never die."
Vallée's love of Presley went beyond his
music and into the King's films. "I used to watch all of them as a kid,
never knowing I would make movies myself one day." He chuckles. "I
showed some of them to my kids recently and I was surprised and a bit embarrassed
to see how simple most of them were. That's not how I remembered them."
Ask Vallée what he was like as a kid and
it takes him a while to respond.
"I grew up in a tough
neighbourhood," he begins. "I was shy. I was scared. I never felt I
belonged. I wasn't in the right place.
He pauses. "It's hard for me to
express. I think I was a happy kid but I had a sense that I wanted to do
something different with my life because I wasn't sure I liked the one I
had."
It's easy to see how Vallée's memories of
that time would echo Zac from C.R.A.Z.Y but, with just a bit of
imagination, it's possible to see the through-line from The Young Victoria as
well.
The sheltered young girl who asserted
herself against formidable forces to be named queen at the age of 18 was also a
profound visionary, with strong dreams of how British society should change
from its very roots.
"I was a dreamer at that age,
too," Vallée says with a sigh. "I dreamed I could be a hockey star
like my idol, Bobby Orr, or I dreamed I could be a dancer like Gene Kelly, who
I'd watch over and over again in Singing in the Rain, or I wanted to be
a rock star, like John Lennon or Jim Morrison."
But none of Vallée's dreams came true and
so he moved away from home, supported himself and began studying "to learn
how to become an accountant. I was miserable."
But while at Collège Ahuntsic, a professor
named Yves Lever opened his eyes to the world of cinema.
"That one man, that one class changed
my life. I suddenly started dreaming that I could be a film director. No, not
suddenly. It's a one-day-at-a-time process to change your life. But I thought,
`Why don't I try it and see if it works?' After all, I was always making movies
inside my head."
If there was one director and one film
that also made things click for Vallée, it was Hal Ashby, with his Harold
and Maude.
"Everything about his style of
movie-making spoke to me," Vallée says. "The way he used the music of
Cat Stevens! I thought, `What a beautiful way to tell stories!'"
Vallée slowly carved out a career in
québécois cinema with movies like Liste noire, but it was C.R.A.Z.Y. that
opened the floodgates.
"Suddenly, I had an agent in Los
Angeles and hundreds of scripts on my desk. I read them very carefully, looking
for one to speak to me."
Julian (Gosford Park) Fellowes' carefully
crafted, but deeply felt, screenplay for The Young Victoria was the one
that did it.
"The writing was so brilliant and he
also made me realize it was a love story about Victoria and Albert. Two true
soulmates."
Although "very nervous as a French Canadian
making a movie in England about an English queen," he found additional
strength in his leading lady, Emily Blunt. "I felt blessed. She's so cool
and easy-going in life but, on the set, she wants to deliver 100 per cent the
best."
His favourite memory is of directing Blunt
in the scene where she has just become queen and has to face the House of
Lords.
"I told her she was like a rock star
going on stage for her first great performance, telling 80 old men she was up
to the job.
"We looked at each other and, when we
were both ready, I called out, `All right, rock 'n' roll, let's go
there!'"
Somehow, you feel Jean-Marc Vallée will be
saying that for a long time.
Ludacris : The
“Gamer” Interview with Kam Williams
Source: Kam Williams
Christopher Brian Bridges was born on September 11, 1977 in Champaign ,
Illinois where he began rapping at the age of 9 and formed his first musical
group a few years later. While in his teens, his family moved to Atlanta where
he attended Banneker High School before majoring in music management at Georgia
State University .
He later worked at a local radio station as DJ Chris Lova Lova until adopting
the alias Ludacris to perform on
Timbaland’s track “Phat Rabbit.” He subsequently launched his own career in
2000 with the release of the album “Back for the First time,” following that up
a year later with “Word of Mouf,” and the rest is history.
The six-time Grammy-winner is not only a hip-hop icon, but also an
entrepreneur, philanthropist, restaurateur, pitchman, columnist, and of course
a gifted actor. He parlayed appearances on the NBC drama “Law and Order SVU”
into major motion pictures roles in such hits as the Academy Award Best
Picture-winning Crash and the critically-acclaimed Hustle & Flow.
As partners with Chef Chris Yeo in Straits Restaurant, Ludacris offers
Thai/Singaporean cuisine in the heart of downtown Atlanta . Plus, he has a
couple of online ventures: WeMix.com, a social networking site aimed at
showcasing and developing artists, and Myghetto.com, which serves as a MySpace
for the hood.
Keenly aware of the less fortunate, Luda established the Ludacris Foundation which is already in its
seventh year of operation. Thus far, the non-profit organization has
donated over a million dollars to organizations that assist underprivileged
children. The Foundation’s aim is to help kids help themselves by using
music and the arts to inspire them to develop goals and then work to achieve
them.
Here, Ludacris discusses all of the above, as well as his new film Gamer, a sci-fi adventure co-starring Gerard
Butler, Kyra Sedgwick, Terry Crews and Amber Valletta.
Ludacris: What up, Kam?
Kam Williams: Hey, Luda , thanks so much for the time.
L: No doubt, man.
KW: So, what interested you in Gamer?
L: Man, in picking movies, I always look at all the elements before making a
choice, from reading the script to seeing who else is in it to who produced it
to who’s directing. The opportunity to work with Gerard Butler was definitely a
plus. I’ve been a fan of his especially because of the movie 300. And I also
wanted to work with the guys who wrote and were directing it, Mark Neveldine
and Brian Taylor.
KW: Yeah, they made Crank which was quite impressive, a non-stop,
adrenaline-fuelled, roller coaster ride.
L: Exactly. I made my decision based on that. In addition, I loved the role
they had for me, because I never want to be typecast. I love playing all sorts
of different roles.
KW: How would you describe your character, Humanz Brother?
L: I play the leader of a resistance group that’s totally against putting
computer chips in human beings’ brains because I think that’ll lead to the
taking over of mankind, period. So, I’m all about trying to get rid of this
technology, so we can live peacefully.
KW: Do you think a scenario like this has a chance of becoming a reality
someday?
L: Man, you never know. The possibilities are definitely limitless when it
comes to technology like this. We all embrace technology, but sometimes you
have to be careful.
KW: How’d you get along with the other members of the cast?
L: I loved working with this cast, especially with Gerard Butler. That’s how I
study and try to become a better actor. He’s extremely serious and focused.
KW: How do you divide your time between making music and making movies?
L: It’s hard, man, but you just gotta focus on one thing at a time. I give
whichever I’m doing 100% of my attention.
KW: Is there any truth to the rumour that comedian Katt Williams is your
cousin?
L: [Laughs] No, but that is my homey, though. Katt Williams is one thug. That’s
like my brother.
KW: Is there any question no one ever asks you, that you wish someone would?
L: Man, over the past ten years, I believe I’ve been asked every question you
could possibly ask. So, off the top of my head I can’t think of anything that
hasn’t been asked.
KW: The Tasha Smith question: Are you ever afraid?
L: I’m sure we’re all fearful of something. I’m afraid of God. You have to be
fearful of Him.
KW: The Columbus Short question: Are you happy?
L: [Chuckles] I am definitely happy, man. Of course, I wouldn’t say I’m always
happy. I don’t think anyone is. But for the most part, I’m living out my dream.
I’m doing what I have to do. My family’s taken care of. I’m financially
straight. So, damn right, I’m extremely happy.
KW: The Laz Alonso question: How can your fans help you?
L: Hey man, my fans already help me by supporting the things I do, and just by
understanding my changing and continued growth. So, the true fans are already
helping me out there.
KW: The bookworm Troy Johnson question: What was the last book you read?
