It’s a huge opening for SPIDER-MAN: FAR FROM HOME, taking-in $87 million for Sony Pictures from 4,634 theatres in North America. The Film gets 92% on the Tomatometer, tallying $178 million since its Tuesday 4th of July Holiday opening. Best opening for the Franchise in this era starring Tom Holland, still goes to 2017’s SPIDER-MAN HOMECOMING with $117 million.

TOY STORY 4 is going strong still in second with $33 million this weekend from 4,540 theatres for Disney, a total $305 million grossed over two weeks.

Third spot goes to YESTERDAY with $10.1 million for  Universal Pictures. The Beatles-themed Musical has grossed $36.2 million over two weeks.

ALADDIN lands in fifth with $8.2 million, a total $321 million for Disney in seven weeks domestically.

MIDSOMMAR is in sixth with $6.2 million  for A24 Pictures/Elevation Pictures, a total $10.4 million since its Wednesday opening. It gets 82% on the Tomatometer and C+ CinemaScore.

ROCKETMAN rounds things out in tenth with $2.2 million for Paramount Pictures.

After winning much acclaim at Sundance this year including the US Dramatic Directing Award and Special Jury Award – Creator Collaboration, THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO made its way north to Toronto for a special screening at TIFF BELL LIGHTBOX. Here to ring-in the occasion was Director/Writer Joe Talbot and star/Co-Writer Jimmie Fails, whom the Film is based loosely on. Moderating the post-Film Q&A was Sarah Tai-Black.

The stylish Drama, produced among others by Brad Pitt, centers on an African-American man named Jimmie (Fails) and his best friend Montgomery (Jonathan Majors) determined to reclaim the home his grandfather built. The Film is a passion project for Talbot and Fails, sporting matching sneakers, both San Franciscans who dreamed of making a Movie together as teens.

Talbot talks about his relationship with Fails which goes back several years.

Talbot: “Jimmie and I grew-up in San Francisco. We started making movies when we were teenagers. Seven years ago, we talked about making this Movie, several parts which are based on Jimmie‘s life. Then five years ago, we began and we didn’t even know how Features were made, but we shot a funky Concept Trailer where we followed Jimmie around the city and he tells his grandfather’s story. We put it online and people started reaching out to us. And they became a part of our core team… It felt like we were wearing ten hats at all times.” .

Fails talks about this love letter to San Francisco and how they achieved authenticity.

Fails: “San Francisco is such a beautiful city in so many ways. I feel like all natives are kinda obsessed with the old San Francisco, the architecture, all the history it has, and all the movements like the Hippie movement, the Beatniks were there. It had a very vibrant culture. We pride ourselves on such a crossover culture.” .

“Whenever they shoot movies there they don’t actually use locations where natives actually are. It was important to make a Movie by people who were actually from there.  We felt it was important to get that authenticity on-screen.” .

Both Talbot and Fails were thrilled to get fellow San Franciscan Danny Glover aboard the Film, joining about two weeks prior to filming. Fails recalls getting a call from Glover, who introduced himself only as “Danny” and they got so caught-up talking for 20 minutes about their love for San Francisco that they didn’t even talk about the Film itself. You can imagine how Talbot felt about that!

See some of Talbot + Fails’ Chat below:

Check-out the Trailer for THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO:

See some Snaps from the evening:

Loved their unintentionally-matching shoes!

levelFILM release THE LAST BLACK MAN IN SAN FRANCISCO Friday, July 5, 2019.

It sees a VOD release October 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Pacific Northwest Pictures x Mr. Will want to give Readers a chance to win Advance Passes to an screening in Toronto of THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE on Monday, July 15, 2019.

Synopsis:
Casey (Jesse Eisenberg), a meek and timid man, is attacked at random on the street. He subsequently enrolls at a local dojo led by a charismatic and mysterious sensei (Alessandro Nivola), in an effort to learn how to defend himself.

