After raves at TIFF ’22, NORTH OF NORMAL arrives in theatres July 28, 2023 via Elevation Pictures!

Synopsis:

Based on her riveting memoir, North of Normal follows Cea Sunrise Person’s unconventional childhood in the wilderness, her complicated relationship with her perpetually pot-smoking teen mom, and her incredible path to a version of normalcy on the runways of Paris.

Directed by Carly Stone
Starring: Sarah Gadon, Amanda Fix, James Darcy, and River Price-Maenpaa
Based on the Memoir North of Normal by Cea Sunrise Person

(Photo/video credit: Elevation Pictures)

Starting this summer, Canadians can relive their favourite moments – from Manny Santos’ trendsetting fashion; to Yick and Arthur’s adventures in love; or singing “Everybody Wants Something” – as Degrassi captured Canada’s teen angst from 1979-2015. The Degrassi library launching on Prime Video includes The Kids of Degrassi Street, Degrassi Junior High, Degrassi High, Degrassi: The Next Generation, Degrassi Talks, Degrassi Unscripted, and Degrassi High: School’s Out, all in one place on July 18, 2023!

(As every Canadian already knows) The series centers around an ensemble cast of students at the fictional Degrassi Community School who face challenges such as sex, teen pregnancy, bullying, consent, drug use, body image, sexual identity, domestic violence, gang violence, mental health, and many other issues teenagers face. Capturing all the anguish, heartbreak and lessons learned over decades of Canadian television the series is beloved by millions and the launching pad of some of the country’s biggest names.

For over four decades, watching Degrassi has been a rite of passage for teenagers everywhere, providing a mirror into their passions, struggles and triumphs as they navigate the road to selfhood. Always at the vanguard of inspiration, education and entertainment, Degrassi is one of the most iconic brands in youth culture, unafraid to tackle even the most challenging stories. No issue has been too controversial or too real for Degrassi to explore, often breaking new ground on such subjects as teen pregnancy, racism, AIDS, eating disorders, child abuse, learning disabilities, gender identity, violence and more. Owned by WildBrain, Degrassi was originally created by Linda Schuyler and the late Kit Hood in 1979. Degrassi has become a Canadian institution celebrated worldwide and recognized with dozens of awards, including two International Emmy Awards, two Teen Choice Awards and a Peabody.

HIGHJACK is the upcoming, high octane thriller starring and executive produced by SAG Award-winner and Emmy Award-nominee Idris Elba (“Luther”), and created by George Kay (“Lupin,” “Criminal”) and Jim Field Smith (“Criminal,” “Truth Seekers”), who also wrote and lead directed the series respectively.

Told in real time, “Hijack” is a tense thriller that follows the journey of a hijacked plane as it makes its way to London over a seven hour flight, and authorities on the ground scramble for answers. Elba will star as ‘Sam Nelson,’ an accomplished negotiator in the business world who needs to step up and use all his guile to try and save the lives of the passengers — but, his high-risk strategy could be his undoing. Panjabi will play the role of ‘Zahra Gahfoor,’ a counter terrorism officer who is on the ground when the plane is hijacked and becomes part of the investigation. The seven-part series also stars Emmy Award and NAACP Image Award-winner Archie Panjabi (“The Good Wife”), Christine Adams, Max Beesley, Eve Myles, Neil Maskell, Jasper Britton, Harry Michell, Aimee Kelly, Mohamed Elsandel and Ben Miles.

“Hijack” will make its global debut on Apple TV+ with the first two episodes on Wednesday, June 28, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Apple TV+)

Today, Disney+ revealed that FX’s “A Murder at the End of the World,” a limited series set at the remote and isolated compound of a reclusive billionaire, will premiere Tuesday, August 29t, 2023 exclusively on Disney+ in Canada. The series formerly known as “Retreat,” starring Emma Corrin (“The Crown”) as the amateur sleuth “Darby Hart” will premiere with the first two episodes, followed by a new episode each week. A new character teaser for the series was also released today, which can be viewed below:

“A Murder at the End of the World” is a mystery series with a new kind of detective at the helm — a Gen Z tech-savvy hacker named “Darby Hart” (Emma Corrin). Darby and eight other guests are invited by a reclusive billionaire (Clive Owen) to participate in a retreat at a remote and dazzling location. When one of the other guests is found dead, Darby must use all of her skills to prove it was murder against a tide of competing interests and before the killer takes another life.

