Starting February 14, 2023, all episodes of the hilarious pseudo-newscast THE FEATHER NEWS will be available on APTN lumi, APTN’s exclusive streaming service. The short-form series will feature six sketch-based episodes from Indigenous producer Ryan Moccasin and comedians Shawn Cuthand and Danny Knight. 

Episode Summary:

Episode 1 – “Latimer Violence”
Our cutting edge news team takes on the issue of false identity in this episode. We provide a news update, highlight a new “Racism Simulator” business, and interview a traditional dancer with an identity crisis.

Episode 2 – “Picket Signs”
What’s with all the protests in Indigenous country? We dive deep into all the social movements around the world and whether or not they are effective (hint: they are).

Episode 3 – “Arrested Development”
The RCMP and Indigenous people have a long and difficult history. In this episode, we attempt to demystify this relationship through news updates, a police officer on a talent show, and an interview with a criminal on the run.

Episode 4 – “Race Relations”
Canada is a multicultural nation and our news crew takes aim on how this plays out in everyday life. We reimagine how the Treaty Signings occurred if there were different approaches, we interview the Pope (yes, THE Pope), and take a deep dive into race relations through a cutting edge monologue.

Episode 5 – “Never Read The Comments”
In this episode, we take on the social media industry and how it affects our communities and relationships. We interview a TikTok influencer, sit down with a politician who has a radical plan to combat online racism, and find out if using social media for change is effective or not.

Episode 6 – “Casino Industrial Complex”
What’s with all the casinos in Indigenous country? Our news team is deployed to find out how the economy actually works on reserves and how we generate revenue elsewhere. And as an added bonus, we tackle taxes and provide truth on how these are paid in Indigenous communities. Yes, we do pay those!

(Photo/video credit: APTN)

The Toronto Film Critics Association met today to determine winners of the 26th annual TFCA Awards. The Awards, to be held March 6, 2023 at the OMNI King Edward Hotel will see a winner named for the Rogers Best Canadian Film Award. Up for the $100k prize are Clement Virgo’s Brother, David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future and Anthony Shim’s Riceboy Sleeps. Runners-Up will each receive $5,000.

Leading the winners this year is Charlotte Wells’ AFTERSUN, the semi-autobiographical Drama follows an 11 year-old girl’s recollections of a trip to a Turkish resort with her troubled father for his 31st birthday, following her parents’ separation. The Film is Wells’ first Feature, impressively seeing her sweep Best Picture, Director and Best First Feature. Star Paul Mescal also won Best Actor.

The full list of 26th annual TFCA Awards winners and runners-up below:

Best Picture

Aftersun (Sphere Films)
 
Runners-up: Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures), Women Talking (Universal Picture Canada)

Best Director

Charlotte Wells – Aftersun (Sphere Films)

Runners-up: Daniels, Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures); Sarah Polley, Women Talking (Universal Pictures Canada)

Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted

The Banshees of Inisherin – Martin McDonagh (Searchlight Pictures)

Runners-up: Todd Field, Tár (Universal Pictures Canada); Sarah Polley, Women Talking (Universal Picturs Canada)

Best Actress

Cate Blanchett in Tár (Universal Pictures Canada)

Runners-up: Danielle Deadwyler in Till ((Universal Pictures Canada; Michelle Yeoh in Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures)

Best Actor

Paul Mescal in Aftersun (Sphere Films)

Runners-up: Colin Farrell in The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures); Brendan Fraser in The Whale (Elevation Pictures)

Best Supporting Actress

Keke Palmer in Nope (Universal Pictures Canada)

Runners-up: Jessie Buckley in Women Talking (Universal Pictures Canada); Stephanie Hsu in Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures)

Best Supporting Actor

Ke Huy Quan in Everything Everywhere All at Once (Elevation Pictures)

Runners-up: Brendan Gleeson in The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures); Barry Keoghan in The Banshees of Inisherin (Searchlight Pictures)

Best Animated Feature

Turning Red, directed by Domee Shi (Walt Disney Pictures Canada)

Runners-up: Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio (Netflix); Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (Elevation Pictures)

Allan King Documentary Award

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, directed by Laura Poitras (Elevation Pictures)

Runners-up: Fire of Love (Mongrel Media); Moonage Daydream (Elevation Pictures)

Best International Feature

Saint Omer, directed by Alice Diop (Films We Like)

