Justin Bieber is on the cover of Forbes magazine’s 100 Most Powerful Celebrities issue, and he is 18 years old. The Biebz earned $55 million last year from music sales, performances and endorsements, which means he ranks third on this year’s list. He was beat out for top honours by Oprah Winfrey (second) and Jennifer Lopez (first), who have been adults for more than 78 days.
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Local artist Shogo Okada wins top prize at national printmaking competition
Shogo Okada’s winning piece
Printmaking centre Open Studio held its fifth annual National Printmaking Awards last night at Palais Royale, and finishing in first place was Toronto artist and bike trick enthusiast Shogo Okada for his colourful work Relationship Between Colour and Shape SH and SM (see above). Another local artist, Daryl Vocat, received an honourable mention for his piece Leaf; Reaching. Two finalists were from Toronto—does this mean this city is becoming a hub for professional printmaking? Check out all of the finalists—some of Canada’s most talented printmakers—in our gallery after the jump »
Jake Gyllenhaal is in Toronto, and here’s where he’s been so far
(Image: Jamie McCarthy/WireImage)
Did you know that Jake Gyllenhaal is in Toronto? He’ll be here to work on Denis Villeneuve’s film An Enemy from May 22 to July 13, but he arrived earlier than his expected call time and has already been spotted across the city. Gyllenhaal was out eating at Hiro Sushi in the St. Lawrence Market area last night, and just the sight of him is sending girls into a frenzy (okay, so far we can count one girl, but still). There’s also a rumour that Gyllenhaal will be staying at Toronto’s Thompson Hotel. We’ll be sure to keep a lookout for him taking his morning run.
A Stephen Harper nude surfaces on the Internet
Painter Margaret Sutherland made waves on the Internet last night with one of her latest paintings: a nude portrait of Prime Minister Stephen Harper. The work, which we presume the Prime Minister did not sit for, used to hang on the walls of the Edward Day Gallery in Toronto, but is now dressing a wall in a library in Kingston (where the artist currently resides). In the 60-foot five foot oil-on-canvas painting, Harper is casually lounging in a state of undress. Salient features include the artist’s rendering of his nether regions, a woman serving the politician a Tim Hortons coffee and what appears to be a terrier of some sort. Fans of Canadiana-themed home decor will want to add this to their Pinterest board post-haste. For the full uncensored version, click here.
(Image: Margaret Sutherland, Emperor Haute Couture, 2011. Oil on canvas.)
Can transgendered Miss Universe Canada contestant Jenna Talackova take the crown?
Jenna Talackova (Image: Fadil Berisha)
As the first-ever transgendered contestant at the Miss Universe Canada pageant, Jenna Talackova is getting a lot of attention. The striking blonde was spotted during a media blitz at the Eaton Centre this week, taking in Victoria’s Secret’s wall of lace thongs—the finalists are in town for the big pageant that begins tonight, and were rewarded with a shopping spree. Talackova recently told The Canadian Press, “I’ve set a precedent for a lot of women in my situation, so once I step on that stage, every woman in every other country that doesn’t have the option I have now can fight for it. I feel so blessed with this opportunity.” She’s clearly got a lot of fight in her, but will this be the year for a transgendered Miss Universe Canada? The competition starts tonight at 8 p.m. at the Bluma Appel Theatre. Check out Talackova’s competition in our Miss Universe Canada gallery »
Sarah Gadon has sipped the Cronenberg Kool-Aid—and she likes it
Sarah Gadon (left) (Image: Erin Simkin)
Sarah Gadon is on fire: her breakout role was in David Cronenberg’s A Dangerous Method, and she followed that up with David’s Cosmopolis and Brandon Cronenberg’s Antiviral (the latter two are debuting at the Cannes Film Festival). Like most people are to a good hairdresser, Gadon appears to be loyal to the family of directors she works with. The Hollywood Reporter sat down with Gadon to discuss working with the Cronenbergs, and she admits that when she got the script for Antiviral from Brandon, she worried she might not like it and didn’t want to complicate her relationship with David. Fortunately, Brandon’s enthusiasm for the script helped sell Gadon on the project, and they’ve had a great working relationship since. Of course, she’s already been in three Cronenberg films and she’s only 25 years old, so she would say that. Read the entire story [The Hollywood Reporter] »
Current Obsession: illustrator Michael Cho celebrates the unsung parts of Toronto, one back lane at time
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Michael Cho’s gloriously retro drawings of superheroes like Iron Man and the X-Men made him a star in Toronto’s fanatical comic book world. But like the crusaders he drew, the 40-year-old Cho had a weakness: he lacked the chops needed to render buildings and backgrounds with as much style as he did people. To remedy this, he started wandering the streets near his Little Portugal studio with his sketch pad, and for the past five years, he has kept it up—sometimes in the dead of night, occasionally with a friend who brings along a flask of something potent to ward off the chill. Cho’s delicately coloured, fastidiously detailed drawings and paintings of downtown alleys and depopulated streets are collected in his new book, Back Alleys and Urban Landscapes. They aren’t scenes you’d find in a tourist brochure, but they’re immediately familiar to the millions of us who take shortcuts through these hidden mazes.
