The highlight of Wednesday’s Banff World Media Festival was the “In Conversation” session, conducted virtually from Los Angeles, with Simu Liu. The 32-year-old Chinese Canadian is set to star this September in theatres everywhere in Marvel’s upcoming “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.” All but ten minutes or so of the 45-minute session,
Sometimes, no matter who you are, triumph and tragedy can arrive at the same, heartbreaking moment Take Jean Smart for example. In an Emmy award-winning career packed with dramas and comedies (including Designing Women, 24, Frasier, Fargo, and Legion), she is riding the crest of what Vanity Fair is calling her “Smartaissance.” At 69, she
The Banff World Media Festival hosted, albeit virtually, their 42nd annual Rockie Awards Tuesday. Some quick impressions. The best window to the awards was on YouTube, which provided a glitch-free way to view the festivals’ trophy binge. Find the YouTube link here. As a viewer, I appreciated the swift way each award was presented. Clips
The week of May 31-June 6 finds most of the big American import hours played out for the season. Topping the ratings is sports, mainly Stanley Cup playoff hockey, and news. At the very top is a game involving the Toronto Maple Leafs, who flamed out in a blaze of blue and white on Monday,
This has been a rough year for awards shows in terms of TV audience. How, then, did the 50th annual Juno Awards do on CBC a week ago Sunday? Not bad considering. The virtual, two-hour special – the first Junos broadcast since the beginning of the pandemic – pulled in a Live+6, 2+ average audience
Another sign that the world is unfolding as it should: Puppers beer is back. Yes, the dark golden lager enjoyed by Hicks and Hockey players alike on the Crave comedy Letterkenny is making a return to the stores. You can find it in select Sobeys, beer stores and the LCBO in Ontario in time for
Hey, I get it. Attending the Banff World Media Festival without actually going to Banff is like driving to Las Vegas but then never getting out of your car. What’s the point? Banff, more than any other film and TV festival, is all about the destination itself. It’s the allure of those stunning mountain vistas,
Last, but certainly not least among Canada’s media companies to hold a virtual upfront to advertisers this week was Bell Media. Their pre-packaged ad reel went “live” around 2 p.m. ET and, while there was one drop out on my screen for a minute or two, it wrapped up at the 3:07 mark. Bell boasted