Happy Pride! Kicking-off celebrations this year is STARRY NIGHT at The 519 Centre‘s Green Space Festival brought to us by TD. A who’s-who in Drag came out to put on a seven-hour spectacle, highighted by RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 16 champion NYMPHIA WIND, who has the distinction of being the first ever winner in the Franchise of East Asian descent. The Drag star, L.A.-born Leo Tsao, hails proudly from Taiwan, where he moved to when he was six. The student of Fashion would go on to incorporate their technical know-how to prevail week after week in challenges on RuPaul’s Drag Race, wowing audiences and judges. Tsao after a long flight delay, might it right in time to Toronto meeting fans before a performance at Starry Night.

Other Drag Stars to appear were VENUS, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race Canada Season Four. AURORA MATRIX, first runner-up RuPaul’s Drag Race Season Four, and also DENIM who tied for third that season. RuPaul’s Drag Race Season Nine winner SASHA VELOUR also graced the stage, among many others.

A highlight reel:

More on Starry Night and The 519 Centre which the event benefits, here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Huge news! As of this Cast couldn’t get any more stacked! Sarah Michelle Gellar joins the cast of DEXTER®: ORIGINAL SIN in a special guest star role as Tanya Martin, the CSI Chief at the Miami Metro Police Department and Dexter Morgan’s new boss.

Previously announced cast includes Christian Slater as Harry Morgan, Patrick Gibson as Dexter Morgan, Patrick Dempsey as Aaron Spencer, Molly Brown as Debra Morgan, James Martinez as Angel Batista, Christina Milian as Maria LaGuerta, Alex Shimizu as Vince Masuka and Reno Wilson as Bobby Watt.

“Sarah Michelle Gellar is a pop culture icon who perfectly rounds out our best-in-class cast featuring Christian Slater and Patrick Dempsey among others,” said Nina L. Diaz, President of Content and Chief Creative Officer, SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Networks. “We’re thrilled to have her return to the SHOWTIME/MTV Entertainment Studios family and join the origin story of the Dexter franchise.”

Set in 1991 Miami, DEXTER®: ORIGINAL SIN follows Dexter (Gibson) as he transitions from student to avenging serial killer. When his bloodthirsty urges can’t be ignored any longer, Dexter must learn to channel his inner darkness. With the guidance of his father, Harry (Slater), he adopts a Code designed to help him find and kill people who deserve to be eliminated from society without getting on law enforcement’s radar. This is a particular challenge for young Dexter as he begins a forensics internship at the Miami Metro Police Department.
Emmy® nominee Clyde Phillips (DEXTER, NURSE JACKIE) serves as showrunner and executive producer.

The series is produced by SHOWTIME Studios and Counterpart Studios.

Executive producers also include Scott Reynolds (Jessica Jones), Michael C. Hall (DEXTER), Mary Leah Sutton (Resident Evil), Tony Hernandez (Emily in Paris) and Lilly Burns (Russian Doll). The series is being produced by Robert Lloyd Lewis (The Lincoln Lawyer). Michael Lehmann (Heathers) serves as directing executive producer.

Telefilm Canada is announcing its investment of $14.1 million in 26 feature film projects in the English market under the Production Program in the low budget stream (including international coproductions).

Atlantic

Baby 
Director and screenwriter: Jackie Torrens
Production: Peep Media Inc.
Province: Nova Scotia
Language: English

Blueberry Picking
Director and screenwriter: Sherry White
Production: Oversherry Productions Ltd.
Province: Newfoundland and Labrador
Language: English

The Shuttle
Director and screenwriter: Winston DeGiobbi
Production: Brass Door Productions Inc.
Province: Nova Scotia
Language: English

Quebec

Donde Comienza el Río (Where the River Begins)
Director and screenwriter: Juan Andrés Arango
Production: Midi La Nuit Inc. and Inercia Películas
Languages: Spanish (Colombian) and Emberá, Indigenous dialect
*Majority Coproduction Canada/Colombia

