Did you know that there were horrible remakes made of “It’s a Wonderful Life” and “Christmas in Conneticuit”? And that one was made in the ’70s and one in the ’90s? Yes, nothing is sacred at Christmastime, even evergreen originals. One just has to look at all the horrifying re-boots of Dr. Seuss’ How the
Would there be an uproar in Canada if Marx Brother movies, or the works of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Harold Lloyd were blocked at the border? What about films featuring Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges or W. C. Fields? The question comes up as, for the second Monday this month, Canadians are robbed
Tonight on CTV Comedy channel, Corner Gas Animated premieres its very first Christmas episode. “It has that nice, feel-good, Christmas thing that you want to have,” says creator-executive producer Brent Butt. “It warms your cockles, but it also has that Corner Gas snide bent to it.” The episode, titled, “Tinsel-itis,” follows the usual multiple story
In 1975 I had a summer job as a linepiler at a Kimberly-Clark warehouse in Etobicoke. It is burned in my memory that the Bee Gees had an enormous hit with “Jive Talkin’” that summer. As those large, heavy boxes filled with rolls of 2- and even 3-ply toliet paper came chugging down the line,
Here’s a true story right out of a Christmas movie: Dylan Pearce is trying to decide between four Christmas movie scripts. He asks him mom, Mary, to read them and give her opinion. She picked “Christmas with a Crown,” premiering Sunday on Super Channel Heart & Home. “This story just jumped out to her,” Pearce
Just how Canadian are a lot of these Hallmark movies we see on TV every Christmas? Very Canadian. Just look at the prolific track record of Calgary-born director David Winning. “Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas,” which premieres in Canada this Saturday on W Network, is the 17th Hallmark film Winning has shot
U.S. Thanksgiving generally triggers a rush of holiday programming the last week of November. Viewers were clearly ready for it after a not-so-festive year. Even in Canada, Christmas movies in November rose near the top of the TV ratings. Not the very top. The Good Doctor was back in the No. 1 position on the
Back when I worked at The Toronto Sun, I was happy to contribute to Showcase, the best entertainment magazine even many Sun readers — due to the seamless way it was folded into the mix — didn’t know existed. Bob Bishop and Derek Tse always poured their hearts into it and so did many of