CBC, the #1 Canadian podcaster, is launching a new fall slate of original podcasts, featuring new and timely investigations and in-depth looks at pop culture figures and events. CBC’s entire podcast collection can be found on CBC Listen and everywhere podcasts are available. Select titles can also be streamed on YouTube.

PERSONAL BEST (Season 3, 6 episodes)

Listen to the first four episodes now on CBC Listen and everywhere podcasts are available

Cult classic Personal Best is returning! Named ‘best podcast’ by Vulture, Apple, TIME and more, this is the podcast that celebrates small ambitions, half-wins and the quiet satisfaction of getting less bad at things. Each week, funny guys Rob Norman and Andrew Norton help ordinary people work through the little things they’d never bring to a life coach — like having the courage to dine alone at a fancy restaurant or getting less awkward at handshakes.

SPLIT SCREEN: THRILL SEEKERS (6 episodes)

Listen to the first two episodes now on CBC Listen and everywhere podcasts are available

A TV crew offers 12 ordinary people the chance to take part in the adventure of a lifetime. But there’s a catch: the audience knows everything but the contestants are kept in the dark. As the cameras roll, no questions are allowed. The contestants just have to do as they’re told. SPLIT SCREEN: THRILL SEEKERS is a new six-part series that explores the impact of a mysterious reality show that caused a massive ripple effect in the lives of those who took part. Hosted by Love + Radio’s Nick van der Kolk, listeners will hear from former contestants, crew and set designers to find out what happened behind the scenes of this reality TV experiment.

CELINE: UNDERSTOOD (4 episodes)

Launches Tuesday, October 15

Celine Dion is having a moment. It’s not her first, and millions of fans are hoping it won’t be her last. While Celine’s international stardom seems obvious now, it was all so unlikely. In this new season of UNDERSTOOD, host and Celine expert Thomas Leblanc explores the surprising cultural, political and business alchemy that created one of the most enduring superstars the planet has ever seen. CELINE is the latest season of UNDERSTOOD, a podcast that takes listeners out of the daily news cycle and inside the events, places and cultural places you want to know more about.

UNCOVER: BAD RESULTS (6 episodes)

Launches Monday, October 28
They needed certainty. They got chaos. For over a decade, countless people from at least five different countries put their trust in a Toronto company offering prenatal paternity tests. Their clinic promised “99% accuracy” — their results were anything but. Hosts Jorge Barrera and Rachel Houlihan talk to people whose lives were torn apart by these bad results, tracking the trail of shattered families, acrimonious court cases and interrupted childhoods. BAD RESULTS is the latest season of CBC’s hit true crime podcast UNCOVER.

SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING: THE CHRISTINE HARRON CASE (Season 9, 5 episodes)

Launches Wednesday, November 6

Christine Harron, a book-loving teenager from Hanover, Ontario, leaves for school in the spring of 1993 and is never seen again. A suspect emerges, confessing to her murder, but the case falls apart and Christine’s family are left without answers. In Season 9 of the award-winning podcast SOMEONE KNOWS SOMETHING, David Ridgen, along with Christine’s mother, reopen the investigation and come face to face with the man who said he killed Chrissy.

PERSONALLY: SHORT SIGHTED (5 episodes)

Launches Tuesday, November 19

SHORT SIGHTED uses innovative audio to explain vision loss to a sighted audience. Hosted by Graham Isador (VICE, GQ) and scored by Christopher Ross-Ewart (Yale School of Drama), the show combines personal storytelling, humour, journalistic interviews, and experimental sound design to immerse audiences in the surprising and frustrating world of visual impairment. Each episode of SHORT SIGHTED uses a story about Graham’s vision loss as a jumping-off point for larger conversations about accessibility and blindness. SHORT SIGHTED is the latest season of CBC’s new memoir podcast, PERSONALLY.

In addition to the aforementioned titles, CBC’s ongoing podcasts include: COMMOTION WITH ELAMIN ABDELMAHMOUD, CRIME STORY, THE DOSE, FRONT BURNER, Q WITH TOM POWER, SICKBOY and more.

