Year: 2018

Categories
People

Rest in peace, Mike MacDonald. You were hilarious. One of the best ever!!

Canadian comedian Mike MacDonald dies at 62

Canadian comedian Mike MacDonald died Saturday at the age of 62.

The comedian’s brother, JP MacDonald, confirmed MacDonald’s death to CBC News on Sunday, saying he died at the Ottawa Heart Institute due to heart complications.

Comedy organizations and local talent expressed their grief Saturday night on social media, saying that Canada lost a legend.

The renowned comedian touched many lives, said Howard Wagman, owner of Yuk Yuks Ottawa, where MacDonald used to perform.

“Mike MacDonald was pretty much the first Canadian superstar in our business,” Wagman said, his voice heavy with emotion. “We’re talking about 40 years and countless comedians that emulated and learned from him, he was a ground breaker, he was an original, he was truly Canadian.”

Born in France, MacDonald grew up on military bases around the world. When his father retired, the family settled in Ottawa where he attended Brookfield High School.

He moved to Toronto in the late 1970s to kick off his career as a comedian, performing at shows across the city.

During his 40-year career, he travelled across North America and appeared on numerous shows, including Just for Laughs, Late Night with David Letterman, The Arsenio Hall Show and the Comedy Club All-Star Show.

Long known as one of Canada’s top standup comedians, he wrote and starred in three CBC specials of his own, including Mike MacDonald; On Target; My House! My Rules; and Happy As I Can Be.

“He connected so well with an audience,” Wagman said. “One of the key things to standup comedy is having a connection with the audience. If they are not in your head, if they are not with you, you cannot sell.”

The comedian’s health trouble began in 2011 when he was diagnosed with Hepatitis C and waited months for a liver transplant, which he received after an outpouring of support from fans. He returned to the show world shortly after.

“When the career spans 40 years, there are different incarnations of who he was,” said Wagman. “The early days were nothing like what the last decade was like.”

MacDonald battled drug addiction and bipolar disorder in his adult life. He spoke publicly about his difficulties and performed at shows like Stand Up for Mental Health in Ottawa.

MacDonald died in an Ottawa hospital with family by his side, Wagman said.

A host of comedy organizations and Canadian talent paid tributes to the late comedian on social media Saturday night.

Categories
Movies

I was on my way to see TOMB RAIDER when I decided that I’d rather go home and stream MUPPET GUYS TALKING instead. That documentary is amazing and you can find it at muppetguystalking.com. Enjoy!!

Black Panther tops Tomb Raider to claim fifth weekend at box office

Wakanda forever — and for the fifth weekend in a row.

Disney and director Ryan Coogler’s superhero blockbuster Black Panther is on track to rule the box office once again, earning an estimated $27 million this weekend at 3,834 theaters in the U.S. and Canada. That figure should be enough to hold off Warner Bros. and MGM’s new Tomb Raider reboot, which will bow with about $23.5 million — but the weekend’s big surprise is Roadside Attractions and Lionsgate’s faith-based drama I Can Only Imagine, which is poised to outperform expectations with an estimated $17 million from 1,629 theaters, putting it in third place.

After 31 days in theaters, Black Panther will have grossed about $605.4 million at the domestic box office, making it the seventh film ever to pass the $600 million mark in North America. It’s also the first movie since 2009’s Avatar to top the box office for five consecutive weeks. Overseas, Black Panther has grossed about $577.1 million, putting its worldwide total at a hefty $1.18 billion.

The 18th installment of the Marvel Cinematic Universe stars Chadwick Boseman as the titular superhero, a.k.a. T’Challa, who leads and protects the secretive, technologically advanced nation of Wakanda. The cast also features Michael B. Jordan, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Lupita Nyong’o, Danai Gurira, Andy Serkis, and Letitia Wright. Black Panther has garnered glowing reviews and an A-plus CinemaScore.

As for Tomb Raider, the weekend’s No. 2 film, $23.5 million (at 3,854 theaters) represents a somewhat soft opening for a movie that reportedly cost about $90 million to make and is intended to breathe new life into the 22-year-old franchise, which began as a popular video game series.

Directed by Norwegian filmmaker Roar Uthaug (The Wave), Tomb Raider stars Alicia Vikander as the globetrotting treasure seeker Lara Croft, a role previously played by Angelina Jolie. Jolie’s Lara Croft: Tomb Raider opened with $47.7 million in 2001, while her Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life opened with $21.8 million in 2003.

