Nominees for the 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards were announced earlier this morning in Los Angeles and leading the pack is F/X‘s American Horror Story: Asylum earning and impressive 17 nominations including Miniseries or Movie.  Following closely behind is HBO‘s Game of Thrones with 16 nominations including  Drama Series, with its Supporting Cast Members Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke also getting recognized for Supporting Actor and Actress in a Drama Series.

Also front and center is Liberace Biopic Behind the Candelabra nominated for Miniseries or Movie, while both of its Stars Michael Douglas and Matt Damon up against one another for Actor in a Miniseries or Movie.  The HBO Movie is up for awards in 15 categories as is long-running NBC Series Saturday Night Live.

Setting precedence is Netflix‘s brilliant Series House of Cards, becoming the first ever Internet-aired Series to be up for a Primetime Emmy, a Finalist in nine categories.  The Series is up for Drama Series, while both Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are up for Actor and Actress in a Drama Series also.  In addition, original Netflix Series Hemlock Grove and Arrested Development both also received nods, giving the Service a total 14 nominations.

View all Nominees here.

The 65th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards air on CBS Sunday, September 22, 2013.

(Photo credit: F/X)

Fox Searchlight announced earlier today that Reese Witherspoon will be starring the Film Adaption of Best-Selling Novel WILD, which helped launch Oprah’s Book Club 2.0. This looks to perhaps be the most challenging Role for the Actress since her Academy Award-winning turn as June Cash in Walk the Line. Oscar-nominated Nick Hornby who wrote High Fidelity and An Education‘s Screenplays will be helming the Feature.  Witherspoon also will be serving as one of its Producers.

Official Synopsis:

With the dissolution of her marriage and the death of her Mother, Cheryl Strayed has lost all hope. After years of reckless, destructive behavior, she makes a rash decision. With absolutely no experience, driven only by sheer determination, Cheryl hikes more than a thousand miles of the Pacific Crest Trail, alone. WILD powerfully captures the terrors and pleasures of one young woman forging ahead against all odds on a journey that maddens, strengthens, and ultimately heals her.

Think Eat, Pray, Love but in the wild and less Yoga. I kid!

The Film begins production this Fall.

(Photo credit: Lionsgate Films)

Based on a true Story The Conjuring is about two Paranormal Investigators, Ed and Lorraine Warren (Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga), who assist the Perron Family (Ron Livingston and Lili Taylor) after they experience some disturbing things at the Farmhouse. The Horror is definitely one of the most anticipated Films of Summer 2013 and after seeing its Trailer, you will understand exactly why!  James Wan (Saw, Insidious) directs.

Watch the Featurette below and be terrified for the rest of the day:

The Conjuring hits theatres this Friday, July 19, 2013 via Warner Bros. Pictures Canada.

(Photo/video credit: Warner Bros. Pictures Canada)

At long last a Trailer finally has surfaced for Oscar Contender, THE FIFTH ESTATE!  Although it’s not out till October 18, 2013 – meaning Benedict Cumberbatch will have two Movies out on one day, meaning that he could well join the likes of Jessica Chastain, having the distinction of starring in the Top Two Films at the Box Office on one weekend!

Triggering our age of high-stakes secrecy, explosive news leaks and the trafficking of classified information, WikiLeaks forever changed the game. Now, in a Dramatic-Thriller based on real events, THE FIFTH ESTATE reveals the quest to expose the deceptions and corruptions of power that turned an Internet upstart into the 21st Century’s most fiercely debated organization. The Story begins as WikiLeaks Founder Julian Assange (Benedict Cumberbatch) and his colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg (Daniel Brühl) team-up to become underground Watchdogs of the privileged and powerful. On a shoestring, they create a platform that allows Whistleblowers to anonymously leak covert data, shining a light on the dark recesses of government secrets and corporate crimes. Soon, they are breaking more hard news than the world’s most legendary media organizations combined. But when Assange and Berg gain access to the biggest trove of confidential intelligence documents in U.S. history, they battle each other and a defining question of our time: what are the costs of keeping secrets in a free society—and what are the costs of exposing them?

