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Encore! Wicked and 10 other musicals Toronto can’t get enough of

Jackie Burns and Chandra Lee Schwartz star as Elphaba and Glinda (Image: Joan Marcus/Mirvish)

This week, Wicked, one of the world’s most successful musical productions, re-returns to Toronto for a month-long run at the Canon Theatre. The beloved prequel to the Wizard of Oz gave teenaged girls something to beg their parents to take them to in 2005 and then again in 2006. But parents didn’t mind. We got to thinking about other musicals that have won the praise and pocketbooks of Hogtown audiences. Here, a roundup of shows that have been back for more. Begin the slide show >>

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 17, 2010 | 3:34 pm

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Variety on TIFF: the Hollywood paper names six trends from the film festival

As the din of snapping cameras and movie buzz dies down in Toronto, cineastes south of the border are weighing in on how this year’s TIFF stacked up to previous years (note: the festival doesn’t officially end until Sunday). This morning, the famous film industry trade journal Variety doled out its rating. The reactions of writers Justin Chang and Peter Debruge are mixed, but what really piqued our interest were some of the trends they noticed. “Emotional” films? A pro-Michigan agenda? Odd choices, to say the least. Here, a run down of the six trends in TIFF’s first major review.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 17, 2010 | 11:51 am

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Casey Affleck admits I’m Still Here is fake, Joaquin Phoenix is an actor after all

Casey Affleck has finally given into the public’s badgering and admitted that I’m Still Here, his Joaquin Phoenix documentary that showed at TIFF, is a sham, albeit a “terrific performance.” In an interview with the New York Times this morning, Affleck claimed he “never intended to trick anybody” and “the idea of a quote, hoax, unquote, never entered my mind.” But even David Letterman wasn’t in on the joke when Phoenix famously appeared on his show last year. The film has received dreadful reviews from Roger Ebert and several others, so we wonder whether Affleck is trying to drum up positive press for Phoenix’s acting skills.

• Joaquin Phoenix doc was fake: Affleck [Toronto Star]

The Informer

Gimme Shelter

September 17, 2010 | 9:16 am

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Home of the week: $3.95 million for two-storey lakefront penthouse

The sun rises over the master suite

ADDRESS: 58 Marine Parade Drive, Penthouse 3

NEIGHBOURHOOD: Mimico

AGENT: Irene Goodman FRI, Regency Park Realty Ltd.

PRICE: $3.95 million

THE PLACE: Every detail of this three-bedroom, two-storey lakefront penthouse was designed to accommodate a contemporary Toronto executive. The family room is equipped with built-in ebony wood entertainment cabinetry, while the bedrooms are adjoined with walk-in closets featuring every kind of jewellery, belt and tie compartment imaginable. The maple-panelled staircase leads to the master bedroom, where a pyramid skylight, balcony and floor-to-ceiling windows allow the morning light to stream in. The sexiest part of the suite is the five-piece bathroom, with a glass- and marble-enclosed shower that gives the feeling of being outdoors.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 16, 2010 | 2:50 pm

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Spotted! Ryan Gosling at the Four Seasons

The name's Gosling, Ryan Gosling. (Image: Vito Amati/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images)

Kevin Spacey is pretty much the only noteworthy dude we’ll see on the (very wet) red carpet today for the premiere of Casino Jack, but the Four Seasons is still seeing celeb traffic. Ryan Gosling was spotted leaving the Studio Café around 1:45 p.m. this afternoon; his film with Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine, had its TIFF premiere last night. Williams wasn’t in town for the gala, but Gosling turned up on the red carpet in a light grey suit and shades.

Steve Nash and Ezra Holland at the Toronto premiere of Into the Wind (Image: Dimitri Sarantis/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images)

Fresh off the Canuck pomp and circumstance surrounding his Terry Fox documentary Into the Wind, Steve Nash is game for another behind-the-scenes effort, but as a newbie filmmaker, he’s sticking to what he knows best: jocks.

Nash and his Into the Wind co-director, Ezra Holland, are working on a full-length sophomore doc about Brazilian soccer star Pelé, arguably the greatest player the beautiful game has ever seen. “We’re still miles away from knowing how to approach it,” Nash told L.A. Times. “[Pelé's life] is a great story, and it’s a great time to tell it, with the World Cup going to Brazil in a few years.”

