By Jim Henshaw David Bolt was the first professional actor I ever met. I was studying theatre at the University of Regina and he was working for the Globe Theatre doing one of their gruelling tours, taking plays to remote gymnasiums and church basements in the dead of Winter. He undertook that cold and uncomfortable […]
Gluten, and amusement, free
By Jim Henshaw I’m not sure if this was a good month or a bad one for the people who enjoy annoying other people. On one side, actress Ashley Judd, after being threatened with sexual violence by Twitter trolls who didn’t like her playfully dissing their basketball team, sued her attackers. On the other, actress Eva […]
Neither Arrogant, nor a Worm
By Mark Leiren-Young A long time ago in a theatre far far away — okay, 1991 at The Vancouver East Cultural Centre just before Valentine’s Day — my comedy partner Kevin Crofton and I launched ourselves as the satirical duo Local Anxiety in a show called “A CBC Love Affair,” featuring another comedy couple, Double […]
Hart Hanson makes his Bones
By Rachelle Stein-Wotten If art can be entertaining, can entertainment be art? Hart Hanson, creator and showrunner of the Fox television series Bones, visited the University of British Columbia recently to discuss his experiences as a nice Canadian boy working in the rough-and-tumble of Hollywood for the past decade. In the course of offering advice […]
Canadian Comedy Awards: Who knew?
By Rachelle Stein-Wotten The Canadian Comedy Awards came and went again this past weekend. You’re probably thinking, or saying out loud (maybe you talk to yourself, I don’t presume anything), “Those exist? I’ve never heard of ’em.” And I would respond (out loud, because I do talk to myself), “That’s no surprise. They’ve only been […]
Cory Monteith: The boy next door
By Mark Leiren-Young The only time I saw Cory Monteith in person was at a Canucks Game. He and his on-screen and off-screen love interest Lea Michele were in their Canucks jerseys at GM Place cheering on the home team at game one of this year’s playoff debacle against the San Jose Sharks. Their smiling […]
Canadian Screen Awards: More Short -pipes, please
By Rachelle Stein-Wotten If it wasn’t for host Martin Short, the Canadian Screen Awards last night would have been a real dud. This first year of the awards, aired on CBC, was partly a grand experiment. The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television combined the bereft-of-an-audience Genies and Geminis — separate awards for film and […]
Green, gay, and duping the news
By Mark Leiren-Young Green Lantern is gay? It sounds like big news, doesn’t it? It was reported like it was big news. And, of course, loopy American Christians opposed to living in the 21st century proclaimed that DC’s decision to change an iconic character’s sexuality was corrupting their children. Leaving aside the fact that comic […]
Me and Macho Man
By David Bitonti Macho Man is dead. Who’s next? Hulk Hogan? The Ultimate Warrior? Jake The Snake Roberts? In fact, how the hell did Jake with all his drugging and boozing outlive Randy Savage anyway? As more of these forgotten heroes enter their 50s and even 60s (yikes!), I guess they’re going to start dropping […]
Welcome to Canada, Randy Quaid
By Frank Moher Dear Randy Quaid: I hear Canadian authorities have decided to let you stay in Canada, and, indeed, that Canadian citizenship is now in the works for you. That’s because your wife’s dad was Canadian, so she was able to get her citizenship earlier this month, which means you can now get yours […]
