August 13, 2012
Juliette Lewis
She's an award-winning actress and a rocker. But somehow the word that best describes Juliette Lewis is renegade. Over the last 20 years she's bypassed the safe Hollywood path, by courting controversy, taking risks, and switching gears. When she was just 18 she managed to steal the spotlight from Robert De Niro (no easy feat) in the infamous auditorium scene in 'Cape Fear'. She's worked steadily in film ever since, but remains passionate about her music. She's toured the world with her band, Juliette Lewis and the Licks, and been named one of the hottest women in rock by Blender Magazine. These days you'll find Juliette in Toronto, shooting a new series called 'The Firm'. The show picks up ten years after the famous film left off. Juliette plays Tammy, the loyal and sassy paralegal originally portrayed by Holly Hunter.
August 13, 2012
Bob Rae
Canadians of a certain age remember Bob Rae as an idealistic, piano-playing socialist. He used his songs to poke fun at establishment politics...targetting people with power and cutting them down to size. But in 1990, he made the jump from voice of conscience to mainstream politician. Rae and his fellow NDPers trounced David Peterson's Liberals to bring in the first NDP government east of Manitoba. But the next five years were difficult and Rae's relationship with the NDP suffered as well. When Ontarians decided to vote out the NDP and vote in the Conservatives, Rae decided to take a break from politics. When he finally returned a handful of years later, it was to join the Liberal team. He now sits as the party's interim leader, presiding over a Canadian institution that could be seeing its end. This weekend Liberals from across the country will be getting together to decide the future of their party. Can it be resurrected? Or have Canadians seen the end of this country's "natural governing party?"
August 13, 2012
Terry Jones
If you look up the word 'pythonesque' in the dictionary... well, sorry snake fans, but you'll be disappointed. The word 'pythonesque' is officially defined as: 'A kind of humour that is absurd and unpredictable.' That's right - in the style of Monty Python. When Python first premiered in the U.K. in 1969, the nation's jaw dropped. The humour was rebellious: satire wrapped in intellect. And it would pave the way for everything from Saturday Night Live to Little Britain. A huge reason for that is Terry Jones. I'm sure you remember some of his Python characters, but Terry also directed Python's three feature films - 'Life of Brian', 'Holy Grail', and 'The Meaning of Life'. And after the Pythons went their separate ways in the '80s, he launched a successful second career as a medieval historian, prolific author, and social commentator, levelling his aim at the war in Iraq. He even became a father again at the age of 69. But one thing about Terry that's never changed: his ability to make light of serious issues. When he developed bowel cancer in 2006, Terry teamed up with the late Dr. Robert Buckman on a series of funny and educational health videos. It' s just another way for Terry to look on the bright side of life...
August 13, 2012
Down With Webster
Fridays on the show, we play our best interviews of the week - featuring Juliette Lewis, Bob Rae and Terry Jones - plus a musical performance, this week from Down With Webster. It's not often that a junior high battle of the bands marks the start of a successful music career, but that was the case for Down With Webster, a group originally assembled for a contest held at Glen Ames Senior Public School in Toronto in 1998. Now signed with Universal Motown, the 6-piece rap-rock band has sold over 50,000 albums, and has been nominated for Juno awards, MuchMusic Video Awards and Canadian Radio Music awards. The group's most recent album, Time to Win, Vol. 2, was released in October, and the band is looking to tour extensively in 2012. If they visit your town, be ready to be on your feet: the band's show is renowned for serious energy, as this week's performance suggests.
August 14, 2012
Anne Rice
Take a look around you: vampires are everywhere - from 'True Blood' to 'Twilight'. And to whom do these bloodsuckers owe their eternal lives? Anne Rice. The High Priestess of modern gothic fiction. With her bestselling novels, The Vampire Chronicles, Anne breathed new life into the genre: her vampires grappled with good and evil, suffered, felt desire, and seemed almost human. But Anne's fantastic tales of love, loss and immortality were rooted in real tragedy: the loss of her mother to alcoholism when she was 14, the death of her five-year-old daughter from leukemia... which drove her to write her first novel, 'Interview with the Vampire'. Since then Anne's written dozens of books under three different names - from novels about supernatural beings, to female erotica, to historical fiction - and sold well over 50 million copies. In 2002, Anne returned to Catholicism... but in 2010 she publicly renounced the Church, disgusted with what she sees as hypocrisy, intolerance and sexism. Now she's come back to her gothic roots: her new novel is 'The Wolf Gift' - a new take on the werewolf legend that raises questions about fate, redemption, the nature of good and evil.
