Tag Archives: Antonio Banderas
Today's Top Tips: Bernie & Ruby, a slapshtick night at the Opera, and where to take Mom on Sunday
I'LL TAKE ROMANCE: Just added two movies to my Must See list that I didn't know even existed until quite recently. The first one is Bernie, a black comedy based on a true story about the ill-fated romance of a young mortician
MACLAINE & BLACK: Must See new movie
and a not-so-youthful Texas widow. Jack Black is the mortician. Shirley MacLaine is the widow. I think you'll understand why I'm dying (you should pardon the expression) to see it after you click on this sneak preview. The second movie on my new Must list is Ruby Sparks. It's about a young novelist (Paul Dano) struggling with both his writing and his romantic life. Then he creates a character named Ruby who inspires him. And then he finds Ruby (Zoe Kazan), in the flesh, somehow manifested by his writing, sitting on his couch. Antonio Banderas, Annette Bening and Elliot Gould are along for
DANO: Sparks f;ly
the ride, which to me strongly resembles a romantic rollercoaster. Click here for the sneak preview of that one.
SHOWSTOPPER: It's just one of those songs/that you hear now and then/you don't know just where/you don't know just when … but you sure know it when you hear it. There is a soft stirring in the audience at the Four Seasons Centre this month as soon as the first strains of Puccini's haunting melody O mio babbino caro come soaring up from the orchestra pit during every performance of Gianni Schicchi. The surprise for some of us less well-versed in operatic endeavours is that this beautiful ballad comes right in the middle of a slapstick farce about a greedy family trying to cheat monks out of an inheritance.
THE GAMG'S ALL HERE: A family schemes as Puccini serenades
Aided and abetted by a brilliant ensemble, soprano-turned-director Catherine Malfitano displays a fearless flare for broad comedy that suggests she's a serious fan of such screwball classics as Weekend At Bernie's and Fire Sale, and Wilson Chin's stylishly topsy-turvy set consistently keeps us in on the
MAYNARD: first visit here
joke. The lush musical score, sensitively and splendidly conducted by Sir Andrew Davis, makes the contrast even more appealing, and Simone Osborne's rich vocalizing on O mio babbino caro earns every minute of the tumultuous applause she receives. Check it out at www.coc.ca.
Still not quite sure which aria it is? To watch Montserrat Caballe's version, click here; to watch Maria Callas' sing it to Japanese fans in Tokyo, click here. And, enjoy!
OUR TOWN: Lots of sparklies on the radar this week. New Brit pop music sensation Conor Maynard, who's 19 if he's a day, was on hand to co-host New.Music.Live on MuchMusic last night. This morning he'll make live
JOHNSON: on stage this week
appearances on the KISS 92.5 Morning show at 8 a.m. and CP24 Breakfast at 8:45 a.m. So will he sing Can't Say No? Whaddya think? … enduring pop music siren Tabby Johnson entertains Thursday night at Maggie Cassella's Flying Beaver Pubaret … Jayzm Bee hosts Word Jazz – "ten poets doing ten minutes each in a truly unique evening of spoken word" — with Don Francks, Robert Preist, Dale Percy, Myna Wallin, Phatt Al, Mike Schram, Chris Hercules, Amanda Hiebert, Howard "Dr. Possibility" Jerome, Mike Hanson and Bruce Hunter, Thursday night at the Now Lounge on Church Street …. also this Thursday: Betty Buckley kicks off the 15th and final We're
COHEN: he's Our Man
Funny That Way festival with a concert at Buddies In Bad Times that's sure to be spellbinding … don't say I didn't warn ya: This Friday's night concert by the legendary Lighthouse rock orchestra at the Molson Canadian Studio in Hamilton is expected to go SRO … so is female illusionist Christopher Peterson's Saturday night WFTW festival show at Buddies … also on Saturday: The Three Lennys, a special Toronto Jewish Film Festival screening of three Leonard Cohen films at the Bloor Cinema in honour of the recently-announced ninth recipient of the Glenn Gould Prize. And before Cohen receives his newest accolade next Monday at a gala evening at Massey Hall, local musicians will take to the streets to play his music all over downtown Toronto. So keep your eyes and ears open!
