George Stroumboulopoulos | torontolife.com

The comprehensive index of every blog post, magazine story and restaurant review that appears on Torontolife.com

All stories relating to George Stroumboulopoulos

Canada overload at the TIFF official opening party

It doesn't get more Canadian than this: Ron MacLean, everybody (Image: Karon Liu)

Remember the Canadian content of the opening ceremony of the Vancouver Olympics? That was nothing compared to the scene at the Liberty Grand last night as a who’s who of this country’s power Gentiles (it was Rosh Hashanah) met to rub elbows and try to come up with something nice to say about Score: A Hockey Musical.

Think of a Canadian television show and, chances are, the cast was there. Come to think of it, the whole shebang was like a CBC cocktail party: Erin Karpluk and Adam Fergus from Being Erica, contestants from the upcoming season of Battle of the Blades, Ron MacLean from Hockey Night in Canada, the fire-breathing entrepreneurs from Dragons’ Den, and Strombo. Supermodel Monica Schnarre, as Citytv’s TIFF correspondent, distracted many people from those actually walking the red carpet, including, we hear, David Schwimmer, Morgan Spurlock and Emily Haines.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 10, 2010 | 11:42 am

Comments

The swag series: celeb guests get Bulgari bling, Bay blankets at the Hazelton Hotel

(Image courtesy of the Hazelton Hotel)

Yorkville’s Hazelton Hotel is one of the swankiest places to stay in Toronto, which is why 30-something celebs are booked in for this year’s film festival. To keep the VIPs happy and presumably away from hotels closer to the Lightbox (Hyatt Regency, The Thompson), each guest receives a goodie bag complete with a Hudson’s Bay Company cashmere throw, Bulgari cufflinks, a monogrammed Longchamp tote, a Moleskin film journal, Kiehl’s skin care products, Burt’s Bees spot treatment, VIP passes to bars Goodnight and Amber, tickets to George Stroumboulopoulos‘s party tonight at the Hazelton, vitamins, drinks and room fragrances. Take that, King West.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 10, 2010 | 11:21 am

20 Comments

Score: A Hockey Musical wins over some locals, but virtually no one else

The first onslaught of critical feedback is out after the world premiere of Score: A Hockey Musical—Mike McGowan’s filmic ode to pucks, NHL prodigies and has-been pop stars—kicked off the festival last night. Did it flounder in hokey, parochial splendour? Or did it revel in its playful take on our stereotypical national treasures? The reaction was what we’d expect from a musical based on corny local jokes. See the roundup after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 9, 2010 | 2:16 pm

1 Comment

The swag series: George Stroumboulopoulos’s celeb guests take ketchup chips and Clamato back to the U.S.

Exotic Canadian Clamato

What it is: Guests of Strombo’s new show, George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight, get their pick of some sweet swag in the Made in Canada Lounge at CBC headquarters. Housed behind the set in an area normally cordoned off for props, the space has been transformed into a CanCon cloud nine complete with furniture from The Bay and Queen West shop Design Republic.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 7, 2010 | 10:10 am

Comments

Score: A Hockey Musical is probably the worst film to ever open TIFF

On Thursday night, film execs, stars and media will pack the red carpet at Roy Thomson Hall for the opening night gala of the Toronto International Film Festival. As is tradition, TIFF has picked one film to start the festivities. Last year, Creation, the yawn-inducing Charles Darwin biopic, was given the honour. This year’s choice is the oh-so Canadian Score: A Hockey Musical, starring none other than Olivia Newton-John. In Saturday’s Globe, Rick Groen pondered whether Score is the worst movie to ever open the film festival. His answer? Probably.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

TIFF Talk

September 1, 2010 | 2:52 pm

20 Comments

50 Buzziest TIFF Films: what to see, what to skip and how to slice through the hype

Tickets go on sale tomorrow for all the screenings at TIFF 2010, but with over 300 titles, guessing at what film is worth the money (and queuing) is as challenging as ever. Well, fear not: our guide cuts through the hype surrounding the 50 most anticipated flicks to reveal which films are likely to give the most bang for your buck.

See our picks and rejects »

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

Prime Time

September 1, 2010 | 9:47 am

1 Comment

CBC decides people can pronounce George Stroumboulopoulos, names show after the host

(Image: CBC)

CBC’s late-night talk show, The Hour, will undergo some changes when its seventh season begins in September. Relying on the name recognition of its host, George Stroumboulopoulos, the show will be renamed George Stroumboulopoulos Tonight while keeping the same basic format. But the most significant tweak is a drop in run time from an hour to a half-hour, which CBC denies was due to lack of advertiser interest. According to the network, the host and producers wanted a shorter program with more emphasis on multi-platform initiatives (because so many hosts want less TV exposure), including the Sunday night radio show, a YouTube channel and, as Strombo says, “lots of other stuff”—like iPhone and iPad apps.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

Awards Season

August 31, 2010 | 1:42 pm

2 Comments

Gemini Award nominations announced: Flashpoint, chef Lynn Crawford, Top Model host Jay Manuel among nominees

Flashpoint, Durham County and The Tudors are up for best dramatic series

The nominations for the 25th Gemini Awards were announced this morning, with CTV scoring major points for its Olympics coverage (it received 13 nods) and original drama Flashpoint (15 nominations). Flashpoint will go up against Durham County, Republic of Doyle, Stargate Universe and The Tudors for best dramatic series.

Toronto celebrity chef Lynn Crawford (Ruby Watchco) earned a nomination for best host in a lifestyle series for her work on Pitchin’ In; she’ll battle silver-coiffed Jay Manuel (Canada’s Next Top Model) and Sarah Richardson (Sarah’s House). The After Show, The Hour, MTV Live and Spectacle: Elvis Costello With… are up for best talk series awards.

