Disney makes a victorious debut with latest Animated Feature ZOOTOPIA, earning $73 million from 3,827 theatres this weekend. Voiced by the likes of Kristen Bell, Ginnifer Goodwin and Jason Bateman, it receives unanimous praise from Critics and Audiences alike with 98% on the Tomatometer and an A CinemaScore. This sets an all-time record for best original non-Pixar/Disney original Film, besting 2013’s Frozen which debuted with $67 million.

Debuting a respectable second with $21 million is LONDON HAS FALLEN with $21 million from 3,490 theatres for VVS Films/Focus Features. The follow-up to Olympus Has Fallen gets a 26% on the Tomatometer, but Audiences adored it with an A- CinemaScore, giving it legs to run on in coming weeks as word of mouth spreads. This however doesn’t best Olympus‘ $30-million opening in 2013 en route to $160 million worldwide.

DEADPOOL slips to third spot this weekend with $16.8 million for 20th Century Fox, now in its fourth week out. Already it has surpassed $311 million domestically.

WHISKEY TANGO FOXTROT debuts in fourth with $7.3 million for Paramount Pictures from 2,374 theatres. Based on the Memoir by Kim Baker, it stars Tina Fey and Margot Robbie, garnering a passing 61% on the Tomatometer and a B CinemaScore.

GODS OF EGYPT in its second week out lands in fifth with $4.7 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films, a second Film for Gerard Butler in the Top Ten this week alongside LONDON HAS FALLEN. Egypt has grossed $22.6 million in its North American run so far.

THE REVENANT gets a boost from its Oscars exposure last weekend, in seventh with $3.6 million for 20th Century Fox, now impressively in its 11th week out. It has made $176 million thus far in these parts.

THE WITCH rounds-out the Top Ten with $2.4 million for Elevation Pictures/A24 Films in its third week out, just surpassing the $20-million mark.

Emily Kinney is emerging as a major force in Hollywood. The Actress/Singer/Songwriter gained wide popularity for her work and a Satellite Award nomination for her work on AMC‘s The Walking Dead as Beth Greene and she currently is in Toronto working on new TV Pilot CONVICTION.

According to Synopsis, the ABC Pilot starring Hayley Atwell, centers on the the daughter of a former president, who is blackmailed into taking a job as the head of Los Angeles’ newly created Conviction Integrity Unit. Along with a team of lawyers, investigators and forensic experts, she’ll investigate cases where there’s credible suspicion that the wrong person may have been convicted of a crime.  This certainly is timesd perfectly with Netflix‘s Making a Murderer exploring similar themes and opening the dialogue about wrongful conviction, to much acclaim.

In addition, Kinney has had high-profile turns on The Knick, The Following, The Flash, Masters of Sex and The Big C.

Just having released her new disc THIS IS WAR late last year, Kinney will be in the City till the end of the month.

Check out the Album’s Title Track:

We spotted the beautiful Kinney out and about today after a pre-weekend arrival and she was in great spirits out exploring her new home for the month!  She is just as awesome as we’d imagined!

See our Snap:

With #TheWalkingDead Beauty #EmilyKinney, in #Toronto filming TV Pilot #Conviction. I love her Music!!

A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong ⛄ (@mrwillwong) on Mar 5, 2016 at 3:27pm PST

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong/Universal Music)

Universal Pictures Canada + Mr. Will want to take Readers to see THE BOSS starring fan fave, MELISSA MCCARTHY! Screenings take place on Wednesday, April 6, 2016 in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton.

Synopsis:
Michelle Darnell (Melissa McCarthy), the wealthiest woman in America with an ego to match, is arrested for insider trading and imprisoned. When Michelle is released six months later, she has no where to go, so her bullied employee Claire (Kristen Bell), takes her in.

Michelle takes Claire‘s daughter Rachel to her Dandelions‘ meeting, where she finds out how much the girls earn by selling cookies. She decides to form her own girls’ group called Darnell’s Darlings, in which she teaches the girls aggressive business skills and makes a mint by having them sell brownies.  Ben Falcone directs this comedy.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook.  Also tell me your City and about one time in your life you got a second chance! Click “share” from there for an extra chance or Tweet out the below:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/theboss @MRWILLW wants us to #win Advance Passes to see #THEBOSS! Out 4.8.16.