The thrilling series stars Emma Corrin, Clive Owen, Harris Dickinson, Brit Marling, Alice Braga, Joan Chen, Raúl Esparza, Jermaine Fowler, Ryan J. Haddad, Pegah Ferydoni, Javed Khan, Louis Cancelmi, Edoardo Ballerini, Britian Seibert, Christopher Gurr, Kellan Tetlow, Daniel Olson and Neal Huff.

“A Murder at the End of the World” is created and directed by Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij. Marling and Batmanglij also executive produced alongside Andrea Sperling (“Transparent”), Melanie Marnich and Nicki Paluga. The seven-episode limited series is produced by FX Productions and was filmed in Iceland, as well as New Jersey and Utah.

Robust parental controls ensure that Disney+ remains a suitable viewing experience for everyone in the family. Subscribers can set access limits on mature content and create PIN-protected profiles alongside the already existing Kids Profiles to give parents and guardians peace of mind.

Booking.com, one of the world’s leading digital travel platforms, has announced its new AI Trip Planner, which will launch in beta to a selection of U.S. travellers in the company’s app on June 28th. Built upon the foundation of Booking.com’s existing machine learning models that recommend destination and accommodation options to millions of travellers on the platform every day, the AI Trip Planner is also partially powered by large language model (LLM) technology from OpenAI’s ChatGPT API to create a new conversational experience for people to start their trip planning process.

A new way to search and explore on Booking.com

Travellers can ask the AI Trip Planner general travel-related questions, as well as more specific queries to support any stage of their trip planning process, including scoping out potential destinations and accommodation options, providing travel inspiration based on the individual traveller’s needs and requirements, as well as creating itineraries for a particular city, country or region.

More tailored and relevant travel recommendations

Travellers can easily chat with the pilot AI Trip Planner to describe what they’re looking for in broad or specific terms, ask questions and refine their search in real time, with new options surfaced in just a matter of seconds. From looking for inspiration on romantic beach destination options in the Caribbean to zeroing in on a specific list of vacation homes for a family of four, with air conditioning and a pool, the AI Trip Planner makes recommendations in a quick, conversational way.

Integrated travel planning experience

The AI Trip Planner takes the trip planning process one step further by providing travellers with a visual list of destinations and properties, including Booking.com’s pricing information, with deep-links to view more details. Travellers can go back and forth between their chat with the AI Trip Planner and the Booking.com app interface as they consider options for their trip. With just a tap on any accommodation they are interested in, they can complete the reservation, as the AI Trip Planner is directly integrated into the accommodation booking experience in the Booking.com app.

“Our primary aim at Booking.com has always been to leverage technology to make travel easier,” said Glenn Fogel, CEO of Booking.com. “The recent developments with generative AI are accelerating the work we’ve been doing for years with machine learning to enhance and improve every aspect of the customer experience on our platform, whether it’s optimizing the right order to display a hotel’s photos to surfacing the most relevant reviews. Our new AI Trip Planner is simply the next step in our ongoing journey to explore how we can bring even more value, and hopefully enjoyment, to the entire trip planning process.”

“Our new AI Trip Planner provides us with some really exciting possibilities to help our customers plan and search for travel options in a very natural, human way,” said Rob Francis, CTO of Booking.com. “Oftentimes, people are asked to adapt to the confines of technology to do what they want, but with generative AI, we’re able to start having scalable, one-to-one conversations with our customers on their terms, much like how you would begin to talk about planning a trip with your partner or friends. It’s just the beginning, but we have lots of runway here to explore in order to innovate and connect the travel experience further on Booking.com, all in a safe, ethical and inclusive way.”