Reviews for the new Tomb Raider were lukewarm, though many praised Vikander, while moviegoers gave it a so-so B CinemaScore. The film fared well internationally this weekend, taking in about $84.5 million in 65 territories.

With its strong showing in third place, I Can Only Imagine will outpace Disney’s high-profile fantasy A Wrinkle in Time, earning about $16.6 million in its second weekend, and Fox’s well-reviewed gay teen romance Love, Simon, opening with about $11.5 million.

Directed by Andrew Erwin and Jon Erwin and starring J. Michael Finley, I Can Only Imagine recounts the story behind the MercyMe song of the same name, the best-selling Christian single of all time. The movie received an A-plus CinemaScore from audiences, which bodes well for word-of-mouth prospects.

Love, Simon also notched an A-plus CinemaScore, while its opening is in line with industry projections. Greg Berlanti, the CW superhero mastermind, directed the movie, which is based on Becky Albertalli’s YA novel Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda. Nick Robinson stars in the story of a closeted gay teen dealing with blackmail and the tribulations of high school.

According to ComScore, overall box office is up 2.2 percent year-to-date. Check out the March 16-18 figures below.

1. Black Panther — $27 million
2. Tomb Raider — $23.5 million
3. I Can Only Imagine — $17 million
4. A Wrinkle in Time — $16.6 million
5. Love, Simon — $11.5 million
6. Game Night — $5.6 million
7. Peter Rabbit — $5.2 million
8. The Strangers: Prey at Night — $4.8 million
9. Red Sparrow — $4.5 million
10. Death Wish — $3.4 million

Categories
People

Rest In Peace, Mr. Hawking.

Why Stephen Hawking was so important to science

On Wednesday morning, renowned theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking died at the age of 76. His contributions to science changed the way we look at the universe.

Born in Oxford, England, Hawking was a mediocre student as a child but went on to revolutionize physics and cosmology — the study of the origin and evolution of the universe.

But he did something perhaps even more challenging: he brought such deep thinking about how the universe began and where it’s going to the general public in his bestselling book, A Brief History of Time, which was later turned into a documentary.

Hawking became a fixture in pop culture, with appearances on television shows such as The Big Bang Theory, The Simpsons and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

While Hawking may be a household name, many people aren’t necessarily familiar with his contributions to science.

Here are a few of his most important ideas:

– Hawking radiation
Albert Einstein’s theory of general relativity, published in 1915, suggested the existence of black holes — an object whose gravitational pull is so intense that once something passes a region known as the event horizon, there’s no escape.

Over the years, the theory of black holes gained favour as further research supported their existence.

In 1974, Hawking shocked the physics community by theorizing that some things can escape a black hole before crossing the event horizon. Subatomic particle pairs — such as photons and neutrinos — near that point of no return could result in one particle being ejected. This became known as Hawking radiation.

Interestingly, Hawking initially didn’t believe it possible. He only came to that conclusion when he tried to prove a young student, Jacob Bekenstein, who had initially made the suggestion, wrong.

– The black hole debate
In 2014, Hawking released a paper titled Information Preservation and Weather Forecasting for Black Holes in which he surprised the astrophysics community by suggesting black holes weren’t so black after all. He challenged his initial theory from 1974 that suggested nothing could escape a black hole after crossing the event horizon. His new paper said light may be able to pass through the point of no return area and leak information in the form of matter.

However, he theorized that what comes out of it would not resemble what went in. So, for example, if a Tesla Roadster with a mannequin behind the wheel went into a black hole, the scrambled atoms that might come out would be unrecognizable.

– Big bang
These days, the big bang theory is the widely accepted scientific explanation of the origin of our universe, but there was a time when the idea seemed preposterous. Even British astronomer Fred Hoyle, who coined the term in 1949, didn’t believe the theory.

In 1970, Hawking, along with fellow physicist Roger Penrose, suggested the universe began with a singularity, a location where space and time are indistinguishable. It’s as if a black hole went in reverse. Their research supported the theory that the universe began with a big bang.

– Theory of everything
While Hawking’s theories revolutionized the way physicists think about the universe, he never won a Nobel Prize because his theories haven’t been proven. For example, even if energy is released from a black hole, its temperature would be so low it would be difficult to measure.

At one time, Hawking had hoped to find a theory that could explain all the physical aspects of the universe, one that could unite the theory of general relativity (the study of the very large aspects of our universe) and quantum theory (the study of the very small).

