Just two more days till Fans allover the World will fall in-love with STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS!  Jimmy Fallon once again goes way above and beyond with the Cast of the Film and The Roots, performing an out-of-this-world A Capella version of the Star Wars theme. Seen here are Daisy Ridley, John Boyega, Oscar Isaac, Adam Driver, Gwendoline Christie, Lupita Nyong’o, Carrie Fisher and Harrison Ford. YOU. MUST. WATCH.

See it below:

Read our Review for STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS right here!

(Photo/video credit: NBC)

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Canada + Mr. Will want Readers to win a box set for eight-time Primetime Emmy-nominated JUSTIFIED: The Complete Series Limited Edition Box Set!

Synopsis:

Justified is an American television drama series based on Elmore Leonard‘s short story “Fire in the Hole“. Timothy Olyphant portrays Raylan Givens, a tough U.S. Marshal enforcing his own brand of justice in his hometown of Harlan, Kentucky.

Justified also stars Nick Searcy, Joelle Carter, Jacob Pitts, Erica Tazel, Natalie Zea, Walton Goggins and Jere Burns.

To enter to win, JUSTIFIED: The Complete Series  Limited Edition Box Set, including a limited edition flask, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook. Canadian Readers only please.

Artwork:

Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Canada release JUSTIFIED: The Complete Series Box Set, in stores now.

G’luck.

(Photo credit: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment Canada)

Paramount Pictures Canada + Mr. Will want to take Readers to see gripping war drama 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI first! Screenings take place Wednesday, January 13, 2016 in Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa.

Synopsis:
When everything went wrong, six men had the courage to do what was right.

Directed by Michael Bay, 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi stars John Krasinski, David Giuntoli, Pablo Schreiber, Max Martini and James Badge Dale.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

To enter to win, simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will on Facebook and state your city. You may click “share” from there for an extra chance or Tweet the below:

http://www.mrwillwong.com/13hours @MRWILLW wants us to #win Advance Passes to see #13HoursMovie. Out 1/15!

Paramount Pictures Canada release 13 HOURS: THE SECRET SOLDIERS OF BENGHAZI in select Canadian cities Friday, January 15, 2016 and across Canada Friday, January 22, 2016.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

After premiering at TIFF ’15 Animated Feature ANOMALISA quickly got picked-up for distribution as critics went wild for Charlie Kaufman‘s latest. Paramount Pictures Canada + Mr. Will want to take you to see it first. Screenings take place in Toronto (Wednesday, January 6, 2016), Montreal (Thursday, January 14, 2016) and Ottawa (Wednesday, January 20, 2016).

Synopsis:
Michael Stone, husband, father and respected author of “How May I Help You Help Them?” is a man crippled by the mundanity of his life. On a business trip to Cincinnati, where he’s scheduled to speak at a convention of customer service professionals, he checks into the Fregoli Hotel. There, he is amazed to discover a possible escape from his desperation in the form of an unassuming Akron baked goods sales rep, Lisa, who may or may not be the love of his life. A beautifully tender and absurdly humorous dreamscape, from the brilliant minds of Charlie Kaufman (SYNECDOCHE, NEW YORK) and Duke Johnson (“Community” episode, Abed’s Uncontrollable Christmas), this stop-motion animation wonder features the vocal cast of Jennifer Jason Leigh, Tom Noonan and David Thewlis and a stirring strings-based score by Carter Burwell. The darkly comedic and surreal stop-motion journey of a man’s long night of the soul, ANOMALISA confirms Charlie Kaufman‘s place amongst the most important of American filmmakers, and announces Duke Johnson as a major creative force.

See the Trailer:

Artwork:

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

http://www.mrwillwong.com/anomalisa @MRWILLW wants us to #win Advance Passes to see #ANOMALISA!

G’luck.

Paramount Pictures Canada release ANOMALISA in Toronto on Friday, January 8, 2016, Montreal on Friday, January 15, 2016 and Ottawa to be determined, with additional cities to follow.

(Photo/video credit: Paramount Pictures Canada)

There are several mysteries in life… like how they get the caramel into the Caramilk bar and also how that voice came out of JoJo, an unassuming pre-teen girl who stormed our airwaves with a multitude of hits beginning 2004. If you listened to Top 40 back when people listened to the radio, you’ll remember her smashes Leave (Get Out) and Too Little Too Late.  After a draining dispute with her former record label which kept JoJo out of the spotlight for most of the past decade, she’s back!

