Strombo | Upcoming Guests - Week of January 9, 2012

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January 9, 2012

Allan Hawco

So, you're a hot young Canadian actor. You're all set to write, produce and star in your very own TV series, 'Republic of Doyle'. But then a hurricane blows the roof off your set. One of your lead actors is hospitalized. And you come down with swine flu. At this point, you might think the TV Gods were against you, and that show ain't getting made. All that happened to Allan Hawco. But he powered through, because that's what he does - he makes things happen. 'Republic of Doyle' is a hit, and its third season hits CBC this week, with guest stars including Academy Award-winner Russell Crowe and the return of Gordon Pinsent. Allan originally envisioned Gordon to play the role of his dad, but Gordon couldn't swing it with his schedule. One thing he could swing, though: presenting Allan with Playback's 2011 Outstanding Achievement Award this past fall. Full Bio

January 9, 2012

Dee Rees

Coming out can be one of the hardest things to do in life. But for Dee Rees, coming out was harder still: not only did her parents stop speaking to her for a while, she also had trouble fitting in with the gay community. In-between worlds, Dee felt like a pariah. Which, not so coincidentally, is the name of her first feature film, made with a little help from her mentor, Spike Lee. 'Pariah', a film about a teenage girl trying to juggle identities as a butch lesbian and a good daughter in a conservative family, is heartbreaking, but also triumphant: it's a prize-winner on the festival circuit, and a vindication for Dee, an MBA grad who quit the business world to follow her dream of becoming a filmmaker.

January 10, 2012

Megan Follows

When you hear the name Megan Follows, what comes to mind? For many of us, it's that little red-headed orphan from P.E.I., a.k.a. Anne Shirley, a.k.a. Anne of Green Gables. You'd be forgiven: After all, the 'Anne of Green Gables' mini-series, first broadcast on CBC, is one of the highest-rated Canadian television dramas of all time, and won Megan a Gemini Award when she was just 18. But that was 25 years ago. And there's way more to Megan than just little Anne Shirley. After all, Megan started acting at age nine, and, since Anne, Megan's had roles in just about every major TV show: Everything from 'Law & Order' and 'House' to 'Heartland'. Now she's got the lead in Nightwood Theatre's production of 'The Penelopiad', in Toronto. The play, by Margaret Atwood, is a retelling of the story of the Odyssey from the point of view of the hero's long-suffering wife. It's a play that questions what we think we know - which kind of applies to what we think we know about Megan, too.

January 10, 2012

Joe Berlinger

In 1993, the brutal murder of three young boys in West Memphis, Arkansas left the community reeling with fear and anger. Suspicion focused on three teenaged misfits whose taste for heavy metal and the occult made them easy targets. 'Paradise Lost', a series of documentaries from filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, raised questions about the guilt of the West Memphis 3. Last August, as the two were putting the finishing touches on Paradise Lost 3 - a film that presents the most convincing evidence yet pointing to the innocence of the West Memphis 3 - a bombshell dropped. After spending almost two decades in prison, the West Memphis 3 walked out of an Arkansas courthouse as free men. A Hollywood ending? Not quite. For the West Memphis 3, freedom has come with a heavy cost.

January 11, 2012

Paul Haggis

Paul Haggis may be best known as a writer and director of Hollywood movies. But in 2009, Paul decided to move beyond cinema to try and help the less fortunate in a country where help is sorely needed: Haiti. Working with some of his friends and colleagues, Paul created Artists for Peace and Justice (APJ), a fundraising effort that encourages peace and social justice and addresses issues of poverty and enfranchisement in communities around the world, with a special focus on Haiti itself. A few weeks ago, Paul invited George to Haiti to see first-hand how recovery and rebuilding efforts are proceeding nearly two years after the devastating earthquake that struck in January, 2010.

January 12, 2012

Mark McKinney

When you watch an old episode of 'The Kids In The Hall', Mark McKinney is often the hardest to recognize, and the hardest to forget. More than anyone else from the show, Mark was the actor - the guy who could step into character, and disappear, from the Chickenlady, to Mr. Tyzik (aka, Mr. "I'm crushing your head!"). The son of a diplomat, Mark moved constantly, growing up all over the world - the kind of childhood that teaches you how to re-invent yourself. Mark and the rest of the Kids came together in 1984. It was Lorne Michaels, the producer of 'Saturday Night Live', who helped The Kids get their own TV show, which started airing on CBC in 1989. For The Kids, nothing was taboo, but for Mark, it was just the beginning of an impressive creative career. In 1995, he became a cast member on SNL, spending two and a half seasons on the show. After that, he returned home and continued to grow as a writer on shows like 'Slings and Arrows', 'Michael: Tuesdays & Thursdays', and as one of the driving forces behind the acclaimed comedy 'Less Than Kind'. On the eve of its third season, Mark and the cast are coping with the sudden death of their lead actor - the great Maury Chaykin. Together, they'll face the question: can great comedy come from great loss?

January 12, 2012

Sarah Gadon

If you told Sarah Gadon that in less than a year she'd go from university lecture halls to film festival red carpets, she'd probably say you were out of your mind. Now that's not to say her path to the red carpet was quick or easy. Sarah first appeared on stage at age seven, as a lamb in a Toronto production of The Nutcracker. For more than 10 years she worked consistently on television; on everything from 'La Femme Nikita' to 'Being Erica'. But Sarah wanted to do more than act. So she enrolled at the University to Toronto to learn all there is to know about cinema, storytelling and the great directors... like David Cronenberg. When Sarah sent her audition tape to Cronenberg, she thought it was a long shot. But Cronenberg liked what he saw and cast her in 'A Dangerous Method'. In fact, Cronenberg was so impressed he put her in his next film, an adaptation of Don DeLillo's Cosmopolis. In it, Sarah acts opposite Mr. Team Edward himself - gasp! - Robert Pattinson. She's now back home in Toronto for her next big project; moving out of her parents' place.

January 13, 2012

Best of The Week and Coeur de Pirate

Fridays on the show, we play our best interviews of the week, plus a musical performance from Coeur de Pirate. Béatrice Martin, aka Coeur de Pirate, may be young - she was born in 1989 - but she's hardly new to the music game. She started playing piano at three years old, and was a gigging keyboardist with post-hardcore band December Strikes First when she was only 15. Her first album under the Coeur de Pirate moniker, a self-titled record, came out in 2008, and was subsequently nominated for Francophone Album of the Year at the 2009 Junos. Her music is getting attention in other parts of the world as well: 'Blonde', from 2011, reached number five on the charts in France, and number two in French Belgium. Watch her performance to discover what everyone's talking about - a powerful yet vulnerable voice writing fresh yet classic-sounding songs.

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