CBC offers a richly diverse collection of award-winning podcasts that engage, enlighten and entertain. CBC is the #1 Canadian podcaster, reaching more Canadians than any other podcast publisher with millions of downloads each month and more than 45 series in genres such as true crime, comedy, human interest and audio fiction.

Notable Indigenous director Michael Greyeyes takes the helm of this 33-minute mid-length feature film, written by three-time Canadian Comedy Award winning Rob Baker, based on a story created by Jamie Thomas King (AMC’s MAD MEN, Showtime’s THE TUDORS), Tamara Podemski (Amazon/Prime Video’s OUTER RANGE, FX’s RESERVATION DOGS) and Rob Baker. Premiere takes places at the Hamilton Film Festival October 26, 2024.

Produced by Tamara Podemski and executive produced by Jamie Thomas King.

THE LIGHT BEFORE THE SUN stars:
Jamie Thomas King (AMC’s MAD MEN, Showtime’s THE TUDORS)
Rick Roberts (CTV/NBC’s TRANSPLANT, ABC’s DESIGNATED SURVIVOR)
Tony Nappo (Paramount+’s STAR TREK: DISCOVERY, CBC’s STRAYS)
Jennifer Podemski (Crave’s DON’T EVEN, FX’s RESERVATION DOGS)
Rose Napoli (JUMP,DARLING, MAX’s TITANS)
Rob Baker (CBC’s BARONESS VON SKETCH SHOW, Netflix’s GINNY & GEORGIA)
Karen LeBlanc (CBS/Paramount +’s FIRE COUNTRY, Netflix’s GINNY & GEORGIA).

THE LIGHT BEFORE THE SUN is about famed self-help guru Daniel Wolf (Jamie Thomas King) returning home to an empty house after an international book tour and then his estranged friend Freddie (Rick Roberts) arrives on the scene. They spiral into a drug-induced contemplation of the human condition, as Daniel attempts to reconcile his body of work, the demand of his followers, and his unrelenting quest for enlightenment.

Screeners and Interviews are available upon request.

Connect with BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIONS
Instagram: @blackbirdprodinc
Facebook: Blackbird Productions
Website: blackbirdproductions.ca

ABOUT BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIONS INC.
Fuelled by their mutual desire to expand Tamara and Jamie’s vision as storytellers, BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIONS is an opportunity for this husband and wife team to claim their space behind the camera as producers, writers and content creators. With a mission to educate, empower and entertain, BLACKBIRD PRODUCTIONS is passionate about provocative, socially conscious stories of resilience and the capacity of the human spirit.

THE LIGHT BEFORE THE SUN (LONG SYNOPSIS)
Struggling to find his footing after coming off an international book tour, celebrated self-help guru Daniel Wolf returns home to an empty house. With his family snowed in hundreds of miles away and without his support systems in place, he does everything he can to keep himself from calling the one person who could relieve his anxieties, but also lead him down a rabbit hole. When estranged friend Freddie arrives on the scene, Daniel succumbs to the desperate need for reassurance, liberation and intimacy. As the two friends spiral into a drug-induced contemplation of the human condition, Daniel attempts to reconcile his body of work, the demand of his followers, and his unrelenting quest for enlightenment. Set within the world of the human potential movement, Daniel’s descent reveals the intricate web of mental health, addiction and celebrity culture. In this journey of self-discovery, Daniel must decide if he’s willing to lose everything and finally step into his most authentic self.