We were super-fond of her Tringle – three singles – released  simultaneously back in August and finally JoJo is back in Toronto today for a sold-out show at The Mod Club.

We caught-up with the brilliant Vocalist earlier today as she got ready to tape a string of interviews at the Bell Media building and she went beyond to stop for a Selfie.  She was so grateful for the support and lovely, not yet fully in the outfit she was about to be seen in, make-up all done.

While this current Tour is just a taste of what’s to come, we’re famished for new music from JoJo.  More details on her full-length debut from Warner Music Canada to come soon!

See our Snap:

With #Jojo! Have waited like 8 years for this! She plays Mod Club tonight! #Toronto #The6ix

A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong (@mrwillwong) on Dec 15, 2015 at 10:44am PST

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

Master of wit. Member of the original Frat Pack.  Will Ferrell for many of us is a household name we’ve grown-up with, whether it be his phenomenal run on NBC staple Saturday Night Live, timeless classics like Elf or what’s to come next – that eagerly-awaited sequel to Zoolander which already has ‘broken the internet’ with a record-setting 52.5 million views in its first week.

Although this wasn’t Ferrell‘s first visit to the City, with the Toronto International Film Festival, Semi-Pro and The Campaign bringing him to Toronto in recent years, Fans and Media equally were excited to see him again as the red carpet was rolled-out at Scotiabank Theatre for a special Advance Screening of DADDY’S HOME.

Despite being a bit behind schedule worsened by inclement weather, Ferrell was generous with his face time and after doing a round of interviews, he quickly went in-theatre to introduce his new Comedy, before picking-up where he left-off with Media. Believe me, we’ve been on the Red Carpet circuit for years now and we’re lucky sometimes even to get a question in.  Ferrell was a class act, giving thoughtful answers which go a level deeper than the Funnyman we think we know.

My Samsung S6 rang off the hook around 7:10 PM while Ferrell was on-stage before a packed theatre of Fans, many who hadn’t a clue he’d be coming.  Already a bit nervous, my jaws dropped in disbelief that he singled me out, asking “Where’s Will Wong?”.  Perhaps it’s because we share a name, perhaps our name had a fun ring to it, or maybe he googled us after learning that we’d be speaking on the Carpet?  Whatever it was, we didn’t want to wake-up from it.

Special thanks to @DaveMABalwdin for sending this in:

What is life again?

Daddy’s Home centers on a man named Brad (Ferrell), a smooth jazz radio executive whose world is turned upside-down after the birth father of his stepchildren, Dusty (Mark Wahlberg) re-enters the picture after a period of estrangement.  Dead-set on reclaiming back his wife Sarah (Linda Cardellini) and kids, Dusty pulls-out all the stops, awakening Brad‘s competitive spirit and deepest insecurities in a full-on Battle of the Dads.  Can there be only one Dad?

Decked-out in a perfectly-cut suit, the eloquent and gracious Ferrell made his way to us, the last outlet on the Carpet, still in great spirits. We expressed our gratitude for his shout-out earlier – an endorsement of the highest kind.

I point-out that often in Film, we see the stepparent not always in the most favourable light.  What is refreshing about Daddy’s Home is that it gives us a completely new perspective.  As Producer and Star of the Film, we ask about the importance of this story being told.

Ferrell says, “I think Daddy’s Home is more about the blended family, which is becoming more commonplace. It’s so unique. We don’t think we’ve seen this done before in a Family-Comedy.”.   He adds, “Original Writer Brian Burns gives us a  heightened version of his life and that’s how he pitched it to us. He’s a stepdad of two and he does everything by-the-book and is always there for them. Meanwhile the ‘real dad’ comes on weekends, takes them to Disneyland and buys them candy and Brian‘s left to pick-up the pieces on Monday and we kept laughing at this.”.  “It’s the steady force having to deal with the tornado and there’s  a lot of potential for comedy there.”.

The character Brad seems to know what he wants in life until Wahlberg‘s Dusty shows-up and from there his insecurities become amplified and it is his competitive spirit that drives the plot along.  We ask the well-spoken and confident Ferrell about his own insecurities and after pausing to think, his response in true Ferrell form is hysterical.