Moving Day
Directors: Caitlyn Sponheimer, Tamara Scherbak, Carol Nguyen, Kaye Adelaide, Jill Carter and Kim Barr
Screenwriters: Diane Janna, Tamara Scherbak, M.J. Kang, Kathy-Ann Thomas, Deydra Baptiste, Katrina Bertrand and Alex Feldman  
Production: Cotton Bush Productions Inc.
Languages:  English and French

Red Acres
Directors and screenwriters: Chris Bavota and Lee Paula Springer
Production: Slykid Inc.
Language: English

Ontario

Deathstalker
Director and screenwriter: Steven Kostanski
Production: Hangar 18 Media Inc.
Language: English

Homebodies
Director: Casey Walker
Screenwriters: Adrian Murray and Marcus Sullivan
Production: Cave Painting Pictures Inc.
Language: English

I Come Home
Director: Glen Wood
Screenwriter: Andreas Vatiliotou
Production: Viddywell Films Inc.
Language: English

Lunar Sway
Director and screenwriter: Nicholas Butler
Production: Cloudy Falls Pictures Inc.
Language: English

Morningside
Director: Ron Dias
Screenwriters: Joanne Jansen and Ron Dias
Production: Augusta Avenue Productions Inc.
Language: English

Nuur

Director: Lula Ali Ismail
Screenwriter: Hassan Ghedi Santur
Production: Good Question Media Inc.
Languages: English and Somali

Pocket Mirror
Director and screenwriter: Adrian Murray
Production: Ravenea Pictures Inc. and Silent Tower Inc.
Language: English

The Temple
Directors and screenwriters: Calvin Thomas and Yonah Lewis
Production: Babe Nation Creations Inc. and Lisa Pictures Ltd.
Language: English

They Echo
Director and screenwriter: Lu Asfaha
Production: Snail Mail Media Inc. and Defar Media Inc.
Languages: English and Swahili

UGLY
Director and screenwriter: Ed Gass-Donnelly
Production: 3 Legged Dog Films Ltd.
Language: English

Western Region

Grand Prairie
Director: Evan Prosofsky
Screenwriters: Evan Prosofsky and Chandra Melting Tallow
Production: Grand Prairie Film Inc.
Province: Alberta
Languages: English, Blackfoot (Siksika First Nation) and Carinthian German (Hutterite Colony)

Hair of the Bear
Directors and screenwriters: Alexandre Trudeau and James McLellan
Production: Hair of The Bear Films Inc. and HOTB Quebec Productions Inc. 
Provinces: Manitoba and Quebec
Languages: English and French

One Perfect Date
Director and screenwriter: Lucas Frison
Production: Prairie Cat Productions Inc. and Megafun Productions Inc.
Provinces: Saskatchewan and Quebec
Language: English

Split Rock
Director and screenwriter: Ryan Glover
Production: Prowler Pictures Inc., Low End Inc. and Observer Effect Productions Inc.
Provinces: Saskatchewan and Ontario
Language: English

Stranger in Town
Director: Melanie Oates
Screenwriter: Patrick Whistler
Production: Goodbye Productions Inc.
Province: British Columbia
Language: English

The Bryce Lee Story
Director: Arnold Lim
Screenwriters: Connor Gaston, Arnold Lim and Kyle D’Odorico 
Production: Blue Lake Films Ltd.
Province: British Columbia
Languages: English and Chinese – Cantonese

Minority Coproductions

Birthday
Director and screenwriter: Lara Zeidan
Production: Couronne Nord Inc. and Sevana Films
Province: Quebec
Languages: Arabic, English and French
*Minority Coproduction Canada/France

Idling
Director: Theodore Ushev
Screenwriter: Chris Robinson
Production: 9468-2713 Québec Inc. and PREMIER STUDIO
Province: Quebec
Language: English
*Minority Coproduction Canada/Bulgaria