CBC dominated the best news anchor category with nominations for Ian Hanomansing, Peter Mansbridge and Diana Swain.

See the full list of nominees in the program and performance categories after the jump.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Hype

TIFF Talk

July 19, 2010 | 2:04 pm

3 Comments

George Stroumboulopoulos to star in zombie movie, TIFF film count at two

In the battle of the CBC it boys, George Stroumboulopoulos is out-buzzing Jian Ghomeshi with his acting roles. While Ghomeshi recently made a brief appearance on the reality series The City, Strombo has a cameo in Score: A Hockey Musical, the TIFF opening-night film. The film festival is getting even more George now that George A. Romero’s next zombie flick, Survival of the Dead—in which Stroumboulopoulos plays *drum roll* a TV host—will have its North American premiere at the fest. The movie’s premise: a war-weary band of soldiers take refuge in Earth’s last paradise, only to be confronted by flesh-eating zombies. The film will have an exclusive one-week run at the Toronto Underground Theatre on Spadina Avenue before TIFF starting August 20.

The Hype

TIFF Talk

July 14, 2010 | 10:47 am

1 Comment

TIFF opening night film to feature jazz hands and hockey pucks

Three people you'd never thought you'd see together: Noah Reid, Margaret Atwood and Olivia Newton-John are all in Score: A Hockey Musical

The Toronto International Film Festival’s opening act has been announced: Score: A Hockey Musical. The selection is a welcome change from last year’s decision to open with something not Canadian and not interesting (Creation, the Charles Darwin biopic-snoozefest). Score features a whack of unusual homegrown stars, such as this list of non-actors: Nelly Furtado, Hawksley Workman, George Stroumboulopoulos, Dave Bidini (from the Rheostatics), Evan Solomon and—wait for it— Margaret Atwood, who plays herself. Noah Reid, currently hard at work on the Soulpepper stage in Jitters, plays the 17-year old protagonist catapulted to hockey celebrity by his decidedly non-athletic parents Olivia Newton-John and Marc Jordan.

The Star‘s Martin Knelman also leaked that on September 12—the Sunday after the opening—there will be a premiere of the highly anticipated film adaptation of Mordecai Richler‘s Barney’s Version.

• Knelman: TIFF chooses hockey musical for opening night [Toronto Star]

(Images: Newton-John, Alan Light; Atwood, Q TV; Reid, Gary Goddard Agency)

The Informer

From the Print Edition

June 16, 2010 | 5:00 am

23 Comments

50 Reasons to Love Toronto

Clockwise: no. 13 Jeanne Beker, no. 27 Drake, no. 4 Regent park, no. 2 cheese, no. 1 Smitherman, no.8 Royal Conservatory, no. 14 Yannick-Muriel Noah, no. 48 new TTC cars, no. 7 Jewish Lesbian Wiccan Wedding

HOW DID WE DO IT? While the Great Recession battered other cities, Toronto has emerged triumphant—Bay Street is bullish, our real estate market is hot, and the streets are sparkling for this month’s G20. Yes, our success has a lot to do with our stingy financial system, but it’s also because smart, interesting people move here every day, attracted to a city that’s challenging and gritty and exciting and indulgent (we have a restaurant dedicated entirely to grilled cheese sandwiches, Reason No. 2). If Torontonians have one shared flaw, it’s that we’re pathologically reluctant to acknowledge our greatness. Now, more than ever, we have reasons to brag

See the reasons »

The Hype

Mother Atwood

March 10, 2010 | 4:16 pm

Comments

Margaret Atwood to sing in Score: A Hockey Musical

Margaret Atwood has joined the growing list of Canadian celebrities set to appear in the upcoming movie Score: A Hockey Musical, and thank heavens, yes, she’ll be singing. This isn’t the first time Atwood has gone on film to show her love of the good ol’ hockey game—remember her celebrity tip segment from Rick Mercer’s Monday Report where she dressed up as a goalie? N0? A reminder, at left.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Goods

Shop Talk

October 1, 2009 | 3:20 pm

Comments

Just opened: Love the Design is the newest addition to gallery row

Love the Design is more like a living room than a gallery

Up a long, narrow staircase, above the shoe store Chasse Gardée on Queen Street, sits a cozy new addition to the city’s gallery row. Love the Design, a light-filled, loft-like space owned by Christine Flynn, features a variety of contemporary art created from a collection of her vibrant photographs.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Dish

Aprons & Icons

February 9, 2009 | 9:28 am

9 Comments

Gordon Ramsay titillates Toronto

If Gordon Ramsay is in Toronto, who is making culinary train wrecks cry on reality television? The famed British restaurateur—known as much for his Michelin stars as his bone-shaking expletives—is in Toronto today for the Canadian leg of his book tour. Gordon Ramsay’s Healthy Appetite is the newest addition to his bibliography, bringing his tally up to 11 publications, including a tell-all autobiography entitled Humble Pie. The former footballer’s appearance on The Hour this evening promises plenty of heated discussion. We can’t guarantee that he’ll dish on rumours of a Toronto restaurant (frequent trips to the city, among other tip-offs, have raised suspicion that England’s iron chef might have his eye on 1 Bloor St. E.), but Ramsay’s previous interviews with Toronto’s own George Stroumboulopoulos cooked up much amusement—it turns out that Ramsay’s loose-tongued manner is not an act. He talks straight (and sometimes dirty) on his own eating habits, troubled boyhood and celebrity status. Perhaps this time, he will let loose on being cast as a Christian role model.

Read the rest of this entry »

All stories relating to George Stroumboulopoulos

Contests

Links and Offers

The latest from across the St. Joseph Media network