August 14, 2012
Jay Baruchel and Alison Pill
Jay Baruchel and Alison Pill: two Canadian kids who met, made a movie, and fell in love.,. and, like any good Canadian story, it involves hockey (oh, hockey - is there anything you can't do?). Jay you know from films like Million Dollar Baby, Tropic Thunder and Knocked Up. Alison, meanwhile, moved to New York at the age of 18, and make her mark in theatre; lately, she's been all over the big screen, too: In 'Milk', 'Scott Pilgrim vs. The World' and, in Woody Allen's Oscar nominated 'Midnight in Paris'. As for their real-life love story, Jay and Alison met on the set of 'Goon': A bloody - and timely - film about a small-town bouncer who becomes a hockey enforcer. Jay co-wrote the script, and says it'll show what it truly feels like to play the game.
August 14, 2012
Wendy Crewson
Wendy Crewson is probably best known for her decidedly American roles - like the wife of a U.S. president in 'Air Force One'. But Wendy's as Canadian as Kraft Dinner, born in Hamilton and raised in Winnipeg and Montreal. And she's a national treasure: the winner of six Gemini awards, she's a tireless supporter of the Canadian film and TV industry and a patron of the ALS Society of Alberta, a role she was inspired to take after appearing in 'At the End of the Day' as Sue Rodriguez, the B.C. woman with ALS who made headlines in the 1990s after challenging the Supreme Court for the right to die. Next up, Wendy's in 'The Vow' as a doctor helping Rachel McAdams recover from a car accident, and later this year, she'll be playing an anti-apartheid activist in 'Winnie'.
August 14, 2012
Young Empires
Right now, the "Young" in Young Empires' name fits just right: the Toronto-based band just released their debut EP, 'Wake All My Youth'. But the second half of their name looks like it might end up fitting pretty well too. The four-piece is building an empire from the ground up at the moment. They're receiving buzz all over the place - Britain's NME called them "the summation of this generation's achievement in rock". Their heartfelt combination of synthesizers, danceable beats and epic songwriting is winning them a lot of fans. Empires have been founded on a lot less...
August 16, 2012
Ewan McGregor
Ewan grew up in Scotland and left school early to pursue acting. And it wasn't long before he booked Trainspotting. Aah, Iggy! Trainspotting was a defining moment in '90s cinema, and in Ewan's life as well. But Ewan found the early stardom too much to handle - he started drinking heavily, partying, and showing up drunk to work. Fortunately, something else came early to Ewan: love sweet love. At 23, he met his future wife, and the responsibilities of marriage and fatherhood, he says, helped him straighten out. For Ewan, 'risk-taking' started taking on a whole new meaning: sure, he fought the dark side of The Force in the Star Wars movies, but he's also known for playing real people who bare their souls (among other things...AHEM, we're looking at you, Pillow Book). Ewan more than held his own opposite Oscar-winner Christopher Plummer In Beginners, and much to the dismay of his agents, he's spent a good part of the last few years riding around the world on a motorcycle.These days, you can catch Ewan in what, for George, was one of the highlights of the Toronto International Film Festival: A film called Salmon Fishing in the Yemen. The guy who finds peace at the edge of the road has found a new challenge at the edge of a river.
August 16, 2012
Olivia Wilde
The person who coined the phrase "beauty is only skin deep" clearly never met Olivia Wilde. Cause, yeah sure, while she is easy on the eyes, Olivia is fiercely smart, especially when it comes to politics and, more importantly, when it comes to getting people to care about politics and social issues, often by example, whether it's helping the Obama campaign in the 2008 election or volunteering in Haiti as part of Artists for Peace and Justice. Her next project is the movie Butter. On the surface it's a film about a butter-sculpting contest in Iowa, but it's also a film about greed, naked ambition and dirty tricks. And if you think that sounds like there's comparison to be made to American politics, you're not alone - and that's just the way Olivia likes it.
