Hayden Christensen and Director Deborah Chow (The Mandalorian, Mr. Robot) got a hero’s welcome back to Toronto tonight at a special six-hour Marathon Screening of the Series STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI at Scotiabank Theatre with an Intro and Q&A!
Fans queued for a chance to see the Series star, who reprises his role of Anakin Skywalker in the Series, along with Chow, who directs the Limited Series! Both are proudly Torontonian. And Fans surely weren’t disappointed, getting lots of facetime with them.
Christensen and Chow wrapped-up a two-day Press Tour in Toronto which concluded with a post-marathon Q&A where they answered fan questions, moderated by Toronto Film Critic and TV Personality, Richard Crouse.
Chow, who had directed two episodes of The Mandalorian, reveals that her favourite moment of this new Star Wars Series, is Episode Six and all the build-up that brought her to the Finale. Christensen, reveals that Ewan McGregor‘s performance as the Titular Character and what he brought to his character, is his favourite thing about the Series.
ABOUT STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI:
“Obi-Wan Kenobi” begins 10 years after the dramatic events of “Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith” where Obi-Wan Kenobi faced his greatest defeat—the downfall and corruption of his best friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker, who turned to the dark side as evil Sith Lord Darth Vader.
Carousel:
Some more Snaps of the festivities:
STAR WARS: OBI-WAN KENOBI streams now, only on Disney+.
(Photo/video credit: Mr. Will Wong/Disney)
Call it a homecoming! The Cast and Crew behind LITTLE ITALY brought it all back home for a festive bash at Scotiabank Theatre tonight in Toronto! The Romantic-Comedy directed by Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days) took over the City last summer and Torontonians have been excited to see this pizza delivered!
Attending the event were Petrie himself and the Film’s stars, Emma Roberts, Hayden Christensen, Andrea Martin, Danny Aiello, Jane Seymour, Andrew Phung, Cristina Rosato, Vas Saranga, Linda Kash, Ava Preston and Nicky Cappella. Producer Vinay Virmani (also a Co-Writer) also was in attendance, as was 6Dad Norm Kelly, Olympian Donovan Bailey and Jaleel White, known best for his iconic role as Steve Urkel in ABC Series Family Matters.
Little Italy centers on a couple who must deal with their feuding, pizza restauranteur families. The Film was show and is set in Toronto.
Our Team had the pleasure of being a part of the fun and in ways it was like seeing a nephew or niece grow-up. We had the joy of visiting the set last summer and it was a blast. We even shared pizza with Roberts! More here.
We ask Director Donald Petrie what makes Little Italy‘s love story so great. He tells us, “This isn’t a singular love story. A lot of the audience are gonna look at the poster and go ‘I know the ending! These two get together!’. And they’re right, they do! But there are a lot of surprise love stories along the way that they don’t know. It’s all about the journey and that’s what makes Little Italy great”.
Emma Roberts
Hayden Christensen with Roberts and also his Nonna
Jane Seymour
Vinay Virmani
Nicky Romero x Ava Preston (they play the younger versions of Christensen x Roberts)
Danny Aiello
Amrit Kaur
Andrew Phung
eOne Films x Mr. Will are thrilled to give Readers a chance to win Advance Passes to see the delightful Romantic-Comedy, LITTLE ITALY, filmed right here in Toronto!
Screenings take place as follows:
Wednesday, August 22, 2018 7 PM – Toronto
Thursday, August 23, 2018 7 PM – Vancouver, Calgary, Winnipeg, Ottawa, Halifax and Victoria.
Please note: the Toronto screening is a World Premiere.
Synopsis:
15 years ago, best friends SAL and VINCE, makers of Little Italy’s most storied pizza, had an ugly spat and set up rival pizzerias. Today, their “Pizza Wars” rage on. Sal and Vince divide their time between sabotaging each other’s business and trading insults at the local bar. But not everyone wants war. Sal’s daughter NIKKI (Emma Roberts) (25), and Vince‘s son LEO (Hayden Christensen) (26), have fallen in love. So have Sal’s mother FRANCA (Andrea Martin) and Vince’s father CARLO (Danny Aiello). When Franca and Carlo announce their wedding, Nikki and Leo‘s secret also spills out into the open. Sal and Vince can take it no more. They lay a wager-“Team Sal” will face “Team Vince” in a pizza cookout where the loser leaves Little Italy for good. Sal and Vince succeed in pitting their children against each other. Tempers are raging hotter than wood fired pizza ovens. Little Italy is now a war zone. Who will the winner be? Team Sal or Team Vince? And what of the two couples? Will their love become the victim, or emerge victorious in this ridiculously epic food feud?