Runners-up: Decision to Leave (Mongrel Media); EO (Films We Like)

Best First Feature

Aftersun, directed by Charlotte Wells (Sphere Films)

Runners-up: Marcel the Shell with Shoes on (Elevation Pictures); Turning Red (Walt Disney Pictures Canada)

Rogers Best Canadian Feature Award Nominees

Brother, directed by Clement Virgo (Elevation Pictures)
Crimes of the Future, directed by David Cronenberg (Sphere Films)
Riceboy Sleeps, directed by Anthony Shim (Game Theory Films)

Special Citation
To Iranian filmmakers Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof and Mostafa Al-Ahmad, who are currently in jail in Ira yet continue to make subtle movies that talk about life in their country, in spite of threats and restrictions from the regime. We stand in solidarity with them and add our voices to the international arts community calling for their release.

(Photo credit: Sphere Films)

Hot off the news that Netflix has renewed its record-breaking new Series WEDNESDAY for a second season, Toronto was also so lucky to host its star Jenna Ortega back in the City over the Holidays. The Actress has seen a wild spike in popularity since the Series’ release, propelled by a viral TikTok dance challenge she inspired, taking the world be storm. Even Lady Gaga, whose “Bloody Mary” in a sped-up version, has been attributed to the sensation, couldn’t resist.

Ortega visited her Castmate Percy Hynes White who stars on the Series as Xavier Thorpe, catching-up and spending quality time together over the break. Thorpe is based in Toronto which hopefully means more reasons for Ortega to visit Toronto!

Fans and paparazzi sighted Ortega and White exchanging a goodbye hug, before leaning-in to sign one autograph for a lucky fan. She donned a Louis Vuitton handbag and a black trench coat before quietly making her way out of the City, casual and comfortable.

We’re sure you’re just as stoked for this upcoming season season of WEDNESDAY, but until then we get to see Ortega this March in SCREAM VI where she once again plays the role of Tara Carpenter.

Some candids. Don’t laugh, please! We tried giving her space but still wanted a memory. Love her.

We’ll always have this one at least from 2019 WE DAY!

Happy New Year! It’s great to see productions gearing-up again after a holiday hiatus! THE BOYS stars Jack Quaid and Colby Minifie are back and ready to pick-up again on the popular Prime Video series, which is now filming its fourth season.

The son of Hollywood royalty Dennis Quaid and Meg Ryan continues to see his career flourish and we got to see him in SCREAM last year, in addition to the third season of THE BOYS. He reprises his role as Hughie Campbell once again and the season wraps production late March. Above this, we will see Quaid this year in Christopher Nolan‘s long-anticipated, Oppenheimer this July.

Minifie has been seeing her role of Ashley Barrett expand over the seasons. She’s had a long, lasting career starring in several fan favourites like Jessica Jones, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Fear the Walking Dead. Over the Pandemic, we saw her in Charlie Kaufman‘s acclaimed I’M THINKING OF ENDING THINGS alongside Jessie Buckley and Jesse Plemmons.

Quaid and Minifie were in great spirits and so nice to stop for some autographs and snaps for fans, including one with our dear beanie!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Directed by Sara Gunnarsdóttir, Short Film MY YEAR OF DICKS has done the Festival circuit, winning acclaim, including Special Jury recognition for Unique Vision in Writing and Directing at SXSW ’22! The honest, funny and heartfelt coming-of-age story is told through a collaboration of Animators and split into four chapters and at at the center of it is Pamela Ribon, basing this on her Memoir Notes to Boys: And Other Things I Shouldn’t Share in Public.

The Short Film was 30+ years in the making, re-telling her experience growing-up and her quest to lose her virginity as a teen, along with the lessons she learned about herself. It has advanced for consideration of the Academy Award for Short Film.

You can stream it now free for a limited time here! So good. This needs to be adapted into a Feature. 

(Photo/video credit: Sara Gunnarsdóttir)

One of the greatest love stories is finally being told. Hollywood Suite is pleased to be the exclusive Canadian outlet for the HBO Max Original and CNN Films documentary series The Last Movie Stars, a critically acclaimed documentary series directed by four-time Academy Award nominee Ethan Hawke. Each of the six hour-long episodes will premiere weekly on Thursdays beginning January 12, 2023, and will also be available to stream on demand the same day.