But in 2010, Hawking admitted that science may never be able to find the “theory of everything.”

While the renowned scientist is gone, it’s likely that his theories will be discussed for a long time yet.

Categories
Television

He’s 100% right!!

Matt LeBlanc convinced ‘Friends’ reunion ‘would not be funny’

Matt LeBlanc is convinced a Friends reunion is dead, because all the characters have moved on with their lives.

The actor, who played dim-witted Joey Tribbiani on the classic TV show, insists the series was a hit because it dealt with young people in between school and life – and going back to the characters now would not be funny.

“I’ve talked to the writers about it,” he tells TV talk show host Steve Harvey. “That show was about a very finite period in your life when you’re like… between 20 and 30, when you’re outta school but life hasn’t really started yet, and your friends are your family and you’re kinda finding your way.

“When that period is over, it’s over. All the characters have gone their separate ways…”

LeBlanc admits he still meets fans of the show, who ask him about plans for a reunion with castmates David Schwimmer, Lisa Kudrow, Matthew Perry, Courteney Cox, and Jennifer Aniston, and reveals many people want to know what he thinks his beloved TV character would be doing now.

“Nobody wants to see Joey at his colonoscopy,” he laughs.

LeBlanc took five years off after the success of Friends and spin-off Joey so he could focus on raising his daughter and creating his dream home on a ranch north of Santa Barbara, California.

He has found TV success again as the host of British car show Top Gear and as the star of a new U.S. sitcom Man With a Plan. He also played a comical version of himself in hit cable comedy Episodes.

Categories
Movies

I’d love to see this film, but I doubt that it’ll ever get made.

Arnold Schwarzenegger: Eddie Murphy onboard for ‘Triplets’

Arnold Schwarzenegger cannot wait to start filming the long-gestating Twins sequel with Danny Devito and Eddie Murphy.

The Terminator star previously revealed Murphy was interested in joining the cast for the follow-up to the 1988 buddy comedy movie, in which he and DeVito portrayed unlikely siblings separated at birth, although they were still waiting on the final script to be delivered.

Now Arnold has confirmed the screenplay is complete, and all three actors are ready to jump into action for Triplets.

According to Deadline.com, he shared the news during a recent panel discussion at the South by Southwest music and film festival in Austin, Texas, explaining Murphy will play the third brother.

Teasing fans about how filmmakers will explain the physical differences between the triplets, he said, “(It will be a) funny thing that happens in the mixing of the sperm (sic).”

The news emerges almost a year after Schwarzenegger claimed both Eddie and original director/producer Ivan Reitman were involved in the franchise sequel, with the project expected to move into production in the coming months.

“It’s just around the corner,” he told ScreenDaily.com last May.

A start date has yet to be announced, but the film will mark Murphy’s first since 2016’s dramatic comedy Mr. Church.

The Shrek star has cut back on his screen work in recent years, but he is also poised to reprise his classic role as Detective Axel Foley in a fourth Beverly Hills Cop movie after revisiting the character for a 2013 TV film of the same name.

Categories
People

“It was the hardest thing that I ever had to do in my life, and I would not change one moment of it because it led me to be exactly where I am today, standing in front of all of you.”

Ellen DeGeneres hurt by Elton John’s comments after coming out

Ellen DeGeneres was hurt by Sir Elton John’s comments after she came out as a lesbian in 1997.

The Finding Dory star lost her top-rated TV comedy show in the wake of going public with her homosexuality in a Time magazine interview, and she admits the backlash was very upsetting – but she didn’t expect other famous gay people to turn on her.

“During the time, because there was so much talk about it, everyone was just sick of it,” she told pal Dax Shepard in a new episode of his Armchair Expert podcast. “I had only done the cover of Time magazine, a prime-time special with Diane Sawyer and Oprah – those were the only three places I talked – but people were reporting on reports and reports and reports.

“Even Elton John said, ‘Shut up already. We know you’re gay. Be funny.’ I had never met him and I thought, ‘What kind of support is that from a gay person?’ But everybody assumed I was just non-stop talking about it. It hurt my feelings.”

And she didn’t like the fact that she had become the butt of jokes on late night TV chat shows, adding, “People were making fun of me. I was really depressed.

“And because of that and because the show was cancelled, I was looked at as a failure in this business. No one would touch me. I had no agent, I had no possibility of a job, I had nothing.”