L: I’m actually reading a book right now, “How to Win Friends and Influence
People.” (HERE)
KW: The Dale Carnegie classic. Music maven Heather Covington asks: What music
are you listening to right now?
L: A lot of different music. I have a Battle of the Sexes album coming out
soon, so I have to listen to all these unreleased tracks so that we make sure
we pick from the best of them to give to the true fans who support us.
KW: What’s the biggest obstacle you have had to overcome in life?
L: All the people who told me I couldn’t make it, and individuals who were
trying to step in the way of my becoming who I am.
KW: The Rudy Lewis question: Who’s at the top of your hero list?
L: Martin Luther King, Malcolm X and Mr. Barack Obama.
KW: How did you feel a year ago when President Obama said he was listening to
you on his iPod?
L: I really appreciated that.
KW: Have you spoken to him since he became President?
L: That’s confidential information.
KW: What is your favourite dish to cook?
L: Tacos. That’s about the only thing I know how to cook.
KW: The Flex Alexander question: How do you get through the tough times?
L: By realizing that I’m extremely blessed and extremely fortunate and that it
can’t be that damn bad.
KW: When you look in the mirror, what do you see?
L: I see a multifaceted Negro, an entrepre-Negro.
KW: One of your biggest fans, Hajar from Queens asks: Is it true you like big
women? She says she hopes so.
L: I don’t discriminate: big, small, skinny, tall, short, it doesn’t
matter.
KW: Hajar also wants to know when your next album is coming out.
L: It should be out towards the end of the year. If not, it’s coming out on
Valentine’s Day of 2010.
KW: Leon Marquis wants to know if it’s true that you’re going to star in The
Richard Pryor Story.
L: I wouldn’t say that it’s untrue, but nothing is confirmed yet.
KW: Lester Chisholm asks, how can hip-hop artists assist young and old
transcend obstacles on whatever path they are on?
L: By embracing the new, by not being stubborn, and by being open to new
artists.
KW: Loony Larry Greenberg asks: What do you think of the Amish?
L: [LOL] Oh man, like I said, I don’t discriminate. I love ‘em. I respect
everybody’s faith and culture.
KW: How do you want to be remembered?
L: As a multifaceted individual and as an entrepre-Negro.
KW: Film director Hisani Dubose was really blown away by your acting skills.
She wonders whether you’ve been studying your craft?
L: I always study my craft. I’m passionate about what I do, so you have to
study.
KW: Tony Noel asks, what images and roles do you see for yourself in the
future?
L: As far as movies are concerned, I would have to say a diversity. But only
time will tell.
KW: Marcia Evans asks whether you’re still involved with AIDS awareness?
L: Yes, we’re still doing things through the Ludacris Foundation.
KW: She was also wondering how you’re enjoying your joint venture as
co-owner of Straits Restaurant?
L: I’m loving it, man. Coincidentally, we have a private dinner there tonight
as we speak. We’re coming up on our two-year anniversary, so I’m feeling good.
KW: Marcia asks whether you’ve mended fences with Oprah?
L: Oprah called me when my dad passed, and offered her condolences, so I would
say we are on good terms.
KW: Hey, brother, let me say I’m sorry about you losing your father.
L: Thank you, man.
KW: Marcia points out that you were doing charity work in South Africa . Are
you planning to do anything musically over there?
L: Yeah, when I was there we did a couple of things with some African artists.
And we’re still looking into trying to build a label over there and putting out
some music. So, I’m definitely involved somewhat.
KW: Thanks again for the interview, Luda , and best of luck with Gamer and your
many other ventures.
L: I greatly appreciate it, my friend. Thank you very much.
To see a trailer for Gamer, visit HERE
The
New Queen Of Comedy, Luenell, Appears In 'All About Steve'
Source: www.eurweb.com -
(September 03, 2009) *The new queen of comedy, Luenell, is on a fast track to claim her crown, with yet another
comedic role in a major motion picture. On September 4, 2009 20th Century Fox
Films releases, “All About Steve,” starring Sandra Bullock, Bradley Cooper,
Thomas Haden Church and Luenell Campbell who plays Lydia, a “protester.”
The PG-13 film is about a quirky cross-word puzzle designer (Bullock), who has
a borderline genius intelligence. She is set up with a blind date, by her
parents, with a CNN camera man (Cooper). She decides he is her soul mate and
that they are meant to be together. She begins a quest to follow him wherever
he goes trying to persuade him that they belong together. Luenell's character,
along with some other “misfits,”' like Church, are encouraging her to pursue
her “man.” He starts to think he may be a victim of stalking.
Luenell, who also carried the title of the “original bad girl of comedy,” said
the highlight of working on the “All About Steve” film was working with
“A-lister” Sandra Bullock and she added, “and Bradley is not hard on the eyes.”
“This is the first film I've done that’s rated PG-13,” Luenell pointed out. “My
daughter (a professional dancer) can see it.”
With the help of her manager, William Hanford Lee, Jr., Luenell has
“bust” Hollywood's doors wide-open and she is taking no prisoners. Her early
credits in films include “So I Married an Axe Murder” in 1993 starring Mike
Myers; “The Rock” in 1996 with Sean Connery; “Never Die Alone” in 2004 with DMX
and Michael Ealy; “Borat” in 2006 with Sacha Baron Cohen, and “Devine
Intervention” in 2007 with Jazsmin Lewis and Wesley Jonathan.
Through all this Luenell has also been appearing in television series such as
“Nash Bridges,” “Reality Bites Back,” “Head Case,” and “Californication.”
As a comedian Luenell has graced the stages of BET's Comicview, The John Kerwin
Show, and 1st Amendment Stand Up.
“I have a screenplay in my head, ”Luenell told me when asked about other
projects she has going on. “I have a comedy album 'Luenell Live: Bold, Bad and
Uncut!' now on iTunes and a Podcast (Hey Luenell Radio) show.”
For more on Luenell log onto www.myspace.com/heyluenell
or www.HeyLuenell.com and for more on the “All About Steve”
movie release log onto www.AllAboutSteveMovie.com.
Moore's 'Love Story' Earns More Love
Source: www.thestar.com
- Associated Press
(September 07, 2009) VENICE, ITALY–Michael Moore says his film Capitalism: A Love Story is dedicated to "good people ... who've had their lives
ruined" by the quest for profit.
After much success at Cannes, Moore
premiered the movie yesterday in his first appearance at the Venice Film
Festival. It was warmly received at a press showing Saturday evening and won
positive reviews. Variety called it one of Moore's "best
pics."
"I am personally affected by good
people who struggle, who work hard and who've had their lives ruined by
decisions that are made by people who do not have their best interest at heart,
but who have the best interest of the bottom line, of the company, at
heart," Moore told reporters yesterday.
The film features plenty of examples of
lives shattered by corporate greed – but also some inspiring tales of workers
who have rebelled.
According to Moore, "the revolt you
think I am calling for has actually begun. It began Nov.4" last year, when
U.S. President Barack Obama was elected.
There is the Chicago glass and window
company whose employees barricaded themselves to demand their pay after
management laid off all 250 employees when the bank line of credit dried up.
On the side of greed, Moore tells the
story of a privately run juvenile detention centre in Wilkes Barre, Penn., that
paid off judges to lock up juvenile offenders. One boy said he had done little
more than throw a piece of meat at his mother's boyfriend during a fight at the
dinner table, and a teenage girl's offence was making fun of her school's
vice-principal on a Myspace page.
The film is filled with classic Moore
gimmicks, like wrapping crime-scene tape around landmark banks and Wall Street
institutions. And there is the expected Moore grandstanding as he tries to make
citizen arrests of bank CEOs, not getting past the sometimes amused security
guards at the main entrance. By now, everyone sees him coming and knows who he
is.