ABOUT TAMARA PODEMSKI
Tamara Podemski is an Anishinaabe (First Nations) and Ashkenazi (Jewish) multi-disciplinary performer whose work has spanned over three decades on stage and screen. She is best known for her acting roles in DANCE ME OUTSIDE, THE REZ (CBC), READY OR NOT (Global), RESERVATION DOGS (FX) and the Broadway company of RENT. In 2007, Tamara won the Special Jury Prize for Acting at the Sundance Film Festival for her role in Sterlin Harjo’s FOUR SHEETS TO THE WIND, which also garnered her a Film Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Tamara stepped behind the camera in 2018, writing two seasons of the Indigenous documentary series FUTURE HISTORY(APTN), earning her a Canadian Screen Award nomination for Best Factual Writing. The following year, she joined the Indspire Awards (CBC) as writer and researcher for this nationally-televised variety program, which was nominated for a Canadian Screen Award for Best Biography Series.

In 2020, Tamara was tasked with bringing the quirky character of Alison Trent to life on CORONER (CBC), a role that won her a Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress (2021), an ACTRA Award for Outstanding Performance (2021), as well as another Canadian Screen Award for Best Guest Star (2022). She then went on to star opposite Phoebe Waller-Bridge in RUN (HBO) and then opposite Josh Brolin for two seasons as Sheriff Joy in OUTER RANGE (Amazon/Prime Video).

After years of experience in both Canadian and US markets, Tamara claimed her space as a producer in 2023, launching Blackbird Productions with her husband Jamie Thomas King. From its passion for provocative and diverse storytelling to its engagement of healthy workplace processes and practices, Blackbird is committed to amplifying the conversation of mental health and trauma recovery, while providing safe spaces for dialogue and discourse through all levels of production.

As an Indigenous storyteller, Tamara continues to advocate for authentic representation, inclusion in-front and behind the camera, as well as challenge the colonial narrative pervasive in the entertainment industry.

ABOUT JAMIE THOMAS KING
Jamie Thomas King is a English-American actor born and raised in London, England, where he began his training with the National Youth Theatre and later received a scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). His big break came when he starred in the Royal National Theatre’s production of Sir Alan Bennett’s “The History Boys”, directed by Sir Nicholas Hytner, followed by a UK tour and a transfer to the West End’s Wyndham Theatre.

For the next twenty years, Jamie moved between film and television, with characters like Guy Mackendrick in the multiple Emmy and Golden Globe Award-winning series MAD MEN (AMC), and Sir Thomas Wyatt in two seasons of the historical drama THE TUDORS (Showtime). From popular network shows like PRIVATE PRACTICE (ABC), ELEMENTARY (CBS), CALL THE MIDWIFE (BBC) and MURDOCH MYSTERIES (CBC) to Oscar and BAFTA-winning films like Mike Leigh’s MR. TURNER and Tomas Alfredson’s TINKER, TAILER, SOLDIER, SPY. Jamie established himself as an international screen actor, but never forgot his theatre roots. In 2015, Jamie returned to the stage to join the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford, starring in John Ford’s “Love’s Sacrifice”.

In 2016, following the death of his son Benjamin due to medical error, Jamie took a hiatus from his career to focus on the Coroner’s Inquest. Calling upon everything he learned during the five-year lawsuit, Jamie joined forces with patient safety advocates around the world in their mission to improve global healthcare practices, eventually teaching workshops, offering keynote addresses and creating a Foundation in memory of his son.

Returning to the industry, and following in the path of his late mother, acclaimed screenwriter Laura Lamson, Jamie wrote his first screenplay. After reading OBE Recipient James Titcombe’s memoir Joshua’s Story: Uncovering the Morecambe Bay Maternity Scandal. He secured the rights to the book and adapted it for the screen.

In 2023, Jamie partnered with his wife Tamara Podemski to create Blackbird Productions, subsequently acting as EP and star of their first project, The Light Before the Sun will world premiere at the Hamilton Film Festival in October 2024.

SING MY SONG explores this question by following Barbara “Kayee” Lee, an award-winning broadcast journalist and community advocate, on her decade-long journey to try to find an answer to this question. Lee’s pursuit of her musical dream intertwines with encounters with fellow Asian American and Asian Canadian singer-songwriters including the Far East Movement, Alfa Garcia, Kevin So and Umi Hsu. This feature-length documentary challenges the Model Minority Myth, unraveling its dual nature – celebrated for excellence in classical music yet sidelined as not “cool enough for mainstream popularity.

