Now in its 20th year, Canada’s Walk of Fame honours excellence in multiple disciplines including Arts, Business and Science. Honourees are commemorated like in Hollywood with a star on the sidewalk in Toronto’s Entertainment District, immortalizing their contributions to their native Canada and abroad. Among those celebrated at this year’s Gala, held at Sony Centre for the Performing Arts, were:
Tessa Virtue & Scott Moir (Sports & Athletics)
Andrea Martin (Arts & Entertainment)
Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg (Arts & Entertainment)
Andy Kim (Arts & Entertainment)
Col. Chris Hadfield (Science & Technology)
Jimmy Pattison (Business & Entrepreneurship)
Leonard Cohen (Legend Inductee)
Jessie Reyez was named the 2018 Allan Slaight Honour Recipient, an award given to an up-and-coming force in the music industry. Past winners include the likes of The Weeknd and Shawn Mendes, who have gone on to achieve great success internationally.
Fans and Media filled the outdoor tented Red Carpet affair, followed by a taped ceremony, which is to be broadcast on CTV at a later date in December. Several familiar Canadian faces graced the event including the likes of Jully Black, Rush, The Tenors, Marilyn Denis, Brian Mulroney, Russell Peters, The Arkells’ Max Kerman, Stella Bowles, Kurt Browning and several more.
Tessa Virtue x Scott Moir
Seth Rogen x Evan Goldberg
Chris Hadfield
Stella Bowles
Andy Kim
Jimmy Pattison
Andrea Martin x Marilyn Denis
The Arkells’ Max Kerman
Jully Black
Wendy Crewson
Jeffrey Latimer (Canada’s Walk of Fame CEO) x Rush’s Geddy Lee
We had the pleasure of chatting with the likes of honourees Evan Goldberg, Seth Rogen (starring in Disney‘s eagerly-awaited The Lion King), Scott Moir and Tessa Virtue on the carpet. We asked them about the importance of being recognized in their own homeland.
Goldberg x Rogen: “It’s much more valuable than rest of the world combined!”.
Virtue x Moir: “We love being back in Canada. It was important for us to train on Canadian soil in the leading-up to the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Games games. It’s thrilling to be back here, it’s home. It means so much more to us to be given the magnitude of what it means to be Canadian and the support we’ve received over the years. We should be giving Canadians something in return. We keep getting these honours and I wish we could give Canadians a slight glimmer of what they’ve given us.”.
We ask what they’re most excited about at the 2018 Canada’s Walk of Fame Gala.
Goldberg x Rogen: “Seeing the little ‘maple leaf’ on the ground! We don’t often get awards because of some of the things we’ve made. We get to see a version of it (gesturing to the unveiling of the star). We get to touch it, lick it and all that! We’re just the story of every Canadian boy. It’s great!”.
Virtue x Moir: “The inductees are what I’m (Moir) most excited about. I can’t believe I’m up for the same type of award as Chris Hadfield. To be in the same room. I think that’s going to be a highlight.”.
See some highlights from the Gala:
More on Canada’s Walk of Fame here.
Photography taken on the NIKON D3400
Video recorded on the Samsung S7 Plus
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Julie Wright)
They don’t come much more down-to-earth than these two Guys and Toronto gave two of its favourite Canadians a welcome return home at Scotiabank Theatre tonight. Writer/first-time Director Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express) and Funnyman Seth Rogen both hail originally from Vancouver but have found widespread success south of the Border.
The Duo who have long been Friends and Collaborators, are in-town to promote highly-touted Comedy This is The End, boasting an A-List Cast of Hollywood Heavyweights starring as themselves including: James Franco, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride, Jay Baruchel, Michael Cera, Craig Robinson, Emma Watson, Channing Tatum, Rihanna and several, several more. Set around a wild Party at Franco‘s House, This is the End suddenly places these Celebrities amidst a sudden Apocalypse. Faced with the challenges of having to ration what limited supplies are left in his home, they find their Friendships tested to every possible limit. Tempers flare, daggers are thrown and the laughs are infinite.
Walking an intimate Red Carpet tonight with a few select Media Outlets, the order of the day was Work as both Rogen and Goldberg plowed through a series of Interviews, opting to stay-in for Dinner at the Theatre. They even treated Fans to a Q&A following the Advance Screening, fielding questions from Fans ranging from the Backstreet Boys’ surprise involvement in the Finale to the difficulties of shopping their Script originally. “I wish I could say it was really hard to get the Backstreet Boys, but it wasn’t that hard!”, laughs Rogen. “We released a scene in December and the Backstreet Boys had heard about the Movie and had seen a Trailer for it. Evidently, it was Movie they were excited for and we were all losing our minds!”.
On the challenges the Duo faced shopping their Script, Rogen told the Audience, “We do this thing every time we write a Script thinking we’ve re-invented the wheel, and then we put it out to sell and nobody wants to buy it!”. “We even had all six major Movie Stars attached to it and because the idea we all are playing ourselves, people were terrified”, he says. “I think it’s never been done before and Movie Studios hate to be the first one to do something. It’s happened enough times that whatever scares them, ultimately they will embrace and love in the end!”.
I captured some Clips of Rogen & Goldberg at tonight’s Screening. Watch below:
Rogen was nice enough to sign a Photo which one of my Readers will win! Simply click “like” on this Post at Mr. Will Wong on Facebook to enter. Share on Facebook with your Friends and double those chances! All are welcome to enter. Good luck.
Sony Pictures releases the hilarious This is the End on Friday, June 12, 2013.
Brace yourselves for one of this Summer’s funniest Surprises!
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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