#FUNDRAISING: CASEY HOUSE’S DAVID’S DISCO TORONTO

Casey House’s David’s Disco is a fundraising event in Toronto dedicated to providing compassionate, stigma-free care for individuals living with and at risk of HIV. The fundraising event will occur tonight, March 28, 2025, at The Concert Hall in Toronto, with George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg, the founders behind Toronto-based global creative design studio Yabu Pushelberg, Sir Elton John, and David Furnish serving as honorary co-chairs.

Leading up to the event, Casey House has launched an online auction, live HERE, featuring unique items and experiences donated by leaders within art, design, and fashion. Options up for sale include iconic designs from Yabu Pushelberg like a Ligne Roset Pukka Chair and Rowan Lounge Chair, luxury experiences like an NYC Getaway at the Edition Hotel or a retreat in the Kilfinan Suite at Niagara-on-the-Lake’s The Scotsman Hotel, and collectibles including signed books by Chef Andy Baraghani and Kelly Wearstler, photography by Christopher Sherman and Ryan McGinley, as well as artwork by Blaise Hayward. To date, the cause has raised over $500K, with more to come!

As internationally celebrated designers, George Yabu and Glenn Pushelberg remain deeply connected to their Canadian roots. Though their work spans the globe, their Toronto upbringing continues to shape their values, fueling a deep commitment to giving back to their hometown and local community. George and Glenn’s studio has long championed impactful causes, supporting organizations such as The 519, Design Exchange, Rainbow Railroad, and the World AIDS Day Ball, Canadian NGOs focused on LGBTQ+ rights and HIV/AIDS awareness. Their involvement with David’s Disco is a reflection of this ethos—leveraging their influence and global network to support Casey House, Canada’s only stand-alone hospital for people living with and at risk of HIV. The event promises to be a global moment of giving driven by design, community, and purpose.

About Casey House

Casey House is unlike any other hospital. Casey House is a specialty hospital in Toronto providing ground-breaking care to people living with and at risk of HIV. Despite medications that help manage the disease, HIV continues to be a serious health threat. While there is treatment, there is no cure and people living with HIV have a higher risk of diabetes, cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurological illness. Healthcare can prevent, detect and manage these illnesses.

Each year, Casey House Foundation raises over $4 million, including over $1 million raised at events. This year David’s Disco is aiming to fund an Electronic Medical Record System that is urgently needed and requires a $1.2 million investment.

Casey House achieved accreditation by Accreditation Canada in June of 2024. In 2023, Casey House Foundation was the first Canadian charity to receive a 5-star rating, based on their review of impact, strategy, governance and finances from The Veritas Foundation. This independent analysis included a calculation of a $3.34 return on investment on every dollar granted compared with an average return rate of $2.25 for Canadian charities. Casey House was chosen in 2021 as one of the top 10 healthcare charities in Canada by Maclean’s. Casey House was also ranked as a 5 out of 5-star charity by Charity Intelligence in 2021, based on the effective and efficient use of dollars as well as the accountability of our operations.

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TRAILER FOR “ELTON JOHN: NEVER TOO LATE”

Disney+ debuted the official trailer for the upcoming original documentary “Elton John: Never Too Late.” With iconic concert footage from his career, the trailer features Elton John as he reflects on his extraordinary rise to success, the personal challenges he faced, and how his family has changed him. The original documentary will premiere December 13, 2024 on Disney+. 

The original documentary from Disney Branded Television is produced by Rocket Entertainment and This Machine Filmworks (a part of Sony Pictures Television). Directors Cutler and Furnish also serve as producers alongside Trevor Smith. Elise Pearlstein, Mark Blatty, Luke Lloyd Davies, Rachael Paley, Jane Cha Cutler and John Battsek serve as executive producers.

Elton John’s final North American concert, the Emmy®-winning “Elton John Live: Farewell from Dodger Stadium,” is available to stream now on Disney+.

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Hashtag: #DisneyPlus

ABOUT DISNEY+

Disney+ is the dedicated streaming home for movies and shows from Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, and National Geographic, along with The Simpsons and much more. In Canada, it also includes the general entertainment content brand, Star. The flagship direct-to-consumer streaming service from Disney, Disney+ offers an ever-growing collection of exclusive originals, including feature-length films, documentaries, live-action and animated series, and short-form content. With unprecedented access to Disney’s long history of incredible film and television entertainment, Disney+ is also the exclusive streaming home for the newest releases from The Walt Disney Studios. For more, visit disneyplus.com, or find the Disney+ app on most mobile and connected TV devices.

ABOUT DISNEY BRANDED TELEVISION

Disney Branded Television encompasses the creative storytellers and production and content marketing teams responsible for Disney-branded television series, movies and other programming spanning live-action, animated and unscripted formats. The group fuels the Disney+ streaming platform and Disney Channel, Disney XD and Disney Junior linear networks with content geared toward kids, tweens, teens and families, with stories that are imaginative, aspirational and reflective of their world and experiences.

ABOUT THIS MACHINE

This Machine (a part of Sony Pictures Television) was founded in 2020 and has quickly established itself as one of the premier producers of documentary film and television in the world. Headed by Award-winning filmmaker and non-fiction pioneer R.J. Cutler, This Machine is a filmmaker-driven company that explores the times in which we live through non-fiction storytelling in all media.

Recent This Machine projects include the PGA Award-nominated theatrical documentary The Disappearance of Shere Hite (IFC), the Emmy-nominated hit documentary series Big Vape (Netflix), the HBO feature doc South to Black Power, the award-winning docuseries Murf the Surf (MGM), the celebrated history of women of color in the fashion industry, Supreme Models (YouTube Originals) and the feature documentary Anthem (Disney+). This Machine is also behind the Academy Award-shortlisted Billie Eilish: The World’s A Little Blurry, the multi-award winning BELUSHI, and the cult-hit Dear… (Apple TV). Upcoming projects include the feature documentaries Elton John: Never Too Late (Disney+), Martha (Netflix), and Lee Soo Man: The King of K-Pop (Amazon Prime Video).

This Machine’s team includes Oscar-nominated, Emmy-winning producer and executive Elise Pearlstein, Cutler’s long-time producing partner Trevor Smith, COO Mark Blatty, and our development team of Sally Rosen Phillips and Alisa Cacho-Sousa.

This Machine’s team has decades of experience creating the highest quality and most popular non-fiction films and series, as well as scripted series, feature films, and podcasts.

#FIRSTLOOK: TOM HARDY CAST AS ELTON JOHN IN BIOPIC “ROCKETMAN”

Yet another reason why Tom Hardy is amazing. The Britsh Actor who continues to be Toronto-shy, has just been confirmed to star as Elton John in an upcoming Biopic about the 300-million-record-selling Singer/Songwriter, titled Rocketman.

The Film is far from your run-of-the-mill unauthorized Biopic though as John’s Partner  David Furnish will be producing the Film along with Steve Hamilton Shaw under their Rocket Pictures; Lawrence Bender of Al Film also will be co-producing. Surely this bodes well for authenticity? The Film will go as far back as John being a Child Prodigy at the age of five, according to Variety.

FilmDistrict acquired U.S. rights for the Film this past Spring, although it remains to see who will be distributing in Canada.

Hardy next can be seen in Animal Rescue, which filmed this Spring in New York City, along with Mad Max: Fury Road, in which he takes over the Titular Role made famous by Mel Gibson.

 

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)