July 30, 2012
Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender was born in Germany and raised in Ireland. He makes his home in both London and L.A. Is it any wonder that he's able to disappear into any number of characters? Michael shed 30 pounds to play the lead role in a film called 'Hunger'. It re-creates - disturbingly - the last six weeks in the life of Irish hunger striker Bobby Sands. For an Irishman like Michael to play a national icon like Bobby Sands, it must be pretty intimidating. 'Hunger' was his big break. And soon after Michael was getting calls from people like Quentin Tarantino who offered him a part in 'Inglourious Basterds'. And David Cronenberg who cast Michael in 'A Dangerous Method' -- a film that looks at the friendship between Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud. But all the talk recently has been about Michael's full-frontal turn in a film called 'Shame'. The film reunited him with his Hunger director Steve McQueen. And laid bare some fearless questions about the nature of compulsion and sex addiction.
July 30, 2012
Luis Moreno-Ocampo
Luis Moreno-Ocampo is a prosecutor, but you could also call him a salesman. He's spent the last eight years peddling a new and radical idea: a system of global justice. As the first prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, Luis's job is to hold the world's worst criminals accountable. We're talking about war lords, and perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity. In the course of his time as prosecutor for the ICC, he brought 13 cases to the court and spent more than a billion dollars, but handed down only one conviction, to Congolese warlord Thomas Lubango. And that's not the only fodder for critics; many claim the ICC applies double standards against African nations, and blocks the way for more peaceful solutions. Moreno-Ocampo's term with the ICC finished in early June.
July 31, 2012
Cory Monteith
Glee draws millions of viewers a week and it's not just because of the songs. Glee is about something real: What it's like to be an outsider trying to find your place. And the show's star, Cory Monteith, can relate. As a teenager, Cory went off the rails, becoming estranged with his dad and stealing money to fuel his drug addiction. Cory's come clean about his past, which is a pretty gutsy move - as is his new film, Sisters & Brothers. In one set of sibling relationships, Cory plays a Hollywood superstar, brought back to reality by his brother. It's a gritty look at how siblings can be your best friends, your worst enemies, and sometimes both.
July 31, 2012
Mira Sorvino
Growing up in New Jersey, Mira didn't think Hollywood was in her future. Her Dad, the great character actor Paul Sorvino, didn't want his daughter to face the harsh rejection and turbulent lifestyle he'd come to know. So Mira went to Harvard for Asian Studies and spent her junior year in Beijing, where she learned Mandarin and wrote an award-wining thesis on racial prejudice. She had her sights set on a diplomatic career in China, but after Tiananmen Square, she convinced herself (and her father) that she should give her second love, acting, a shot. She landed small, but powerful, roles in films like Barcelona and Quiz Show. She caught the attention of Woody Allen, who cast her as the kindhearted but flighty hooker in Mighty Aphrodite. To prepare for her role Mira spent a week walking around New York in character. Her dedication paid off: she won an Oscar for her role. Despite her professional success, it wasn't until she was approached by Amnesty International that Mira truly found her voice. She started speaking out for women's rights, and protesting violence in Darfur. In 2009, she was appointed the UN's Goodwill Ambassador to Combat Human Trafficking, a position she's taken incredibly seriously. She's become a passionate advocate for victims of sexual exploitation, and now balances her activism with motherhood and movies.
July 31, 2012
Gary Bettman
There's no sense beating around the bush: Canadian hockey fans have always given Gary Bettman a hard time. But if we sometimes come off a little callous, it's only because we care. Since 1993, Gary has served as Commissioner of the NHL, making him one of the most powerful men in hockey, and one of the longest serving Commissioners in professional sports. During his tenure, the NHL has been completely transformed, incorporating new teams, new rules, and new priorities. Now, Gary is once again at the helm at a critical point in hockey history, as the league attempts to deal with head injuries, realignment, and the possibility of further Canadian expansion.