RICHARDSON: Sunday salon stint
SUNDAY'S SPECIAL: Looking for significant stuff to do on Mother's Day? Look no further. Take her to The Flying Beaver Pubaret on Parliament for a 1 pm jazz brunch with Shannon Gunn on Vocals, Reg Schrager on guitar and Rosemary Galloway on bass, or a 7 pm Mother's Day concert by singer-songwriter Duff MacDonald … Jackie Richardson joins Paul Hoffert at his weekly jazz salon at Musideum on Richmond on Sunday at 3 pm … Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie have added an extra show to their world premiere of From the House of Mirth,
THOMPSON: Glory-watcher
directed and choreographed by James Kudelka, at the Citadel — which means you now have a choice of two Sunday performances (3 pm & 8 pm) … Judith Thompson previews her new one-woman show, Watching Glory Die, in a staged reading this Sunday at 2 pm at the Factory Theatre … just looking for something special to slip in the envelope with that Hallmark card? The National Ballet of Canada is offering a special Mother's Day deal on its upcoming premiere of Hamlet. Buy tickets to see the high-flying Prince of Denmark on Friday June 8 and get 30% off the price of tickets, in all sections. To take full advantage of this special I Love Mom promotion, click here!
Posted in Actors, Authors, Ballet, BOOKS, Comedy, Gossip, Movies, Music, Opera, SHOW BUSINESS, Showbuzz, Stars, Television, Theatre
Tagged Amanda Hiebert, Annette Bening, Antonio Banderas, Bernie, Betty Buckley, Bruce Hunter, Buddies In Bad Times, Can't Say No, Canadian Opera Company, Catherine Malfitano, Chris Hercules, Christopher Peterson, COC, Coleman Lemieux & Compagnie, Conor Maynard, CP24 Breakfast, Dale Percy, Don Francks, Duff MacDonald, Elliot Gould, Factory Theatre, Fire Sale, Four Seasons Centre For the Performing Arts, From the House of Mirth, Giacomo Puccini, Gianni Schicchi, Glenn Gould Prize, Hamlet, Howard "Dr. Possibility" Jerome, JACK BLACK, JACKIE RICHARDSON, James Kudelka, JAYMZ BEE, JUDITH THOMPSON, KISS 92.5, LEONARD COHEN, LIGHTHOUSE, MAGGIE CASSELLA, Maria Callas, Massey Hall, Mike Hanson, Mike Schram, Molson Canadian Studio, Monserrrat Caballe, MuchMusic, Musideum, Myna Wallin, National Ballet Of Canada, Now :Lounge, O mio babbino caro, Paul Dano, Paul Hoffert, Phatt Al, Reg Schrager, Robert Preist, Rosemary Galloway, Ruby Sparks, Shannon Gunn, SHIRLEY MACLAINE, Simone Osborne, Sir Andrew Davis, Tabby Johnson. The Flying Beaver Pubaret, The Citadel, The Three Lennys, Watching Glory Die, We're Funny That Way, Weekend At Bernie's, Wilson Chin, Word Jazz, Zoe Kazan
Almodovar gets Banderas, Carrell gets a slice of Bacon, Hot Docs gets Ghomeshi and Louise gets un-stuck
OUR TOWN: Host-with-the-most Jian Ghomeshi returns to helm tomorrow night's Hot Docs Festival awards at the Isabel Bader … after flying across the pond to premiere the new
PITRE: back to T.O.
Benny Andersson-Bjorn Ulvaeus musical Kristina at Royal Albert Hall, show-stopping stage diva Louise Pitre got 'stuck' in London for an extra three days due to that pesky cloud of volcanic ash. "London's not a bad place to be stuck in!" she adds, especially since her hubby Joe Matheson had taken a week's holiday from his on-stage gig with still-thriving Jersey Boys to join her. Mamma Mia alumnus Pitre's now home again, safe and sound and shooting Season 2 of Star Portraits for Bravo! … popular public relations pro Shelagh O'Donnell is the ROM's new Head Of Communications … George F. Walker's hit comedy Featuring Loretta makes its second debut to the Factory Theatre tonight, officially kicking off the Factory's 40th (!!!) Anniversary celebrations. Longtime Walker cheerleader Ken Gass directs Monica Dottor, Lesley Faulker, Kevin Hanchard and Brandon McGibbon in this brand new production … and the bad news is, Yorkville haunt Michelle's Brasserie, the café in
FARMIGA: going outlaw
Renaissance Square just off Cumberland, has closed. Good news is, Crème, a new French bistro devised by Ricardo Sousa (Cibo, Lolo) and chef Ricardo Roque (Magna Golf Club, Bistro 990,) is now underway and is tentatively set to open June 1.
NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: Young Lily Collins, so good as Sandra Bullock's daughter in The Blind Side, is set to co-star with Taylor Lautner in Abduction, a new thriller … Kevin Bacon has signed on to guest star in Steve Carrell's next project … Pedro Almodovar alumnus Antonio Banderas is set to star in the director's next opus, La piel que habito … Up In The Air seductress Vera Farmiga
AGRON: new sci-fi role?
is set to portray a wild west outlaw in A Thousand Guns … watch for an announcement linking about-to-depart Global TV anchor Kevin Newman with a major new digital platform initiative … and don't bother inviting Phil Collins to your Canada Day BBQ this year. He's already booked to open the 44th annual Monteux Jazz Festival with a special July 1 concert.
NO BIZ LIKE SHOW BIZ: Glee star Dianna Agron has signed on for a leading role in the sci-fi film I Am Number Four … living room favourites Peter Mansbridge, Brian Stewart and Adrienne Arsenault are in London today, continuing to deliver CBC's in-depth play-by-play of today's General Elections in the U.K. … Shia Labeouf is set to play Charlie in the dark comedy The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman … Mireille
JEAN-BAPTISTE: in Central Park
Enos (Big Love) is reportedly signed to star in AMC's new series The Killing … bright young things Emma Roberts and Freddie Highmore are set to co-star in a new indie feature, Homework … Nurse Jackie scene-stealer Anna Deavere Smith is taking her New York solo show Let Me Down Easy on the road. Hope she brings it here … what becomes a legend most? Hard work. Which is howcum Ann Rhomer is still a household favourite after more than three decades on local TV. We'll miss her after she exits CP24's morning show next month … and although you know her best from her role as an FBI agent in Without A Trace, did you know that Anthony LaPaglia sidekick Marianne Jean-Baptiste was the first British black actress nominated for an Oscar, for Mike Leigh's 1996 drama Secrets & Lies? Ah yes, how quickly we forget. The gifted Mme Jean-Baptiste is spending her summer vacation in rep with Al Pacino, performing Merchant Of Venice and The Winter's Tale in Central Park..
All about Liona Boyd, Zero Mostel,
Piper Laurie (yes, Piper Laurie!) and more.
Tagged Abduction, Academy Award, Adrienne Arsenault, Al Pacino, ANN ROHMER, Anna Deavere Smith, Anthony LaPaglia, Antonio Banderas, Benny Andersson, Big Love, Bistro 990, Björn Ulvaeus, Brandon McGibbon, Bravo!, BRIAN STEWART, Canada Day, Central Park, Cibo, CP24, Crème, Dianna Agron, Emma Roberts, Factory Theatre, Featuring Loretta, Freddie Highmore, GEORGE F. WALKER, Glee, Global Television, Homework, Hot Docs, Isabel Bader Theatre, Jersey Boys, JIAN GHOMESHI, JOSEPH MATHESON, Ken Gass, KEVIN BACON, Kevin Hanchard, Kevin Newman, Kristina, La piel que habito, Lesley Faulker, Let Me Down Easy, LILY COLLINS, LOLO, LOUISE PITRE, Magna Golf Club, Mamma Mia, Marianne Jean-Baptiste, Michelle's Brasserie, Mike Leigh, Mireille Enos, Monica Dottor, Montreux Jazz Festival, Nurse Jackie, Oscar, Pedro Almodovar, PETER MANSBRIDGE, Phil Collins, Ricardo Roque, Ricardo Sousa, ROM, Royal Albert Hall, Royal Ontario Museum, SANDRA BULLOCK, Secrets & Lies, Shakespeare In The Park, Shelagh O'Donnell, Shia LaBeouf, Star Portraits, Steve Carrell, Taylor Lautner, The Blind Side, The Merchant Of Venice, The Necessary Death Of Charlie Countryman, The Winter's Tale, Up In The Air, Vera Farmiga, Without A Trace
Emails, we get emails, we get lots & lots of emails
Dear B.G.:
Has Glenda Jackson returned to the screen? The last I heard she had retired to work full time as the Labour Member of Parliament for the constituency of Hampstead and Highgate in the London. But I recently caught a glimpse of her, or at least I think it was her, in a movie trailer with Daniel Day Lewis. What is the movie? And why haven't I read about her comeback? –– Curious in Kelowna
Dear C.I.K.:
Ms Jackson is still lobbying for her British constituents and as far as I know has no immediate plans to return to the screen. The actress with the striking Touch
NINE: It's Judi, not Glenda
Of Class bob in that movie trailer is the inimitable Dame Judi Dench, who may be channeling Glenda, for all we know. And you're right, it is Daniel Day Lewis. The movie is directort Rob (Chicago) Marshall's screen version of the Broadway musical Nine, which of course was the stage version of Federico Fellini's 8½. So Day Lewis is playing a role originated on screen by Marcello Mastroianni and on stage by Raul Julia (and most recently Antonio Banderas.) And in the movie the key women in his life are played by Sophia Loren, Nicole Kidman, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard, Kate Hudson and Ms. Dench. Anticipated as a spectacular gift to fans of movie musicals, Nine is scheduled to open here on Christmas Day.