Asian Vancouver-based Barbara Kayee Lee’s documentary feature SING MY SONG will have a special event screening on October 9, 2024, at 7 pm at the Scotiabank Theatre Toronto as a FREE PUBLIC SCREENING, first come first serve and RSVP via Eventbrite: https://tinyurl.com/singmysong24

Following this special event screening, SING MY SONG will stream worldwide via the SVOD platform Asian American Movies (AAM.tv) on Friday October 11, 2024.

Asian American Movies (AAM.tv) is a global niché streamer focusing on diasporic Asian Pacific Islander content, available on IOS, Android and the Roku Channel.

Paramount Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win passes to an Advance Screening of SMILE 2 in Toronto, Montreal (EN/FR), Vancouver and Calgary.

Screenings take place as follows:

TORONTO

Date: Wednesday, October 16th

Time: 7:00PM

Location: Scotiabank Theatre Toronto

VANCOUVER

Date: Wednesday, October 16th

Time: 7:00PM

Location: Scotiabank Theatre Vancouver

MONTREAL – ENG

Date: Wednesday, October 16th

Time: 7:00PM

Location: Cineplex Cinemas Forum & VIP

MONTREAL – FRE

Date: Wednesday, October 16th

Time: 7:00PM

Location: Cineplex Cinemas StarCité

CALGARY

Date: Wednesday, October 16th

Time: 7:00PM

Location: Scotiabank Theatre Chinook

Synopsis:

About to embark on a new world tour, global pop sensation Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) begins experiencing increasingly terrifying and inexplicable events.

Overwhelmed by the escalating horrors and the pressures of fame, Skye is forced to face her dark past to regain control of her life before it spirals out of control.

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 and tag who you would like to bring!

Also, you can do the same on this contest post on our IG or X account as well!

Enter as many times as you like.

Rules and regulations here.

SMILE 2 IS ONLY IN THEATRES ON OCTOBER 18, 2024.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada/Mr. Will Wong)

Today, we get a new official trailer for Christmas release, NOSFERATU.

Check-out the new Poster as well!

Written for the Screen & Directed by: Robert Eggers
Producers: Jeff Robinov, John Graham, Chris Columbus, p.g.a., Eleanor Columbus, p.g.a.,
Robert Eggers, p.g.a.
Cast: Bill Skarsgård, Nicholas Hoult, Lily-Rose Depp, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Corrin,
Ralph Ineson, Simon McBurney and Willem Dafoe
Synopsis: Robert Eggers’ NOSFERATU is a gothic tale of obsession between a haunted young woman and the terrifying vampire infatuated with her, causing untold horror in its wake.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada/Focus Features)

Hot off its warm reception at TIFF ’24 comes the new Trailer for Jacques Audiard‘s EMILIA PÉREZ.

SYNOPSIS |

From renegade auteur Jacques Audiard comes Emilia Pérez, an audacious fever dream that defies genres and expectations. Through liberating song and dance and bold visuals, this odyssey follows the journey of four remarkable women in Mexico, each pursuing their own happiness. The fearsome cartel leader Emilia (Karla Sofía Gascón) enlists Rita (Zoe Saldaña), an unappreciated lawyer stuck in a dead-end job, to help fake her death so that Emilia can finally live authentically as her true self. Written and directed by Audiard (Rust and Bone, A Prophet), the double Cannes-winning film also stars Selena Gomez, Adriana Paz, and Edgar Ramírez.

About EMILIA PÉREZ
DIRECTOR: Jacques Audiard
WRITER: Jacques Audiard
PRODUCERS: Pascal Caucheteux, Jacques Audiard, Valérie Schermann, Anthony Vaccarello
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER: Pauline Lamy
CAST: Karla Sofía Gascón (Emilia), Zoe Saldaña (Rita), Selena Gomez (Jessi), Adriana Paz (Epifanía), and Edgar Ramírez (Gustavo)
ORIGINAL SCORE AND SONGS BY: Clément Ducol and Camille
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: France

In Select Theaters On November 1, 2024 (US and Canada)

On Netflix November 13, 2024 (US, Canada and UK)

THE WILD ROBOT is a machine, opening to an impressive $35 million from 3,963 theatres for Universal Pictures. The Animated Feature which premiered at TIFF “24, gets a stellar 98% on the Tomatometer.

