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Cinemania

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May 17, 2012 | 2:00 pm

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] »

From the Print Edition

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May 17, 2012 | 10:30 am

Current Obsession: illustrator Michael Cho celebrates the unsung parts of Toronto, one back lane at time

By Ian Daffern | Photographs courtesy of Drawn and Quarterly

Current Obsession
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.

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To-Do List

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May 17, 2012 | 7:46 am

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

Leave It to Bieber

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May 16, 2012 | 3:14 pm

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] »

The Beat

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May 16, 2012 | 2:20 pm

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.

To-Do List

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May 16, 2012 | 2:18 pm

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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To-Do List

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May 16, 2012 | 12:48 pm

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.

Check out The Weekender »

The Velvet Rope

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May 15, 2012 | 5:35 pm

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 »

Cinemania

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May 15, 2012 | 3:12 pm

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 »

Cinemania

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May 15, 2012 | 1:48 pm

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.

The Velvet Rope

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May 15, 2012 | 1:35 pm

The Rosens, the Nugents and other monied guests walked like Egyptians at the Fandango gala

Wannabe Cleopatras, pharaohs and sultans took over the Ritz-Carlton on Saturday night, causing the doorman to do a double-take as guests arrived for the annual Fandango fundraiser in support of Bridgepoint Health. This year’s theme was “On the Nile,” and the 450 guests were encouraged to shake things up by dressing with Egyptian “flair.” To our surprise, many did, and in place of the typical stuffy attire befitting a society affair, we saw snake-adorned crowns, towering gold and black nemes headdresses, kohl-lined eyes, jewel-encrusted baubles, flowing robes and sequined loin cloths (often worn on top of tuxedos). Among the monied guests were Catherine and David Nugent, W. Bruce C. Bailey, Shangri-La’s Alex Filiatrault, Evelyn and Harry Rosen, dapper duo Andy Body and Alan Hanlon and politicos Jerry Grafstein, Mike Harris, Paula Fletcher and David Shiner.

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Prime Time

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May 15, 2012 | 12:46 pm

Canada’s Got Talent, episode 22: and the winner is…

It’s the finale of Canada’s Got Talent we’ve been waiting for—someone is going to win it all. Even though the judges reveal the fate of the competitors at a leisurely pace, the results only take a few minutes, which is why this final hour-long episode of Canada’s Got Talent has plenty of filler. First up is an interview between host Dina Pugliese and Martin Short’s Jiminy Glick character, which is funnier than we thought it would be. Glick suggests Pugliese (silent “g,” like lasagna, she says) change her last name to Jackson, and then says Short looks like a basset hound who’s depressed (meta!). He even gets a dig in at Stephan Moccio’s scarves (one of at least four that evening), joking, “I love that affectation.” There’s also a requisite sentimental clip montage featuring the highs and lows of the season (including judge Measha Brueggergosman’s hairdos), a zany blooper reel and performances by Hedley and Jackie Evancho. And we’ve got to give the producers credit: unlike in some American reality shows, the sponsorship by Tim Hortons, Nissan and Excel didn’t seem too in-your-face (um, except for maybe the Tim Hortons “Block Party” and the Excel “Refresh Lounge”).

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To-Do List

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May 15, 2012 | 7:30 am

Today in Toronto: Rent, Swan Lake and more

Miles Perkin Trio Canadian double bass player Perkin, who divides his time between Montreal and Berlin, is renowned for honouring both the improvisational qualities of jazz and a compositional approach. His sound could almost be called chamber jazz. He performs with the highly regarded British trumpeter Tom Arthurs and French pianist Benoît Delbecq, recently awarded the prestigious Grand Prix International du Disque. Find out more »

Rent Living the dream of undergraduate theatre geeks everywhere, students of Sheridan’s music theatre performance program have been invited to take their popular production of Jonathan Larson’s leather-and-lace riff on La Bohème to the Mirvish mainstage. Find out more »

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Prime Time

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May 14, 2012 | 4:11 pm

Canada’s Got Talent, episode 21: one of these acts is going to win it all

This episode features the final round of performances on Canada’s Got Talent, with two hours of non-stop excitement. Oddly, it’s free of the filler one expects from this type of reality show (that’s saved for tonight’s live results show, we’re sure). Host Dina Pugliese sports a gold ball gown accessorized with a dangly necklace and armband (perhaps she’s sad about missing Coachella this year, because she looks like she’d fit right in), Stephan Moccio looks cozy in an oversized scarf (he’s wrapped up like it’s the dead of winter), Measha Brueggergosman returns to a big hairdo and Martin Short makes no sexual references (sorry, there are no style notes to report for Short). Considering the auspicious occasion, it’s surprising to see Pugliese reusing her silver mic (what, did the mic budget run out before the finale?). There are a lot of competitors with similar talents, so we’ve opted to group them all together with our bets for who might win in each category. Check out who we think are the best and worst of the night »

Leave It to Bieber

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May 14, 2012 | 1:44 pm

Guess which sex act Justin Bieber refused to perform on SNL this weekend

Saturday Night Live celebrated its 100th digital short this weekend, and it was full of star power, including the return of crazy Natalie Portman, Michael Bolton as Captain Jack Sparrow and Justin Timberlake as the crooner who sings about having his member inside a box. Even Justin Bieber got in on the fun, taking partial credit for the success of the digital short series. He did a great job, competing with Kristen Wiig as a Body Fusion girl and Jon Hamm as a sexy saxophone player. The video needed the contrast from the boy wonder, since the subject matter was a little, um, adult. (Just watch, it’s hilarious.)

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