G’luck, Willionaire$!

Universal Pictures Canada release THE BOSS Friday, April 8, 2016.

Melissa + Mr. Will:

#MelissaMcCarthy and me. She is here for #StVincent. #TIFF14 #NikonD3300

A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong ⛄ (@mrwillwong) on Sep 4, 2014 at 9:31pm PDT

Words cannot describe our excitement. We had our doubts about this new GHOSTBUSTERS Film, but this Trailer should alleviate that. It looks awesome!

Synopsis:
Ghostbusters makes its long-awaited return, rebooted with a cast of hilarious new characters. Thirty years after the beloved original franchise took the world by storm, director Paul Feig brings his fresh take to the supernatural comedy, joined by some of the funniest actors working today – Melissa McCarthy, Kristen Wiig, Kate McKinnon, Leslie Jones, and Chris Hemsworth. This summer, they’re here to save the world!

See the Trailer:

Sony Pictures Canada release GHOSTBUSTERS Friday, July 16, 2016.

(Photo/video credit: Sony Pictures Canada)

By Siobhán Rich for Mr. Will Wong

St. Patrick’s Day is almost here so that means the Toronto Irish Film Festival (TIRFF) is ready to take over the TIFF Bell Lightbox. From March 4th through 6th, the 6th annual installment of the Festival will boast an array Features, Documentaries and Shorts sure to thrill Film Lovers. This year, TIRFF will also be introducing a great new family-friendly addition to the lineup with the Best of Irish Animation.

Here are some day-by-day highlights to guide you through this busy weekend of Irish Film.

The festival kicks off Friday night with Mark Noonan’s You’re Ugly Too. Will (Game of Thrones’ Aidan Gillen) has just been released from prison on compassionate grounds so that he can care for his recently orphaned niece, Stacey (Lauren Kinsella). In order to rebuild a lost sense of family, the two head to the Irish Midlands and a caravan park where they are confronted with problems neither could have anticipated. On top of all that, Stacey’s very defined sense of right and wrong compels her to unravel the mystery behind her uncle’s incarceration before she can fully accept him into her life. This beautifully shot film will have the audience aching for the characters on screen to find the missing pieces of themselves in each other.

Friday, March 4, 2016 7:00 p.m.
Director Mark Noonan will be in attendance for a Q&A.

On Saturday, tune in for some Canadian history with the documentary, Forgotten. In the early part of the 20th century, over 100,000 children were brought to Canada and forced into indentured servitude. What happened to these children once they arrived in Canada and how their current families have come to terms with the past are just some of the issues sensitively addressed in this touching film.

Saturday, March 5, 2016 4:00 p.m.
Director Eleanor McGrath will be in attendance for a Q&A.

Sunday, before you bid slán a bhaile to TIRFF, make sure you see the fantastic Deoch An Dorais (Name Your Poison). This Gaelic language documentary (with English subtitles) tells the unbelievable tale of Mike Malloy, an Irish immigrant in New York City, who proved to be very difficult to kill. After a group of men took out two life insurance policies on the Irishman, the seemingly indestructible Malloy survived multiple assassination attempts ranging from simple poison to vehicular manslaughter. Deoch An Dorais is an incredible tale that will leave audiences agog and haunted by the story of “the man who wouldn’t die.”

Sunday, March 6, 2016 4:00 p.m.
Director Paddy Hayes will be in attendance for a Q&A.

The Toronto Irish Film Festival runs from March 4-6 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox.

For more information, check out TIRFF’s website http://toirishfilmfest.com.

Dufflet Pastries has stamped itself a Toronto institution since 1975 and for years we’ve adored their cakes.  The child of Queen of Cake® Dufflet Rosenberg was birthed out of her v. own kitchen, eventually shaping our ideas of Cakes and Pastries. If you’ve visited a local upscale grocers like Longo’s or Whole Foods, you probably already have tasted their greatness without even realizing it. Their three cafe locations across Canada (Yonge + Eglinton, Queen + Bathurst and Queen + Woodbine) continue to thrive and if you were to ask me where to get the perfect Birthday Cake, you would be hard pressed to find a more established, trustworthy bakery in the City.