Moore said he considered himself a proxy
for the "millions of Americans who would like to be placing crime scene
tape around Wall Street."
don't call it a sequel
German director Werner Herzog says his Bad
Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans, starring Nicolas Cage as a
drug-addicted homicide detective and Eva Mendes as his prostitute girlfriend,
has nothing to do with Abel Ferrara's 1992 cult classic starring Harvey Keitel.
He hasn't even seen it.
"There is no relationship, because I
never saw it. But I am convincingly told that they have nothing to do with each
other," Herzog told reporters Friday in Venice, where the movie made its
premiere.
"I hope that Abel Ferrara will see my
film, which he has not seen. And I hope I will see his film soon. I am sure we
will meet soon with a bottle of whiskey between us."
A brutal murder of a family of illegal
immigrants drives Herzog's Bad Lieutenant, but the movie defies any
conventional plotline. It's more than a murder story and doesn't want to be an
exposé of corruption.
"To me it's a fairy tale, a warped
fairy tale, but a fairy tale," Mendes said.
Bad Lieutenant and Capitalism: A Love Story are
both competing for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded Sept. 12.
Fest Bet: Pippa's quest satirical, funny
and heartbreaking
Source: www.thestar.com
- Linda Barnard, Movies Editor
(September 06, 2009) Her decades-older
publishing powerhouse husband Herb (Alan Arkin) is recovering from a heart
attack, meaning Pippa Lee (she never calls herself just "Pippa")
abandons their glamorous life in Manhattan for a Connecticut retirement condo
in The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
Robin Wright Penn brings an air of bemused
resignation to Pippa, alternating with simmering frustration when she's
identified merely as the stylish woman who makes superb butterflied lamb for
their friends Sam (Mike Bender) and neurotic Sandra (Winona Ryder).
Insight into the mysterious Pippa comes
with striking, dramatic flashbacks – Blake Lively surprises as the teen Pippa,
so different from the housewife we first meet, yet still seeking her identity
when she models for some unorthodox photography with her aunt's roommate
(Julianne Moore).
An aimless party girl when she meets the
sexy and powerful Herb (Arkin, playing the vigorous 50-year-old), much of
Pippa's uncertainty springs from childhood; Maria Bello gives an Oscar-worthy
performance as Pippa's pill-popping suburban `60s mother.
Now that Herb is declining and becoming
aloof as his health fails, perhaps Pippa can find answers about who she is with
the help of the neighbours' seemingly rootless son (Keanu Reeves) who has some
secrets and questions of his own.
Writer-director Rebecca Miller's
satisfying film works on several levels – a witty satire about society and
relationships that is both funny and heartbreaking, plus the cast is superb.
Sept. 15, 6:30 p.m., RTH, Gala; Sept. 17,
11:45 a.m. Scotiabank
Economic Picture Pinches TIFF
Source:
www.thestar.com
- TONY WONG, Business Reporter
(September
05, 2009) While the Toronto International Film Festival is renowned for showcasing the world's finest movies, Jeffry Roick's glittery parties are known to
occasionally eclipse the main event.
Roick, 43, is the event planner of choice for Hollywood North. But a tough
recession means that this year's festival, which starts next Thursday, , seems
destined to be less glamorous this time – even with the presence of luminaries
such as George Clooney and Oprah Winfrey.
At this time last year Roick had 13 confirmed bookings. This year he has two.
"Companies are really toning things down because of the economy," says
Roick. "Even if they do have the money it's just not fashionable right now
to spend a lot on what they think may be an over-the-top event."
Pamela Smith, publisher of TSEvents, considered the bible of the events
business in Toronto, says this year has been particularly bad for the industry.
"It really is a sad state. A lot of businesses are just devastated,"
says Smith. "This is affecting everyone from the hotel to the caterer to
the cab driver."
Organizers say the festival, considered the second-most important movie
industry event after Cannes, has an estimated $135 million economic impact on
Toronto. More than 470,000 people are expected to attend 335 film screenings
throughout the city.
Michael Harker, founder and senior partner of Toronto-based Enigma Research,
says the festival may vie with other events such as the Canadian National
Exhibition for the bragging rights as the annual event with the largest
economic footprint in the city.
"They fit the perfect criteria of having a huge attendance, having a lot
of people from out of town and their patrons do a large amount of spending when
they're in the city," Harker says.
It is also one of the single most important annual events for the hospitality
industry. This is typically when the most glamorous parties are held in the
city during the year. With the stars out in force, sponsors and patrons are
willing to pay big bucks to up the glamour quotient.
But Smith says the hospitality industry is still recovering from a big tumble
last Christmas after Wall St. imploded, with the reverberations on Bay St. here
in Toronto.
"They suffered cancellations at Christmas, and that business hasn't come
back," Smith says.
Case in point: Last year Roick's company McNabb Roick & Associates threw
the festival's most high-profile soiree. The One X One fundraiser for 800
guests used Maple Leaf Gardens as a dinner venue for the first time. Hosted by The
Bourne Identity star Matt Damon, the event raised funds for children's
charities.
While a concert is still planned for the charity this year, the dinner portion
is dramatically slimmed down to about 200 people with a cocktail party held in
a private residence, Roick says.
"People are still having events, but the feeling is much more subdued and
likely held in smaller venues and restaurants," he says.
Roick will not disclose who will be at his parties, but in the past he's hosted
guests such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Clint Eastwood and Brad Pitt.
Despite the challenging economy, Jennifer Bell, vice-president of communications
for TIFF, says organizers are confident the festival is "well-positioned
to weather the economic storm."
Unlike other non-profit annual events such as Tennis Canada's Rogers Cup, TIFF
does not disclose sponsorship details.
"We do not discuss specific figures or details associated with sponsorship
arrangements," Bell says. "However, it would be irresponsible for us
as an organization to suggest that we are immune to the pressures facing the
arts sector globally."
Roick says sponsors are crucial to the festival, especially since they
underwrite many of the costs of throwing a big party.
"When you're not getting dozens of cases of fine wine donated for your
party in return for sponsorship, that makes a huge difference to the size and
scope of your event," Roick says.
Still, the festival remains seductive for some sponsors. Toronto-based Porter
Airlines signed on for the first time this year.
"The film festival really creates a buzz," says Robert Deluce, CEO of
the commuter airline known for its emphasis on style. "I guess you could
say we're bucking the trend by spending more on marketing this year than last
year."
Unlike some other businesses, Porter is in expansion mode, taking on six new
airplanes by the end of the year while upgrading its terminal.
The airline is also the official carrier of other arts and cultural
organizations, such as the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Luminato.
"We feel that cultural events like the film festival are where our
passengers are," Deluce says.
Deluce says he's not sure if he's going to throw a party, but he'll likely
attend a few. Models dressed in Porter Airlines flight outfits will also be on
show at different events.
"We're going to try and participate in every way," he says.
That may be good news for planners such as Roick, whose events could cost more
than $1,000 per plate. While there is no Maple Leaf Gardens event planned for
this year, the big-ticket item will be a black-tie fête planned by Roick and
held at the art-moderne-style Carlu, of which he is also the managing partner.
Roick promises that it will be the party that everyone will remember this year.
And who knows, he says, perhaps a little optimistically, with the festival less
than a week away, things could still turn around.
"It's all about whether the stars' schedules can come together. Then it's
`hurry-up and book that club,'" he says. "It could still
happen."
A Bit Like Running A Dating Service
Source: www.thestar.com
- Martin Knelman
(September 09, 2009) The lobby of Sutton Place Hotel was rather quiet
yesterday morning as Stefan
Wirthensohn outlined plans for the film
market over which he presides as ringmaster. But he knows the lull won't
last.