July 31, 2012
Arkells
Check out a musical performance from rising Canadian band Arkells. Formed in Hamilton, Ontario, the band is named after the street they lived on, where they started writing songs and honing their craft. And their hard work paid off: they won the 2012 Juno Award for Group of the Year. Their latest record is 'Michigan Left', and it's a gritty, driven piece of work.
August 1, 2012
Kevin O'Leary
At the end of the day, Kevin O'Leary abides by a fundamental rule: Money and emotions don't mix. On the CBC show Dragons' Den and the American equivalent Shark Tank, Kevin can reduce the most confident entrepreneur to a quivering wreck. But if Kevin has high standards, he applies them equally to himself: Despite having dyslexia, Kevin never made excuses for himself, and charged into the world of business. In 1983, Kevin founded a software company in his basement; 15 years later, he sold it to Mattel for more than $3.5 billion. Now, Kevin's got a new book, Cold Hard Truth, which offers brutally honest advice on how to succeed in busines and life - apologies not included.
August 1, 2012
Margaret Atwood
Unless Toronto city councilor Doug Ford is reading this, I think it's safe to assume we're all familiar with Margaret Atwood. She's one our most enduring storytellers. From The Handmaid's Tale to Oryx and Crake to The Year of the Flood, Margaret's a master of asking, "What if?" What if we lived in a society where women's freedoms were restricted? Where we took genetic engineering too far? Where we completely lost touch with nature? She calls it "speculative fiction" -- stories that let us try on possible futures, possible selves, and ultimately force us to ask, "Do we really want to head down that road?" 'Cause when it comes to the road we're on these days, Margaret Atwood can see farther than most...or maybe, she's just brave enough to look. Margaret's first encounters with other worlds happened in childhood -- she loved to draw flying rabbits in capes and spaceships. And from Batman to Brave New World, Margaret's relationship to the supernatural has been lifelong. She explores that relationship in her latest book -- a collection of essays that begins with flying rabbits and ends with her novels flying off the shelves It's called 'In Other Worlds: Science Fiction and the Human Imagination'.
August 1, 2012
Brian Dennehy
Brian Dennehy definitely has his tough-guy credentials: Raised in Brooklyn and then Long Island, Brian comes from a proud Irish family. He went to University on a football scholarship, joined the Marines, and worked a bunch of jobs to pay the bills. But all along, he wanted ot be an actor; in fact, the real measure of Brian's toughness is his persistence. He wasn't discovered until his late 30s, doing New York theatre. Since then, he's been in a ton of movies - Cocoon, 10, Tommy Boy, the list goes on - but he never lost his love for the stage: In 1999, he did Death of a Salesman on Broadway, which earned him his first of two Tony Awards. These days, at 73, he's still exploring the power of theatre: He returned to Canada late last year for the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, which he describes as the best theatre company in the world.
August 1, 2012
k-os
k-os (AKA Kevin Brereton) is a genre bending artist rooted in hip hop, who has won multiple Juno Awards, a Grammy nomination, and a Source Award for Best International Artist. A self described "mad musical scientist," k-os has written and produced nearly all parts of his 4 albums.
August 2, 2012
Andrew Coyne
As much as Andrew Coyne is into politics, he actually has a bit of a dislike for it. He's called it a 'sleazy, awful business, full of desperate, unpleasant people.' But he also believes it doesn't have to be that way, and that we can demand better. So we get more than just party rhetoric and spin. Public engagement is in his blood. Andrew's father, James, was the second governor of the Bank of Canada and famously got into a showdown with the Diefenbaker government over the economy. It became such a big deal, the government even tried to have Coyne Sr. fired. Well, like his dad, Andrew isn't afraid to stand his ground whether it's on Twitter or in print. Andrew's written for The Financial Post, The Globe and Mail, Maclean's, where he was national editor, and now at the National Post where he's in his second go-round as a political columnist.