See the Trailer:
Artwork:
To enter to win, click “like” on this Post at MR. WILL ON FACEBOOK and indicate for us there your City. Also you may click “share” from there for an extra chance. Re-Tweet this Tweet from @mrwillw for an extra chance!
eOne Films release LITTLE ITALY Friday, August 24, 2018.🍕
(Photo/video credit: eOne Films)
We’ve waited so long for this and are so stoked finally to see the official Trailer for Toronto-shot and set LITTLE ITALY!
Synopsis:
A young couple must navigate a blossoming romance, amidst a war between their families’ competing pizza restaurants.
LITTLE ITALY stars Danny Aiello, Andrea Martin, Jane Seymour, Alyssa Milano, Hayden Christensen and Emma Roberts! Pauline Dhillon and Ajay Virmani produce the Romantic-Comedy.
See the Trailer:
Official Artwork:
We were invited to the set last spring and want to remind you of this delicious tidbit! 🍕
eOne Films release LITTLE ITALY on Friday, August 24, 2018.
(Photo/video credit: eOne Films)
Think Romeo & Juliet… meets pizza! Those of us who saw 2014’s entertaining Toronto-made Dr. Cabbie will be thrilled to know that our friend Vinay Virmani is back again, this time as Co-Writer and Producer of LITTLE ITALY. The Rom-Com currently in production in Toronto, has taken over its namesake district these past couple weeks and suffice it to say, we can’t wait till it’s delivered! If all the buzz on publications like Just Jared, US Weekly and The Daily Mail is any indication, you are too! 🍕
Little Italy centers on two dueling pizza shops, Vince’s and Sal’s, the families that own them and a blossoming romance between Nikki (Emma Roberts) and Leo (Hayden Christensen), whose families own the competing restaurants. It is impossible not to chuckle at the signage on-set. Vince’s claims to be the best. Sal’s? It’s even better! There’s also a chalkboard sign greeting you at the door to remind you this in case you even think about going to Vince’s.
Donald Petrie (Miss Congeniality, Grumpy Old Men, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days) directs the Film, while Producers are Pauline Dhillon, Ajay Virmani and Vinay Virmani. The Film’s cast features several familiar faces including Danny Aiello, Alyssa Milano, Andrea Martin, Gary Basaraba, Adam Ferrara, Jane Seymour and more!
We had the pleasure of popping by the set to say “hi” on a couple occasions while it filmed on College St. at a showroom space transformed into the two central pizza shops for the shoot. While it filmed quietly and non-intrusively among the downtown bustle, fans would queue hours across the road with great anticipation for a taste of that star power.
We loved seeing again Christensen, whom we honestly can say is channeling full-on Italian here and this Film is him as we’ve never seen him before, having built a diverse and accomplished résumé over the years. He was just beginning a long day of work when we saw him and he was so gracious to stop for a minute to chat. Perusing Instagram, he has been more than accommodating to his still very ardent fans who were visiting the set daily.
Roberts also has been very giving too to fans and we were thrilled to have a quick minute to chat and goof around. We are a huge fan, especially in some of her more recent work like Scream Queens, The Blackcoat’s Daughter and Nerve, and we also follow her’s and partner Karah Preiss‘ awesome reading Blog, Belletrist.
And did you know that Alyssa Milano also stars in Little Italy? She was a vision sporting some super-vibrant colours and she’s just as awesome as we remember her back in 2010 when she made Sundays at Tiffany’s here in the City. She reminded fans that she will be doing a baseball-related signing next weekend here in Toronto. Follow her Instagram for more here.
Virmani, in perhaps his most ambitious challenge to date, tells us the Film wraps later this month and gave us a sincere thanks for our support and we promise to be there when Little Italy sees its release! We hope you’re just as excited as us about this one.
The Cast of Little Italy say ‘cheese’🍕!
So much fun with this girl earlier on the set of #LittleItaly! 🍕 #EmmaRoberts
A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
With #AdamFerrara on the set of #LittleItaly. You might remember him from #NurseJackie and #TopGear?
A post shared by Mr. Will Wong 📸 (@mrwillwong) on
… and this Boomerang was every topping on the menu and then some!
p.s. She was eating a Margherita.
eOne Films will release Little Italy, out 2018.
Follow Little Italy on Social Media:
🍕🍕🍕
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
It’s been a long while since we’ve seen Hayden Christensen, so we were extra happy to spot the Actor known best for playing young Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones and Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith. The Actor has a couple new Films lined-up including 90 Minutes in Heaven in which he stars opposite Kate Bosworth and rumour is he will be playing Marco Polo in an upcoming Film Adaptation of the story, perhaps its popularity revived with the recent Netflix Series of the same name?
See the new Trailer for 90 Minutes in Heaven:
Christensen was spotted arriving back in Toronto quietly and he still owns a farm in Uxbridge, possibly here to check-in on it. Amazingly, when asking for a Snap, he knew my name right away, saying “Hi, Will!”. How cool was that? The Father of Briar Rose and partner of Actress Rachel Bilson, still looks great and was super low-key, travelling light with only a backpack.