Tahmina
Director and screenwriter: Aboozar Amini
Production: Greenground Productions Inc. and Silkroad Film Salon
Province: Quebec
Language: Persian
*Minority Coproduction Canada/Netherlands

Terra (Khak)
Director: Raha Shirazi
Screenwriters: Giovanna Giuliani and Raha Shirazi
Production: Borrowed Light Films Inc., Aeternam Films and Doppio Nodo Double Bind
Province: Ontario
Language: English
*Minority Coproduction Canada/France/Italy

Telefilm received an increasingly high volume of applications under the Production Program this year. In this first intake, 187 projects were assessed in the low budget stream including international coproductions, representing over $106 million in funding requests.

More funding decisions, including projects from the low budget Indigenous Stream will be announced in the coming weeks. Statistics on all films funded in the year will be released once all funding decisions have been made.

An advisory committee of external and internal representatives assessed the projects and made recommendations to Telefilm. The decision-making process considered Telefilm’s goal of fostering a diversity of voices in the industry, ensuring that Telefilm funds a balanced portfolio of productions that reflect a variety of genres, budgets and company sizes, regions of the country and points of view. Names of selection committee members will be published on the Project Financing Advisory Committees webpage once all funding decisions have been made.

Disney+ revealed today a first look teaser trailer for the highly anticipated eight-part series, “Rivals,” based on the celebrated novel by Dame Jilly Cooper and produced by Happy Prince, part of ITV Studios. Set against the backdrop of the drama, excess, and shocking antics of the power-grabbing social elite of 1980s England, “Rivals” delves headfirst into the ruthless world of independent television in 1986. The series is set to debut on Disney+ in Canada later this year.

Alex Hassell (‘The Tragedy of Macbeth’, ‘The Boys’) features as the dashing ex-Olympian, Member of Parliament, incorrigible rake, and dangerously charismatic Rupert Campbell-Black. David Tennant (‘Doctor Who’, ‘Good Omens’) features as Lord Tony Baddingham, controller of Corinium Television and Rupert’s single-mindedly ambitious and egotistical adversary. Aidan Turner (‘Poldark’, ‘The Suspect’) is journalist and TV presenter Declan O’Hara, who becomes caught in the crossfire of the long-simmering feud between Rupert and Tony. Nafessa Williams (‘Black Lighting’, ‘Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance with Somebody’) is pictured as Cameron Cook, a ferociously talented American TV executive who is brought to England by Tony to produce Declan’s new prime-time talk show. Katherine Parkinson (‘Humans’, ‘Here We Go’) is Lizzie Vereker, a romantic novelist suffering from a distinct lack of romance in her life and Bella Maclean (‘Spring Awakening’, ‘Sex Education’) is Taggie O’Hara, Declan’s tender-hearted yet strong-willed eldest daughter and unexpected temptation for Rupert.

Additional iconic characters from the drama include Sarah Stratton (‘Emily Atack – The Emily Atack Show’), Caitlin O’Hara (Catriona Chandler – ‘Pistol’), James Vereker (Oliver Chris – ‘The Crown’), Freddie Jones (Danny Dyer – ‘EastEnders’), Paul Stratton (Rufus Jones – ‘W1A’), Valerie Jones (Lisa McGrillis – ‘Maternal’), Bas Baddingham (Luke Pasqualino – ‘Skins’), Lady Monica Baddingham (Claire Rushbook – ‘Sherwood’) and Maud O’Hara (Victoria Smurfit – ‘Bloodlands’).