The Fifth Estate also stars:  Anthony Mackie, David Thewlis, Alicia Vikander, Peter Capaldi, Carice van Houten, Dan Stevens, with Stanley Tucci and Laura Linney

Watch the Trailer below:

I’ll be the first to admit that 2013 has been a lackluster year for Productions in Toronto and it pains me to see the Films which our Friends in Vancouver and Montreal have been seeing, with an explosive amount of Star Power.  That being said, I was thrilled to hear that the brilliant Mia Wasikowska would be among the Talent in the City filming this Summer.  After seeing her at TIFF 2011, I was disappointed I never got my moment to meet her and the scheduling just didn’t align.

I will be the first to say I  legitimately am an ardent Fan of the Australian-born Actress, whom we’ve come to know from her work in critical successes like Tim Burton‘s Alice in Wonderland, The Kids are All Right, Lawless, Jane Eyre, Albert Nobbs and more recently Park Chan- Wook‘s amazing Stoker. Wasikowska firmly has stamped her place among Hollywood’s next batch of A-Listers and she easily is one of my favourite young Actresses.

I spotted the Actress out and about tonight getting Take-out Italian after a long day on-set and she was absolutely gracious and lovely, despite surely wanting to head home in this ridiculous heat and humidity we’ve been facing.  The Actress was spotted last week by Paparazzi with her Boyfriend Jesse Eisenberg in town and it melts my heart knowing how happy she is right now in love!  We chatted with Eisenberg recently on a Press Day in Toronto and he was just awesome!

Wasikowska currently is filming David Cronenberg‘s Drama, Maps to the Stars in the City up till mid-August.  It is said that she has a fair amount of scenes with Co-Star Robert Pattinson who is believed already to be in Toronto.

See our Snap:

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

It all began 32 years ago and a Lemonade Stand in Memphis. Best Friends Justin Timberlake and Trace Ayala would begin a Business Partnership which would go on to last and develop into a Fashion Empire. William Rast, was inspired by the Duo’s Grandfathers, it being an amalgamation of their names.

Timberlake who is playing Rogers Centre tomorrow night with Jay-Z, took some time out of his busy schedule to introduce the Fashion Line along with Ayala before a packed house of Fans at The Bay – Queen Street today, 45 minutes later than scheduled. “This is the hottest place in the World!”, says the Pop Megastar/Actor. “I was expecting Toronto to be cold in July!”.

William Rast gets its introduction to Canadians at several The Bay stores across Canada this Fall with over 80 Men’s and Women’s Pieces available.  Despite its roots being in Denim, the Line has expanded to dressy-casual looks. Entering and exiting via a Loading Dock, Timberlake was inaccessible to Fans and Autograph Seekers as traffic was stopped on Richmond Street for seven minutes while awaiting their drive out the Retailer’s Parkade.

See a Clip of Ayala, Timberlake and CTV‘s Traci Melchor chatting at the Event:

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Although we don’t know for sure, I’m almost certain this will be at TIFF ’13 this September as it would be the perfect Launching Pad for its Oscar Campaign. Everything about the Drama 12 Years a Slave says Awards and a brand new Trailer just surfaced today for it!  How can we resist the Canadian connection this Story and above all, Brad Pitt playing one of us?

Official Synopsis:

12 YEARS A SLAVE is based on an incredible true Story of one Man’s fight for survival and freedom. In the pre-Civil War United States, Solomon Northup (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a free black man from upstate New York, is abducted and sold into slavery. Facing cruelty (personified by a malevolent Slave Owner, portrayed by Michael Fassbender) as well as unexpected kindnesses, Solomon struggles not only to stay alive, but to retain his dignity. In the twelfth year of his unforgettable odyssey, Solomon’s chance meeting with a Canadian Abolitionist (Brad Pitt) forever alters his life.

Solomon Northrup Day celebrates its 15th Anniversary on Saturday, July 20, 2013.

The Drama also stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Paul Dano, Garret Dillahunt, Paul Giamatti, Scoot McNairy, Lupita Nyong’o, Adepero Oduye, Sarah Paulson, Michael Kenneth Williams, Alfre Woodard, Chris Chalk, Taran Killam and Bill Camp; Steve McQueen directs.