The frantic game of buying and selling distribution rights is about to begin.
By the end of the week, 3,000 prospective players will have arrived in Toronto.
Many of them will be staying at this hotel, which for years has been where the
sales office is set up to help them with information, promotion, contact
information and places for sales agents to meet distributors.
Most of the people with big chequebooks have not yet arrived, but yesterday two
deals were announced by local distributors.
A new film boutique company called D Films has acquired rights to Creation,
the opening night gala movie about Charles Darwin, from its British producer,
Jeremy Thomas.
Meanwhile Alliance Films announced it has acquired Suck, a rock 'n' roll
vampire film directed by, and starring, Canadian Rob Stefaniuk.
U.S. and/or Canadian rights are available on close to 100 films that will have
their world premieres at TIFF and, despite the global recession, Wirthensohn –
director of TIFF's sales office – is confident a lot of deals will be made. His
job is a bit like running a dating service.
"Some of the prices may not be as high as they were a few years ago,"
he says, "but there is an appetite for films."
Among the more conspicuous movies awaiting deals are Chloe, the remake
of a French thriller directed by Atom Egoyan, which will have its premiere as a
gala on Sunday at Roy Thomson Hall.
Produced by Ivan Reitman's company Montecito Pictures and financed entirely by
Studio Canal in France, the picture arrives in Toronto without a U.S.
distribution deal. Much may depend on how it plays with the TIFF audience. In
an unusual move, the filmmakers have delayed press screenings until after the
world premiere.
Yet Chloe does have a Canadian distributor: E1 Entertainment. That makes
it easier for the producers to present and produce the movie at TIFF, and it
helps pay the hefty costs associated with such a showcase.
Yesterday's announcement about Suck may be more a matter of strategic
timing than real news. Even if contracts had not been formally signed, insiders
knew many weeks ago that Alliance had made the deal for Suck.
Among the other TIFF movies expected to generate offers: A Single Man, Love
and Other Impossible Pursuits, Ondine, The Disappearance of Alice
Creed, The Most Dangerous Man in America, Excited, Triage,
Get Low and Harry Brown.
There are likely to be fewer U.S. buyers writing big cheques. But Canadian
distributors are hungry to beef up their release schedules.
"We are definitely hoping to buy a number of films," says Victor
Loewy, the chair of Alliance Films.
Meanwhile, Loewy's former colleagues are also competing for product. Patrice
Theroux of E1 Entertainment picked up Chloe, which shows off Toronto and
features Hollywood stars Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson. And Jim Sherry,
running the new company D Films, chose Creation for his first
acquisition.
The producers of Creation – TIFF's first non-Canadian opening gala in
more than a decade – hope the high-profile slot will trigger a U.S. deal. On
the morning after the red-carpet strutting, in the lobby of Sutton Place, the
action will shift to TIFF's annual game show: Let's Make a Deal.
New 'Jerkin' Dance Gets A Movie
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009) *The "jerkin" dance craze has not only inspired the hit single "You're a Jerk" from the teen duo New Boyz, but also a feature film that is currently in development from indie film producer Shariff Hasan and Melee Entertainment. According to the Hollywood Reporter, Melee's Bryan Turner, Scott Aronson and Mike Regen are producing the project along with Hasan, Todd Moscowitz and Mike Mavrolas. Moscowitz runs Asylum Records, which has released a number of jerkin'-themed music, and Mavrolas manages jerkin' act the New Boyz, which is enjoying a hit with the jerkin'-themed single "You're a Jerk." Jerkin' is a dance that originated in Southern California, but has now spread out across the country and around the globe. The dancers usually promote non-violence and wear brightly colored, nonbaggy jeans and shirts. Melee is the banner behind the Mos Def action comedy "Next Day Air," which earned $10 million when Summit released it in May, and Screen Gems' $40 million breakout "You Got Served."
Urbanworld Fest Opens With Foxx Film
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009) *The 13th Annual Urbanworld Film Festival, presented by BET Networks, has chosen the F. Gary Gray-directed thriller "Law Abiding Citizen," starring Jamie Foxx, Viola Davis and Gerard Butler, as its opening night selection. Urbanworld – billed as the nation’s largest competitive multicultural film festival – will kick off with the screening on Sept. 23, in Manhattan, with Gray and the cast members in attendance. This year's official film selections include Academy Award nominee Sophie Okonedo in Anthony Fabian’s "Skin," Chris Rock’s documentary "Good Hair," four-time Emmy nominee CCH Pounder and Nicki Michaeux in Maria Govan’s "Rain," and five films selected in conjunction with Great Britain’s B3 Media for the inaugural “UK in Focus” sidebar. Urbanworld will run through Sept. 27. The festival will screen 68 films this year, with closing night and spotlight screenings to be announced Sept. 9. For more information and screening dates and times, visit the official festival Web site: www.urbanworld.org.
::TV NEWS::
Canadian Actors Dig Gleek Chic
Source: www.thestar.com - Bill Brioux, The
Canadian Press
(September 04, 2009) There's nothing like
a little Glee to completely change your life.
Just ask Cory Monteith, the Calgary-born,
Victoria-raised cast member of one of the most promising network shows this
fall.
The series, about a misfit group of high
school students and teachers involved in a singing, dancing, glee-club band,
officially launches next Wednesday on Fox and Global after a sneak preview in
May, which was rebroadcast earlier this week.
One of the songs the cast performed on
that preview show – Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" – soared to No.
1 on iTunes, a fact that astonished Monteith.
"To think that the first time I was
recorded singing anything it went to No. 1 – it's crazy," he says.
The tall 27-year-old plays the
all-American high school quarterback who risks his cool-kid status by becoming
one of the "gleeks." Interviewed last month at the Television Critics
Association Fox press tour party, he said he and the rest of the cast have been
working seven days a week for the past eight months cranking out the first 13
episodes.
"I've just been working and
working," he said. "We've been in a bit of a bubble since we began in
February or March."
Monteith said it took weeks to learn some
of the dance numbers at the beginning. "Every moment that we're not
shooting the show, we're learning the dance routines or choreographing the
dance routines or recording songs."
And all that work is paying off.
"The Internet buzz has been
shocking," Monteith said. "All of these people on Twitter and
Facebook – it's just startling."
Monteith's Glee co-star, Lea Michele, says
she gained "5,000 Facebook friends overnight" after attending the Comic-Con
convention in San Diego, Calif., in July. Monteith himself has a Twitter name
he borrowed from his character's nickname on the series:
"Frankenteen."
He is one of three Canadians in the Los
Angeles production, including Montreal-native Jessalyn Gilsig (Nip/Tuck) as the
scheming wife of Will Schuester (Matthew Morrison), the noble teacher who runs
the glee club.
Gilsig has the unenviable task of playing
nasty on an otherwise joyous and uplifting series. Her character gets even more
manipulative with a plot twist introduced next Wednesday that will rock Will's
world the whole season.
"I felt sorry for her at
Comic-Con," says Morrison, also at the Fox party. "We screened the
pilot episode there and people in the crowd were yelling, `Dump her! Dump her!'
She's terrified she's going to get written off the show."
The show's third Canadian is B.C. native
Patrick Gallagher (Da Vinci's Inquest), who plays the Ohio high school's
obsessive football coach.
"He cracks me up every time,"
says Jane Lynch, who plays the even more manipulative cheerleader
coach/arch-nemesis Sue Sylvester.
Another Canadian, Victor Garber, will
guest star in future episodes as Will's father, a development that thrilled
Morrison.
"I've always been a huge fan of
his," he says.