What he uncovers is a sinister world of fraternity, violence and hypermasculinity and a woman (Imogen Poots) fighting for her place in it. Casey undertakes a journey, both frightening and darkly funny, that will place him squarely in the sights of his enigmatic new mentor.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

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

Pacific Northwest Pictures release THE ART OF SELF-DEFENSE Friday, July 19, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Pacific Northwest Pictures)

Ed Sheeran fans, your moment has come! Toronto Fans will get access to super-rare and awesome Ed Sheeran merchandise at his exclusive Pop-Up store available two days only next week. This will be the only of its kind in Canada.

Details:

Where: 277 Queen St. W, Toronto
When: Friday, July 12 & Saturday, July 13 (10 AM – 7 PM)
What: Ed Sheeran “No. 6 in the 6ix” pop-up store; Toronto fans will get a chance to purchase exclusive merchandise only being made available for two days or while supplies last

Check-out Sheeran‘s exclusive message for Toronto fans here:

Check-out some new Tracks from Sheeran’s new Disc, No. 6 Collaborations Project:

Warner Music Canada release NO. 6 COLLABORATIONS PROJECT Friday, July 12, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Warner Music)

Universal Pictures Canada x Mr. Will want to give readers a chance to win Advance Screening Passes to see FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW!

Screenings take place Wednesday, July 31 @ 7:00PM
TORONTO // Scotiabank Theatre Toronto
MONTREAL // Scotiabank Theatre Montreal
VANCOUVER // Cineplex International Village
EDMONTON // Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton
CALGARY // Cineplex Eau Claire Market Cinemas

Synopsis:
After eight films that have amassed almost $5 billion worldwide, the FAST & FURIOUS franchise now features its first stand-alone vehicle as Dwayne Johnson and Jason Statham reprise their roles as Luke Hobbs and Deckard Shaw in FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW.

Ever since hulking lawman Hobbs (Johnson), a loyal agent of America’s Diplomatic Security Service, and lawless outcast Shaw (Statham), a former British military elite operative, first faced off in 2015’s FURIOUS 7, the duo have swapped smack talk and body blows as they’ve tried to take each other down.

But when cyber-genetically enhanced anarchist Brixton (Idris Elba) gains control of an insidious bio-threat that could alter humanity forever — and bests a brilliant and fearless rogue MI6 agent (The Crown’s Vanessa Kirby), who just happens to be Shaw’s sister — these two sworn enemies will have to partner up to bring down the only guy who might be badder than themselves.

HOBBS & SHAW blasts open a new door in the FAST universe as it hurtles action across the globe, from Los Angeles to London and from the toxic wasteland of Chernobyl to the lush beauty of Samoa.

Directed by David Leitch (DEADPOOL 2) from a story by longtime FAST & FURIOUS narrative architect Chris Morgan and a screenplay by Morgan and Drew Pearce (MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE-ROGUE NATION, IRON MAN 3), the film is produced by Johnson, Statham, Morgan and Hiram Garcia. The executive producers are Kelly McCormick, Dany Garcia, Steven Chasman and Ethan Smith.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate there your City.  Click “share” on this Post from there for an extra chance. You also may Re-Tweet this Contest Tweet from @mrwillw for another shot!

Universal Pictures Canada release FAST & FURIOUS PRESENTS: HOBBS & SHAW Friday, August 2, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Universal Pictures Canada)

What a Canada Day weekend it was! We had the sheer joy of driving the 2019 Honda Passport Touring for the occasion and it was magical. While the Passport is just making a comeback after being absent from production since 2002, its return certainly is welcomed, enhanced with sensibilities of the now. The versatile mid-sized five-door SUV is a melding of style, sophistication and practicality. It spaciousness is an embarrassment of riches for a single driver like me, although I can’t deny it was super-handy for running errands and stocking-up for the weekend!  Fittingly, we got to drive it in a patriotic Deep Scarlet Pearl for our long weekend adventure!