He jokes, “My greatest insecurity is that Mark Wahlberg will be jealous of my one ab and that he won’t talk to me anymore.”.

We ask Ferrell about his upcoming projects, more specifically hoping he’ll dish on Zoolander 2 and his sassy fashion maven, Mugatu.  And he does.

“I’ve got Zoolander 2 coming out and I had a great time reprising Mugatu.  I’m working on reuniting with Adam McKay (Anchorman, Step Brothers, The Other Guys) and John C. Reilly on a Film about two guys who go down to protect the (southern U.S.) border.”.

We wish it were the Canadian-border though…  He seemed to know enough about Canadian Politics, answering questions about our new Prime Minister Justin Trudeau with another outlet earlier.

See our Chat:

#TrueStory: #WillFerrell walks into the Canadian Premiere for #DaddysHome and asks, “Where’s Will Wong?!?”. And I faint. #Toronto #The6ix Photo by @alyssamhurst. A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong (@mrwillwong) on Dec 14, 2015 at 4:51pm PST

Paramount Pictures Canada release DADDY’S HOME on Christmas Day.

Review coming soon.

(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Alyssa Hurst)

After gaining much recognition competing on the second season of The X Factor in 2014 in the UK and placing second, Fleur East is ready to make her presence known globally.  The amazingly-gifted Singer/Songwriter hailing from Walthamstow has released her official first single SAX, from her just-released debut disc LOVE, SAX AND FLASHBACKS.

We don’t give compliments musically often, but Fleur East is deserving of our highest praise. Her energy, her voice, her charmisma, her style. She is ready for the spotlight and she’s just who we’ve been waiting for.

Her sassy, heavily-70s and 80s-inspired sound is heard consistently on her Disc (produced by Simon Cowell) and we cannot wait for stateside release. If you love Bruno Mars + Mark Ronson‘s Uptown Funk, this is for you.

See the Video here:

(Photo/video credit: Sony Music)

By George Kozera for Mr. Will Wong

As the din of the screams, tears and cheers that greeted Shawn Mendes, the last person to walk down the red carpet, dissipated into the air, I entered the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts to watch returning Master of Ceremony, the very charming and professional Jason Priestley, host and introduce the most deserving inductees to this year’s CANADA’S WALK OF FAME.

Before each of the inductees had their moments to shine on the beautifully-adorned stage (which had screened clips and interviews of previous honorees that included Michael J. Fox and Anne Murray before the show started) there was a buzz of anticipation in the air. It is not very often that we get the chance to see some of the greatest talents this country has to offer.

Olympic gold medalist, Silken Laumann, spoke of courage and overcoming adversity. A somewhat unusually subdued Don Cherry and the very eloquent Ron MacLean showed us why they were so deserving of this accolade. After the effusive introduction from songstress extraordinaire Molly Johnson, author of “The Book of Negroes” (and brother to singer Dan Hill), a humble Laurence Hill, mesmerized the audience with his personal story of family and strength. Multi-talented and multiple Gemini Award winning actress, Wendy Crewson, gave the most passionate and fiery speech about the art of the craft that had the audience cheering. I have become even a bigger fan of Shawn Mendes, after he shyly and nervously accepted the Allan Slaight Award, then came back later in the show to sing two songs. This talented young man from Pickering has class AND talent!

There was then a lovely tribute to the late, Ottawa-born Lorne Greene who will be forever known as Ben Cartwright in the television classic, “Bonanza”. Vancouver Canucks‘ Trevor Linden had fun talking about the lack of hockey skills the last inductee. Michael Bublé, has, but what Bublé lacks on the ice, he more than makes up for in talent! Not only does he command the stage when he sings, in accepting his award, Michael Bublé was the consummate entertainer. His speech was funny, slightly ribald, modest and genuinely moving when he talked about his wife and son. Newly-minted Canadian, Johnny Reid, ended the show with an inspirational song from his new album.

You may have noticed that I have been vague about many of the exciting things that occurred on stage at the CANADA’S WALK OF FAME celebrations. My intent is to tease only and ensure you watch this show, as I will again, when it is televised on the Global Network on Thursday, December 17, 2015 at 8 PM EST. Watching it will give you another reason to be a proud Canadian!  More here.

