L.A.’s FIJI BLUE (Trev Ordering and Val Fritz) quickly have become my favourite new band. Was really devastated their Toronto show had been cancelled earlier last month as I was so looking forward to it.

The Duo can be described as Chill House/Electronica and I love their melancholic melodies so much. Truly ear worms. They just signed with Virgin which means big things are coming down the pipes for them!

Here is their Video, for gorgeous new Single “Goodbye”.

Check-out some of their gorgeous catalog below!

“Affection“

“Waves”

“Numb”

Stream “Goodbye” here.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Music)

We get a new Poster and official Trailer for RED NOTICE! The Action flick coming to Netflix, stars Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot and Dwayne Johnson!

Synopsis:

When an Interpol-issued Red Notice — the highest level warrant to hunt and capture the world’s most wanted— goes out, the FBI’s top profiler John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson) is on the case. His global pursuit finds him smack dab in the middle of a daring heist where he’s forced to partner with the world’s greatest art thief Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) in order to catch the world’s most wanted art thief, “The Bishop” (Gal Gadot). The high-flying adventure that ensues takes the trio around the world, across the dance floor, trapped in a secluded prison, into the jungle and, worst of all for them, constantly into each other’s company. The all star cast is joined by Ritu Arya and Chris Diamantopolous. Directed and written by Rawson Marshall Thurber (Central Intelligence, Skyscraper) and produced by Hiram Garcia, Dwayne Johnson and Dany Garcia of Seven Bucks Productions, Beau Flynn’s Flynn Picture Co. and Thurber’s Bad Version, Inc., Red Notice is a stylish globe-trotting game of cat-and-mouse (and cat).

RED NOTICE arrives on Netflix November 12, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Is there anything Anya Taylor-Joy can’t do? We present to you the official Music Video for “Downtown” from LAST NIGHT IN SOHO! There is also an Uptempo version on streaming services!

Pre-order the Soundtrack here.

LAST NIGHT IN SOHO is in theatres October 29, 2021!

(Photo/video credit: Focus Features)

Not only was IMMERSIVE VAN GOGH a huge success, allowing Torontonians safely to enjoy a dazzling spectacle during some challenging times, it was a hit in over 20 cities with the likes of Lily Collins, George Lucas and Madonna even checking it out!

Lighthouse Immersive are back at One Yonge Street (Toronto Star Building) with another jaw-dropping experience, paying tribute to Gustav Klimt. Klimt revolutionized art in Vienna prior to the fall of empire, marrying Byzantine mosaics together with Art Nouveau. The exhibit screams energy, sensuality and drama. We love it so much and at 40 minutes in length, the time flew on by!

The IMMERSIVE KLIMT experience was created by Italy’s Massimiliano Siccardi and what you get is something that has both classical and rock sensibilities. This was certainly fun!

Also, underneath the stairwell is an amazing room where four people can enjoy a more condensed version of the projections of the exhibit. We are obsessed. The Gift Shop space is incredible with everything from Klimt tote bags, to scarves, clothing, socks, keychains and so much more.

Keep in-mind safety and distancing protocols are in-place, and proof of double-vaccination is required at entry.

Some Snaps from the experience:

IMMERSIVE KLIMT opens in Toronto on October 21, 2021. More here.

Congratulations also to LIGHTHOUSE IMMERSIVE who just launched their new Magazine, SMART. More here.

Some vanity snaps:

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

By David Baldwin for Mr. Will Wong

I was not supposed to see DUNE at TIFF ’21. I had my schedule planned and practically laminated going into Labour Day weekend. So when I received a message regarding seeing DUNE and potentially having the opportunity to interview Director Denis Villeneuve, I had to stop what I was doing and re-evaluate that meticulously planned schedule. It is not every day that you have the chance to interview the beloved Canadian Director and Oscar-nominee behind films such as Blade Runner 2049, Arrival, Sicario and Incendies after all.

When I finally caught my breath and arrived at an early screening of the Film a few days later, all I could think about was the years of anticipation and fan excitement that came along with it. I had never read the book and only had a passing knowledge of David Lynch’s film from 1984. I was unsure what to expect, but knew I was in the hands of a master Filmmaker whose exquisite attention to detail and epic scope made for one of the must-see films of the Fall. Villeneuve has not just made his knockout Science Fiction opus with DUNE so much as he has created a fascinating piece of art that will please die-hard fans and newbies to the story.