In second is BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE with $15.4 million for Warner Bros. in its fourth frame, tallying-in at a $250 million run domestically.

TRANSFORMERS ONE gets $10 million in its second weekend out for Paramount Pictures. It is edging close to the $40 million mark.

DEVARA PART 1 gets $6.3 million from 1,040 theatres for Prathyangira Cinema, good for fourth.

MEGALOPOLIS from icon Francis Ford Coppola, earns $5 million from 1,854 theatres for Cineplex Pictures and Lionsgate. This self-funded gamble gets 47% on the Tomatometer.

Currently the #1 show on Netflix, the riveting MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY has taken the world by storm. Dramatizing the murder case in the early ’90s where two brothers murdered their parents, claiming they were in fear of their father killing them after enduring years of abuse. This was an early blueprint of court television, revolutionizing the way the public accessed the courtroom and trials.

The Series is garnering lots of early Awards Season buzz for its two lead actors, Nicholas Alexander Chavez and Cooper Koch, who play Lyle and Erik Menendez, respectively in this latest installment of Ryan Murphy‘s MONSTERS anthology. Its predecessor MONSTERS: THE JEFFREY DAHMER STORY starring Evan Peters in the titular role went on to phenomenal success including wins at the Golden Globes, BAFTA Awards, Critics’ Choice Awards and People’s Choice Awards.

The two breakout stars came to Toronto today to promote the Series, including a live taping of a Sirius XM Canada chat with moderator, Allison Dore to air at a later date. The conversation included how the two Actors achieved chemistry as brothers organically, their opinions of Milli Vanilli (whose music is featured prominently in the Series), the public’s reaction to the Series and Koch walks us through filming an award-worthy one-take scene in episode five.

Some official snaps from the event:

Highlights below:

MONSTERS: THE LYLE AND ERIK MENENDEZ STORY streams now on Netflix.

(Photo/video credit: Arthur Mola/Mr. Will Wong)

Today, Disney+ unveiled the trailer and key art for the upcoming documentary, “Fanatical: The Catfishing of Tegan and Sara,” which will premiere on October 18, 2024 on Disney+ in Canada.

Tegan and Sara ascended to global fame as one of the most influential queer indie rock bands of their generation. They worked hard to cultivate an inclusive and passionate fanbase around the world. Listeners were drawn to the Canadian duo’s beautifully confessional lyrics, but there was more than just the music. Fans found within the community the only safe space to come out and be queer during a time when few bands would declare allyship, let alone celebrate their own queer identity. But a bad actor took advantage of the community’s trust and comfort. Tegan and Sara’s world turned upside down when Tegan’s personal files were hacked in 2011, revealing the dark side of fame and fandom. This is a sprawling yet intimate story of how Tegan’s identity was stolen and weaponized in a complex catfish scheme to ensnare members of this community. The film is an examination of the severe ripple effect of mistrust, anxiety, and self-doubt that resulted from Fegan’s (Fake Tegan) actions.

Today, Tegan enlists documentary filmmaker and investigator Erin Lee Carr [Britney Vs. Spears] to find the person stalking her and terrorizing her fans and community for over fifteen years. Interwoven with the investigation Tegan’s team originally conducted in 2011, they uncover new victims and potential suspects and reveal sinister and unforeseen twists.

Told through Tegan’s own voice, the voices of deceived fans, a trove of visceral communications between fake Tegan and their victims, and the visual history of the band’s behind-the-scenes archive, this documentary feature is a thriller, a caper, a whodunnit, and an intimate personal journey rolled into one. It cuts to the heart of love and betrayal, fame and fandom, desire and delusion in the 21st century.

