#FIRSTLOOK: HOLLYWOOD SUITE PRESENTS REMASTERS OF CANADIAN CLASSICS

This month on Hollywood Suite, cinephiles will be treated to two newly restored classics from the Canadian film canon. The stunning 4K restoration of Tales From the Gimli Hospital (1988) from visionary director Guy Maddin will have its broadcast premiere on November 9, 2022, and the 2K digital remaster of Zale Dalen’s cult hit Skip Tracer (1977) will follow on November 29, 2022. Both titles are available to stream on demand.

The Maddin restoration is part of a broader movement to make hard to find Canadian art-house films accessible to a new generation of movie lovers. In Maddin’s surrealist, Manitoban-set feature debut Tales from the Gimli Hospital, a lonely fisherman stricken with smallpox (Kyle McCulloch) embarks on a fierce competition with a fellow patient (Michael Gottli) to vie for the affections of Gimli Hospital’s angelic young nurses. As part of Telefilm’s Canadian Cinema – Reignited initiative to restore and re-release Canadian films of historic and cultural importance, the Toronto International Film Festival hand-picked the restoration of Tales from the Gimli Hospital to premiere at this year’s festival.

Utilizing materials from Library and Archives Canada, the digital remaster of Skip Tracer was produced by Justin Decloux of The Great Canadian Cinema Library. Set in 1970s Vancouver, a debt collector (David Peterson) vies to win his company’s “Man of the Year Award” at any cost, only to be faced with the consequences of relentless and brutal tactics. Considered today to be an essential entry in the Canuxploitation oeuvre, Dalen’s feature film debut was the first Canadian film programmed at the New York Film Festival in 1979 and proved an exciting calling card for the young writer/director. It has been said to have influenced subsequent cult films including Alex Cox’s Repo Man (1984).

“Something that Canadian cinema excels at is a ready-made oddball, DIY, cult mode—both Guy Maddin’s Tales from Gimli Hospital and Zale Dalen’s Skip Tracer are prime examples of this,” says Alicia Fletcher, Producer of Originals and Curatorial Advancement at Hollywood Suite. “With their debut features, both directors proved their singular, surrealist penchants for genre and bucked the rules and expectations of commercial Canadian filmmaking. The restoration and accessibility of important works from Canada’s 70s and 80s cult canon has never been more important if we’re to understand and celebrate the past half century of Canadian filmmaking, for its ground-breaking moments.”

Hollywood Suite is proud to air both of these films as part of its efforts to bring Canadian films to as many Canadians as possible. Positioned at the intersection of history, art, culture, and cool, Tales from the Gimli Hospital and Skip Tracer provide a snapshot of our filmmaking past, and give context to our present.

#FIRSTLOOK: SHOCKTOBER RETURNS TO HOLLYWOOD SUITE

Hollywood Suite is thrilled to announce their 2022 Shocktober programming, including the premiere of the Hollywood Suite original production Cinema A to Z: Monsters on October 16, 2022, and the next two episodes in their rollout of the Blumhouse Into The Dark anthology on October 31, titled Uncanny Annie and The Body. Viewers can also stream 100 Halloween favourites on Hollywood Suite On Demand starting October 1, 2022.

From Audrey II (Little Shop of Horrors) to Zuul (Ghostbusters), Cinema A to Z: Monsters entertainingly explores why we are collectively attracted to monsters on film through interviews with film experts and fans. Horror lovers can catch a sneak peek of the docuseries in person at a special FREE screening of Ridley Scott’s Legend (1985) on October 12 at the Revue Cinema in Toronto. Hosted by Hollywood Suite’s very own cinematic encyclopedia Cam Maitland, the fun begins at 7pm ET. Tickets are available on the Revue Cinema’swebsite.

In the Into the Dark installment The Body, a cynical hitman struggles to transport a dead body on Halloween night while everyone assumes it is his killer costume. Also taking place on October 31, Into the Dark: Uncanny Annie follows a group of college students who get trapped in a mysterious board game that brings their darkest secrets and fears to life.

