The federal government had a tinge of Dr. Evil about it yesterday when it disclosed combined security costs for the upcoming G8 and G20 summits: nearly one billion dollars. (Insert sadistic laugh here.) In total, the government said the cost of securing the two summits has reached $833 million, and it is preparing to spend up to $930 million for the three days of meetings—a rather hefty increase from the $179 million originally set aside to cover security.
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$833-million security bill for G20 and G8 called “insane”
Critics on Chloe: term “Toronto gynecologist” is “somewhat amusing”
Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore in Chloe (Image: E1 Entertainment)
It’s opening day for Atom Egoyan’s saucy Toronto-based drama, Chloe, which means the reviews are out. Surprise, surprise—the Canadian critics gave it top marks (is there a three-star minimum for homegrown films?). But reaction down south hasn’t been so favourable; the New York Times, in particular, had choice words: “There are grown-up moviegoers who will appreciate Chloe… There are also teenage boys who get a hold of Playboy for the articles.”
Ouch. But, at least the Times could get past the Toronto setting, a problem for many American critics. From the New York Observer:
Julianne Moore stars as Catherine, a Toronto gynecologist (why this is a somewhat amusing turn of phrase, I cannot explain).
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Toronto G20: all the security of the Olympics, no cool fashion trends
See? Everything is more fun with hats (Harper by Kashmera)
G20 organizers have released more details about security for the summit. Right now, it sounds intense. There will be an inner security zone around the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, which will be protected by an “unscalable” fence rising at least three metres. Anyone wanting to get through will have to pass a “five-tier system of security,” according to the Star.
As we reported last week, anyone needing to pass through the larger, outer security zone will have less trouble if they register in advance. Reports said the area could stretch as far north as Queen Street, to Yonge and Spadina on the east and west sides, and south to the Gardiner. On the bright side, Const. Ed Boltuc of the RCMP says it will likely be smaller than that.
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Highlights and lowlights from the Vancouver 2010 auction
Team Canada's winning puck
Two weeks have passed since the closing ceremonies, but the country’s wallets still believe in Team Canada. Ebay has been auctioning off memorabilia from this year’s Games for a while, but no item has drawn more attention than the puck used during the overtime period of the men’s gold medal hockey game. With seven days left, the slightly scuffed puck has already surpassed the $8,100 mark, with 52 bids. To compare, a puck from the women’s bronze medal game is going for $31.
But the gold medal puck isn’t getting the highest bidders. The most sought after item appears to be the Team Canada jersey worn by Sidney Crosby when he faced team Switzerland. With 47 bids, it’s currently going for $10,000.
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Tavi Gevinson’s gig on Fashion Television: less chat, more hat
Mad hatter Tavi Gevinson
When we first wrote about Tavi Gevinson’s reporting gig for Fashion Television—the pint-sized teen blogger was hired to cover a few runway shows in New York while Jeanne Beker headed to the Olympics—we still hadn’t seen the footage. A short clip of Gevinson’s stint is now on the FT Web site. In it, she walks from show to show, air-kisses friends and poses for photographers. Her personal style is the main draw, with blue-grey hair accessorized with a turban or flower-shaped hat. (We can’t decide whether she looks like she dresses from the Tickle Trunk or like a 60-year-old cat lady.) We see her chatting with model Coco Rocha, designer Jeremy Scott and fellow blogger Bryan Boy, but she doesn’t actually interview anyone. Instead, she’s the subject of the brief segment.
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McDonald’s gives away coffee in promotion that has nothing to do with Timmie’s Roll Up the Rim
Three-time loser (Image: Shayne Kaye)
It’s that time of year again, when coffee aficionados ditch their independent coffee shops, and the streets are strewn with Tim Hortons cups. Yes, it’s time for Roll Up the Rim to Win. This year, however, McDonald’s isn’t sitting idly by as the country gets ready to roll. The Star reports that the fast food giant is handing out free coffee for two weeks. A spokesperson for McDonald’s says the promotion has nothing to do with Roll Up the Rim, but rather that it’s due to the increased exposure of the fast food chain during the Olympics, when commercial breaks offered nothing but McDonald’s, Visa and Government of Canada ads.
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The Hudson’s Bay Company fights to keep Olympic energy
Big-time branding: The Bay in downtown Vancouver (Photo by Brian Holsclaw)
Hudson’s Bay Company, the group that owns The Bay, is seeing increased sales and investor interest, and a rebranding of the store’s image, all thanks to some little red mittens. The Bay’s Olympic gear, like the now-ubiquitous mitts emblazoned with a maple leaf and the Olympic rings, have become sought-after collector’s items, with bidding on eBay tripling sale prices from $10 to $30.
The Olympics mania was more manic than HBC CEO Jeff Sherman expected, he told the Globe, with sales of the merch exceeding projections by 50 per cent. The result: more shoppers are familiarizing themselves with the department store (its 400 locations had more traffic during the Vancouver games than they did during Beijing’s) and a higher percentage have reported that they expect to shop at the Bay again. Now that the huge surge in customer traffic has died down, we’ll be keeping an eye on what tricks HBC will play to continue defying the death of department stores. Stay tuned.