Beginning on June 28, the beta AI Trip Planner will become available to a growing percentage of Booking.com Genius members in the United States over the coming weeks. This means that U.S. travellers must be signed in to their Booking.com account in the app and have their language settings set to English to access the new travel planning tool.

Sphere Films Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win a copy of Ari Aster’s BEAU IS AFRAID starring Joaquin Phoenix, on Blu-ray.

Synopsis:

Beau is a mild-mannered but anxiety-ridden man who lives with his mother in a small town. When his mother dies suddenly, Beau is forced to confront his darkest fears as he embarks on an epic journey back home. Along the way, he encounters a variety of strange and dangerous characters, including a group of bandits, a mysterious stranger, and a village wracked by an inexplicable plague. Beau must overcome his fears and find the strength to face his past if he is to survive and find his way home.

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Re-Tweet the Contest Tweet below for an extra chance!

Rules and regulations here.

Sphere Films Canada release BEAU IS AFRAID July 11, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Sphere Films Canada)

Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators chronicles the meteoric rise, dramatic fall, and gripping behind-the-scenes stories of one of the biggest spectacles on television during the height of the ’90s. Told first hand from the stars who lived through it, this five part series reveals untold stories of the iconic American Gladiators’ triumph, turmoil, and ultimate price of fame. Muscles & Mayhem: An Unauthorized Story of American Gladiators premieres globally on Netflix on June 28, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

We love Michelle Buteau! The funnywoman finally gets her own moment and stars as Mavis Beaumont in upcoming Netflix Series, SURVIVAL OF THE THICKEST! Here’s a new Trailer! Series is based on her collection of essays. She’s also in-town September for Just for Laughs!

Synopsis:

Meet Mavis Beaumont. She’s proudly thick, newly single and ready to take over the world as an aspiring stylist one fitting at a time. New York ain’t ready but you are! Inspired by Michelle Buteau’s hilarious memoir, Survival of the Thickest comes to Netflix July 13, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Paramount Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Passes to an Advance Screening of eagerly-awaited MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE!

Screenings take place July 6, 2023 in

TORONTO

MONTREAL (ENGLISH) 

MONTREAL (FRENCH)

EDMONTON

VANCOUVER 

Synopsis:

In Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) and his IMF team embark on their most dangerous mission yet: To track down a terrifying new weapon that threatens all of humanity before it falls into the wrong hands. With control of the future and the fate of the world at stake, and dark forces from Ethan’s past closing in, a deadly race around the globe begins. Confronted by a mysterious, all-powerful enemy, Ethan is forced to consider that nothing can matter more than his mission – not even the lives of those he cares about most.

To enter for a chance to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and in the comments tell us which City you’re in. Re-Tweet this Tweet or click “share” on this Post on Facebook for an extra chance!

Rules and regulations here.

Paramount Pictures Canada release MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – DEAD RECKONING PART ONE July 12, 2023.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

“Stephen Curry: Underrated” is the remarkable coming-of-age story of one of the most influential, dynamic and unexpected players in the history of basketball. This feature documentary — blending intimate cinéma vérité, archival footage and on camera interviews — documents Curry’s rise from an undersized college player at a small town Division I college to a four-time NBA champion, building one of the most dominant sports dynasties in the world. It arrives July 21, 2023 on Apple TV+.

“Stephen Curry: Underrated” is directed by Peter Nicks. The film is produced by Peter Nicks and Ryan Coogler through Proximity Media, Erick Peyton through Curry’s Unanimous Media and Sean Havey, Ben Cotner and Marissa Torres Ericson. Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler and Emily Osborne are executive producing.

Director: Peter Nicks

Producers:

 Peter Nicks, Ryan Coogler, Sean Havey, Erick Peyton, Marissa Torres

                                    Ericson, Ben Cotner   

Exec. Producers: Sev Ohanian, Zinzi Coogler, Emily Osborne

(Photo/video credit: Apple TV+)