I was on an Air Canada flight bound for Los Angeles Sunday morning and unaware until I landed of “the saddest news” being sent via email from Don Ferguson. Roger Abbott was dead. Roger’s passing hit me a lot harder than any other obit I’ve ever reported. I had the great good fortune to get
Kate Winslet Remakes of classic films are risky things. No one ever really wants to see a remake of The Wizard of Oz, although several have been attempted. The Wiz (1978) and Disney’s Return to Oz (1985) were more re-imagined than remade. At least six more are in development, including John Boorman’s CGI project The Wonderful Wizard
Far from costing taxpayers an estimated $300 million, CHML’s Scott Thompson wants to know if a Canadian federal election will amount to a stimulous package by the time you factor in all the negative ad campaign spending on television. There may be truth to that just counting what seems to be a bottomless “Harper Government” war chest.
Nobody does Hollywood memorials like TCM. The movie channel has already scheduled a 24 hour movie marathon tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, who passed away Wednesday in Lo Angeles at 79.Starting at 6 a.m. April 10, TCM will show the best of Taylor’s 50 feature films, including her Oscar®-winning performances in Butterfield 8 (1960) at 8 p.m. (ET) and Who’s
March break is generally an off week for TV networks with many viewers away on family vacations. The usual suspects–American Idol (down to 11 finalists, above), Amazing Race, Survivor and House all topped the two million mark but otherwise viewing levels were generally down . Sad and scary headlines from Japan also swung many viewers back to CBC’s
The Rompin’ Ronnie Hawkins Quartet If you grew up in Toronto and are old enough to remember the heyday of the Yonge Street Strip–or wish you were–you won’t want to miss Yonge Street: Toronto Rock & Roll Stories. The three-part documentary series premieres tonight at 10e/7p on Bravo! and continues Tuesday and Wednesday.From director Bruce
For me every year, one of the joys of Cinefest is the chance to add to my collection of 16mm films. Lately I’ve been focusing on trying to acquire film prints of TV shows. Back before digital, DVD or even video tape, networks used to ship 16mm prints to affiliate stations across America. For CBS,
Another Cinefest is in the books and this year, besides a lot of classic black and white, silent and sound screenings, there was some news.The 31st annual gathering of film enthusiasts occurs every March in Liverpool, N.Y., a suburb of Syracuse. I’ve driven through snowmageddons in past years trying to get in and out of