Whether it be Billy‘s first Birthday Cake (a Raspberry Vanilla Charlotte), a Vanilla Layer Cake for my first Album Release party, a Pink Velvet  which I pop by occasionally for an individual slice… or my all time favourite, or their Lemon Coconut Cake, Dufflet has and will be a part of our future celebrations and life milestones to come.

Take a walk down memory lane with us!

Right in time for Easter, Dufflet Pastries soon will introduce its new menu offerings.  How do these sound?

LIME COCONUT MOUSSE MINIS

MANGO RASPBERRY MOUSSE MINIS

SPRING BASKET CAKE

SEASONAL BUTTER SHAPE COOKIES

Sorry (not sorry!) to get you salivating!

The Queen of Cake® and Movie Prince of Toronto join together to give Readers in the Greater Toronto Area a chance to win a $45 Gift Card to experience a cake by the one and only Dufflet Pastries!  Dufflet has been there with us through thick and thin and we want it to be part of your memories too!

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook! Click “share” from there for an extra chance or Tweet the below:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/dufflet @MRWILLW wants us to #win a $45 Gift Card to experience a Cake by @TourDeDufflet!

G’luck.

Visit Dufflet Pastries for more.

“Like” Dufflet Pastries on Facebook!

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Finally a Trailer for FINDING DORY! We’ve waited 13 years for this! This follow-up to Finding Nemo has our favourite blue tang searching for answers about her past with friends Nemo and Marlin!

Watch the Trailer:

DISNEY•PIXAR release FINDING DORY Friday, June 17, 2016.

(Photo/video credit: Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures Canada)

Elevation Pictures + Mr. Will want to get you elevated! We want Readers across Canada to win copies of Academy Award-nominated ROOM on Blu-ray Combo Pack!

ROOM
To five-year-old-Jack, Room is the world. . . It’s where he was born, it’s where heand his Ma eat and sleep and play and learn. At night, his Ma shuts him safely inthe wardrobe, where he is meant to be asleep when Old Nick visits. Room is home to Jack, but to Ma it’s the prison where she has been held forseven years. Through her fierce love for her son, she has created a life for him inthis eleven-by-eleven-foot space. But with Jack‘s curiosity building alongside herown desperation, she knows that Room cannot contain either much longer.

In additon to being nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, ROOM, directed by Lenny Abrahamson, also is up for Directing, Actress and Adapted Screenplay. You must witness breakthrough performances by Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay.

ROOM hits stores and is on-demand Tuesday, March 1, 2016. Date to be confirmed. Brie Larson, Joan Allen and Jacob Tremblay star.

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK. Canadian Readers only please.

G’LUCK.

This Giveaway brought to us by Elevation Pictures.

(Photo credit: Elevation Pictures)

SPOTLIGHT, Leonardo DiCaprio, Brie Larson and Alejandro González Iñárritu emerge as the big winners of the 88th Academy Awards, marking a finale to Awards Season in Hollywood.

Despite pundit predictions pointing to The Big Short winning Best Picture based on its Producers Guild Awards win, it would be Toronto-filmed SPOTLIGHT to take the coveted golden statue. The Catholic molestation scandal Drama also won for Best Original Screenplay.

With the acting categories being less open to discussion, we would witness Leonardo DiCaprio’s long overdue Best Actor win in a celebrated career with several close calls. He in addition, THE REVENANT Director Alejandro González Iñárritu would get recognized for the Film, which was seen also as a legitimate contender to take Best Picture. Filming for the Movie took place in Alberta.

Brie Larson after building Oscar buzz during the festival circuit for ROOM, became a clear frontrunner in an Awards Season trail which saw her win virtually every Lead Actress award including the Golden Globes, BAFTAs, SAGs, Critics’ Choice Awards and many more. The Actress who filmed her Oscar-winning role in Toronto, next can be seen in Skull Island, the latest in the King Kong franchise.