“Rivals” is executive produced by Dominic Treadwell-Collins (‘A Very English Scandal’, ‘Holding’, ‘EastEnders’), Alexander Lamb (‘Ackley Bridge’, ‘The Bay’, ‘We Hunt Together’), Felicity Blunt, Olivier Award-winning playwright Laura Wade (‘The Riot Club’), “Rivals” author Dame Jilly Cooper and Director of Scripted Content for Disney+ EMEA Lee Mason. “Rivals” is produced by Happy Prince, which is part of ITV Studios. The series is written by Dominic Treadwell-Collins and Laura Wade alongside the series episodic writers room which includes: Sophie Goodhart (‘The Baby’, ‘Sex Education’), Marek Horn (‘Wild Swimming’, ‘Octopolis’), Mimi Hare & Clare Naylor (‘The Accidental Husband’), Dare Aiyegbayo (‘The Dumping Ground,’ ‘EastEnders’), Kefi Chadwick (‘Looted’, ‘Avoidance’). Tray Agyeman is a shadow writer on episode 6, and Sorcha Kurien Walsh (‘The Pink Pill’) is staff writer in the room. The Casting Director is Kelly Valentine Hendry (‘Bridgerton’, ‘The Last Kingdom’, ‘Kaos’).

The lead director is BAFTA-nominated Elliot Hegarty (‘Ted Lasso, Cheaters’, ‘Trying’), who also serves as executive producer on episodes 1-4. Eliza Mellor (‘The Midwich Cuckoos’, ‘Behind Her Eyes’, ‘Poldark’) serves as Series Producer. Dee Koppang O’Leary (“The Crown”) and Alexandra Brodski (“Somewhere Boy”) also direct episodes.

Paramount+ today announced that Academy Award® nominee and EMMY® and Golden Globe winning actor Jeffrey Wright (American Fiction) will join the cast of the espionage political thriller THE AGENCY (formerly The Department) for Paramount+ as a series regular. THE AGENCY, currently in production in London, is commissioned by Showtime Studios and produced in association with 101 Studios. George Clooney and Grant Heslov will executive produce through Smokehouse Pictures.

The all-new political thriller follows Martian (two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Fassbender), a covert CIA agent, ordered to abandon his undercover life and return to London Station. When the love he left behind reappears, romance reignites. His career, his real identity and his mission are pitted against his heart; hurling them both into a deadly game of international intrigue and espionage. Wright will play Henry, the Director of Operations and mentor to Martian.

“Jeffrey Wright doesn’t just portray characters – he inhabits them completely, infusing each role with raw, emotional power and profound, psychological insight,” said Chris McCarthy, Paramount Global Co-CEO and President/CEO, Showtime & MTV Entertainment Studios. “We are thrilled to have him join Michael Fassbender and our creative dream team of Joe Wright, Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, Grant Heslov and George Clooney.”

Jeffrey Wright is a Tony, Emmy, AFI, and Golden Globe Award-winning actor who has enjoyed an illustrious career spanning the worlds of theatre, film, and television. Wright can currently be seen giving one of the best performances of his career in Orion Pictures/Amazon MGM Studios’ American Fiction, written and directed by Cord Jefferson. Wright received nominations from the Academy Awards, Gotham Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Critics Choice Awards, SAG Awards and NAACP Image Awards and won the Independent Spirit Award, for his wonderful performance as protagonist, “Thelonious ‘Monk’ Ellison.” Coming up, Wright will star opposite Denzel Washington in the Spike Lee directed, Apple Original Films and A24 thriller, High and Low and he will join season two of the award-winning HBO drama “The Last Of Us.”

THE AGENCY is a fresh take on the critically acclaimed hit French drama Le Bureau des Légendes (The Bureau internationally) and will debut on demand and on streaming for Paramount+ subscribers with the Paramount+ with SHOWTIME plan, before making its on-air debut. The series will also stream internationally on Paramount+ in the UK, Canada, Australia, Italy, Germany, Latin America, Brazil and Japan. The series is co-distributed internationally by Paramount Global Content Distribution and Federation Studios.