Additional Shocktober premieres include The Tingler (1959), Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971), He Knows You’re Alone (1980), A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984), Clue (1985), April Fool’s Day (1986), The People Under The Stairs (1991), Dead Again (1991), Fear (1996), Hellboy (2004), Shaun of the Dead (2004), Ghost Rider (2007), and The Babadook (2012).

A full list of Shocktober selections available on Hollywood Suite On Demand this October:

Anaconda (1997)

Another Wolfcop (2017)

The Babadook (2012)

Backcountry (2014)

Blair Witch Project (1999)

The Blob (1958)

The Blob (1988)

Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992)

Bride of Chucky (1998

The Cabin In The Woods (2012)

Carrie (1976)

Cinema A to Z: Monsters (2022)

Clue (1985)

The Conspiracy (2011)

The Corruption of Divine Providence (2021)

The Craft (1996)

Creature From The Black Lagoon (1954)

Creepshow (1982)

Cujo (1983)

Don’t Breathe (2016)

Eaten Alive (1976)

Eyes Without A Face (1960)

The Faculty (1998)

Faking A Murderer (2020)

Flee The Light (2021)

Friday The 13th (1980)

From Beyond (1986)

From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)

The Funhouse (1981)

Ghost Rider (2007)

Godzilla vs. Hedorah (1971)

Godzilla vs. Mechagodzilla (1974)

The Haunting (1963)

He Knows You’re Alone (1980)

Hellboy (2004)

House (1977)

In The Mouth Of Madness (1994)

Insidious (2010)

Into the Dark: All That We Destroy (2018)

Into the Dark: Blood Moon (2019)

Into The Dark: Crawlers (2019)

Into the Dark: Culture Shock (2018)

Into the Dark: Delivered (2019)

Into the Dark: Down (2018)

Into the Dark: Good Boy (2019)

Into the Dark: I’m Just F*cking with You (2018)

Into the Dark: My Valentine (2019)

Into the Dark: Pooka! (2018)

Into the Dark: Pure (2018)

Into the Dark: School Spirit (2018)

Into the Dark: Tentacles (2019)

Into the Dark: The Body (2018)

Into the Dark: The Current Occupant (2019)

Into the Dark: They Come Knocking (2018)

Into The Dark: Treehouse (2018)

Into the Dark: Uncanny Annie (2019)

Jacob’s Ladder (1990)

King Kong (1976)

Let The Right One In (2008)

Let’s Scare Jessica To Death (1971)

The Lost Boys(1987)

The Medusa Touch(1978)

Mother! (2017)

Murder By Death (1976)

My Bloody Valentine (1981)

A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)

Pet Sematary (1989)

Pet Sematary II (1992)

Piranha 3D (2010)

The Pit and the Pendulum (1961)

Practical Magic (1998)

Raising the Dead – Monochrome Edition (2020)

Raising the Dead: Re-Examining Night of the Living Dead (2020)

The Scarehouse (2014)

Scary Movie (2000)

Scary Movie 2 (2001)

Scream (1996)

Scream 2 (1997)

Scream 3 (2000)

Scream 4 (2011)

See No Evil (1971)

Shaun of the Dead (2004)

The Shining (1980)

Slasher: Flesh and Blood (2021)

So I Married An Axe Murderer (1993)

Starship Troopers (1997)

Strait-Jacket (1964)

The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 (1986)

They Live (1988)

The Thing (1982)

The Tingler (1959)

Vampire’s Kiss (1989)

Vibes (1988)

The Void (2016)

Wait Till Helen Comes (2016)

The Warriors (1979)

What We Do In The Shadows (2014)

When A Stranger Calls (1979)

The Witches of Eastwick (1987)

Wolf (1994)

#FIRSTLOOK: HOLLYWOOD SUITE PRESENT 2022 NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION PROGRAMMING

On September 30, 2022, Hollywood Suite will present a full day of programming from Indigenous creators in recognition and support of the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. Spotlighting the culture, history and perspectives of First Nations, Inuit, and Métis peoples, the programming will air on Hollywood Suite’s HS00 channel.