A Canadian songwriter/performer is also
getting some Glee glory. An Avril Lavigne song is being featured in an upcoming
number, and it is Michele's favourite moment from the series so far.
"It was so touching and so
moving," said Michele, who didn't want to give anything more away by
naming the song.
Glee features plenty of music, but the
cast doesn't just burst into song for no reason.
The musical moments come out of the story
room and are not forced, said executive producer Ian Brennan.
"It's not about lawyers singing or
doctors singing," he said. "The music is in there. We just kind of
let it breathe."
Lynch, known for her scene-stealing roles
on Best In Show and other comedy improv films, says she hasn't been called upon
to sing yet but she does do at least one big dance number. She loves playing
larger-than-life characters such as Sylvester.
"She has to be the most scheming,
unashamed, entitled person I've ever played, and I'm just adoring it."
Jay Leno In The Hot Seat
Source: www.thestar.com - Rob Salem
(September 07, 2009) So it's come to this: the immediate future of American
prime-time television rests squarely on Jay Leno's perpetually shrugged
shoulders.
It says so in Time magazine, so it must be
true. To quote, as Time does, former NBC president Fred Silverman: "If the
Leno show works, it will be the most significant thing to happen in broadcast
television in the last decade."
That's significant, though not necessarily
good. The former Tonight Show host has been handed an inordinately large chunk
of prime-time real estate for The Jay Leno Show – weeknights at 10 on NBC and
Citytv, beginning Sept.14 – to do with what he will, which would appear to be
much the same thing he used to do at 11:35.
"We'll start with a monologue,"
Leno explained at the recent TV critics' preview – by my count, one of at least
a half-dozen major press opportunities the network has set up for him in the
last seven months (there's yet another coming up later this week).
"We'll come out, boom, start with the
jokes, get the show moving.... We want to keep it fast-paced. I think that's
the real key. You don't want to waste anybody's time, you know. This is good
food at sensible prices. Here's a bunch of jokes. A lot of jokes."
So apparently there will be jokes. That
includes several warmed-over bits from Leno's Tonight Show, like
"Jaywalking" and "The 99-cent Store," and of course his
nightly headline read, and the familiar musical stylings of his old Tonight
bandleader, Kevin Eubanks.
Guests are another issue entirely, at
least in terms of TV stars, the competing networks having boycotted the new 10
o'clock interloper. So even if Leno's first show boasts the likes of Jerry
Seinfeld, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Rihanna, and his first week Tom Cruise, Miley
Cyrus and Halle Berry, it remains to be seen how long he can keep it going with
only movie and music talent five nights a week.
He has two years, guaranteed by the
network, with no expectation of anything more than minimal ratings, the
basement-dwelling NBC having apparently given up on actually attracting viewers
in favour of saving a couple of bucks on scripted production.
"Nobody expects us to beat the CSIs
and some of these big dramas right at the get-go," Leno allows. "But
we'll be on 44 or 46 weeks, whatever it is, and the other shows are only on 22.
And during those repeat weeks and whatever we'll be live, fresh, original
shows."
Well, live, at least ...
ALSO NEW
• Accidentally on Purpose (Sept.21, 8:30
p.m. on CBS and Citytv): After years of false starts, Jenna Elfman (Dharma
& Greg) returns to prime time as a 30something single inadvertently
impregnated by her boy-toy (Jon Foster) in a sitcom based on the book by Time
movie critic Mary Pols.
"I got the most delightful email from
Mary about her experience of watching the pilot with the baby daddy, who is
still very much in her life," says showrunner Claudia Lonow. "I mean,
they cracked open a bottle of wine and watched it together and laughed and
really enjoyed it. She's very inspirational and we draw from that experience.
Although the show is a little bit more romantic than her situation was."
It is also just a little more complicated.
British Ugly Betty and Extras actress Ashley Jensen, who plays Elfman's gal
pal, will spend the first part of the season trying to disguise her actual,
real-life pregnancy.
"I will be carrying a large purse,
stacks of manila envelopes, hiding behind potted plants, behind desks ... various
things like that," she laughs.
I should note for the record that of all
my fellow critics, I seem to be the only one who, with some reservations,
actually enjoyed the pilot.
• Trauma (Sept.28, 9 p.m. on NBC and Citytv): Emergency! with
helicopters. "Extra angst with ringers, stat!"
RETURNING
• It's all about fallen heroes Sept.21, as
two, two-hour season debuts battle over the 8 p.m. slot: House on Fox and
Global, and Heroes on NBC.
You can also catch the Heroes premiere a
night early on Global, Sunday at 9 p.m., if that presents a conflict. Not that
it should. While the Heroes struggle to rescue themselves after a spiral down
into convoluted mediocrity, House is at the top of his game, particularly in
this riveting, game-changing episode that pits the institutionalized doc,
headcase to headshrinker, against Homicide's Andre Braugher.
• Lie to Me (Sept.28, 9 p.m. on Fox and
Global): After a brilliant first few episodes, last season's late starter began
to show signs of strain, even in the face of Tim Roth's stellar lead
performance as a tetchy "micro-expression" expert. Expect that to
change with the arrival behind the scenes of ace writer/producer Shawn Ryan,
late of The Shield and The Unit.
"I came out and helped out a little
bit on the last couple episodes as a favour to the studio," explains Ryan.
"I had a couple of my old Shield writers who were over there, and (when)
The Unit was unceremoniously dumped by CBS I suddenly found myself with a
little time.
"I dug the show and I thought I could
bring something to it. I think I'm trying to push it a little bit more in a
character direction, add a little bit of adrenaline to the show, but really
sort of dig deep. It's an incredible cast. And I just want to get to know these
characters better."
• The powerhouse Monday-night CBS sitcom
block returns Sept.21, with How I Met Your Mother at 8 (CBS and Cityv),
followed by new addition Accidentally on Purpose at 8:30, and Two and a Half
Men and Big Bang Theory at 9 and 9:30 (both on CBS and A).
• One Tree Hill returns to The CW Sept.14
at 8 p.m., followed by Gossip Girl at 9, which you can alternately watch at the
earlier hour here in Canada on A.
• Leno's Monday-night 10 p.m. competition
is, as he himself acknowledged, the still-formidable CSI: Miami on CBS and CTV,
and the yet-to-catch-on Bones clone Castle, with Canadian Nathan Fillion
(Firefly) channelling Angela Lansbury as a murder-solving novelist, on ABC and
A. Both return Sept.21.
• Elsewhere on the box, Little Mosque on
the Prairie returns to CBC Sept.28 at 8 p.m., with the cable comedy
Californication coming back later the same night, on The Movie Network at 10.
Dancing With the Stars cranks up again Sept.21 at 8 on ABC and CTV.
TOMORROW: Tuesday-night newcomers include
three potential hits: Julianna Margulies' The Good Wife, LL Cool J spinning off
NCIS: Los Angeles and an all-new Melrose Place (that's right, I said Melrose
Place). And welcome back the returning CBC comedy block of This Hour, Rick
Mercer Report and the fabulous Being Erica.
Walter Cronkite Celebrated At Memorial Service
Source: www.thestar.com
- David Bauder, The Associated Press
(September
09, 2009) NEW YORK (AP) – Former President Bill Clinton remembered Walter Cronkite as
"a great citizen and a profoundly good human being'' during a memorial
service Wednesday for the legendary newsman.
Clinton saluted Cronkite for "an inquiring mind and a caring heart and a
careful devotion to the facts.''
After watching Cronkite as a youngster, Clinton grew to be friends with him in
adulthood, "and I just ended up being crazy about the guy.''
Others scheduled to appear included former Cronkite colleagues at CBS News,
musicians Wynton Marsalis and Mickey Hart, and President Barack Obama.