Is it true that Michael Ondaatje's latest novel Divisadero is being made into a movie? And if so when will it open? — Ondaatje disciple Benjamin K.
Dear B.K.:
I won't be surprised if Divisadero eventually reaches the big screen. In the meantime, the Necessary Angel theatre company, director Daniel Brooks and
BALABAN: next weekend
the author himself are rethinking his novel as a play, with a view to a 2010/2011 opening with subsequent touring. Title of the stage production is When My Name Was Anna, and you don't have to wait to 2010 to sample it. Next weekend Liane Balaban, Maggie Huculak, Tom McCamus and Amy Rutherford are set to appear in three work-in-progress presentations of When My Name Was Anna, directed by Brooks, at Theatre Passe Muraille's Mainspace. For more information, click here.
I saw a Broadway musical a few years ago called 10 Million Miles. It didn't last very long, and we didn't keep the Playbill, but I'm sure
10 MILLION MILES: guess who?
the male lead was Justin Timberlake. My wife saw your blog about Glee and says the male lead was the guy who plays the teacher, Matthew Morrison. Can you settle this domestic dispute? –– Hoping I'm Right
Dear H.I.R.,
Sorry, you lose. 10 Million Miles is one of several Broadway shows, including Hairspray and South Pacific, in which Matthew Morrison appeared. But he did have a Timberlake look about him in that show, so don't beat yourself up too badly. Morrison, who is also a rapper and a beat box hoofer, loves performing on stage for a live audience. But he's equally passionate about Glee, and with good reason. "More people saw the pilot of Glee," he notes, "than saw me in the entire ten years I was on Broadway."
Did I miss the Gemini Awards? I read somewhere that Geminis were handed out in Toronto this month, but I was sure that this year's show was supposed to be in Calgary. What happened? — proud Canadian TV addict
Dear P.C.T.A.:
Yeah, it does get confusing at times. Fear not, you haven't missed the boat – or the show, for that matter. The 24th Annual Gemini Awards Broadcast Gala is just two weeks away, and will be broadcast live on Global and Showcase at 9pm
MONTEITH: Calgary-bound
ET/PT Saturday November 14 from the BMO Centre in Calgary. Presenters flying in to Alberta for the show include Hugh Dillon (Flashpoint,) Erin Karpluk (Being Erica,) Jessica Lucas (Melrose Place,) Amber Marshall & Graham Wardle (Heartland,) Mark McKinney (Less Than Kind,) Cory Monteith (Glee,) George Stroumboulopoulos and Rick Mercer. Host for the evening is Ron James, who BTW has two Gemini alumnus on his show tonight: Eric Peterson (Corner Gas) and Deb McGrath (Little House On The Prairie.) So don't forget to set your PVR.
Posted in Actors, Authors, BOOKS, Gossip, Movies, Music, SHOW BUSINESS, Showbuzz, Stars, Television, Theatre
Tagged !0 Million Miles, 8½, Amber Marshall, Amy Rutherford, Antonio Banderas, Being Erica, Calgary, Canwest Global, Cory Monteith, Daniel Brooks, DANIEL DAY LEWIS, DEB McGRATH, Divisadero, Eric Peterson, ERIN KARPLUK, FEDERICO FELLINI, Flashpoint, Gemini Awards, GEORGE STROUMBOULOPOULOS, Glee, GLENDA JACKSON, Graham Wardle, Hairspray, Heartland, Hugh Dillon, Jessica Lucas, JUDI DENCH, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE, Kate Hudson, Less Than Kind, Liane Balaban, Maggie Huculak, Marcello Mastroianni, Marion Cotillard, MARK McKINNEY, MATTHEW MORRISON, Melrose Place, Michael Ondaatje, NICOLE KIDMAN, Nine, Penelope Cruz, Playbill, Raul Julia, RICK MERCER, Rob Marshall, RON JAMES, Showcase, Sophia Loren, South Pacific, The BMO Centre, Tom McCamus, When My Name Was Anna
Jane kicks up her heels again, Mike gets his own tribute and Ms Atwood goes back to Year One
BROADWAY BABIES: 30 Rock scene-stealer Jane Krakowski, who made her name in the Broadway musical Grand Hotel and won a Tony for dazzling
KRAKOWSKI: song & dance
Antonio Banderas in Nine, is finally getting back to full-time singing and dancing, if only temporarily. Due to her shooting schedule her cheeky tongue-in cheek cabaret act at Feinstein's, Jane Krakowski Has Sold Out…Tickets Available, must close tomorrow night at Loew's Regency … Laurie Metcalf, who picked up three Emmys playing Roseanne's sister on Roseanne, is back on Broadway starring as the mother in the first full-scale revival of Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs. She'll continue to reprise her role in Broadway Bound, the second play in Simon's autobiographical comedy, when both shows play in rep at the Nederlander. Brighton Beach Memoirs opens Oct. 25; Broadway Bound begins previews Nov. 18 and opens Dec. 10 … and Academy
METCALF: Broadway bound
and Tony Award winner Mike Nichols will be honored with the American Film Institute's 38th annual Lifetime Achievement Award in 2010. "I'm surprised and pleased," dead-panned the impish director of such films as Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf and Angels In America. "I was watching The Graduate on my Blackberry last week and it really holds up!"
