#SPOTTED: O-T FAGBENLE AND CHRISTINE KO IN TORONTO FOR “THE HANDMAID’S TALE”

English Actor/Writer and Director O-T Fagbenle has had a lasting, distinguished career and he’s back in town working on the fifth season of THE HANDMAID’S TALE, reprising his role as Luke Bankole, husband of Elisabeth Moss’ June Osborne. The Series will continue to film in-town till about July.

Fagbenle is having a huge year, with a recurring role on Apple TV+’s WeCrashed, starring alongside Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway. Just this past weekend, his latest Series THE FIRST LADY, which centers on Michelle Obama (Viola Davis), with him starring as President Obama. The intriguing new Series looks at life in the White House through the lens of the women at the heart of the presidency. It can be seen on Crave in Canada. The Series features an all-star Cast including Michelle Pfeifer and Gillian Anderson.

We were so lucky to get a Snap with Fagbenle, and we are a huge fan of his work! Such a class act! So happy to see his star continue to rise.

Rising star Christina Ko gained much recognition from her work in FXX Series DAVE, and now is just beginning work on Hulu‘s THE HANDMAID’S TALE in Toronto. Ko has been cast in the role of  Lily, a Gilead refugee who has become a leader of the resistance movement in Canada. If you’re a fan of Justin Bieber – and there are many of you – she starred in his “Hold On” Video!

Ko is just so amazingly-sweet! So happy we got to meet her. She is going places very quickly! We learned that she speaks Mandarin-Chinese and also is a huge dog lover!

(Photo/video credit: Showtime/Mr. Will Wong)

#SXSW: “WECRASHED”

By Mr. Will Wong

Eight-part Mini-Series WECRASHED recounts the rapid rise and fall of WeWork, which started in 2010 under Adam Neumann (Jared Leto) and Miguel McKelvey (Kyle Marvin). The Company gave new startup technology companies, among other new enterprises, the ability to acquire flexible workspaces. We get a glimpse of the egos that governed the WeWork, namely Adam and his wife Rebekah (Anne Hathaway), which led the company to face great scrutiny in its unconventional business practices and future outlook, failing in its initial offering of company stock. The directing duo of John Requa and Glenn Ficarra manage to take this spectacular failure which just now in 2021 is finally recovering from near-fatality, succeeding in being a publicly-shared company, making incredible entertainment of it all.

At the center of the story is Adam, just a fledgling entrepreneur who thinks and talks big. His way of working lands him not only the gig of his dreams, but also the woman of his dreams in Rebekah. We meet the latter as a struggling Yoga Instructor (making $1 per student) and Actress (she’s legitimately a first cousin to Gwyneth Paltrow). He swings big and has that magical ability to persuade getting others and more often than not, they buy into his infectious charisma. We’re taking notes, trust me.

The Series works on two levels. On the surface it is a study of how a company which had a valuation of $47 billion at one point, saw several missteps that led to its value plummeting. And just when you think it’s over, it isn’t. It also is a love story between a pair of narcissists and their commitment to making WeWork thrive because it keeps giving them each their own platform to be noticed and heard. This is a thing of marvel.

Leto nails the Comedy of this and is cast well, convincing in Adam‘s delusion of grandeur. We wished we got a bit more nuance though as it feels as though this is a portrayal of Adam (don’t get us wrong, he is great) more so when he’s “on”. What we would’ve wanted more of was a balancing of some of the dramatic elements, giving us an understanding of the drive behind the man who deceived and manipulated his way to a payout in the billions. Hathaway also gets the humour behind all this, but we are able to get a bit further under the surface with Rebekah and what makes her tick. Whether it be her failed attempt at acting, dealing relentlessly with people using her as an “in” with her famous cousin, or her relationship with her father Bob Paltrow (Peter Jacobson), who was jailed for tax evasion, Hathaway gets Rebekah‘s darkest vulnerabilities and why defeat for her just isn’t an option. America Ferrera joins the story as Elishia Kennedy, a bright entrepreneur grappling with her own separation from her husband, lured into the shimmer of what Adam and Rebekah are selling. She is fantastic and like her, we wonder “Is Adam for real?”.

It’s all like watching an accident and its aftermath unfold, which is exactly what we signed-up for.

The first three episodes of WECRASHED premiere March 18, 2022 on Apple TV+, with new episodes arriving weekly.

WECRASHED screens at SXSW ’22 as follows:

WeCrashed at Paramount Theatre

Mar 12, 20223:30pm—4:30pm

WeCrashed at Online Screening

Mar 13, 9:00am CDT – Mar 15, 9:00am CDT 9:00am—10:00am

#FIRSTLOOK: NEW TEASER TRAILER FOR “WECRASHED”

Oscar winners Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway star in upcoming Series WECRASHED and here’s your first look at the Teaser Trailer.

Synopsis:

The series is inspired by actual events — and the love story at the centre of it all. WeWork grew from a single coworking space into a global brand worth $47 billion in under a decade. Then, in less than a year, its value plummeted. What happened?

“WeCrashed” is created by Eisenberg (Spirit Award-nominated “Little America,” “Good Boys”) and Crevello (“The Long Dark”), who also serve as co-writers, executive producers and co-showrunners and is directed by John Requa and Glenn Ficarra (“This is Us,” “Crazy Stupid Love”). Requa and Ficarra executive produce alongside Charlie Gogolak, Hathaway and Natalie Sandy. Leto and Emma Ludbrook executive produce through their Paradox production company and Hernan Lopez, Marshall Lewy and Aaron Hart executive produce from Wondery.

WECRASHED arrives March 5, 2022 on Apple TV+.

(Photo/video credit: Apple TV+)