DeGeneres eventually found her way back to television as a daytime TV host – her The Ellen DeGeneres Show is now in its 15th season.

Last year, DeGeneres fought back tears as she celebrated the 20th anniversary of her coming-out episode of sitcom Ellen, telling fans, “It was the hardest thing that I ever had to do in my life, and I would not change one moment of it because it led me to be exactly where I am today, standing in front of all of you.”

Categories
The Simpsons

“A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man.”

Another word invented by ‘The Simpsons’ added to the dictionary

Before the apparent word “embiggen” made its way into Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary this week, it was featured on “The Simpsons” — where the word was seemingly created 22 years ago.

Embiggen, a transitive verb, means to make something bigger or more expansive.

The word made its first appearance in 1996, according to Merriam-Webster. A “Simpsons” episode that premiered in February of that year, titled “Lisa the Iconoclast,” featured a scene in which a man announces the iconic town of Springfield’s new motto.

“A noble spirit embiggens the smallest man,” the character said. “Embiggens? I never heard that word before I moved to Springfield,” another character added.

The word — to be used in an “informal” and “humorous” way, according to the dictionary — is just one of 850 words Webster added to its signature book this year.

“Subtweet,” “mansplain,” “dumpster fire,” “cryptocurrency” and “glamping” were also added to the dictionary.

Categories
Music

He has given us so many magical scores over the years. Here’s to legendary composer John Williams!!

Composer John Williams hints ‘Star Wars: Episode IX’ will be his last

The 86-year old composer who recently received his 51st Oscar-nomination for “Star Wars: The Last Jedi” admitted in a recent KUSC radio interview that after J.J. Abrams’ “Star Wars: Episode IX,” he’s finished with writing music for “Star Wars” movies.

“We know J.J. Abrams is preparing one now for next year that I will hopefully do for him, and I look forward to it,” John Williams said. “It will round out a series of nine and be quite enough for me.”

The Oscar winner of such films as “Star Wars,” “Jaws,” “E.T.” and “Schindler’s List” said that when he wrote the music for the 1977 George Lucas movie, he never knew it would spawn sequels and sequels for decades to come. “It’s developed in the most amazing way,” said the composer.

As Disney has spun off new “Star Wars” titles outside of the Skywalker family episodic saga, other composers have gladly stepped to put their musical touches on the Lucasfilm franchise. Originally Alexandre Desplat was set to score “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” but his schedule didn’t permit him to do so. “Up” Oscar winner Michael Giacchino stepped in and delivered a robust epic score in just little over a month.

Oscar nominee John Powell is penning the music for Ron Howard’s “Solo: A Star Wars Story” complete with a guitar-brass-infused score.

Back in 2015 Williams hit the pause button on scoring for Steven Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” over health issues, the first time that the composer took a break from working with the blockbuster director during their 40-year-plus collaboration. Instead Thomas Newman took over. While Williams scored Spielberg’s last two movies, “The Post” and “The BFG,” Alan Silvestri penned musical notes for the director’s upcoming Easter release, “Ready Player One.”

Categories
Movies

Can’t wait!!!

‘Wonder Woman’ sequel coming out sooner than expected

The Amazonian warrior princess and the Force-infused Jedis will not be battling at the box office. Despite earlier reports that the “Wonder Woman” sequel and “Star Wars: Episode IX” would be released in theaters the same weekend – Dec. 20, 2019 – it appears that the competition seemed ill-advised.

Warner Bros. has just announced that it will be opening the next Wonder Woman movie six weeks earlier on Nov. 1, 2019. While the film will undoubtedly perform even better than the original, this earlier date allows fans of both franchises to not have to make a “Sophie’s Choice” at the ticket booth. Moreover, the original film spent several weeks atop the box office this summer and, if history is any indication, the sequel should do the same. Spreading out the two movies makes sense for both studios.

At the moment, no other big budget blockbuster is slated for that weekend. However, the next James Bond film is due out the following week on Nov. 8, setting up a showdown between the superhero and the super-spy during the Thanksgiving movie season that year.

Work on the “Wonder Woman” sequel has already begun. Both Israeli actress Gal Gadot and American director Patty Jenkins have signed on. “We’ve got a cool idea for the second one,” said Geoff Johns of DC Films.