See our Snap:
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
It absolutely is our favourite time of the year again and announced this morning is the official list of Talent coming to Toronto for TIFF ’14! We look forward to seeing plenty of returning names – some just here last year like the likes of Jennifer Aniston and Kate Winslet – and also plenty of Stars from years past making their way back here once more!
Among the names attending TIFF ’14 this year include:
Jon Stewart, Martin Scorcese, Richard Gere, Andrew Garfield, Viggo Mortensen, Gael Garcia Bernal, James Franco, Jane Fonda, Chloë Moretz, Brit Marling, Laura Dern, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Vanessa Redgrave, Vera Farmiga, Al Pacino, Tina Fey, Haley Joel Osment, Robert Pattinson, Ansel Elgort, Alice Eve, Sam Rockwell, Amanda Seyfried, Michael Shannon, Dax Sheppard, Robert Duvall, Ben Stiller, Robert Downey Jr., Hailee Steinfield, Justin Chatwin, Method Man, Jennifer Connelly, Bobby Cannavale, Kuoth Wiel, Cassie Williams, Danny Webb, Dominic West, Jung Woo-Sung, John Boylan, Sam Worthington, Tye Sheridan, Andrew Scott, Timothy Spall, Alan Rickman, Connie Britton, Reese Witherspoon, Evan Bird, Zhao Wei, Han Ye-Ri, Melissa Benoist, Haley Bennett, Sonja Bennett, John Travolta, Julianne Moore, Isaach De Bankolé, Dan Stevens, Jason Bateman, Corey Stoll, Xavier Dolan, Peter Stormare, Ben Schnetzer, Abigail Spencer, Ellen Barkin, Bill Pullman, Charlotte Aubin, Kate Winslet, Ryan Reynolds, Rene Russo, Roger Waters, Simon Pegg, Rosamund Pike, Loreto Aravena, Tobey Maguire, Aubrey Plaza, Tobey Maguire, Gemma Arterton, Juliette Binoche, Zhang Yimou, Rosemarie DeWitt, Kristen Wiig, Adam Sandler, Rose Byrne, Channing Tatum, Chris Evans, Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Mark Ruffalo, Bill Murray, Daniel Barber, Liam Aiken, Mike Leigh, Olivier Assayas, Richard LaGravenese, Diane Keaton, Kevin Kline, Anna Kendrick, Morgan Freeman, Benicio del Toro, Michael Douglas, Rosario Dawson, Chris Rock, John Cusack, Benedict Cumberbatch, Octavia Spencer, Keira Knightley, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kevin Costner, Anthony Mackie, Patricia Clarkson, J.K. Simmons, Miles Teller, Priyanka Chopra, Daniel Bruhl, Michael Winterbottom, Justin Chon, Steve Carell, Gong Li, Hayden Christensen, Tory Kittles, Jordana Brewster, Holliday Grainger, Max Irons, Lone Scherfig, Sam Claflin, Douglas Booth, Paul Bettany, Daniel Barnz, Noah Baumbach, Barry Avrich, Jennifer Aniston, Akon, Nick Kroll, Holly Hunter, Catherine Keener, Greta Gerwig, Omar Sy Jennifer Garner, Salma Hayek, Kevin Smith, Eddie Redmayne, Felicity Jones, Faye Marsay, Bill Nighy, Justin Long, Christopher Plummer, Marton Csokas, David Cronenberg, Sarah Gadon, Tom Schilling, Tom Hardy and more!
TIFF also will be hosting a series of In-Conversations-With as part of their Mavericks Programme. Joining-in are the likes of Reese Witherspoon, Robert Duvall, Denzel Washington, Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche, Jon Stewart, Dan Savage, Julie Taymor and several more!
As is the case always, it’s sometimes not just who’s coming – it’s who they’re bringing. Don’t be surprised if Jennifer Garner brings Husband Ben Affleck along and be warned if Andrew Garfield brings Emma Stone along!
Who’s on our list of Must-Meets? Plenty! We hope finally to get a positive moment with Reese Witherspoon and Kate Winslet! Excited about Martin Scorcese, J.K. Simmons, Bobby Cannavale, Miles Teller, Corey Stoll, Tobey Maguire, Rose Byrne, Michael Douglas and newer names like Max Irons and Douglas Booth, that’s for sure. And did we read TINA FEY!?!? Finally! AND WHERE IS TOM HARDY?!?!
The list is always subject to surprise and no-shows as we know all too well!
Visit the official TIFF Website for more.
TIFF ’14 runs September 3 – 14, 2014.
(Photo credit: Mr. Will Wong)
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