Le Bureau centers on the daily life and missions of agents within France’s principal external security service. It focuses on the “Bureau of Legends,” responsible for training and handling deep-cover agents on long-term missions in areas with French interests. Living under false identities for years, these agents’ missions are to identify and recruit good intelligence sources. The Bureau – Le Bureau des Légendes was created by Eric Rochant and is a CANAL+ Creation Originale series produced by TOP – The Originals Productions and Federation Studios.

Golden Globe® nominee and multi-BAFTA® winner Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, The Darkest Hour and The Atonement) will direct and executive produce the new drama series and Tony®Award-winning writer Jez Butterworth and John-Henry Butterworth (Ford v Ferrari, Edge of Tomorrow) will executive produce and write all ten episodes.

Commissioned by Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios and produced in association with 101 Studios, THE AGENCY is executive produced by Keith Cox and Nina L. Diaz of Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios; David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, David Hutkin and Bob Yari of 101 Studios (Yellowstone); George Clooney and Grant Heslov for Smokehouse Pictures; Alex Berger for TOP-The Originals Productions; Ashley Stern and Pascal Breton for Federation Studios/Federation Entertainment of America; and Michael Fassbender. Jez and John-Henry Butterworth are writers and executive producers; Joe Wright is executive producer and director of the first two episodes.

Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry team-up in THE UNION, coming to Netflix August 16, 2024! Today we get a new Trailer!

DIRECTED BY: Julian Farino
SCREENPLAY BY: Joe Barton, David Guggenheim
STORY BY: David Guggenheim
PRODUCERS: Mark Wahlberg, Stephen Levinson, Jeff Waxman
EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS: Jennifer Madeloff
CAST: Mark Wahlberg, Halle Berry, Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica De Gouw, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley and J.K. Simmons

SYNOPSIS: Mike (Mark Wahlberg) is happy living a simple life as a construction worker in his native New Jersey – until his long-lost high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Halle Berry), shows up with more on her mind than romance. Knowing he’s the right man for the job, she recruits Mike on a dangerous intelligence mission in Europe that thrusts them back together into a world of spies and high-speed car chases, with sparks flying along the way. Directed by Julian Farino (Giri/Haji, Entourage), The Union also stars Mike Colter, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Jessica De Gouw, Alice Lee, Jackie Earle Haley, and J.K. Simmons.

Paramount+ today announced that the highly anticipated second season of the hit original series TULSA KING, starring Oscar nominee Sylvester Stallone will premiere on Sunday, September 15 in Canada and the U.S. and across Paramount+ international markets beginning Monday, September 16. The service also debuted a first-look teaser of the new season. Executive produced by Oscar nominee Taylor Sheridan, Oscar nominee and writer Terence Winter, and multi-award-nominated director Craig Zisk, TULSA KING is currently filming in Oklahoma and Atlanta. The series is produced by MTV Entertainment Studios and 101 Studios exclusively for Paramount+.

In season two, Dwight (Stallone) and his crew continue to build up and defend their growing empire in Tulsa, but just as they get their bearings, they realize that they’re not the only ones who want to stake their claim. With looming threats from the Kansas City mob and a very powerful local businessman, Dwight struggles to keep his family and crew safe while keeping track of all his affairs. Plus, he still has unfinished business back in New York.

TULSA KING also stars an incredible ensemble cast that includes Martin Starr, Jay Will, Max Casella, Vincent Piazza, Tatiana Zappardino, Annabella Sciorra, Neal McDonough, Frank Grillo, Domenick Lombardozzi, Andrea Savage, Garrett Hedlund, and Dana Delany.

In addition to Taylor Sheridan, Terence Winter and Craig Zisk, TULSA KING is executive produced by David C. Glasser, Ron Burkle, Bob Yari, David Hutkin, Sylvester Stallone, Braden Aftergood and Keith Cox, and is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

TULSA KING is part of Sheridan’s growing slate on Paramount+, which includes 1923, 1883, YELLOWSTONE, MAYOR OF KINGSTOWN, LAWMEN: BASS REEVES, the upcoming LANDMAN, and the second season of LIONESS, which is currently in production.