NO PEOPLE LIKE SHOW PEOPLE: Why do we watch movies on planes that we wouldn't watch anywhere else? Margaret Atwood tweets that she disgraced herself by watching Year One, the sophomoric comedy spoof with Jack Black and Michael Cera, on her way to the Frankfurt Book Fair. Guess she consoled herself with news that her Year Of The Flood was
McGOWAN: Julie's ex on The Border
#8 on the New York Times bestseller list by the time she landed in Germany … Doug Coupland thinks Ed O'Neill's new show Modern Family "is just pure genius. It's sooooo well written." A technology geek, Coupland finds delightful and absurdly obscure video clips and posts them on Twitter – for example, this gem with Mr. T, Loni Anderson, George Hamilton and Olympic gymnast Mary Lou Retton in the same Lipton commercial. Coupland, whose new book Generation A is due in book stores, reports he lost his cell phone a few weeks ago, but instead of hyperventilating he's discovered that he simply doesn't think about it any more. "Didn't expect that to happen!" Me neither … and Darryl's Hard Liquor and Porn Film Festival returns to Toronto tomorrow night for one night only at
O'NEILL: new series
the Bloor Cinema with its 10th annual show featuring funny short films about sex from Canada and around the globe.
EXES & OOOHS: Yesterday I told you that Julie Stewart, currently on stage at the Factory Theatre in Brad Fraser'srave-winning new comedy True Love Lies, also plays Graham Abbey's ex onThe Border.
Wrong! Julie plays James McGowan's ex on The Border. And yes, I really can tell those two guys apart. (sigh)
Oh well. Happens in the best of families.
KUTCHER: start 'er up
YA GOTTA HAVE A GIMMICK: Thanks to Ashton Kutcher for sending me (and maybe a million others) news of that new iPhone app that lets you start your car from your phone. I would start saving up for it but I'm saving up for a new TV set instead. No, not HD – 3D. Yup, Panasonic unveiled its prototype 50-inch Viera plasma 3-D set in Tokyo this week. Apparently it's a wow. The technology works by rapidly alternating between left and right frames of the video. Viewers wear glasses that sync with the television over an infrared signal. The right frame is seen only with the right eye and the left frame with the left eye, creating the illusion of depth.
So all they have to do now is persuade producers to make reality TV shows in 3-D, and we'll have even more reasons to go back to the movies.
Tagged 30 Rock, Academy Awards, American Film Institute, Angels In America, Antonio Banderas, ASHTON KUTCHER, Bloor Cinema, Brad Fraser, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Broadway Bound, Darryl's Hard Liquor and Porn Film Festival, DOUGLAS COUPLAND, Ed O'Neill, Emmy Awards, Factory Theatre, Feinstein's, Frankfurt Book Fair, GEORGE HAMILTON, GRAHAM ABBEY, Grand Hotel, iPhone, JACK BLACK, James McGowan, JANE KRAKOWSKI, Jane Krakowski Has Sold Out…Tickets Available, JULIE STEWART, Laurie Metcalf, Lipton, Loew's Regency, Loni Anderson, MARGARET ATWOOD, Mary Lou Retton, MICHAEL CERA, MIKE NICHOLS, Modern Family, Mr. T, Nederlander Theater, NEIL SIMON, New York Times, Nine, Panasonic, ROSEANNE BARR, The Border, The Graduate. Blackberry, The Year Of The Flood, Tony Awards, True Love Lies, TWITTER, Viera, Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf, Year One