Watch the Trailer below:

Fox Searchlight releases 12 Years a Slave on October 18, 2013.

(Photo/video credit: Fox Searchlight)

Earlier in the year we heard brand new music from Skylar Grey and we could not contain our excitement about the Eminem-produced Singer/Songwriter. You already know that voice from Diddy‘s Coming Home and you know her Grammy-nominated Songwriting from Eminem and Rihanna‘s Love the Way You Lie.  But do you know HER?

The 27-year-old is in town promoting her Universal Music Canada Debut Don’t Look Down, released just last Tuesday. On her hectic itinerary this morning were TV Stop-offs at CP 24 Breakfast, City‘s Breakfast Television and Global‘s The Morning Show (National Edition).

Fans waiting at each Stop uniformly praised her as being super-nice and I must agree that even in her Starbucks-induced awakeness, she was super-awesome. “I’m probably not going to be on stage till after 9:30 so come check out my Show tonight!”, she says on her El Mocambo Concert this evening.

In the meantime, check out Grey‘s new Single Wear Me Out below:

See our Snap:

Order Don’t Look Down on iTunes here.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Video credit: Universal Music Canada)

They’re here! After word broke out that a Poltergeist Remake was in development, many of us had our opinions about the matter. Being a Critical and Box Office success earning $121 million, which back in 1982 was a huge deal, the Horror also is not without its share of controversy, with Child Actor Heather O’Rourke who starred in the iconic role of Carol Anne Freeling, having passed away under sudden circumstances at the age of 12.  It will be interesting to see who will be brave enough to take on her role, with a dark cloud of intrigue surrounding it.  In total, the famed “Poltergeist Curse” took the lives of four Cast members during the six years it took to complete the Trilogy.

Originally produced by Steven Spielberg, Sam Raimi will be taking the reins this time around as Poltergeist films in Toronto between September through December. Gil Kenan (Monster House) directs, while David Lindsay-Abaire (Oz The Great and Powerful) writes the Screenplay.  It is said the Story will go through several modernizations and instead of the role Medium Tangina (Zelda Rubinstein) reprised, a team of Supernatural Experts instead will be introduced in this Remake.  Filming is set to take place at Pinewood Studios in Toronto.

Just writing this Post absolutely terrifies me, Poltergeist being one of the few Films I absolutely cannot watch alone!

20th Century Fox will be distributing the Remake, set to be released in 2014. Casting details to come…

(Photo credit: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer)

Soulful New York-born Singer/Songwriter Gavin DeGraw already has sold over a million Albums worldwide and he is back and ready to release his fifth studio Disc. After some setbacks suffering a random vicious attack in 2011 while touring in support of his amazing fourth Album Sweeter, he is back on track supporting Adult Contemporary Radio Staple Train.  He took time out to promote his powerful and sweeping new Single, Best I Ever Had this morning.

DeGraw, who is known for major Hits like Chariot, I Don’t Want to Be and Not Over You, appeared early today at 98.1 CHFI with Hosts Darryl Henry & Julie James, doing a live Performance and Interview.  Later he head over to the Global Television‘s The Morning Show (National Edition) to chat about the new Track.

Back in October 2011, I had the pleasure of chatting with DeGraw (read here) and he is just as amazing in-person as he was over the phone, delivering a great, welcoming vibe.  Definitely one of the best Interviews I ever had (pardon the pun)!  Above this, his Team was amazingly nice, his Handler seeing me with a copy of my Sweeter CD, immediately coming over to fetch it and bring it in.  “Gavin loves taking Photos with his Fans, but he’ll be a while. I’ll bring this in to get signed for you anyway!”, I was instructed.  I’ve met many famous People, but rarely do I ever get that level of kindness.

When a scruffier DeGraw did come out he was just wonderful, extending a handshake and taking time to chat about release plans for his next CD, telling me that it will be out in September, before heading over to Starbucks by foot on Bloor Street.  He even played with Billy for a bit – all this, while letting his Bandmates and Handler take the SUV.  It was a bit surreal waiting at the stop light looking back over my shoulder, seeing him walk right behind me!  Love this Guy – so incredibly down-to-earth!