Boasting a powerful 3.5-litre, 24-valve, Direct Injection, SOHC, i-VTEC® V6 engine, we were king of the road, navigating with its 9-speed automatic transmission with Grade Logic Control, operating at 280 horsepower. The Passport Touring‘s Fuel Economy tallies in at 12.5/9.8/11.3 City/Highway/Combined. We admire Honda‘s commitment to Fuel Economy and the environment with its dealbreaking for many, Eco Assist system, idle-stop engine and ECON mode button, easy on the wallet and the earth we live.

Power and economy aside, the Passport Touring is obsessed with our safety. It possesses 4-wheel Anti-lock Braking System (ABS), Brake Assist, Forward Collision Warning (FCW) system, Collision Mitigation Braking System, Lane Departure Warning (LDW) system, Honda LaneWatch Blindspot Display, Tire Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS) with Tire Fill Assist and Blind Spot Information (BSI) system with Rear Cross Traffic Monitor system and the ultra-convenient Auto High-Beam which helped greatly in our evening drives, taking us city to countryside. Its Immobilizer Theft-Deterrent System is an added protection and we are notorious for fumbling for our keys and can’t live without Proximity Extry which the SUV has.

We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Honda‘s Multi-angle Rearview Camera with dynamic guidelines is life-saving and makes us a pro at parking at the trickiest spots. Fitting in between two trucks at the airport? No problem! Parallel parking downtown? Please.

Driving in the Passport Touring is a joy with its powerful 550-watt AM/FM Premium audio system with MP3/Windows Media® Audio playback capability and 10 speakers including subwoofer. Everything from Bluetooth Audio to Sirius XM is an entertainment option and there is an abundance of charging options including 12 and 115-volt outlets, plus USB and wireless charging.

Keeping with our Honda Caraoke tradition, we’re still buzzing with delight after attending the sold-out Ariana Grande show at Scotiabank Arena! I’ll let the sound quality speak for itself!

The Passport Touring‘s extra-large moonroof was made for this weather we experienced Canada Day weekened, giving our drives pure mood and ambience.

Its Tri-Zone Climate Control and air filtration system is a thing of wonder, keeping my passengers calm and cool amidst the blistering weekend heat, letting them in both front and back, customize their own tenperature settings. Front seats have heating and cooling options as well, the latter which definitely got put to good use.

See some Snaps including our weekend at the historic Queens Plate Festival, our favourite event of the Summer! Strapped for time, we got to preview a smooth ride along the 407 which got us there right in time! Hover cursor on the right of each album to navigate further.

More on the 2019 HONDA PASSPORT TOURING starting at $49,900 CAN here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)

The 160th edition of the Queen’s Plate took place at Woodbine Racetrack this Canada Day weekend!  The two-day festival of horse racing, fashion, music, food and drink, culminated in North America’s most historic race on Festival Saturday. The race at ten one and a quarter miles, is restricted for three-year-old horses foaled in Canada and valued at a purse of $1 million. Taking the glory was none other than California-based ONE BAD BOY. The strapping dark brown son of Twirling Candy took it wire-to-wire by 3 and 1/2 lengths over Avie’s Flatter and then Tone Broke under Flavien Prat, defeating a field of 13 in 2:02.9 minutes before a packed grandstand. Prat won the Kentucky Derby this May via disqualification aboard Country House. One Bad Boy colt is owned by a partnership of Say Jay Racing, Brooke Hubbard and Greg Hall. He was bred by Ontario’s Ron Clarkson and was sold at the 2017 Keeneland September Sale. It has just been confirmed that he will contest the second leg of the Canadian Triple Crown, the Prince of Wales Stakes July 23, 2019 at Fort Erie.

One Bad Boy

The two-day Festival featured a star-studded lineup of racing with six other stakes races contested including the Lady Angela, Charlie Barley, Zadracarta, King Edward, Dance Smartly and Highlander Stakes.

Holy Helena – Dance Smartly Stakes, the 2017 Queen’s Plate victress shows she’s still got it! Her owner, icon Frank Stronach was in attendance.