Swedish star Alicia Vikander quickly has risen in Hollywood after multiple plum roles of late including Ex_Machina (winner for Visual Effects), wins Supporting Actress for The Danish Girl. After seeing her Friday night in Hollywood, we whispered to her “You’re so winning on Sunday”, to which she replied back “You’re so sweet! Thank you!”.

Mark Rylance would win Supporting Actor shining brightest in Steven Spielberg’s Cold War Drama BRIDGE OF SPIES.

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD dominated the technical categories, winning Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Costume Design, Hair & Makeup, Production Design and Editing.

Chris Rock had many debating just how controversial he would go on #OSCARSSOWHITE and he would not disappoint as host with a biting opening which snapped at Hollywood, which he says flat-out is “racist” and also those who would boycott the Oscars this year due to a lack of diversity. He jokes about Jada Pinkett-Smith‘s refusal to attend this year comparing it to Rihanna‘s panties, “Neither of us were invited!”. He also makes valid points about dividing actors by sex having categories for Actor and Actress stating there shouldn’t be a separation. He also points to progress, calling Michael B. Jordan‘s success in Creed, or as he says “Black Rocky“, and the fact that the race of nominees at Awards shows being a hot topic also is indicative of positive change as black people were dealing with more important concerns like social rights issues in the decades leading to this.

In addition to playing a pivotal role in the filming of SPOTLIGHT and ROOM, Canada would win for Short Documentary with THE GIRL IN THE RIVER by Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy. AMY, a detailed recounting of fallen singer Amy Winehouse, would win for Documentary.

Fashion always is at the forefront at the Oscars and Rooney Mara in Givenchy, Charlize Theron in Dior, Cate Blanchett in Armani Privé, Saoirse Ronan in Calvin Klein, Alicia Vikander in Louis Vuitton and Jennifer Lawrence in Dior, would win on the Red Carpet.

Complete list of Winners here.

(Photo credit: Getty Images)

We had the pleasure not only of stopping by Los Angeles amidst Awards Season last week, but also Santa Anita Park.  This was no standard visit. We would be going to meet one of Horse Racing’s brightest stars, the reigning queen and three-time champion, BEHOLDER.

We’ve been a fan of the six-year-old mare who in 20 stars to date, has been a model of consistency, excellent and if not, improving with every start. Her career has seen two Breeders’ Cup victories in her two and four-year-old seasons, a rarity. She has missed the top three only twice in her career, which has seen some delays unfortunately due to health issues.

2015 was a stand-out year for the super-mare who became the first female horse ever to win the $1-million Pacific Classic Stakes and did she ever make it easy, crushing them by over eight lengths! She has amassed over $4.3 million in earnings for Spendthrift Farm.

The Richard Mandella trainee was poised to upset American Pharoah last November in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, as he bid to become the first horse ever to win a Grand Slam. Unfortunately, the stars didn’t align despite  her being at Keeneland already for the big race and unwell that day. We’ll forever wonder what could have been. Oddsmakers do however, have her pegged as the favourite to win the 2016 renewal of the race this fall in her home court, Santa Anita.

After an extended absence, she is eyeing a return to the races soon.  One unique thing about Beholder‘s personality we learn is that although she technically still is on vacation mode currently, Andrea Mandella, daughter of Trainer Richard Mandella, tells me she has the ability to hone-in and focus when it’s crunch time. She just simply knows.

The mare certainly is stunning. The first thing we noticed is how strong and thick her hind legs are. Her demeanour is gentle and she loves her Peppermints, specifically the type manufactured by Target.  Although I’d bring her some mint varieties from Canada which would be sure to shock her tastebuds! She possessed a great gentleness to her, occasionally reaching-in to kiss her trainer, Mandella and aware of the camera.

Thanks to the generosity of Spendthrift Farm, Richard, Randi and Andrea Mandella, we are able to bring you a rare peek into Beholder‘s world.

See some Snaps:

Stay tuned for details on that eagerly-awaited 2016 return for Beholder.

For now you can follow her here on Twitter.

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)