As well, Hollywood Suite is honoured to be the home of the broadcast premiere of the feature-length documentary The Long Ride Home on September 30 at 9pm ET on HS00. The documentary tells the story of a courageous group of Indigenous riders, led by Neil Sioux, who embark on a series of two-week-long horseback journeys across many traditional territories to bring awareness to the realities of our colonial past, end the over-representation of Indigenous children in care, and find a shared path forward.

The full National Day for Truth and Reconciliation programming lineup also includes work from Indigenous creators, such as Jeremy Torrie’s thriller The Corruption of Divine Providence (2020); the box office success Indian Horse (2017); Darlene Naponse’s Falls Around Her (2018) starring Tantoo Cardinal; Every Child Matters: Reconciliation Through Education (2020); Stephanie Joline’s Stream Me (2021); the romance Great Great Great (2017); Abandoned: Angelique’s Isle (2018); and the supernatural drama from Shirley Cheechoo, Bearwalker (2001).

The new TV special Remembering The Children: National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, honours residential school survivors, their families, their communities and all the children who never made it home and will air at 8pm ET on HS00.

#FIRSTLOOK: 2022 NATIONAL CANADA FILM DAY

April 20, 2022 is NATIONAL CANADA FILM DAY and in celebration of this, Hollywood Suite in collaboration with imagineNATIVE Film and Media Arts Festival, is honouring Indigenous Filmmakers with a day of acclaimed programming on their 2000s channel.

On the line-up for the day are:

9:15 AM      Stream Me

10:40 AM    The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw

12:20 PM    Empire of Dirt

2:05 PM      The Snow Walker

4:00 PM      Indian Horse

5:45 PM      Falls Around Her

7:25 PM      After The Last River

9:00 PM      The Corruption of Divine Providence

10:40 PM    Rhymes for Young Ghouls

12:10 AM    Bearwalker

hollywoodsuite.ca for more information. You also can subscribe to Hollywood Suite via Prime Video Canada.

#FIRSTLOOK: “THE ALLEGATION” COMING SOON TO HOLLYWOOD SUITE

Canneseries 2021 Dior Prize and Best Screenplay winner THE ALLEGATION is about to make its debut here in Canada. The German Drama based on true events in the ’90s, has received much acclaim and it arrives only on Hollywood Suite, the first two episodes airing April 7, 2022.

Synopsis:

Conceived by German criminal lawyer turned best-selling author Ferdinand Von Schirach, The Allegation is inspired by the true story of a shocking child sexual abuse scandal that rocked the German legal system in the 1990s. When a pediatrician discovers seemingly incontrovertible evidence that a young girl has been abused, events are set in motion that lead to a judicial scandal of immense proportions. Stirred up by frenzied news coverage, prosecutors make a devastating case against the accused, with shocking implications. The Allegation is a poignant examination of the search for truth and justice, and the distorting power of social media.

“We are excited to showcase such a high-quality series for Canadian audiences. Like the compelling hit series Broadchurch, it’s a fast-paced, riveting thriller and represents a continuation of our commitment to bring top-tier international programming. We are excited for our audience to discover The Allegation, and I hope they will find it just as captivating as our programming team has,” said Sharon Stevens, VP Programming, Hollywood Suite.

The Allegation stars Peter Kurth (Inventing Anna; Babylon Berlin), Narges Rashidi (Gangs of London) and Sebastian Urzendowsky (The Way Back). Directed by Daniel Prochaska, the critically-acclaimed series was written by Von Schirach.

(Photo/video credit: Canneseries/Hollywood Suite)

#FIRSTLOOK: “INTO THE DARK” COMING TO HOLLYWOOD SUITE

Hollywood Suite is proud to be broadcasting INTO THE DARK, sure to delight Horror fans! The 24-episode Film Anthology features a star-studded Cast, told at the length of feature films.

