Funnymen Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell are in town promoting their film The Campaign, and the two will be at the Hockey Hall of Fame at 4 p.m. to pose next to the Stanley Cup. Of course, since it is a public event, a lot of fans are expected, including the biggest fan of them all (perhaps?), Rob Ford, who will, according to a Warner Bros. press release, present the duo with “a special gift.” There are currently rumours that Galifianakis and Ferrell are planning to show up in character, and The Sun reports that Ford is up for anything, including performing in a sketch with the comedians. Unfortunately, nothing has been confirmed. Of course, we wouldn’t mind seeing Ford do some more acting—he was so good the last time.
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Zach Galifianakis and Will Ferrell will meet Rob Ford at 4 p.m. today
SPOTTED: where to find the cast of Carrie right now
One of the Carrie trailers (Image: Kevin Naulls)
There’s no doubt that there is a huge celebrity presence in the city right now—it seems like A-listers are everywhere, grabbing burritos, sitting down for dinner, sipping cocktails, and attending private parties and graduations. But, of course, most of those stars are here to work, so anyone looking to spot Julianne Moore and Chloe Moretz shooting scenes from Carrie will be pleased to note that the cast is currently on set in a parking lot outside our building, just east of Queen and Church. We haven’t seen any pig’s blood yet, but we have our fingers crossed.
Who will take over Ben Mulroney’s Canadian hosting duties now that he’s joined Good Morning America?
Ben Mulroney interviews his subject (Image: cdnmusicdiva)
ABC has announced that Ben Mulroney is joining the weekend edition of Good Morning America. ABC News president Ben Sherwood said in a press release that Mulroney is “quick on his feet and excels at live television,” which he noticed when Mulroney guest co-hosted Live! with Kelly Ripa recently. Aspiring TV personalities and suddenly giddy CTV colleagues will unfortunately have to control their excitement about potentially getting his Canadian jobs, though, because Mulroney plans to continue his role as co-anchor of eTalk. Two opportunities to see Ben Mulroney every weekend? That’s twice the opportunity to hear Brian Mulroney’s son talk about Selena Gomez.
A Legoland is coming to the Toronto area, and this is how it might look
Legoland is coming to Toronto! Not Toronto proper, but it’s going to be at Vaughan Mills mall, approximately 7 kilometres away from Steeles and Highway 401 (so, close enough to the city). Lego models will be made in studios around the world to fill the amusement park, which will outfit play areas that include a 4D cinema, brick pool, rides and special rooms for birthday parties. Legoland is slated to open next spring. Don’t tell Playmobil.
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What can Toronto expect at Charlie Sheen’s Violent Torpedo of Truth stop at Massey Hall?
It’s old news now that Charlie Sheen’s live show, My Violent Torpedo of Truth, bombed at its Detroit debut (and there are plenty of videos to prove it). With 80,000 tickets sold for the rest of the tour—including those for two Massey Hall sessions later this week—organizers knew they had to revamp the show. To do so, they relied on Joey Scoleri, a former Toronto radio personality and Violent Torpedo co-producer. The native son overhauled the show, turning it into a Q&A—a straightforward format that allows Sheen to interact with fans. The reviews so far are mixed. It was reasonably well-received in Chicago, but New Yorkers, who were privy to the actor’s antics over the weekend, had polarized reactions. The question for us is: will the show be up to snuff for its Toronto debut on Thursday?
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Pretty woman walking down the street: Julia Roberts is in Toronto
Julia Roberts doing double denim on Queen West (Image: Mr. Will-W.)
Julia Roberts is in Toronto shooting Jesus Henry Christ, a film she’s producing starring Martin Michael Sheen and Toni Collette, and of course, there have been a number of pretty woman sightings. According to Shinan Govani, Roberts was spotted Tuesday dining at Terroni, browsing the macaroon delicacies at Nadège Patisserie, foraging through the vintage sartorial selections at Preloved and picking up some how-to-knit reads at Type Books. Her outfit: pale jeans and a denim shirt. That’s right, double denim. So, then, it’s official—Julia Roberts is a Queen West hipster.
• City woman [National Post]
• More Julia Roberts in Toronto [Mr. Will-W.]