Directed by Hawke and executive produced by Martin Scorsese, this engaging docuseries celebrates the enigmatic personas, incredible talent, and captivating love story of Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. Partners on screen and in life, the pair’s unparalleled dedication to their craft, philanthropy, and one another is brought to life by readings of long-lost transcribed interviews with Newman, Woodward, and those closest to them. Hawke enlisted actors George Clooney, Laura Linney, Sally Field, Oscar Isaac, Karen Allen, Ewan McGregor, Sam Rockwell, LaTanya Richardson Jackson, Zoe Kazan, and many others, to voice original interviews and explore details of Woodward and Newman’s relationship. The series also features Newman and Woodward’s daughters, who give touching insights into what made their parents’ singular careers, and relationship, so inspiring.

“It’s an honor to get to share Joanne and Paul’s inspiring life and love story with audiences. I’m thrilled that the film has found a Canadian home on Hollywood Suite,” said The Last Movie Stars director Ethan Hawke.

“The Last Movie Stars is an intimate portrait of classic Hollywood royalty,” said Sharon Stevens, Vice-President, Programming, Hollywood Suite. “With masterful direction from Ethan Hawke, one of the most iconic stars of this generation, the docuseries effortlessly weaves old Hollywood glamour with new Hollywood A-list stars, who deliver insights based on their own personal experiences on and off screen. The series fits beautifully within Hollywood Suite’s existing catalogue of films from the Golden Age of cinema to today, bringing historical context to film with a modern sensibility.”

The Last Movie Stars was executive produced by Martin Scorsese, Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, and Courtney Sexton, senior vice president for CNN Films. The documentary is produced by Emily Wachtel and Lisa Long Adler of Nook House Productions, Ryan Hawke of Under the Influence Productions, and Adam Gibbs. Mario Andretti is a co-producer on the series, and Hamilton Leithauser (The Walkmen) is the composer for the original score.

(Photo/video credit: Hollywood Suite/HBO Max)

For an incredible fourth straight weekend, it’s AVATAR: THE WAY OF WATER on-top again with $36.1 million from 4,341 theatres for 20th Century Studios, for a total $506 million domestically.

M3GAN is off to a fantastic start with $30.2 million from 3,509 theatres for Universal Pictures. Not only this, the Horror starring Allison Williams and Violet McGraw, gets 94% on the Tomatometer. It was made for only $12 million.

Third is PUSS IN BOOTS: THE LAST WISH with $10 million in its third weekend, a total $84.6 million for Universal Pictures.

Fourth is BLACK PANTHER: WAKANDA FOREVER with $3.1 million, a total $445 million in its North American run for Disney/Marvel.

Rounding-out the Top Five is Whitney Houston Biopic I WANNA DANCE WITH SOMEBODY with $2.4 million, a total $19.6 million thus far.

INDIGO present their 2022 WRAPPED and more than ever before readers are craving Memoirs and Romance! Coming this month are new Memoirs from Prince Harry and Canada’s own Pamela Anderson.

Biographies were as popular as ever this past year as we’ve seen Canadians take a particular interest in peeling back the pages on the lives of celebrities, athletes, the royal family and more,” says Rania Husseini, Indigo Senior Vice President, Print. “We’re looking forward to another incredible year for this category, and for non-fiction overall. This month, along with Prince Harry’s book SPARE, Canadian authors like Humble the Poet continue to make their mark with exciting new releases, alongside debut authors like Monica Heisey, all of which support Canadians in their desire to access Canadian content.”

In addition to this, Indigo has compiled some eye-catching insights from its data team:

-A Rise in Romance: In the last two years, romance book sales have more than doubled, with TikTok driving increased interest.
-Biographies are Booming: Over the past five years, three biographies have been in the top 20 bestsellers across all categories, with two in the top five. Based on the success of past celebrity biographies, Indigo predicts 2023 will be the year of the biographies, because once they boom, they REALLY boom.

Year in Review: 2022 Indigo Wrapped

Don’t forget also to check-out some of INDIGO‘s most-anticipated Books of 2023 right here.

Chinese New Year is approaching in a hop and a skip and this year we’re celebrating the Year of the Rabbit! The new year is set to begin January 22, 2023 and goes till February 9, 2024. Next year will be the Year of the Dragon – which is my year – and I’m dreading it a little! Contrary to belief, celebrating your own Zodiac year can come with challenges. Fortunately though, Dragons and Rabbits have harmonious relations and my year is looking good. How about your year?