Villeneuve graciously took some time to take myself and other roundtable Journalists through his process over a Zoom call during the first weekend of TIFF. He discussed how French Comic Artists and childhood heroes Jean-Pierre Dionnet and Philippe Druillet, who brought him to tears when he met them at DUNE’s Premiere in Paris, inspired his visual sense and style. He also assured us that there was no Director’s Cut of the Film, but admitted that he is “a bit tired” planning the next parts of the DUNE series, which include potential follow-up films and a TV Show.

Here are a few other things we learned during our group chat:

What was your biggest challenge in creating DUNE and doing Frank Herbert’s Novel justice?

VILLENEUVE: “I think the biggest challenge was to make sure that someone who read the Book will recognize the world they saw in their mind as they were reading the Book, a bit like when I saw Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings for the first time. I was like how did [he do it]? I had the impression that he had brought a Documentary film crew into my mind, shooting the images I had seen as I was reading the Book. I was very impressed by The Lord of the Rings, and…the goal [in making DUNE] was to try to bring some of the description from Frank Herbert [to life and] be as close to the spirit of the Book. To feel that at least have one image that some hardcore fan will say ‘Oh, that looks close to what I had in mind!’ I feel like we made an act of humility, trying not to bring our vision but more bring Frank Herbert’s vision to the screen. That’s what the big challenge was [as well as wanting] to make sure that someone who had never read the Book will not feel lost and will feel that they are welcome in the Movie and that it will be understandable to a wide audience.”.

“To find that equilibrium between those two [groups] was not easy to do and that was one of the most difficult things to do for this adaptation. I will say the fact that we split the Movie in two parts makes it easier because it means [I was able to] keep elements for the [potential] second movie, but I had to make strong choices. One of them was that my adaptation would focus on Paul Atreides (played by Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, and that it would be at the very heart of the movie and will make other characters less present. I could not bring everything or the Movie would get crushed under the pressure of so much information.”

What themes and ideas inspired you to adapt the novel now?

VILLENEUVE: “Good Science Fiction means that it necessarily will be a criticism of reality, or at least a mirror of reality. There are several topics being explored by the Novel that I feel became more relevant as time passed by. I think the novel is more relevant to today’s world than it was when it was written [in 1965]. The impact of Colonialism is still totally relevant to today’s world, the overexploitation of natural resources, the danger of blending politics and religion together – it’s all subjects that are very relevant…and more importantly, the environmental crisis. It’s something that Frank Herbert foresaw in the ’60s. He was worried about the change in climate at that time. You can still find interviews of Herbert’s concern about the change and impact of humans on the environment.”

What was the process you and your team took to create the visuals of DUNE?

VILLENEUVE: “I asked my team to do an impossible task – to at least at first, dream about the Movie, to try to go back to the roots of what they saw when they read the Book. To try to be more within the relationship of the subconscious, the dream state, rather than to go and do research on the Internet or be influenced by other artists. Of course, in saying this, it is a bit impossible because we are the product of multiple influences and we are filled with images coming from the outside but I tried…to say to my close partners, ‘Let’s dream together. Let’s try not to find references. Let’s try as much as possible to go deep inside ourselves.’ At least, that’s what I did at the beginning in order to try and find something that will feel kind of new to the audience.”.

What are your thoughts on the current theatrical landscape and if we will get to see a Dune: Part II?

VILLENEUVE: “I am very optimistic about the future of Theatrical Cinema – we shouldn’t say Theatrical Cinema, we should just say Cinema. [The big screen is] part of the language. It’s not being nostalgic talking about the big screen, it’s at the very centre of what Cinema is which is to receive a visual story in the most immersive way [by] bringing a group of human beings together. I hope the first movie will be well-received and will trigger enough enthusiasm to convince Warner Bros. and Legendary to do the second part, but I’m no prophet…I think that in the long term we will [still] be watching [movies in] theatres. As long as Cinema is with us, there will be theatres to show it.”

We also had the opportunity to speak to the incredibly candid and lovely Rebecca Ferguson, who plays Chalamet’s mother Lady Jessica Atreides in the Film. She spoke highly of her Director, the behind-the-scenes team who designed the sets and costumes, and expressed to everyone in our roundtable just how much she “really, really wants to do” Dune: Part II.

What was it like acting alongside this incredible Cast that includes Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya?

FERGUSON: “Zendaya is huge and hopefully if we do a second one, she will appear more in it. But of the Cast list, I have to say I was in awe of Javier Bardem, Charlotte Rampling, Josh Brolin, Oscar Isaac and I mean, David Dastmalchian and Stellan Skarsgård and there are many more to [add to] that list. [It was] an honour. An absolute honour. But I think also, doing a film with Denis without knowing the Cast – you know it’s going to be good. It was more a matter of unravelling little Christmas gifts. So Timmy [Chalamet] was the first who was cast. I think I was the second, and then gradually it was sort of a ‘And look who we have here! And look who we have here!’ It was just wonderful.”.