Synchrony – King Edward Stakes, the American invader is owned by Josephine Abercrombie‘s Pin Oak Stable and she too graced us with an appearance.

Wet Your Whistle – Highlander Stakes, the off-the-pace sprinter went last-to-first for American-based trainer Michael Trombetta, who has found stakes success locally this season.

The Black Album (FR) – Charlie Barley Stakes, this French-bred colt ridden by Flavien Prat, is owned by Team Valor and Hollywood Mega-Producer Gary Barber, and regained the winning form he showed in France last year.

Desert Isle – Zadracarta Stakes, this Graham Motion-trained filly is owned by iconic Canadian outfit, Sam-Son Farms

Ciuri – Lady Angela Stakes, this Bob Tiller trainee owned by the same connections as Woodbine legend Pink Lloyd, was one of two stakes winners at Woodbine this weekend by red-hot sire Souper Speedy.

Also taking place at Woodbine this weekend was the unveiling of the new Inner Turf course. I recall Woodbine having had a Marshall Turf Course as a child, however this new, improved and re-branded course gives fans something new to cheer about and a new angle to wager on.

The Queen’s Plate is rooted in tradition and pageantry. Lovely seeing Lieutenant Governor of Ontario Elizabeth Dowdeswell with us once again, a vision of royalty.

We wished we had more of a chance to enjoy the Hats & Horseshoes Party and witness some of the Fashion, but our focus always has been the amazing racing on Queen’s Plate Festival weekend and we simply had to choose with six stake races on one card. We did spot these amazing looks including a Pretty Woman homage and David Dunkley owning the fascinator and hat game!

JUNO winners THE WASHBOARD UNION headlined the Queen’s Plate Festival, playing Festival Friday. The Trio treated fans to a surprise bringing on-stage fellow JUNO winner, BRETT KISSEL! Check-out a Clip of them performing their new single, “She Gets Me” below.

“She Gets Me”

And for your favourite part of our coverage of course, our world-famous Selfies!

One Bad Boy and his winning connections, including Co-Owners Brooke Hubbard and Greg Hall

The Washboard Union and Brett Kissel

Kaitlyn Leeb, star of upcoming Netflix Figure Staking series SPINNING OUT

Fort Erie‘s Ashley Mailloux joined us this weekend, contributing to HRRN‘s Queen’s Plate coverage

Beauty Queen and TVG personality Megan Devine also gave us a real treat with her visit. Amazing seeing America’s Best Racing‘s Dan Tordjman and Boston’s Woodbine fan extraordinaire, Sean Patrick Nolan back too!

This amazing sculpture had Instagram ‘lit’ Queen’s Plate Festival weekend!

Also, our dear friend Dawn Lupul, who has given fans amazing race analysis for eleven years now, says goodbye. We will miss her so much at the races and can’t wait for her next venture in holistic health and wellness. Send her your regards at @DawnLupul.

Congrats to our Reader, Cindy who won a pair of passes to the Festival this weekend. She had a blast, meeting The Washboard Union and also our adorable Mr Will!

More on the Queen’s Plate here.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Woodbine Entertainment)

TOY STORY 4 prevails again a second week at the Box Office, taking $56 million in week two from 4,575 theatres for Disney, taking it to $235 million in a two week run thus far.

ANNEBELLE COMES HOME lands a distant second with $16.4 million in its debut from 3,613 theatres for Warner Bros. Franchise best still belongs to the first Film in the Series, with $37.1 million back in 2014. It gets 69% on the Tomatometer and a B- CinemaScore.

YESTERDAY debuts in third with $15 million from 2,603 theatres for Universal Pictures. The latest from Danny Boyle gets 61% on the Tomatometer and an A- CinemaScore.

ALADDIN is in fourth with $8.8 million, a total $305 million grossed in North American to date for Disney.

AVENGERS:ENDGAME gets a re-release with additional footage, placing in fifth with $6.3 million from 2,025 theatres for Disney.

JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM rounds-out this Top Ten with $2.5 million for eOne Films/Lionsgate Films.