Those born in the Year of the Rabbit are known for being gentle, quiet, elegant, and alert as well as quick, skillful, kind, patient, and very responsible. At once, they give a great Poker Face, able to escape from reality easily, but yet they are very faithful.

Some famous Rabbits in Hollywood include some super A-List types like Angelina Jolie, Mark Hamill, Frank Sinatra, Johnny Depp and Drew Barrymore! Did you know also Albert Einstein was a Rabbit? People born under this sign are game-changers!

Rabbits have a much calmer demeanour than Tigers, hence we can expect a less tumultuous year ahead. I think we can all agree that would be welcomed after what was a wild Year of the Tiger in 2022!

In keeping with tradition, here are a couple great Chinese Horoscopes. I love a good Horoscope that looks at your relation to the Zodiac Sign we’re celebrating. Most importantly, I love easy-to-understand.

I appreciate some of the insights on this Horoscope including lucky charms to keep and a pretty detailed analysis of Health, Love and Finances.

Okay, this site is a little more direct, but thoughtfully laid-out. It’ll tell you what signs you’re not compatible with and your best career options. It also has a handy calculator which tells you your exact sign if you’re unclear.

In case you’re unsure what sign you fall under, here’s a quick guide to help you figure it out:

Rat
1924 1936 1948 1960 1972 1984 1996 2008 2020 2032

Ox
1925 1937 1949 1961 1973 1985 1997 2009 2021 2033

Tiger
1926 1938 1950 1962 1974 1986 1998 2010 2022 2034

Rabbit
1927 1939 1951 1963 1975 1987 1999 2011 2023 2035

Dragon
1928 1940 1952 1964 1976 1988 2000 2012 2024 2036

Snake
1929 1941 1953 1965 1977 1989 2001 2013 2025 2037

Horse
1930 1942 1954 1966 1978 1990 2002 2014 2026 2038

Sheep
1931 1943 1955 1967 1979 1991 2003 2015 2027 2039

Monkey
1920 1932 1944 1956 1968 1980 1992 2004 2016 2028

Rooster
1921 1933 1945 1957 1969 1981 1993 2005 2017 2029

Dog
1922 1934 1946 1958 1970 1982 1994 2006 2018 2030

Pig
1923 1935 1947 1959 1971 1983 1995 2007 2019 2031

We deserve the best Year of the Rabbit! To a prosperous Chinese New Year!

Mr. Will & beanie

Following the record-breaking success of its first season WEDNESDAY is coming back for a second season, as just announced today! More torture to come! YAY! Did you know Jenna Ortega, star of WEDNESDAY spent her Holidays in Toronto?

Since the series debuted in November 2022:

–Wednesday is now one of the most successful series ever on Netflix. It ranks #2 on the Most Popular -(English) TV list with 1.237 Billion hours viewed within its first 28 days.

-More than 182 Million households have seen the series since its debut. (1.237B hours divided by 6.8 hours)

–Wednesday crossed the 1 billion hour view mark only three weeks after debut – joining Stranger Things 4 and Squid Game as the third title to reach this milestone within its first 28 days.

-The series broke the record for the most hours viewed in a week for an English-language TV series on Netflix – not once, but twice – when it debuted in the #1 spot with a record breaking 341.23M hours viewed, and again in its second week with a staggering 411.29M hours viewed.

-To date, Wednesday has had six consecutive weeks with over 100+M hours viewed on the English TV List — another record!

-On TikTok, #WednesdayAddams has amassed over 22 Billion views

-The Wednesday soundtrack reached #1 on the iTunes Soundtrack chart where it remained in the Top 10 for three weeks. Wednesday Addams, the artist, now has over 1 Million followers on Spotify.

-On Spotify, “Goo Goo Muck” by The Cramps saw a streaming increase of more than 9.5K% compared to the month prior to the series release.

–Wednesday’s iconic dance scene has gone massively viral across global social media. Fan generated content utilizing “Bloody Mary” by Lady Gaga led to a streaming increase of more than 1,800% of the song on Spotify compared to the month prior the series release. Even Lady Gaga joined in on the fun.

-With over 80 Million views and counting, fans can’t get enough of the cast’s reaction to the iconic dance scene video.

–Wednesday’s viral makeup look has been searched for and viewed over 100 Million times by fans on TikTok.

–Wednesday products are in high demand with select items selling out at retailers like Hot Topic, MAC and Cakeworthy.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)