Jimmy Buffett sang his classic "Son of a Son of a Sailor" for his
sailing buddy Cronkite.
But before that, he had a warm recollection of seeking some advice for a mutual
friend, the late "60 Minutes" correspondent Ed Bradley.
After a sail, "the sun was down, the rum was out, and I said, 'Walter, Ed
called me and he's thinking about wearing an earring on '60 Minutes.'''
Buffett said Cronkite responded: "It doesn't matter if he wears an
earring, as long as it's a good story." Then Cronkite added impishly:
"If I was going to wear an earring on '60 Minutes,' I'd wear one of those
big, long dangly ones.''
Cronkite, who died July 17 at 92, anchored "The CBS Evening News"
from 1962 until 1981. He came to be known as "the most trusted man in
America.''
Former NBC anchor Tom Brokaw called him "a seminal force in the
transformation of this country.''
Brokaw, who grew up in South Dakota, said, "Walter Cronkite and all those
early (TV news) pioneers lifted a lamp and showed us the wider world and
allowed us to understand it more clearly and coherently.''
Katie Couric, who now sits at the "CBS Evening News" anchor desk,
noted that lesser men are sometimes idealized at their passing.
"But this passing has required no selective recollections or
hyperbole," Couric said. "It's been a pure joy to celebrate and
remember Walter Cronkite for the way he really was.
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who in 1969 made his historic Apollo 11 moonwalk with
Neil Armstrong, spoke of Cronkite's passionate interest in covering the U.S.
space program. He praised Cronkite's ``belief in science, his dedication to the
story, and his commanding presence that made every step in space exciting for
Americans of every age.''
Among those attending the service, at Manhattan's Lincoln Center, were former
CBS anchor Dan Rather; ABC's Charles Gibson, Diane Sawyer, Barbara Walters and
Bob Woodruff; and NBC's Brian Williams.
AP Television Writer Frazier Moore contributed to this story.
CBS is a division of CBS Corp.
On the Net: http://www.cbsnews.com
Rick Fox Moves Into 'Melrose Place
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009) *Rick Fox is the newest tenant to nab a spot on "Melrose Place," reports Reuters. The former Los Angeles Lakers star has been cast in a recurring role on the CW series, which is being resurrected from its original run in the 1990s. The athlete-turned-actor will play the owner of the restaurant where all the aspiring actors on the show work. Fox's television resume includes "Oz," "One Tree Hill," "The Game" and "Ugly Betty," where he was featured alongside his ex-wife and series star Vanessa Williams.
Mehcad Brooks Cast In ABC Drama
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 04, 2009) *"True Blood" co-star Mehcad Brooks has become a regular cast member of ABC's midseason legal drama "The Deep End," states the Hollywood Reporter. On the show, set at a prestigious L.A. law firm, Brooks will play a new character, Malcolm Bennet, an associate at the firm. So what does this mean for his character Benedict "Eggs" Talley on HBO's "True Blood?" No decision has been announced, according to THR. His role was introduced in the first-season finale, then continued on as a regular character for the vampire drama's second season and has been prominently featured on the show this summer. Brooks' TV credits also include a stint on ABC's "Desperate Housewives."
::THEATRE NEWS::
Where Love Blooms On The Stage
Source: www.thestar.com
- Debra Black
(September 05, 2009) There is something simply magical and
fairylike about listening to the poetry of Shakespeare's plays, especially as
you sit under the stars on a sultry summer night.
For me, Shakespeare in the Park is also about love – love of theatre,
love of poetry, romantic love, platonic love and maternal love. Through every
stage of my life a Shakespearian play in the park has been like a touchstone,
marking the moment in a mystical way.
This love of art and poetry has become a
fixture of my summers for decades.
I first saw Midsummer Night's Dream with
my cousin Karen, whom I was visiting while she was at teachers' college in
London, England. That was in the late 1970s – more years ago than I care to
remember. I was a University of Toronto student then, hanging out in London for
my summer vacation.
My eyes closed as we sat in the outdoor
theatre in Regent's Park. Suddenly, I was Queen Titania who falls in love with
a vile creature of the forest or Helena who is chased by Lysander.
Since that summer, my thoughts have turned
to Shakespeare as soon as the temperature rose and the summer nights grew long.
Back in 1983 when the The Dream in High
Park was first mounted, I was a young journalist working in Toronto and eagerly
went to see it. It was a delight – once more I was drawn like a magnet.
Since then, I have spent hot humid nights
under the stars watching shows with friends. I have spent romantic interludes
on the hills of the amphitheatre with a picnic – complete with a checkered
tablecloth, wine and cheese – waiting for the play to begin. I have kissed and
been kissed as Shakespeare's romantic comedies swirled around me. I have
watched the play under the threat of storm clouds. I have sweltered from the
heat, shivered in the cool rain. I have watched with the moon overhead and the
stars twinkling and illuminating the players.
But perhaps one of my most vivid memories
of watching Shakespeare in the Park is when my young son – now 19 – went with
me to watch both Midsummer Night's Dream and Romeo and Juliet on
two occasions. He was seven or eight years old and thrilled to be out past his
bedtime.
There was something so joyful about
watching my child trying to appreciate Shakespeare as he desperately tried to
fight off sleep so he could watch one more swordfight. But what really
surprised me was how the next day he was able to repeat huge passages from the
play – like some kind of Shakespearian wunderkind. My heart beat just a little
bit faster that day in the hope that perhaps my son had absorbed my love of
poetry and Shakespeare.
This year I was hoping he would go with me
to see The Tempest before returning to McGill University. I haven't seen
it for years and was eager to go. But he hemmed and hawed and rolled his eyes
when I asked him. I waited patiently hoping he would change his mind. Then
suddenly, it was the end of the summer and he left for Montreal.
Now the production is almost done and I have only this weekend to go. I
hope to go with friends tonight. We will take a picnic. And as I sit there,
Shakespeare's work will fuel my imagination once more – taking me to a faraway
land where anything is possible, where fairies may or may not exist and romance
is still the stuff dreams are made of.
Summer Rituals: This is the last in a
series of personal stories about seasonal traditions.
His Greatness Finally Gets Its Due South Of The Border
Source: www.thestar.com - Richard Ouzounian, Theatre
Critic
(September 04, 2009) NEW YORK–I suspect
there's something wrong in the theatrical universe when you have to go down to
Manhattan to catch up with a play by Canadian Daniel MacIvor, but that's just
what happened recently.
His Greatness, MacIvor's look at a few days in the late
life of an unnamed playwright who bears a more than passing resemblance to
Tennessee Williams, became the toast last month of New York's International
Fringe Festival and was selected as one of 20 shows out of 201 to open again on
Sept. 17 as part of the Fringe Encores series.
This would be wonderful news except for one niggling fact.
His Greatness received its first and only Canadian production two years
ago at the Arts Club Theatre in Vancouver. It received excellent reviews and
caused a great deal of buzz, but none of the theatres in the rest of Canada
picked it up.
It took a Montrealer named Adam Blanshay, who now lives in New York, to see to
it that this excellent play got the attention it deserves on the East Coast,
and we owe him a debt of thanks for that.
MacIvor has taken some anecdotal material spun around the time Williams spent
in Vancouver during the 1980s working on two shows for The Playhouse and turned
it into an elegantly heartbreaking allegory about which portion of a man
contains his "greatness": his body, his mind, or his heart.
We arrive at the opening night of a show that the playwright has rewritten
after a disastrous reception elsewhere (just like Williams did with the B.C.
production of his out-of-town American disaster, The Red Devil Battery Sign).
His efficient but harassed assistant tries to keep the drug-and-booze-addicted
older man on the rails, but still indulges him by arranging a young hustler to
occupy him for the evening.