Synopsis:

With 24 terrifying tales from a broad selection of genre filmmakers, creators and actors, each film features Blumhouse’s signature spin on a holiday story. From Valentine’s Day, to Mother’s Day and even Pet Appreciation Week – viewers can celebrate the horrors of the holidays all year long.

“We are thrilled to be the exclusive home of Into the Dark in Canada. We’re big fans of Blumhouse, a true leader in producing premium horror films like Get Out, Paranormal Activity and The Purge,“ said Sharon Stevens, Vice President, Programming at Hollywood Suite. “We’re honoured to bring this 24-film anthology to Hollywood Suite for a full year of fear.”

“Into the Dark has thrilled and delighted genre and horror-fans here in the U.S., and we’re excited that our neighbors to the North will now be able to enjoy the series too,” said Jeremy Gold, President of Production Blumhouse Television.

Into the Dark features a star-studded cast across all 24 feature length episodes, including Jimmi Simpson (Westworld), Judy Greer (Halloween Kills), Steve Guttenberg (Three Men and a Baby), Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator), Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding), Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex Girlfriend), Will Wheaton (Stand By Me), Lukas Gage (The White Lotus), and Samantha Mathis (American Psycho).

The critically-acclaimed anthology features directors including Nacho Vigalondo (Colossal), Chelsea Stardust (Satanic Panic), Gigi Saul Guerrero (Bingo Hell), Patrick Lussier (My Bloody Valentine 2009), Marcus Dunstan (The Collector), Sophia Takal (Black Christmas 2019), and Alejandro Brugues (Juan of the Dead).

INTO THE DARK premieres February 14, 2022 at 9pm on Hollywood Suite with back-to-back premieres of DOWN and MY VALENTINE. Two new holiday-theme films arrive each month till the end of 2022.

(Photo/video credit: Hollywood Suite)

#FIRSTLOOK: HOLLYWOOD SUITE ANNOUNCE FREE PREVIEW BEGINNING DECEMBER 1, 2021!

It’s the Holidays at Hollywood Suite and to celebrate, you will be getting a free preview December 1, 2021 through January 5, 2022! They’ve got an amazing line-up of Movies and Series for you to enjoy so you’ll be plenty busy this Holiday Season. All you need to do is tune-in!

As announced previously HBO Max‘s GOMORRAH will be coming soon to to Hollywood Suite, but they also have a great mix of original programming and classics as well!

GOMORRAH
Based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling book, the gritty Naples-set crime drama paints a portrait of the brutal Neapolitan crime organisation the Camorra. More popular than Game of Thrones in its native Italy, the award-winning series set a new standard for Italian television following its debut in 2014, and has gone on to receive widespread acclaim from both viewers and critics alike. To date, the series has been shown in over 190 territories worldwide, with The New York Times rating it in the top five of the top 30 international shows of the past decade.
Seasons 1–3 will premiere On Demand December 1 with 36 episodes, followed by the Gomorrah feature film The Immortal, and seasons 4 and 5 in the new year.

WHO MADE THE LIST?
The holidays wouldn’t be the same without Hollywood Suite gifting viewers with a little bit of sugar and spice. Much like a box of chocolates, there’s something for everyone on the Naughty and Nice Lists! Available on Hollywood Suite this December:

The Nice List … fun for the whole family!

The Bad News Bears (1976)
The Dark Crystal (1982)
The Secret of NIMH (1982)
Legend (1985)
Teen Wolf (1985)
Babes in Toyland (1986)
Prancer (1989)
Uncle Buck (1989)
A League of Their Own (1992)
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
Jumanji (1995)
Harriet the Spy (1996)
Mousehunt (1997)
Men in Black (1997)
Men in Black II (2002)
Small Soldiers (1998)
Bridget Jones’s Diary (2001)
Love Actually (2003)
Surviving Christmas (2004)
The Holiday (2006)
Son of Rambow (2007)
The Flight Before Christmas (2008)
Four Christmases (2008)
Thomas Kinkade’s Christmas Cottage (2008)
The Green Hornet (2011)
The Amazing Spider-Man (2012)
Men in Black 3 (2012)
About Time (2014)
The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014)
The Little Prince (2015)
Wonder (2017)

The Naughty List … for the love of the anti-hero!