August 2, 2012
Ric O'Barry
If you grew up in the early '60s, you probably remember 'Flipper' - basically, the 'Lassie' of the marine world. It was a hugely popular show at the time: you had a really smart dolphin, a cute kid named Bud, and a whole lot of adventure. Five different dolphins played 'Flipper', but the one used most of the time was Kathy. But when she died, her trainer, Ric O'Barry, said no more. He wanted nothing to do with the dolphin entertainment industry. And for the past 40 years or so, he's dedicated his life to freeing dolphins. He speaks at conferences, takes part in campaigns to get people to stop going to dolphin shows, and he's rescued more than 25 captive dolphins in the U.S., South America and the Caribbean. Ric also worked on the Oscar-winning documentary 'The Cove' - which exposed the cruelty of the dolphin hunt in Japan. Now, he works with the Save Japan Dolphins Campaign and leads an international effort to stop the killing and trafficking of one of the world's most intelligent creatures.
August 2, 2012
Susan Cain
Right, take a look around: We live in the age of the Extrovert. The outspoken, like Kevin O'Leary, or the charismatic, like Angelina Jolie (or even just her leg). So where does that leave the Introvert? People who prefer a quieter, more reflective life? That's the question Susan Cain explores in her book, 'Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking', and what she found in her research might surprise you. At least one-third of us are introverts and there's little choice in the matter - you're born that way. Introverts can be more effective leaders than extroverts, and are less likely to commit adultery or place risky bets. In fact, the real question is: Why do introverts get such a bad rap? And how can we all get along in an increasingly noisy world?
August 3, 2012
Stacy Peralta
What Andy Warhol is to Pop Art, Stacy Peralta is to skateboarding; an industry pioneer, visionary, and cultural game changer. Stacy's first love was surfing, but on days when the waves weren't great, he took to the streets with the Z-Boys - a skate crew named after the Zephyr surf shop that sponsored them. Stacy was among the first to see the earning potential in skating. By age 17, he was touring the world, making more money than his parents. He retired from competition before he was 20, and co-founded the successful skateboard company Powell Peralta. Stacy coached the team, known as The Bones Brigade, for more than a decade. Now Stacy focuses on writing and producing documentary film. His latest, 'Bones Brigade: An Autobiography', is an oral and visual history of those who not only defined a sport, but a cultural movement.
August 3, 2012
Jan Wong
Without a doubt, Jan Wong is a gutsy journalist. As a reporter for The Globe and Mail for more than 20 years, she covered the Tiananmen Square Massacre on the ground, and she smuggled sharp objects onto airplanes in the weeks after 9/11 to test security, all of which would make you think Jan was pretty tough. But all that changed in 2006 after Jan covered the Dawson College shootings in Montreal. In her piece, Jan wondered if Quebec's linguistic policies played a role in the killer's actions, and the outcry was fast and furious. But that was just the beginning. Turns out Jan started to suffer from clinical depression; unable to function; unable to write. It turned into a two-year struggle between her employer and her health insurer that eventually got her fired. Jan's experiences are captured in a new, self-published book called 'Out of the Blue: A Memoir of Workplace Depression, Recovery, Redemption and, Yes, Happiness'.
August 3, 2012
Stephen Davis
Roman-style orgies. Dwarves carrying bowls of cocaine. Whether or not the stories are true, one thing's for sure: when rock stars threw parties in the '70s, they indulged in more than a few bottles of Moet. And when those rock stars retire, or die, or just tire themselves out, we're gonna be thankful for Stephen Davis, because he's the guy who was backstage the whole time, furiously writing it all down. But today, with celebrity gossip being tweeted and blogged every two seconds, is the whole rock-star mystique a thing of the past? We'll find out how that impacts writers like Stephen, who recently took on another challenge: for the first time ever he's written a book about a woman. His new biography is called 'More Room in a Broken Heart: The True Adventures of Carly Simon'.
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