Wheatless, meatless.  This slogan only scrapes the surface for booming local vegan chain, Kupfert & Kim.   As a meat eater myself, the words “vegan”and “gluten-free” conjur ungratifying images of blandness, but I mean it when I say that this is Toronto’s best of-its-kind offering.  If my meals were all prepared like they are at the primarily fast food counter, there’s a good chance I wouldn’t miss meat for long.  Now branching into a sit-down format at its new sixth location just south of prime locale Queen x Spadina, Kupfert & Kim grants us a wish we’ve been longing for since trying it first on the PATH at First Canadian Place earlier this year. The same expedient preparation and those exquisite flavours, all in a proper sit-down environment.

Known mostly for its scintillating Boxes, every bite – whether it be their Sweets, Curries or Soups – is a culmination of a sophisticated integration of flavours. We are in love with their Mexican-inspired Box, the OAXACA (pronounced ‘wa-ha-ka’) containing brown rice, black beans, organic kale, beets, non-GMO corn, daikon radish, hemp seeds, organic tortilla chips, lime wedge with pico de gallo, cashew cream and guacamole.  It tastes familiar, but exotic at once.

We had the pleasure of trying a location exclusive, the MIYEOKGUK, a hearty and soupy bowl of Wakame-Shiitake broth with  brown rice, daikon radish, carrots, organic bok choy, organic tofu, mushroom, scallions, sesame, dulse, optional Thai chili and pickled jalapenos.  Despite not being a “soup type”, I must say I was delighted with the combination of that warming savoury with the freshness of the vegetables.

If you are wondering why a Korean-inspired offering is on the Menu, we have to thank Co-Creator Daniel Suss‘ wife Ji-Hae Kim, whom together with  business partner Mark Kupfert gave a bold tribute here to her ethnic roots.

The CAULIFLOWER TAHINI understandably is a popular choice at the chain.  Featuring organic quinoa, house-made hummus, roasted cauliflower, carrots, pickled onion, purple cabbage, beets, mint, pomegranate seeds, organic arugula, radish, black sesame seeds and za’atar salsa with spiced lemon tahini sauce, the Bowl once again is familiar, yet incredibly-inspired.  One bite of that roasted cauliflower chunk and you will understand what we mean.  As stunning visually as it is in flavour.

For the first time today also we tried an item off their Dessert Menu, the Waffle with Vanilla “Ice Cream“, which while firmer in texture, had plenty of flavour – made from a combination of multiple flours, topped with maple syrup, blueberries,  hemp seeds and a vegan “ice cream” similar to Cashew Cream.

While all this sounds decadent and expensive, Kupfert & Kim offers their creations in clean, bright surroundings and exceptional value considering the size of their portions. Nobody leaves hungry. Most of their Menu is in the lower $10+ range, meaning you don’t have to pay “organic” prices for organic quality.

We hear alcoholic offerings are down the pipe and of course, their coffee is  direct-trade, organic and a cut above coffee chains.  Smoothies also are an option in addition to three varieties of Kombucha.

For more on Kupfert & Kim, visit here.

 Dawn Lupul, Mark Kupfert and Mr. Will:

(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)

Who doesn’t love Santa?  The annoying thing about Shopping Malls is that many don’t allow us to bring our fur children out – especially at that time of year when Santa tours all those Shopping Malls meeting friends big and small.  Even if we promise for them to behave!

Purina PawsWay however, certainly has something to say about this.  The Toronto pet event centre by the Harbourfront is welcoming pets to have their moment with the Big Man who kindly is taking time out of his busy Christmas schedule to grant us our wishes come true – Pet Photos with Santa!

Photos take place at PawsWay every weekend in December up till Sunday, December 20, 2015.  Windows available are 11-2 PM and 3-5 PM.  We recommend going maybe at the midway point of each window for smallest queue. Underground Parking is available at a flat rate of $15 under The Radisson.

More details about Pet Photos with Santa here!

See Billy‘s Photo with Santa right here:

A behind-the-scenes look:

Photoshoot with Santa today at #Pawsway for Billy!

A photo posted by Mr. Will Wong (@mrwillwong) on Dec 12, 2015 at 1:06pm PST

(Photo credit: PawsWay/Mr. Will Wong)