The legacy of The Lion King is unparalleled. The 1994 Animated Musical not only went on to win universal acclaim, but also outstanding commercial success, grossing almost $1 billion internationally, spawning various stage productions of it. The torch is handed off to multi-talented Jon Favreau to tell this story theatrically to a new generation of fans. Expectations are high for this upcoming Remake, which utilizes cutting-edge realism and an all-star Cast which has just about everybody circling their calendars in preparation for its July release.

The Cain and Abel-like story centers on a lion named Simba (Donald Glover) who is destined for greatness as Crown Prince of the Pridelands, in line to succeed his father Mufasa (James Earl Jones). He is derailed into exhile by his father’s ambitious brother Scar (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and it is up to Simba to reclaim what rightfully is his.

The starpower is staggering as the Supporting Cast is rounded-out by Alfre Woodard, Seth Rogen, Billy Eichner and Beyoncé.

Daytime Emmy winner Billy Eichner, known widely for his energetic and spontaneous brand of humour on Game Show Billy on the Street, plays wisecracking meerkat Timon, paired with slow-thinking warthog Pumbaa (Seth Rogen). The Funnyman is in Toronto to promote the release of what many are calling the cinematic event of the Summer and we are delighted to speak to him.

Eichner describes himself to us as mix of Theatre and Comedy worlds and he admits he likes this space. He also feels he is in a unique position being of an old school Theatre background, but also speaking to the new school in this Social Media age. In this upcoming Remake, he sings beloved Hakuna Matata and even jokes that he’s on a Track with Beyoncé as Timon sings a snippet of the Film’s centerpiece number, Can You Feel the Love Tonight?

We ask Eichner to tell us about the casting process and his reaction to being cast as Timon.

Eichner: “It was pretty shocking. I literally got a cold call from my agent that Jon Favreau wanted me to be in The Lion King. I had no preparation for it. I didn’t audition for it. I don’t think he auditioned anyone for it actually, maybe the kids?” . He adds, “I knew Jon and I knew he was a big Billy on the Street fan, but I’ve never worked with him before and literally I was shocked.” .

At the time our conversation, we still had not seen this latest incarnation of The Lion King. Curious, we ask Eichner how different it is from its Predecessor.

Eichner: “It’s completely different. Because of this, our vocal performances have to match the photo-realism of the Movie. They’re using some state-of-the-art technology, Virtual Reality and things I don’t comprehend. They put a helmet on me at some point and I was like, ‘I don’t know what’s going on. I’m just here to try to be funny’.” .

“The Movie just looks incredible. It looks so real and it is really breathtaking.” . While he realizes he really doesn’t have to do much to sell The Lion King to us since it is so well-loved, he reveals, “It’s such a nice escape from the real world and the daily onslaught of everything.” .

Eichner is known for his energetic and fast-thinking on Billy on the Street, where often he brings a notable name onto the street, giving New Yorkers a real shock and delight. We ask how different it is for him working in a controlled framework and a Script.

Eichner: “I’ve done scripted things before like American Horror Story. I would improvise and they would be like ‘What are you doing?’. But in The Lion King, the way that Jon wanted to do it, he encouraged us to riff and improvise. And a lot of our Improv remained in the final cut of the Movie. And I was surprised, I thought maybe we were just doing it as an exercise. It really gives this version of Timon and Pumbaa a really unique feel. Me and Seth Rogen aren’t going to sound like the original characters (voiced respectively by Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella), so I’m guessing there was a lot of spontaneity and Improv involved and I’m guessing that’s what Jon Favreau really wanted since he cast me and he knew that’s my background.” .

Walt Disney Studios Canada release THE LION KING Thursday, July 18, 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Walt Disney Studios Canada)

The Trailer for Elizabeth Banks’ CHARLIE’S ANGELS has just surfaced and it actually looks AMAZING!

See the Trailer:

Sony Pictures Canada release CHARLIE’S ANGELS November 2019.

(Photo/video credit: Sony Pictures Canada)