Citizen Kane (1941)
Ocean’s 11 (1960)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Cool Hand Luke (1967)
The Italian Job (1969)
Dirty Harry (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1972)
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
California Split (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Great Train Robbery (1978)
Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
Falling Down (1993)
American Psycho (2000)
Kill Bill, Vol. 1 (2003)
Kill Bill, Vol. 2 (2004)
In Bruges (2008)
Drive (2012)
Looper (2012)
Nightcrawler (2014)

A YEAR IN FILM SEASON 3 

The Hollywood Suite original documentary series A Year in Film explores how movies reflect the events, mood, politics, and culture of their time. This latest season covers the years 1971, 1980, 1997 and 2005 and features appearances by filmmakers and experts, including Atom Egoyan, Norm Wilner, Andrea Subissati, Eastern Yoo, Robyn Citizen, Emily Gagne, Becky Shrimpton, Adam Nayman, Radheyan Simonpillai, and Charlotte Mickie.  
 
Episodes will be released on Sundays at 9pm ET kicking off on December 5. After you watch the new episodes, listen to A Year in Film podcast to learn about the years featured in the series.

A Year in Film: 1971 – Premiering December 5, 2021 at 9pm ET

Henry and Henrietta. Harry Callahan. Popeye Doyle. John Shaft. Bree Daniels. The year was 1971 and two up-and-coming auteurs named George Lucas (THX-1138) and Steven Spielberg (Duel) burst onto the scene with their first feature films.

Films featured: Duel, THX-1138, A New Leaf, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Klute, McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Mon Oncle Antoine, Dirty Harry, The French Connection, Shaft, A Clockwork Orange, and The Last Picture Show.

A Year in Film: 1980 – Premiering December 12, 2021 at 9pm ET

John Merrick. Princess Leia and Luke Skywalker. Jack Lamotta. Jason Voorhees. This was not only a year of some of the most memorable characters in film, it was also the year when Post-It Notes were invented. A pretty great year.

Films featured: The Empire Strikes Back, Raging Bull, The Elephant Man, The Shining, Friday the 13th, The Changeling, Atlantic City, Airplane, 9 to 5, Little Darlings, Popeye, Heaven’s Gate, and Ordinary People.

A Year in Film: 1997 – Premiering December 19, 2021 at 9pm ET

Jack and Rose. Rollergirl. Dirk Diggler. Jay and Kay. Austin Powers. So many iconic characters, all in one epic year of cinema.

Films featured: Jackie Brown, Eve’s Bayou, Boogie Nights, Men in Black. Starship Troopers, Selena, Anaconda, U-Turn, Lost Highway, LA Confidential, Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery, Cube, The Sweet Hereafter, and Titanic.

A Year in Film: 2005 – Premiering December 26, 2021 at 9pm ET

Shug and Dejay. Bruce Wayne. Mamma Mia and The Lion King lit up Broadway, YouTube and Reddit were born, and we definitely did NOT wish we could quit this exceptional year of movies.

Films featured:  Batman Begins, Sin City, A History of Violence, Brokeback Mountain, C.R.A.Z.Y., Water, Where the Truth Lies, Junebug, The Squid and the Whale, Hustle & Flow, Munich, and War of the Worlds.

#FIRSTLOOK: ITALIAN SENSATION “GOMORRAH” COMING TO HOLLYWOOD SUITE

Acclaimed high-end Italian Drama series GOMORRAH is set to debut in Canada on Hollywood Suite with the first three seasons arriving next month, a total 36 episodes, followed by the Gomorrah feature film The Immortal and seasons 4 and 5 in the new year. The Series is distributed in the U.S. by HBO Max.

