It has been a tough week for Toronto residents. First, our mayor was ousted, and I allowed myself a brief moment of jubilation. But what followed was a playpen of childish ranting, raving and legal punditry that had me turning off all media. I love my city. But I’m way past fed up with our municipal leaders.
Distractions, mercifully, are plentiful. Here are some good ones for the weekend:
We may have had to put away our hallelujah chorus, sullen as we are, but a group of talented dancers is determined to get us humming along. Ballet Creole is back with their holiday sensation
“Soulful Messiah” featuring Handel’s familiar music, updated by Quincy Jones.
The show is tonight and weekend at Harbourfront Centre in Toronto.
The One of a Kind Christmas show wraps up Sunday at the Direct Energy Centre at Exhibition Place. This is a favourite in our household. But for the crowds, we love to browse the aisles of artisans. So go for the custom couture, the eclectic bling, and the whimsical artwork but do not miss the food. That would be a colossal mistake. Faves for us are the TICKLEBERRIES! from a famous eatery in the Okanagan. If the dark chocolate-covered cherries are sold out, I promise you a Rob Ford-sized tantrum on the spot.
Everyone has their soother, and anticipating great art is mine. So the countdown is on for the December 25th opening of the screen adaptation of Les Miz ( see earlier posts here and here). At least one lucky journalist has seen an advance screening and is dazzled.
Tribute Entertainment executive producer Bonnie Laufer-Krebs has spent over 25 years screening films and interviewing actors in her career as a writer and producer. Look for her interviews with Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper and the cast soon on Tribute.ca, but she gave me this exciting scoop:
“I truly believe it’s a musical masterpiece. Hugh ( Jackman) and Anne ( Hathaway) were outstanding. I think Anne has the best supporting actress locked!”.
Still, in the anticipating mode, Season 2 of HBO’s Girls begins in January 2013.
Here is the trailer for those needing your fix, released today.
Did you catch a peek at my sweetheart Chris O’Dowd in that trailer? OK, so he’s my other sweetheart, the big screen crush since his charismatic turn in The Sapphires seen at TIFF this year. It is the last day of November, so I have saved the best cultural tidbit of the month until now:
O’Dowd will soon be starring in a new BBC series, Family Tree, created and written by comic genius Christopher Guest. Guest will also direct and appear in the show and co-write with his Best in Show collaborator, Jim Piddock. The eight-part comedy series, due in the spring on HBO, will be shot in a single camera, fake documentary style as that other excellent Guest film, This is Spinal Tap. This is fantastic news. Comedy gold is in store.
Have a great weekend!
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