The 2012 prime time Emmy nominations list is full of Canadians: Michael J. Fox is up for Outstanding Guest Actor for his recurring role on The Good Wife; Rosedale-raised Will Arnett received a nod for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy for his work on 30 Rock; and Toronto-born SNL creator Lorne Michaels is up for a writing award. There also appears to be an appetite for children’s programming that frankly discusses teen issues, like being transgendered or a teen mom who is an aspiring pop singer, because for the second year in a row, Degrassi is nominated in the Outstanding Children’s Program category. [Globe and Mail]
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Michael J. Fox, Will Arnett and Lorne Michaels among Canadians receiving 2012 Emmy nominations
Toronto vs. Chicago: movies, musicals and Oprah edition
After hearing that Chicago is crazy jealous of Toronto’s annual Luminato festival—and the international tourists it attracts—we got to wondering how Hogtown really stacks up against its similarly sized cousin. We looked at everything from restaurants named Acadia to notable rich guys to talk show hosts extraordinaire (and a whole bunch of other admittedly arbitrary categories). Here’s how the two cities compare in matters cultural.
Lorne Michaels fuels rumours about high-profile cast member departures
Lorne Michaels (Image: David Shankbone)
Toronto native Lorne Michaels has been dodging queries about SNL’s cast changes, stating in a conference call with the Canadian Press that he could comment, but he’s actually not certain himself. Rumour has it that Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudeikis and Andy Samberg are all set to leave come season’s end (May 19), but no official statement has been made. Michaels noted that he’ll be spending the summer scouring dark comedy clubs for possible additions to the show’s cast (it could be you!). If some of the best cast members do end up calling it quits, at least we’ll always have Penelope.
• Lorne Michaels talks about SNL cast changes [Toronto Star]
Alec Baldwin lets it slip that Justin Bieber will host SNL this year, children seek later bedtimes
Justin Bieber seems to adhere to the Justin Timberlake school of publicity: date cutesy pop stars, and if all else fails, change your hair. So it was basically inevitable that he would try to emulate Timberlake’s Saturday Night Live success. On his latest “Here’s the Thing” podcast, host Alec Baldwin visited the office of SNL creator Lorne Michaels and found a list of upcoming hosts that included Ben Stiller, Katy Perry, Jonah Hill and Stratford’s own patron saint. (Oh, Alec! You’re always stirring up trouble!) The Biebz has already dabbled in sketch comedy, but we’re not sure that his brand of Bambi-eyed charm will bring the LOLs for a full episode. Not that the beliebers care.
(Images: Alec Baldwin, David Shankbone)