• HBC tries to build on Olympic momentum [Globe and Mail]
• Canadian style so hot, HBC Web site crashes [Toronto Life]
Canadian style so hot, HBC Web site crashes
Smythe's blanket coat for The Bay (Photo by Carlo Mendoza)
With Alexander McQueen Olympic scarves and maple leaf mitts at a premium, Canada is officially, like, so hot right now. So it was no surprise when we took a look at the catwalks recently and saw a bit of home.
The boys at Dolce and Gabbana took a page out of DSquared2‘s look book for their D&G line. The fall-winter 2010 show in Milan lacked the polished Italian glam we expected; instead, snow bunny models looking ready for après ski at Cypress Mountain strutted in patterned leg warmers and tights, reindeer- and snowflake-patterned knits and fur mukluks.
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HBC not making a penny on Olympic mitten sales
Proceeds from mittens go to Canadian athletes (Photo by Michael Francis McCarthy)
Today’s Olympic Mitten Update comes from Time, which is a little late to the story, considering there are only three days left in the Games. Heck, even Oprah scooped them.
HBC’s CEO, Jeffery Sherman, tells Time that 3.5 million pairs have been sold since they went on sale in October—1.5 million of them were sold this month—and that the company doesn’t make a penny off the sales. Sherman says that the proceeds from the mittens ($12 million so far) go to the Canadian Olympic Committee to fund athletes’ programs. Sherman says he doesn’t regret not getting a piece of the profits and that “we entered this to do the right thing.” Besides, the hype surrounding the accessory has led to increased traffic in the stores and overall sales.
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Six Ontario delicacies being served at the Olympics Pavilion
Peanut brittle from Sudbury's Sinfully Deelicious (Photo via sinfullydeelicious.com)
It’s no secret that corporate sponsorship is one of the most competitive sports at the Games, but a few independent brewers, bakers and farmers made the cut at the Ontario House in the Olympics Pavilion. Alongside the Coke, Minute Maid and Timothy’s coffee, there’s enough Ontario nosh to satisfy any locavore.
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Based in eastern Ontario, Beau’s is more familiar to residents of Ottawa and Kingston—that is, until the family brewery made it into Ontario House. Its Lug Tread Ale, a lager-ale mix, is being served on tap and in a beer–and–Balderson cheddar soup.
Jeanne Beker trades N.Y. fashion week for Vancouver 2010, blogs about it
Norway's clownish curling pants (Photo by Kenny Louie)
Jeanne Beker swapped her Fashion Television mic for an Olympic torch in Vancouver—a far cry from her regular rounds backstage and in the front row at international fashion weeks. Beker has been getting her bearings as Olympic fashion reporter while pint-sized blog pundit Tavi Gevinson takes the reins temporarily during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, a gig Beker has already underlined as a one-time deal.
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Americans win Olympic mittens by perpetuating Canadian stereotypes
The coveted mittens (Photo by Michael Francis McCarthy)
Today’s Olympic Mitten Update comes in the form of an on-line contest in which readers submit what they know about Canada in an attempt to win a pair. And judging from the entries, most of their knowledge comes from watching Molson Canadian commercials (in fact, one entrant quotes from the “I Am” commercial).
B.C.-based greeting card designer Fiona Richards announced on her company blog that she will give a pair of the coveted item to the person who gives her the best bit of trivia about the host country (no mention of what kind of trivia she’s looking for).
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Teen blogger’s gig on Fashion Television a one-time thing
While teen blogging sensation and fashion week darling Tavi Gevinson may have irked journalists by sitting in the front row of the Dior haute couture show, the producers at Fashion Television saw fit to harness her popularity by giving her a reporting gig during New York fashion week while Jeanne Beker covers the Olympics.
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Toronto’s supply of Olympic red mittens is almost sold out
The now iconic red mittens are so popular they're selling on eBay (Photo by Duncan Rawlinson)
Both the Yonge and Queen and Yonge and Bloor locations of The Bay are down to the dregs of Vancouver Olympics swag: a few baseball caps, generic Canada T-shirts and pricey sweaters. Not surprisingly, the most popular item of Olympics garb—those cutesy red mittens—is the cheapest, and by December, the first shipment of a million pairs of the $10 mitts, dubbed the it souvenir of the Games, had sold out.
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Jeremy Laing’s fall 2010 show a hit in New York
Last Friday, as some patriotic Canadians got their kicks watching the opening ceremonies of the Vancouver Olympics, Toronto designer Jeremy Laing got his by presenting a wildly well-received fall collection in New York. Laing experimented with the fur trend this season, sewing pelts (all sustainably hunted) into rows to increase movement. The pieces worked; editors at Vogue lusted after the pieces, and The Cut liked his “lightweight toppers” of beaver, raccoon and muskrat fur.
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