Synopsis:

Based on Roberto Saviano’s bestselling book, the gritty Naples-set crime drama paints a portrait of the brutal Neapolitan crime organisation the Camorra. More popular than Game of Thrones in its native Italy, the award-winning series set a new standard for Italian television following its debut in 2014, and has gone on to receive widespread acclaim from both viewers and critics alike. To date, the series has been shown in over 190 territories worldwide, with The New York Times rating it in the top five of the top 30 international shows of the past decade.

GOMORRAH seasons 1-3 broadcast on Hollywood Suite beginning December 6, 2021, with new episodes airing weekly on Mondays at 9pm ET. Seasons 4 and 5 will come to Hollywood Suite in early 2022, along with the feature film The Immortal and documentary special The Gomorrah Files.

#FIRSTLOOK: HOLLYWOOD SUITE CELEBRATES NORMAN JEWISON NOVEMBER 19-21, 2021

Hollywood Suite is celebrating the career of Canadian Filmmaking icon Norman Jewison later this month, November 19-21, 2021. His Films have garnered home 12 Oscars and six of his films can be seen again!

The celebration will kick off on November 19, 2021 with The Russians Are Coming, The Russians Are Coming (1966) at 9pm ET, followed by 1967’s groundbreaking In The Heat of The Night starring Sidney Poitier at 11:10pm ET, both on Hollywood Suite’s 70s channel. 

On November 20 at 9pm ET, Hollywood Suite’s 80s channel will feature Best Friends (1982), starring Burt Reynolds and Goldie Hawn, followed by A Soldier’s Story (1984)at 10:55pm. You can catch Cher’s Oscar-winning performance in 1987’s Moonstruck at 9pm ET on November 21 on Hollywood Suite’s 80s channel before hopping over to the 90s channel at 10:45pm ET to be swept away in the 1994 romance Only You, which stars Robert Downey Jr. and Marisa Tomei.

Visit hollywoodsuite.ca for more.

#FIRSTLOOK: HOLLYWOOD SUITE TO HONOUR NATIONAL DAY FOR TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION

Hollywood Suite will be honouring the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation. A special selection of programming centering on Indigenous stories will be available on the 2000s channel.

Additional details:

Programming begins on September 29 with the premiere of Darlene Naponse’s award-winning film Falls Around Her (2018), following a world-famous Anishinaabe musician (Tantoo Cardinal) who leaves everything behind to return to her reservation to live alone. September 30 kicks off with Indian Horse (2017) an adaptation of Ojibway writer Richard Wagamese’s award-winning novel, which sheds light on the dark history of Indigenous Residential Schools; Stream Me (2020) which explores the story of a teenage girl from rural Nova Scotia who overcomes her insecurities by thriving in the world of online streaming, and After The Last River (2015) which documents a remote community which lurches from crisis to crisis as their homeland transforms into a modern frontier. 

The full day of programming also includes The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw (2019), chronicling a woman who reluctantly returns to her isolated reserve to help her father care for her bitter mother; writer-director Jeff Barnaby’s Canadian Screen Award-nominated film Rhymes for Young Ghouls (2013); and Atanarjuat (2001), which sees an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in a community. In addition to this broadcast lineup, viewers can revisit Shirley Cheechoo’s stirring feature Bearwalker (2001) on demand in both September and October. 

Hollywood Suite will also air two specials: Every Child Matters: Reconciliation Through Education (2020) on September 30 and National Day for Truth and Reconciliation (in partnership with APTN, CBC/Radio-Canada, Insight Productions and Canadian Heritage) on October 1. 

Line-up:

September 29

7:20 PM   Falls Around Her

September 30

8:10 AM           Indian Horse
9:55 AM           Stream Me
11:20 AM          After The Last River
12:55 PM         The Incredible 25th Year of Mitzi Bearclaw
2:35 PM           Indian Horse
4:20 PM           Falls Around Her
6:00 PM           Every Child Matters: Reconciliation Through Education
7:30 PM           Rhymes for Young Ghouls
9:00 PM           Atanarjuat

October 1 8:00 PM           National Day for Truth and Reconciliation Special (2021)