Besides its metaphorical level, the play also operates as a serious study of
co-dependency in its starkest form, where three people help each other down the
road to self-destruction, while claiming to be doing them some good.
It's written in a seemingly naturalistic style which director Tom Gualtieri
embraces a bit too heartily, placing us in a firmly realistic hotel room.
But even MacIvor's most "life-like" plays require another dimension,
and that's the one thing that's lacking here.
The performances are all solid and understand the wealth of material MacIvor
has provided them, but I can think of many Canadian actors I'd kill to see do
the roles up here.
Peter Goldfarb is a juicily decrepit playwright, holding on to his tattered
dignity like a latter-day Blanche Du Bois, even when his accent slips. Dan
Domingues combines an acid tongue and a caring spirit as the assistant and
Michael Busillo is both handsome and skillful enough to play the young Angel of
Death (an echo of a similar character in Williams' The Milk Train Doesn't
Stop Here Anymore).
It's a fascinating play that I think has even more riches than have been
revealed here. I hope producer Blanshay, or someone else, brings it home soon.
Nothing But A Good Time
Source: www.thestar.com
- Richard Ouzounian, Theatre
Critic
(September 07, 2009) NEW YORK–There are a lot of great things I
can say about Rock of Ages, the new musical currently packing them
in on Broadway, but here's perhaps the most important one: It finally made me
appreciate the music of the 1980s.
Sorry to distress all you die-hard Styx
and Bon Jovi fans out there, but it just wasn't my decade: too late for me and
too early for my kids.
But after happily grooving in my seat at
the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, I'm prepared to open up a whole new playlist on my
iPod.
Rock of Ages is one of those unashamedly entertaining
shows that exist for no other reason than to let you have a good time.
There's a plot, sure, but just like in We
Will Rock You, the story is there primarily to help you hop from one old
MTV favourite to the next.
It's 1987 on the Sunset Strip in L.A. and
we're in the infamous Bourbon Club, home of a heavy metal band named Arsenal
with an equal amount of studs behind the guitars and on the belts.
That's where our lovers meet. If I tell
you that she's a small-town girl living in a lonely world and he's a city boy
born and raised in south Detroit, would you guess where this is all heading? I
thought so.
It shouldn't work at all, but it does,
triumphantly, because of the sheer cheekiness of the people involved. Chris
D'Arienzo's book takes the coyote ugly approach to every last cliché of '80s
rock, embracing it one minute, then slyly trying to saw off its arm the next.
Kristin Hanggi has staged the whole thing
with a tight, explosive energy but allows her talented cast room to add as much
appliqué to their performances as a good rocker of the period would have put on
his jean jacket.
In fact, at the performance I attended,
understudies (Jeremy Jordan and Michael Minarik) played the two leads and they
were so convincing that you would have sworn they were the regular inhabitants
of the roles.
This show is ready-made for Toronto. I can
just see it happily playing for a long, long run and – best of all – we've got
the talent in this city to cast it 10 times over.
Somebody bring Rock of Ages here
real soon. I'm already jonesing to see the finale again. It's "Don't Stop
Believin'" and by the time the cast finished, I was happier than I'd felt
since the first time I saw Mamma Mia!
Need I say more?
THEATRE TIDBITS
Deborah Cox Books Broadway Role
Source: www.eurweb.com
(September 09, 2009) Singer-songwriter Deborah Cox will portray the late, legendary
Josephine Baker in
the new Broadway-bound musical Josephine, based on the life of the iconic
entertainer who dazzled Paris audiences. The musical, according to press
notes, is "inspired by actual events, and takes place in Paris between
1939 and 1945: Josephine Baker is queen of the Paris music halls, involved in a
liaison with Crown Prince Gustav VI of Sweden and secretly serving her adopted
country in the French Resistance. "Her heroic work during the war
brings her the self-worth she so vainly sought in fame, money and the arms of
royalty." Theatre and production dates will be announced at a later
time. Cox previously starred in the title role of the Broadway production
of Aida.
::TECHNOLOGY NEWS::
Batman: Arkham Asylum: Awesome When It's
Not Lame
Source: www.thestar.com
- Darren Zenko, Special To The Star
Batman: Arkham Asylum
PlayStation 3, Xbox 360
$69.99
Rated T
(out
of four)
(September 05, 2009) Batman: Arkham Asylum is the kind of game that calls for a multilevelcritical assessment. At
the global level, as a game in a world of other games, it's pretty good: big,
beautiful, fun and satisfying, made with intelligence, intention, taste and
confidence. On the plane it shares with other superhero video games, it's a
triumph, easily making the all-time top three. Finally, as compared to all
other Batman games through time, it is the absolute acme.
But the last level, the purely Batman
level, is where its difficulties creep in. For 70 years, Batman and his bat
context have been developed and redeveloped, interpreted and reinterpreted, by
hundreds of writers, editors, artists, actors, animators and directors. From
pulpy gang-busting swashbuckler through campy cartoon, brooding Dark Knight and
obsessed head case to sleek techno-ninja and every gradation in between, there
are an infinite number of Batmans – and nobody's personal Batman will be quite
like another's. So, difficulties. Never has the needle of my internal
Review-o-Meter jumped so wildly between "Awesome" and
"Lame" as it did while I was playing Arkham Asylum.
Awesome: the asylum itself. This is a
great-looking game and the design – big, open hub areas connecting
claustrophobic warrens – is excellent, especially as the place changes with the
storyline and Batman gains abilities, opening new paths while closing others.
It feels alive with malice and madness. And if the damp, dirty, rusted, grimy,
gargoyle-studded Gothic hellhole bedlam of Arkham makes no real-world sense as
an institution, that's okay, too. This is a comic-book world and Arkham Asylum
is a comic-book character, as much of a mutated, super-powered freak as the
inmates it detains...or releases at its whim.
Lame: techno-Batman. I know Batman has
always been a gadget guy; I love the Batrope and the Batmobile and the
Bat-computer and I can even get behind the idea of protective Bat-armour. But Arkham
Asylum goes too far, making every character upgrade (with the exception of
a tiny handful of combat combos) an upgrade to the high-tech gear he wears
and/or lugs around. Worst of all, though, is the introduction of
"Detective Mode," a sort of night-vision/X-ray specs view that allows
Batman to see through walls and detect clues. Lame! Batman is the World's
Greatest Detective, not the World's Greatest User of Magic Goggles! The
techno-Batman of Arkham Asylum is basically a lightweight Iron Man sans
jetboots.
Awesome: bat-mobility and bat-stealth. The
Batrope and Batcape kick ass. Swooping around Arkham, swinging like a whisper,
zipping along the batline to "Wham!" your way into groups of
thugs...super fun! Batman gets around and where he gets to is more often than
not some high ledge or shadowy recess from which he will silently pick off ever-more-terrified
gunsels one by one: dropping them with chokeholds, stringing them up from handy
gargoyles, luring them into explosive traps, diving down from the girders in
his trademark glide-kick. The toe-to-toe fisticuffs in Akham Asylum are okay as
far as brawling goes, but the stealth action is really special.
Lame: Boss fights (spoiler warning, for
what it's worth). I don't know what went wrong here, but every single boss
battle in Akrham Asylum was a letdown. Not really "bad," just
disappointing given the cool villains they had to work with. Bane is a generic,
off-the-shelf Charging Boss (deke, attack, flee, repeat); Poison Ivy is a
generic Weakpoint Boss (dodge blasts, shoot the exposed soft spot, repeat).
Scarecrow's nightmare "boss" levels are interesting and atmospheric,
but you never really fight him.