Added Jenkins: “I’m excited for her to come to America and become the Wonder Woman we are all familiar with from having grown up around her as an American superhero,” Jenkins told the Toronto Sun. “I’d like to bring her a little farther along into the future and have a fun, exciting storyline that is its own thing. Wonder Woman 1 is so much about her becoming the person she is. I can’t wait to spring forward with who she is and have another great standalone superhero film.”

One strong theory circulating online is that the sequel will take place in the 1980s, which would give Wonder Woman a Cold War foe. (We here at From The Grapevine have even gone so far as recommending six trends from the 1980s that the sequel should embrace.)

The original “Wonder Woman” broke multiple records. The movie has made nearly a billion dollars worldwide and was recently ranked as the best superhero movie of all time. The Academy Awards is considering it for a Best Picture nod, potentially setting it up to be the first superhero flick to ever take home that award.

Meanwhile, for those of us who just can’t wait two more years, have no fear: Gadot’s Wonder Woman character is returning to theaters this weekend (yes, this weekend!) with the highly anticipated release of the “Justice League” movie.

In both “Justice League” and the “Wonder Woman” franchise, Gadot sees a broader message for life offscreen. “In the real world, we don’t fight monsters, we don’t have alien attacks. It’s us creating the problem,” Gadot said during a “Justice League” press conference this month. “I think it would’ve been wonderful if us humans could get together and come together, and just be and do good to each other, and try to make to make the world a better place.”

Categories
Canada

We should all know them all.

Lucy Maud who? Poll finds many Canadians can’t name achievements of famous women

A new poll suggests Canadians have a lot to learn about the accomplishments of some of the country’s most famous women.

The online survey, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Historica Canada, found the majority of Canadians couldn’t name the achievements of such famous women as Emily Carr and Lucy Maud Montgomery.

Only 37 per cent of respondents to the poll could identify Carr’s accomplishments as a painter, while only 27 per cent knew that Montgomery’s fame sprang from her authorship of such Canadian literary classics as Anne of Green Gables.

When it comes to notable Indigenous women, recognition levels among respondents tumbled to between three and one per cent.

But the survey suggests Canadians are aware of the knowledge gap, with just 30 per cent of respondents saying the country is doing well at teaching youth about female accomplishment.

Historica Canada says the organization is seeing increasing demand to shine a light on women’s issues and successes.

Chief executive officer Anthony Wilson-Smith said Historica staff got a clear message from teachers and school boards who were asked where the organization needed to help fill in some key blanks from Canada’s past.

“People are saying, ‘look, yeah, tell us more about women’s history,”‘ Wilson-Smith said in a telephone interview. “‘Tell us more about who are the great Canadian women? What have they done?”‘

The survey presented respondents with a list of 15 women drawn largely from the ranks of Canadian artists, politicians and civil rights activists and asked if survey participants were familiar with their achievements.

Wilson-Smith said respondents were not asked to name individual works or recognize specific career milestones, only indicate whether they had a basic understanding of why the women were famous.

The number of poll participants who had never heard of any of the notable women surpassed the number who were familiar with one of Canada’s most famous artists.

The survey found 40 per cent of respondents were unfamiliar with any of the women compared to 37 per cent who had heard of Carr, a British Columbia-based painter celebrated for her depictions of Indigenous culture and Canadian nature scenes.

Montgomery, whose books about red-haired orphan Anne Shirley are globally renowned, received the second-highest recognition score of 27 per cent among respondents. Only 16 per cent had heard of suffragette Nellie McClung, who came third in the poll rankings.

Wilson-Smith said he’s encouraged by the finding suggesting people want to see more concerted efforts to step up education on women’s issues, saying the survey results should not be mistaken for lack of interest in Canada’s female icons.

“It’s not as though these are deliberate slights by people,” he said. “It just shows that … we have a lot of heroes and just a lot of very accomplished people whose work deserves to be known. We and other places have to continue to do everything we can to put them forward.”

The survey also explored Canadian responses to the #MeToo movement, finding that roughly half of respondents feel Canadians are succeeding at making women feel safe from sexual harassment on the job and in society at large. The survey found 51 per cent of male respondents felt Canada was making good progress on this issue, while 45 per cent of women surveyed held that view.

The poll of 1,001 Canadians was conducted online between Feb. 23 and 26. The polling industry’s professional body, the Marketing Research and Intelligence Association, says online surveys cannot be assigned a margin of error as they are not a random sample and therefore are not necessarily representative of the whole population.