How would you describe the balance between masculinity and femininity in the film?

FERGUSON: “We need to break down what masculinity and femininity is in 2021…Women had no power [in older times] as they do now and yet we’re not even close to what it is to be equal. But they were seen as [being] much more powerful, right? We needed to create the balance and the structure [in DUNE]…it couldn’t be equal. I keep saying this as well, which is an odd thing to say, but the film wouldn’t work with an equal gender neutral position. It is about motherhood. It is about the men making the decisions. But overall, the women are the umbrella. Look at The War of the Roses. Look at the Medieval Times. The men were out in the battlefields, you know slashing and having their jolly old time. The women were plotting the household to create stronger alliances. And this is an on-going theme, isn’t it? What I think Denis did and what he wanted to do was defibrillate the fact that these human beings had powers because of necessity and reason. One of the things we talked about was the gender neutralness of the stillsuit and what it represents. I love that it serves purpose and that it doesn’t just look feminine [or] masculine – it is just a suit for survival.”

How did your acting process on DUNE differ from films like Mission: Impossible and Doctor Sleep?

FERGUSON: “I want different things all the time, otherwise I’d be bored…My process changes because I’m working with new directors. [They] ask of new energies. Tom [Cruise] has such an energy and rush about him that with Mission, it’s a huge film with huge sets, huge stunts and huge energy, and it is just go, go, go all the time. And character-driven as well. But there’s no stillness. You’re never really breathing, which is why they’re so amazing. Denis’ process is finding that complete stillness, finding the drama within character and just dropping them in a set that could eat them up. He finds the juxtapositions of scope and scale. So that just becomes a very different process. And on Doctor Sleep, I just ate kids you know?”

Stay tuned later this week for our full review of DUNE!

Warner Bros. Canada release DUNE in theatres on Friday, October 22, 2021.

*Please exercise caution observing COVID-19 protocols if seeing this in-theatre*

Supernatural Horror Series LOCKE & KEY premiered early 2020 on Netflix and it was little surprise to see that fans responded well to this adaptation of Joe Hill and Gabriel Rodríguez‘s Comic Book series of the same name. The Series centers on a widowed mother Nina (Darby Stanchfield) and her three children Tyler (Connor Jessup), Kinsey (Emilia Jones) and Bode (Jackson Robert Scott) who relocate to her husband’s family home, only to discover mysterious magical keys scattered throughout the home that lead to several revelations. Filmed mostly in and around the Greater Toronto Area, two additional seasons were filmed during the Pandemic. Season Two arrives later this month.

We had the opportunity to chat with Toronto-born star Jessup, who plays the eldest son in the family, Tyler and what we can expect in this upcoming season.

We asked what we can expect of Tyler‘s character arc in season two of LOCKE & KEY.

Jessup: “In season one, Tyler was really weighed-down by this enormous grief and guilt he carried about what happened with his dad. Really a lot of his arc in season one was letting go of that weight. At the beginning of season two you find him in a much lighter and more comfortable place. They think they’ve won against Dodge. He’s settling-in with Jackie (Genevieve Kang) in his life, his relationship with his family is much better, so really things are looking good for Tyler. He very quickly realizes he and Jackie and are on the edge of becoming adults and we know that adults for whatever reason can’t remember magic, so he starts becoming increasingly worried about what it means to forget magic when other memories go with that. His driving focus is holding onto his memories and this life he’s built.”.

Part of what makes the Series so wonderful is the strong family bond we see between the Locke family on-screen. We ask how this is chemistry is built.

Jessup: “I feel like I have to invent an answer because it’s just so easy. We shot season one in 2019 and we had an extended break because of the Pandemic, starting later than we were supposed to. We shot Season Two and Three back-to-back for pretty much a full year together. Essentially, the only people I would see every day were these people. Everyone was so happy to be working again and being outside their homes. And it was this was a very special sort of bonding process. I feel so grateful to Emilia, Jackson, Darby and all our Crew. It really didn’t require a lot of work to imagine they were my family.”.

Netflix in Your Neighbourhood has just launched, the website giving fans a glimpse into some of the Canadian locations seen in their favourite Netflix series. Jessup is well aware of the site we see!

Jessup: “I was at a bar near my house – kinda like a diner – and I was walking a couple weeks ago and saw on the ground this sticker that said ‘LOCKE & KEY shot here’. And I was like ‘Oh wow!’.”.

We ask Jessup about his favourite filming locations in this Series.