Today in Toronto: Ron Sexsmith, Kim’s Convenience and more
Evgeny Kissin If anyone can breathe new life into Grieg’s Piano Concerto in A minor, it’s the renowned Russian pianist with the Eraserhead hairdo. The program also features a less familiar work: the overture to Danish composer Carl Nielsen’s opera Maskarade. The TSO will take a run at Strauss’s tone poem Don Juan and the suite from his opera, Der Rosenkavalier. Find out more »
Home David Storey is a former professional rugby player who rocketed to notoriety as a playwright in the 1960s, despite having no theatrical experience. Though not as well known here as his compatriots Tom Stoppard and Harold Pinter, Storey shares their love of humour and surprise twists, as evidenced by this show about two aging gentlemen who aren’t quite what—and where—they seem to be. Previews from May 8. Find out more » Check out more events happening
Justin Bieber is allegedly a swaggy adult, whatever that means
Few people have encountered the real Justin Bieber, because his public persona has been so finely crafted by his team that he’s constantly representing a “brand” rather than himself. Writer Drew Magary was sent to interview the Biebz by GQ and finally make him a man, but it turns out Bieber would rather buy ludicrous custom automobiles, draw penises on a grease board and say absurd things like “I’m 18 years old and I’m a swaggy adult. Come on, swaggy bros!” (He is a super-rich 18-year-old, after all.) But while it is easy to forgive an 18-year-old for acting like an 18-year-old, this precocious little scamp also has a humongous ego that’s incredibly obnoxious: “I’ve never made a bad song,” he says. (Oh, really, Biebsy?) Read the entire story [GQ] »
Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” has reached its end: it’s nominated for several MMVAs
Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe” video has received over 62 million YouTube views, which means—based on arbitrary Internet standards—it is a success. The infectious song beat out Justin Bieber on the U.K. charts, and this year it is nominated for Pop Song of the Year, Video of the Year and International Video of the Year by a Canadian at the MuchMusic Video Awards. There is no word yet on whether Justin Bieber will show up to accept any awards with her, since, um, he basically made her a thing. In 2011, Jepsen was just a girl with a VideoFACT grant.
The Pick: the Bolshoi’s Swan Lake, a breathtaking production of the quintessential classical ballet
Maria Alexandrova as Odette in Swan Lake (Image: Damir Yusupov)
Late last year, Moscow’s Bolshoi Theatre reopened after a seven-year, $760-million renovation. There was a splashy gala, where statesmen, billionaires, grande dames and Mikhail Gorbachev all came to show their support. The company marked the occasion with the signature dance from its signature work: the elegant pas de deux from Tchaikovsky’s Swan Lake, which had its world premiere at the Bolshoi 135 years ago. This is a ballet—and a company—that has withstood revolution, totalitarian Communism and censorship, and now the touring company has brought the hallmark show to Toronto for a week of performances.
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The Long Weekender: Inside Out Film Festival, Design On Dundas and six other items on our to-do list
Harbourkids: The Toronto International Circus Festival (Image: Harbourfront Centre)
1. INSIDE OUT LGBT FILM AND VIDEO FESTIVAL
The annual Inside Out fest, which focuses on cinematic expressions of queer culture, is obviously all about the movies, but there are also talks and parties on the agenda. This weekend, catch Sagat, a documentary about the enigmatic adult film star François Sagat, and Bullhead, a gritty crime drama centering on the illegal hormone trade in cattle ranching. After digesting a bit of film, there are two after-parties: the special Inside Out edition of Sodom (Saturday) and the trans-focused Transplanetarium (Sunday). To May 27. $6–$13. Various locations, 416-599-8433, insideout.ca.
Gallery: David Miller, Jully Black and others share the one thing you should know before you die at the Top Ten Event
(Image: Jenna Marie Wakani)
Here’s the concept: nine notable Torontonians (chef David Rocco couldn’t make it)—or honorary Torontonians for the night—each get 10 minutes to share the one thing they think everybody should know before they die. Last Thursday, former Toronto mayor David Miller, singer Jully Black, TIFF CEO Piers Handling and others showed up at the Winter Garden Theatre to offer their collected wisdom at Stuart Knight’s second annual Top Ten Event in support of the Stephen Lewis Foundation. We showed up to receive said wisdom (and, of course, to fraternize with the bold-faced names at the exclusive after-party—Sandra Shamas now wants to be our Facebook friend. Just sayin’.). Find out what each speaker thought you should know, after the jump »
More images revealed of Rachel McAdams on the set of Brian De Palma’s Passion (and they’re so, so weird)
Not too long ago, we revealed the first image from Brian De Palma’s Passion: a steamy shot of Rachel McAdams and Noomi Rapace on the verge of making out. Now, new images have been made public from the set, including McAdams looking sinister in a shower (what is she thinking?), adorning a creepy mask akin to the Nip/Tuck carver’s and a titillating look-at-how-irritated-I-am-sitting-around-in-expensive-lingerie shot. This movie is going to be weird (and probably amazing). Check out weird pictures of Rachel McAdams from Passion »
New venue added to TIFF 2012
The Bloor Hot Docs Cinema (Image: Daniel Neuhaus)
The marquee may have just gone up, but TIFF has announced that the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema is one of the official venues for this year’s festivities. No word on what will be screening there just yet, but prepare for the Annex to be full of celebrity stalkers, autograph hounds and, maybe, some sushi-eating celebrities this September.