August 16, 2012
Taylor Kitsch
This might just be the year of Kitsch. The 30-year-old BC native has been acting for more than a decade, but just landed his first lead role; the namesake in Disney's $250 million sci-fi epic, "John Carter'. Not bad, for a kid from Kelowna. Growing up, all Taylor wanted to do was play in the NHL. Now, a Canadian kid dreaming about playing pro hockey isn't that unique, but Taylor actually got pretty far. At 19, he joined the Langley Hornets, an elite junior team and potential stepping-stone to the pros. But then, disaster struck: Taylor blew out his knee, and his hockey dream was over. With nothing to lose, Taylor moved to New York and started taking acting classes. And NYC was no picnic: while there, Taylor lived in a tiny apartment with nine other struggling models and actors (think Zoolander, but waaaay less funny). Pretty soon, he relocated to LA, got a role in the teen thriller, "The Covenant", and then, his big break: landing the role of troubled high school football player Tim Riggins on the critically acclaimed show, "Friday Night Lights". He broke out on the big screen as the card-throwing Gambit in the blockbuster "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"; and received critical acclaim in "The Bang Bang Club", as a daredevil photojournalist in apartheid-era South Africa. Later this year he'll share the screen with Liam Neeson and Rihanna in "Battleship" and after that, it's Oliver Stone's "Savages". Told you ... the year of Kitsch.
August 16, 2012
Eight And A Half
Here's some interesting math: divide two acclaimed Canadian bands - Broken Social Scene and The Stills. Take three of the players - Justin Peroff from BSS and The Stills' Dave Hamelin and Liam O'Neil - and add them together into a new, and powerfully cohesive unit. What do you get? Eight and a Half. Maybe not mathematically sound, but the cohesive, electronics-tinged new sound that the trio has created should encourage fans to overlook any numerical inconsistencies. As their label Arts & Crafts puts it, "this is not a side project... Eight and a Half is a new, very real band." And with their debut album on the horizon, they'll drop by the program for a textured performance proving just how real they are.
August 17, 2012
Paul Anka
Forty-eight years ago, Paul Anka stood on a stage in Poland and apologized to his fans. He was 22. Paul had been touring Poland and the plan was for one final stop: in Warsaw. Unfortunately, that day also turned out to be the day JFK was assassinated. Paul had to cancel his show, but he told his fans in Poland that he'd make it up to them. It took nearly five decades, but a few weeks ago, Paul finally made good on that promise. He returned to the very same concert hall in Warsaw and performed that show. Imagine what it was like to leave that stage as a 22-year-old kid, and get back on it as a 70-year-old man? Those two nights in Poland are like bookends to an incredible career: Paul's written more than 900 songs recorded by the likes of Buddy Holly, Tom Jones, and even Ol' Blue Eyes himself. That's right - 'My Way' was aaaaall Anka. He also penned one of the most enduring TV themes in history: the theme song to The Tonight Show. And as for the present? Well, Paul's got a brand new Christmas record. It's called 'Songs of December' - it's eleven sparkling holiday classics by Canada's original teen idol.
August 17, 2012
Don Ferguson
You know, doing satire in Canada isn't always easy. South of the border, there's no shortage of big, easy targets. But here in Canada, making fun of ourselves has grown into a more subtle art. Thankfully, we've got artists like Don Ferguson, and the 'Royal Canadian Air Farce'. Launched on CBC radio in 1973, the show was a mix of political and cultural comedy, with a distinct Canadian flavour. When the show moved to a regular spot on CBC television in 1993, Don was at the top of his game, impersonating everyone from Pierre Trudeau to Bob Dylan. These days, Don is preparing for a brand new 'Air Farce New Year's Special', carrying on the legacy of the group without two of its founding members. And, he's got a new book: 'Air Farce: 40 Years of Flying by the Seat of Our Pants'. Co-written with his pal Roger Abbott, it's an insider's look at a show that made audiences laugh, and politicians just a little nervous.
August 17, 2012
Laura Marling
Laura got started in music early: she once had to play outside one of her own shows in London when she was denied entry to the venue for being underage. The folk singer-songwriter hails from Hampshire, England, and music runs in the family - she's the youngest of three daughters born to a music teacher and the owner of a recording studio. Her parents instilled a love of folk music in her early on, which she said was "a bit of a blessing and a bit of a curse", since it made it hard for her to fit in with her peers musically. She doesn't have that problem now: Laura's in town promoting her third album, 'A Creature I Don't Know'.
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