Jessup: “We shot allover Toronto, the GTA and Nova Scotia and I still think the place that gave me the most shivers was the exterior of Key House. It was this set they built on the outside of this lot north of Hamilton in Freelton, and they built the entire first two floors of this house and all the property. You see the roads, the garden shed, the welhouse and all the greenery, all that was built for the show. I’ve never seen something of that scale before and it’ feels so lived-in and because we shot for a year, we saw every season. Fall and Winter we were hiding inside the house. Spring and Winter people would start to come out and the Crew was all lounging on the lawn. It really felt like home, so I’m gonna miss that. Driving away from that set was hard.”.

Jessup had the pleasure of appearing as a guest on Season Two of Canada’s Drag Race and we ask about this as a fellow fan.

Jessup: “I’m a super Drag Race fan. My memory is like a black hole. I was so nervous and so full of anticipation that my mind went blank. I arrived and ten hours later I left. I really hope that wasn’t all a disaster, but I guess we’ll see in a few weeks. It was so much fun. There’s a moment towards the end when we’re watching the Lip Sync and my job was done and the judges weren’t talking anymore and I thought I could release a little bit of stress, and I was sitting there on the desk thinking, ‘Wow! I’m watching this in real life!’.”.

See Video from the Chat below:

S2 of LOCKE & KEY arrives on Netflix October 22, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Netflix)

Here is your first look at Animated Series DIARY OF A WIMPY KID, coming soon to Disney+ right in time for the Holiday season!

Synopsis:

The first book in Jeff Kinney’s worldwide bestselling series comes to Disney+ in the all-new animated adventure “Diary of a Wimpy Kid.” Greg Heffley is a scrawny but ambitious kid with an active imagination and big plans to be rich and famous – he just has to survive middle school first. To make matters worse, Greg’s lovable best friend Rowley seems to coast through life and succeed at everything without even trying! As details of his hilarious – and often disastrous – attempts to fit in fill the pages of his journal, Greg learns to appreciate true friends and the satisfaction that comes from standing up for what is right. Directed by Swinton Scott (“Futurama”) and written and produced by Jeff Kinney,  “Diary of a Wimpy Kid” features the voices of Brady Noon (“The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers”) as Greg Heffley, Ethan William Childress (“mixed-ish”) as Rowley Jefferson, and Chris Diamantopoulos (“Silicon Valley”) as Frank Heffley.

DIARY OF A WIMPY KID arrives on Disney+ December 3, 2021.

(Photo/video credit: Disney+)

If you’ve ever tried it in the past, you already know that organising a golf tournament is a difficult job. Golf tournaments may be a great way to get some additional cash like one would at the True Blue online casino. Customer or employee gratitude, fundraising, competitive fun, and, of course, networking are also good reasons to organise a golf tournament. No matter your reasons, hosting a golf tournament requires a great deal of thinking and preparation. Some helpful tips could go a long way in ensuring your event is successful.

This article will discuss a list of golf tournament ideas that you can try out when organising a tournament.

Giving Your Fundraiser a Face and a Narrative

Your tournament should have a face on it if your goal is to raise money. Storytelling that centres around particular individuals is a very effective method to establish an emotional connection with your attendees — and if these people happen to be members of your community, that’s an additional benefit. People are more likely to contribute to a fundraising event when you can put a face and a narrative to it since they believe their contribution will directly affect the life of the person they are supporting.

In addition, using this kind of approach throughout your marketing campaign can assist you in generating greater interest in your event. You should tell the narrative of particular people when you send out an email or post on social media. Make sure to explain why they need your assistance and how their contribution will benefit them.

Finding Your Venue

You may start searching for a location after you’ve decided on your format and amount of attendees. Charity events are expected at golf courses, although some are better suited to handle bigger audiences and hybrid events. Furthermore, you must be aware of each course’s COVID-19 rules to keep your visitors safe. For example, many courses restrict golf carts to one rider per cart, so switching your tournament from a four-person team to a two-person or even a single-player event may make sense.

You may quickly meet current course standards by scheduling tea sessions over a week and using an app to monitor scores. This removes the need for shotgun starts, and utilising a scoring software like Hole 19 eliminates another point of contact for a safer event. Allowing greater flexibility with tee times may help boost attendance since prospective donors will have more options for fitting your event into their calendars.

Consider whether or not you’ll need a banquet hall for your event. The most secure choice remains an outdoor dinner, but you’ll want to be sure that your venue can handle your guests securely in the case of bad weather.

Even if your event is held inside or outdoors, you’ll want to make sure you perform a trial run beforehand if you want to broadcast it live. After providing an excellent experience for your in-person visitors, you don’t want your virtual guests to abandon it 10 minutes into the event because they couldn’t understand a word.