Half the game is spent building up Killer
Croc as a figure of ultimate terror and you don't really fight him, either –
his level is, in fact, one of the easiest and most boring stages of the game. The
only boss battle that really surprised me was the final fight with the Joker –
and what surprised me was how weak, unsatisfying, and out-of-character it was.
Awesome at first, then lame: hidden
secrets. In this kind of game, I'm a secrets hound. I love nook-and-crannying a
game for hidden treats. But after a while, the busy work of figuring out the
Riddler's riddles, grabbing Riddler Trophies, finding Interview Recordings and
tracking down the Spirit of Arkham completely takes over the game, and you see
it for the padding it is. It breaks flow and mood.
I finished the game in a little over 20
hours, but it would have been less than 10 had I not monkeyed around in a
gotta-catch-'em-all fever.
Still, I had a lot of fun. This is a
really great game, filled with mind-blowing moments, that finds itself slightly
gimped – but not crippled – by a few mysteriously poor design choices.
Gamers, Fans Come Together Over The
Beatles: Rock Band
Source: www.thestar.com
- Bill Brioux, Special To The Star
(September 05, 2009) Listen: do you want to
know a secret? Even for a non-gaming, die-hard Beatles fan like me, the new Beatles: Rock Band is a psychedelic dream come true, a
virtual trip across Abbey Road, inside the Cavern Club, or centre stage that
summer of 1965 at Shea Stadium. If you're a boomer or were raised by one, it is
the soundtrack of your life, played by you – one sweet, magical, digital,
mystery tour.
Like I said, I'm not a gamer. I thought
Xbox was a CNE Happy Meal. But I know all the words to "I am the
Walrus" and that it's Semolina Pilchard climbing the Eiffel Tower, not
"some old leaning pitcher." I've lost count how many times I've
pounded out Ringo's drum solo from "The End" on the back of a
headrest or dashboard or played air guitar solos to "Ticket to Ride"
or "Revolution."
The Beatles: Rock Band puts all those fantasies at your
fingertips, in one big box, with cool toys for every Beatle fan, including a
replica of George Harrison's Gretsch Duo Jet guitar, John Lennon's Rickenbacker
325 or Sir Paul McCartney's Höfner violin bass.
And, yes, you can play the Höfner
left-handed like McCartney, although don't try to flip back and forth in your
first session like I did. Even with game expert Marc Saltzman's guidance (we
jammed at his house, to the amusement of his three tykes), it was hard enough
to follow the green, yellow and blue cue notes as they whizzed past on-screen
on what looks like an electronic fret highway.
Bashing along on the drum kit, with four
round targets and a foot pedal, was even harder than playing the toy guitar. My
"no guts, no glory" try at "Getting Better" wasn't any
better on the "easy" setting. In fact, it may have been harder. The
dumbed-down drum cues did not match with the steady beat pounded in my head
these past 40-odd years. Ringo kept throwing me off.
Still, even a non-gamer can sing into a
microphone. I scored a 97 per cent, with a "13 phrase streak,"
warbling "I am the Walrus." Mind you, that was on a
"medium" setting (the game offers four choices for all vocal and
instrumental challenges). Plus, the lyrics are right there, crawling across the
top of the screen. The game rates you on tone and pitch, not memory. Getting
your score after each song is like being in front of Randy Jackson without the
"Dawg."
The Beatles: Rock Band comes packed with nerdy little details
every Fab Four fan will treasure. After a session, the screen pulls back to
reveal animated Beatles in the Abbey Rd. studio with the mixing board in the
foreground. We hear producer George Martin saying things like, "Good job
boys." The actual recording date is right there on the screen.
There are also cool extras such as rare
photos you can "unlock" by scoring points. Who knew McCartney wore
specs to so many recording sessions? You can also listen to the Beatles cut up
like their Brit heroes, The Goons, on Christmas messages sent to fan club members,
and even watch outtakes from the fascinating doc the Maysles brothers shot of
The Beatles' first trip to America in February 1964.
The animation used throughout is dazzling
– fluid and well-rendered, light-years ahead of those clumsy cartoon Beatles
from the mid-'60s TV series. Things get very trippy in the more psychedelic
songs, with Harrison's giant, multi-coloured head floating over the cues for
"Within You Without You." You can almost smell the, er, incense.
Not everything comes in the new Rock
Band box. There's no set list taped to McCartney's Höfner bass (you can
always add your own). There aren't any Jelly babies to toss, and definitely no
hallucinogens. When you get a perfect score singing Lennon's vocals on
"Revolution," a messianic figure does not appear and say,
"Alright already, you were bigger than me."
The biggest shock is what's missing from
the 45-song set: The Beatles' biggest No. 1 hit, "Hey Jude"? Not
there. "Let It Be"? Nope. "She Loves You"?
"Help"? "Lady Madonna"? "A Day in the Life"? None
of these is part of this game, although one Beatles classic, "All You Need
is Love," is apparently available to download and add at a price. As for
the one song I wanted to play most of all, yes, "The End" is part of
the mix, but it is right at the end and you have to earn your way up to it.
On the other hand, many relatively obscure
Beatles tracks are included – fun cuts like "Hey Bulldog," and the
blaring Lennon lark "And Your Bird Can Sing." "Bulldog," in
particular, has a Harrison guitar solo that is fun to try and keep pace with on
the game.
Bottom line: The Beatles: Rock Band is
the ultimate toy for boomer dads or anyone who has ever twisted and shouted
along with this music. Would I want one of these for Christmas? That would be
yeah, yeah, yeah.
::SPORTS NEWS::
Down but not out, Melanie Oudin rallies
at U.S. Open
Source: www.thestar.com
- Eddie Pells, The
Associated Press
(September 07, 2009) NEW YORK – Forget about forehands and
backhands. Melanie Oudin's biggest weapon is her heart.
The 17-year-old sparkplug from Georgia
proved it again Monday at the U.S. Open, extending her remarkable run to the
quarter-finals with another come-from-behind victory, 1-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3 over
13th-seeded Nadia Petrova.
Oudin staved off four points that would
have put her behind 5-3 in the second set, then rolled through the third,
hitting corners with those underrated groundstrokes and taking advantage of 22
unforced errors by her more-seasoned, higher-ranked opponent.
Rankings, like her age, however, are only
numbers.
The 70th-ranked player already had wins
over No. 4 Elena Dementieva and No. 29 Maria Sharapova at Flushing Meadows,
along with one over former No. 1 Jelena Jankovic this summer at Wimbledon. Now,
she's knocked off No. 13.
After hitting a forehand to the corner for
her 19th and final winner on match point, Oudin threw her racket in the air.
This time, however, she didn't cry any tears of disbelief. Instead, it was twin
sister Katherine sobbing in the stands.
"I'm so happy to be in my first
quarter-final Grand Slam ever," Oudin told the crowd in her post-match,
on-court interview.
Talk about heart. Oudin improved to 6-1 at
Wimbledon and the U.S. Open this year when she's lost the first set. She is
17-4 overall this year in three-set matches.
"I started serving better, thought I
could do it and – I did," she said.
But Oudin won this match without serving a
single ace, another indication she is not blowing anybody away with sheer
power. Instead, it's footwork, technique, precision. Mostly, though, she is
thriving in pressure situations that make so many others in the sport shrink
away.
She stung two forehand winners, including
one when she was positioned completely outside the court, to take a quick 3-0
lead in the second-set tiebreaker. She also took advantage of three unforced
errors and a double-fault from her 27-year-old opponent, who was trying to make
her third Open quarter-final.
Too young to know any better? Maybe.
Regardless, she has become the youngest American to move into the
quarter-finals at America's Grand Slam since Serena Williams in 1999.
"I think this is going to do a
lot," Oudin said. "I think it's good for American tennis."