Toronto named one of the world’s “emerging” destinations
The emerging skyline (Image: Abi K)
In this weekend’s New York Times Style Magazine, Toronto was singled out as an up-and-coming travel destination, along with Barbados, Munich, Bahrain and Acrra, Ghana. The proof: Virgin Airlines is beginning flights to the city from L.A. and San Francisco starting in June to cater to “players in the new Hollywood North—studio heads and their stars—along with tech professionals and venture capitalists from the Bay Area.” Surprise, surprise—the city’s hotel “boomlet,” which Maryam Sanati documented in our June issue, gets a mention. The Thompson, Ritz-Carlton and Trump make the list of hot places to stay.
When Anne of Green Gables fails, Regis and Kelly will save your province for $1 million
Regis looks good in hats (Regis: CTV; hat: Sullivan Boutique)
Regis and Kelly are taking their show to Green Gables, and the P.E.I. government (with a little help from the feds) is footing the $1-million bill. This has caused some consternation for bleeding hearts, who think public funds should be used for health care and education. Clearly, these people don’t understand the power of Regis—he’s immortal and can wear the hell out of a suit (especially when the shirt and tie are the same colour).
Regis worship aside, this story gives us hilarious insights into both P.E.I. and Regis and Kelly. According to the Globe, “The demographics of the show’s viewers—which were shared with P.E.I. as part of the negotiations—match up perfectly with the travellers the province is targeting: well-off American couples who are over 45.”
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Bloody hell: Brits complain Yanks are stealing their vampires
Vampires used to be classy (Image: Derrick Tyson)
Vampires: too sparkly, too emo and now too American in the eyes of “vampire experts” (what a job title!) who congregated at a conference called Open Graves, Open Minds: Vampires and the Undead in Modern Culture last month to take the vampires back from Twihards.
Academics gathered at the University of Herfordshire, located north of London, to discuss the state of vampires in modern culture. “I wanted to prove you can study popular literature in a serious way,” says conference creator Sam George. “I have set up this conference driven by the desire to put the British vampire back on the map.”
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Get set for Toronto’s newest summer pastime: Katie Holmes spotting
Greg Kinnear will play John F. Kennedy (Image: korbybanner.com)
Unable to wait for the Jaffer-Guergis debacle to play out, Canwest announced yesterday that its History Television channel is teaming up with the U.S. History channel to produce an eight-part miniseries on the Kennedy family.
Once again, Toronto does geographical drag—the city will be transformed into D.C. when filming starts in June. Expect to see local paps snapping pics of Greg Kinnear (John F. Kennedy), Tom Wilkinson (Joe Kennedy Sr.), Barry Pepper (Bobby Kennedy) and Xenu’s favourite addition, Katie Holmes (Jackie Kennedy), shooting on location. Speaking of, what are the odds that Tom will be in town to check out that Scientology centre on Yonge Street? It could use a dose of Hollywood glamour.
• Canwest and AETN announce star-studded production, The Kennedys [CNW]
• Greg Kinnear and Katie Holmes to star as Kennedys in new Canwest/History miniseries [National Post]
Pay $250 to hear Barbara Walters not talk about Rosie O’Donnell
(Image: Christopher Peterson)
Barbara Walters: journalist, TV host and apparent social media expert. On May 4, the co-host of The View will be at the Liberty Grand from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. to speak on the following four topics, detailing how she became rich:
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Blacklisted from the States, Oprah biographer heads to Toronto for book tour
(Image: Karon Liu)
After being denied media coverage from David Letterman, Larry King and Barbara Walters, author Kitty Kelley is promoting her unauthorized Oprah biography in Toronto, where news outlets are apparently out of Oprah’s firing range or desperate for any celebrity gossip that doesn’t involve Avril Lavigne’s relationship with that guy from The Hills.
In an interview with the Star, Kelley, who has previously come under fire for her biographies of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Reagan, says even her publisher, Random House, was nervous about bad-mouthing Oprah. Still, Kelley has had no problems arranging interviews in Toronto.
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Boredom brings Conan O’Brien to Massey Hall
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Not content to collect unemployment cheques and twiddle his thumbs at home, Conan O’Brien is taking his act on the road and will be making a Toronto stop at Massey Hall on May 22. The tour is officially called the Conan O’Brien: Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television Tour; the comic and writer is string dancing into 32 cities after NBC’s late-night wars, which split North Americans into Team Coco and Team Jay.