Looking for Sponsors

Hosting a fantastic event costs money, and your organisation wants to ensure that contributions go directly toward your goal. That’s when sponsors step in to help out! Your sponsors, like your contributors, have a wide range of organisations from which to select. When writing your sponsorship request letter, you’ll want to make it clear precisely what your event will be donating back to the community. For example, if your event is collecting funds for a new food storage facility that will allow your food bank to increase the number of people it can assist each month, make sure to mention that clearly in your event description. 

What company wouldn’t be enthused by the prospect of making such a significant impact in their community? While many businesses are actively looking for ways to give back, don’t simply tell them what your organisation will get due to their support. Inform them of what is in it for them as well!

Building Your Event Website

Now that you’ve worked out all of the specifics of your event, it’s time to start building your website. This does not imply that you need a separate website. It simply means that you need a part of your website to obtain information about and register for your fundraiser as quickly as possible. If you’re just adding a page to your current website, there are a few essential considerations to bear in mind. First and foremost, your website is just like free pokies, so make sure that your event site is well-branded. Generally speaking, contributions made via a branded form are more significant than those made through a generic PayPal form. 

When a branded contribution form is utilised, donors are more likely to make a second donation! Also, make sure that the time and location of your event are prominently displayed and include any necessary instructions, such as information on COVID-19 safety measures. To prevent participants from inadvertently missing essential bits of information, make sure your form and accompanying instructions are mobile-friendly. Finally, by providing donors with the option to make an additional contribution in addition to their registration cost, you may boost your donations. You could also add prompts to encourage contributors to contribute regularly rather than simply once.

Promoting Your Tournament Through Social Media

If you’ve been working on your social media approach, there’s a good possibility that you’ve amassed a sizable number of followers who are likely to attend your golf event. By providing information about your forthcoming event, you can make the most of this channel. The following are examples of such posts:

• A promotional flyer;
• Some images from past tournaments or current tournament preparations;
• A link to a previous tournament’s blog post;
• A promotional video that invites people to sign up.

While promotional flyers are an excellent method to tell people about your event, you should avoid flooding your social media feed with them. Instead, utilise the other methods listed above to create some interest in your events; however, be sure to include a link in those articles to the page on your website where people may book their place for the event.

Conclusion

Whatever method you choose to organise your tournament, make sure that the focus is on providing a positive experience for everyone that participates. Even if you don’t organise the most lucrative event, you’ll develop connections with golfers that will make you much more money in the long run.

Madison Beer‘s star continues to rise and she’s back in Toronto to kick-off her brand new tour. The 22-year-old Singer/Songwriter who first gained recognition posting covers on YouTube has since gone on to gain a huge fanbase which includes 25 million Instagram followers, and a major label debut on Epic, Life Support (for which the tour also is named after) which garnered some praise from Critics.

Beer arrived in Toronto over the weekend the get a head start on rehearsals, and her first show will be tonight at Queen Elizabeth Theatre, being moved over from The Phoenix due to capacity and health regulation requirements. The show sold-out completely, evidence of her growing popularity after last having visited Toronto in 2018 for an appearance at the iheartRadio MuchMusic Video Awards.

We were happy to get a moment to meet Beer, getting a Selfie as she head-off with her entourage. Even in casual mode, she still is stunning and was so gracious to fans on her off time.

See our Snap:

In case you haven’t heard Beer’s Music, she often goes introspective tackling relationship and mental health issues.

Selfish

Baby

Boyshit

(Photo/video credit: Sony Music/Mr. Will Wong)

HALLOWEEN KILLS slashes its way to the #1 spot at the Box Office in its debut this weekend for Universal Pictures, with $50.1 million from 3,705 theatres. While it doesn’t quite surpass the success of 2018’s HALLOWEEN which debuted with $76.2 million in its opening weekend, the feat still is impressive considering the times we are in. Critics gave this one a 36% on the Tomatometer.

In second spot is NO TIME TO DIE with $24.4 million in its second week, a total domestic run of $99.7 million for Universal Pictures.

Third is VENOM: LET THERE BE CARNAGE with $16 million from 4,013 theatres, a three week total of $167.8 million for Sony Pictures.

THE ADDAMS FAMILY 2 lands in fourth with $6.7 million, a three week total of $41.8 million for Universal Pictures.

THE LAST DUEL directed by Ridley Scott (who also has House of Gucci later this year) and starring buddies Ben Affleck and Matt Damon, rounds-out the Top Five with $5 million from 3,065 theatres for 20th Century Studios. Critics raved with an 86% score on Rotten Tomatoes.