A Story Syndicate production, in association with Carr Lot Productions. Directed and produced by Erin Lee Carr. Produced by Elyssa Hess. Producer Jenny Eliscu. Executive produced by Tegan Quin and Sara Quin; Dan Cogan, Liz Garbus, Jon Bardin and Kate Barry for Story Syndicate.

“Dim Sum without Distance” is an artistic exploration that celebrates the transformative effect of cultural exchange and profound connections between Eastern and Western traditions. Through the culinary art of dim sum – which means to ‘touch the heart’ in Chinese – two artists from distant cities form an artistic bond that traverses physical and cultural divides. A collaboration between Canadian dance artist Lauren Runions and internationally renowned Hong Kong artist HUNG Keung, known for his interactive installations that integrate digital new media with classical Chinese themes, Dim Sum Without Distance will be presented at Nuit Blanche from October 5 & 6 at Love Park (96 Queens Quay West).

Dim Sum Without Distance invites audiences into a sensory odyssey where art, culture, and cuisine converge to create a tantalizing feast for the senses. The installation will feature five large-scale LED monitors placed in and around the iconic heart-shaped pond in downtown Toronto. Each screen offers a unique perspective, interweaving the disciplines of traditional Chinese landscape painting, video, dance and performance art with the universal language of food in a visually stunning narrative.

Hung Keung had invited Lauren Runions to embark on a transformative journey to travel to Hong Kong for her first time. There, she immersed herself in the multi-sensory world of dim sum and learned from a master in the culinary craft. These experiences inspired her to create a series of performance pieces incorporating the backdrop of Hong Kong’s beautiful interiors and exterior landscapes. Captured through the innovative lens of Hung, the result is a mesmerizing visual narrative that dim sum is more than a mere sustenance for the body, but nourishment for the soul.

Dim Sum Without Distance will be part of Nuit Blanche Toronto’s free all-night celebration of contemporary art that transforms and animates public spaces into extraordinary art throughout the city. This year’s theme, “Bridging Distance,” is exemplified by the cross-cultural art collaboration between Hung and Runions that defies geographical boundaries and brings together the vibrant cultural connections between Hong Kong and Toronto.

To celebrate Dim Sum Without Distance at Nuit Blanche, the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB) is giving away a Trip for Two to Hong Kong during Arts Month in March. To enter, simply scan the QR Code on the Dim Sum installation screens at Love Park. The lucky winner will receive (2) round-trip flights to Hong Kong aboard Cathay Pacific Airlines, four-night hotel accommodation, and access to various museums and art experiences during Arts Month in Hong Kong.

Dim Sum Without Distance at Nuit Blanche Toronto
October 5 – 6, 2024
Love Park, 96 Queens Quay West

Artwork by HUNG Keung (Hong Kong)
Created by: HK + imhk lab (Hong Kong)
Collaborative with: Lauren Runions (Canada)
Exhibition Curator: Laura Nanni (Canada)

About the Artists

HUNG Keung is an award-winning digital media artist and professor at The Education University of Hong Kong. He blends Chinese philosophy with digital media in innovative practice incorporating interactive performance and experimental art. As founder of the IMHK LAB, he explores how traditional Chinese art intersects with modern technology and contemporary art practices. Among his accolades, Hung has been twice honoured with the Artist of the Year (Media Art) by the Hong Kong Arts Development Council (ADC), and received the Achievement Award from the Hong Kong Museum of Art for the Hong Kong Contemporary Art Biennial.

Lauren Runions, a Toronto and Halifax-based dance artist, and leader of I/O Movement, a contemporary dance project that combines site-specific choreography with community engagement, exploring movement as a spatial and reciprocal practice. Lauren’s innovative approach uses score-reading and score-writing to expand improvisation and interactions with material, raising awareness with both urban and natural environments. Lauren has installed site-specific work for MOCA (Toronto) and Nuit Blanche 2022.