All nine episodes of the first season of TULSA KING are available to stream exclusively on Paramount+. For more information about Paramount+ and TULSA KING, please visit www.paramountplus.com and follow @ParamountPlusCA and @TulsaKingTV on Facebook, and @TulsaKing on TikTok, Instagram and X.

The first trailer has launched for HERE directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany, Kelly Reilly, and Michelle Dockery. So wild seeing de-aging technology work its magic!

The film will open wide across Canada on November 15, 2024 via VVS Films.

Synopsis:

From the reunited director, writer, and stars of Forrest Gump, Here is an original film about multiple families and a special place they inhabit. The story travels through generations, capturing the human experience in its purest form. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, screenplay by Eric Roth & Zemeckis and told much in the style of the acclaimed graphic novel by Richard McGuire on which it is based, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright star in a tale of love, loss, laughter and life, all of which happen right Here.

Paramount+ in Canada today announced that the addictive new thriller, RED EYE, will be available to watch in full on the service in Canada on Friday, July 5, 2024.

Told over an adrenaline-filled six parts, the limited series is a pulse-pounding murder mystery set at 30,000 feet.

When Dr. Matthew Nolan (Richard Armitage) is renditioned to China from the UK, inexplicable deaths onboard the Red Eye flight raise suspicions. Hana Li (Jing Lusi), the police officer escorting Nolan, forms an unlikely alliance from the air, with Head of MI5 Madeline Delaney (Lesley Sharp) and journalist Jess Li (Jemma Moore), Hana’s sister, on the ground as they work together to uncover a wider global conspiracy.

The series – which recently launched in the UK on ITV1 and ITVX to astounding success – was commissioned by ITV’s Head of Drama Polly Hill and is British screenwriter Peter A. Dowling’s (Black and Blue, Flightplan) television debut.

The series is produced by Wales-based production company, Sony Pictures Television-backed Bad Wolf, founded in 2015 by Jane Tranter and Julie Gardner. Award-winning producer Julie Gardner (I Hate Suzie, Doctor Who) Executive Produces the series alongside Lachlan MacKinnon (A Discovery of Witches, Industry). Fortitude and Power Book IV: Force Director, Kieron Hawkes, directs all episodes in the series, which is produced by Kristian Dench (The Capture, Strike Back).

The project was developed and overseen by Bad Wolf’s Director of Content, Dan McCulloch. Sony Pictures Television is responsible for the international distribution of RED EYE.

Well Go USA release YOU GOTTA BELIEVE August 30, 2024, starring Luke Wilson, Greg Kinnear, Sarah Gadon, Molly.Parker and more!

Synopsis: YOU GOTTA BELIEVE is based on the inspiring true story of one team’s transformational journey from district underdog to taking its place in the Little League record books. After dedicating the season to a teammate’s ailing father, a group of underestimated youth baseball players from Fort Worth, Texas, takes its Cinderella run all the way to the 2002 Little League World Series—culminating in a record-breaking showdown that became an instant ESPN classic. 

WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY
Ty Roberts

PRODUCED BY
YOU GOTTA BELIEVE was produced by Santa Rita Film Co. banner led by producer Houston Hill (12 Mighty Orphans). Other producers include Matt Harvey, Pasha Patriki and Byron Campbell, with Ty Roberts, Greg McCabe, Allen Gilmer, George M. Young Jr. and Wes W. Williams executive producing for Santa Rita, Marlon Volgesgang and Charles Dorfman for Media Finance Capital and Doris Pfardrescher and Tony Vanderveerdonk executive producing for Well Go USA.

STARRING
Luke Wilson
Greg Kinnear
Sarah Gadon
Lew Temple
Etienne Kellici
Molly Parker
Patrick Renna
Michael Cash

GENRE
Drama, Kids & Family

RATED
PG