Wait, didn’t Nash bond with the Great One via the Olympic torch? There’s gotta be a movie in there.

• Toronto 2010: Steve Nash, auteur (and the man to bring Pele to the big screen)? [LA Times]

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 13, 2010 | 2:57 pm

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Spotted! Catherine Keener and Justin Long at the Drake

(Image: Karon Liu)

Trust star Catherine Keener had brunch at the Drake yesterday (one of her favourite Toronto hangouts) and returned after dark for a cocktail. Between visits, she was spotted shopping at LAB Consignment on Ossington. Justin Long (in town promoting Robert Redford’s The Conspirator) also stopped by at the hotel last night, getting his groove on in the lounge. If only Bill Gates had shown up to challenge him to a Mac/PC dance-off.

= Find this story on our Celebrity Sightings Map, where we plot the locations of stars spotted throughout Toronto

The Dish

Read All About It

September 13, 2010 | 10:14 am

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Five things we learned about Tim Hortons from the recent Maclean’s exposé

Always fresh? (Image: Ann Baekken)

The paradox represented by Tim Hortons‘ “always fresh” frozen doughnuts got a thorough examination last week in a long Maclean’s feature examining why Archibald Jollymore, former executive vice-president, and others are launching a whopping $1.95-billion class action lawsuit against the doughnut chain. The case pits Jollymore, a cousin of Tim’s co-founder Ron Joyce, against current president (and Joyce’s successor) Paul D. House, and is laced with the family feuding, backhanded commentary, executive rivalries and all the other prerequisites for a juicy corporate scandal.

Here, five things we learned about Canada’s doughnut titan.

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The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 13, 2010 | 8:00 am

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Today at TIFF: Black Swan, Miral, the Reel Canadian TIFF Party and more

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 6 p.m. Incendies North American premiere at Bell Lightbox
• 6 p.m. Miral North American premiere at Ryerson Theatre
• 6 p.m. Another Year at Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
• 6:30 p.m. Potiche North American premiere gala at Roy Thomson Hall
• 8 p.m. Ivory Tower Screening Party at Camera Bar
• 8 p.m. Festival Music House opening night at The Roosevelt Room
• 8 p.m. The Reel Canadian TIFF Party at the Drake Hotel
• 9:30 p.m. Black Swan North American premiere gala at Roy Thomson Hall
• 9:45 p.m. Cave of Forgotten Dreams world premiere at Bell Lightbox
• Ceremony at Brassaii
• The Spotlight Awards and Official After-Party at Festival Central (148 Cumberland St.)

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 12, 2010 | 8:00 am

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Today at TIFF: Lightbox block party, Barney’s Version, Hereafter, 127 Hours and more

Our daily roundup of opening galas, parties and screenings.

• 11 a.m. Bell Lightbox Block Party at King and John Streets
• 1:00 p.m. Jack Goes Boating at Isabel Bader Theatre
• 1:30 p.m. West is West world premiere gala at Roy Thomson Hall
• 3:30 p.m. Into the Wind world premiere at Isabel Bader Theatre
• 5:30 p.m. Trigger world premiere at Bell Lightbox 1
• 5:30 p.m. Best Buddies Charity Ball at Regency Ballroom (Four Seasons Hotel)
• 6 p.m. You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger North American premiere at Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
• 6 p.m. 127 Hours at Ryerson Theatre
• 6:30 p.m. Tabloid at Bell Lightbox 2
• 6:30 p.m. Barney’s Version North American premiere gala at Roy Thomson Hall
• 6:45 p.m. Cool It world premiere at AMC 9
• 8 p.m. Ubisoft Studio Launch Party at Ubisoft Toronto
• 9 p.m. Hereafter world premiere at Visa Screening Room (Elgin)
• Cinema Against AIDS Toronto 2010 at The Carlu
• Barney’s Version cast party at Festival Central (148 Cumberland St.)
• Casino Jack cast party at Brant House
• 11:59 p.m. Vanishing on 7th Street world premiere at Ryerson Theatre

All stories by Ashleigh Ryan

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