Oh look! It’s the Washington Capitals getting ready to play soccer. Hey, maybe they’ll actually be better at that… Whew! More than 24 hours after one of the biggest upsets in hockey history and its still hard to believe it happened. How does one of the most powerful offensive juggernauts in the league get shut down by a goalie who asked to be traded mid-season because he wasn’t getting any ice time? But Washington is gone,...

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I’m honored to hand over this space once again to a very special guest. Writer, comedian and comic troubadour Peter Wildman. A member of the legendary comedy group “The Frantics” a radio staple for years on CBC Radio before transferring to television with the series “4 On The Floor”. In addition to bringing to life such comedy icons as Mr. Canoehead, infecting the country with the catch phrase “Boot to the Head” and songs...

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I met Dennis Hopper once --- for all of 15 seconds. But it’s a quarter minute that will forever stick in my mind. I don’t know if I was really aware of him when he was one of Hollywood’s young studs in the 1950’s and 60’s. Back then, he was interchangeable with Nick Adams, Jeremy Slate, Adam Roarke or the guy with whom he’d be forever linked in the first movie he directed, Peter Fonda. They were all blond Hollywood actors...

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With the Stanley Cup Playoffs in full flight, most of Canada loses interest in what else is going on in the world of sport. Even concurrent basketball championships and the beginning of soccer and baseball seasons are only on the periphery of our awareness. Little surprise then that few (if any) are following a just as thrilling sport on the other side of the planet. Wait a minute! Did a Canadian just say there was a sport...

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Hey, look who got an early tee time this morning! Why it’s Martin Brodeur! Considered the most experienced Goalie in the NHL and this season’s shutout leader. I wonder if he’s playing with his brother… Okay – not many of us saw this coming! Five games into the first round of the Playoffs and the vaunted New Jersey Devils are the first to fall – to a team that squeaked in on the final day of the season – in a shootout. And...

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“It is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.” These are difficult times. And though it’s intended to inspire discussions on the realities of the current Canadian film and TV business, a lot of what I write on this blog gets interpreted as concentrating on the negatives. But while I do spend more time examining problems than offering solutions, the reason for that is simple. There are a lot of problems....

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I travel a lot. And that means I fly and drive a lot. And like most people, I belong to a lot of programs that offer me reward points for doing those things as well as staying in certain hotels, buying a specific brand of gasoline or shopping at partnered stores. One of the leading purveyors of reward points in Canada is Aeroplan and over the years I’ve collected a phenomenal number. The promise that comes with those points...

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There’s lots of great music on television tonight. A new episode of the breathtakingly good “Treme”. The Juno Awards from the Rock. But my love of good drama and patriotic spirit will both have to be set aside because tonight marks the beginning of “The Last Rodeo”.  The Academy of Country Music is also broadcasting its awards show tonight, which will feature Brooks & Dunn, the most successful duo in any musical genre,...

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We need to talk… This weekend, screenwriters from across the country will gather in Toronto for the Writers Guild of Canada National Forum. A mix of elected representatives, industry experts and committed scribes, they’ll engage in an intense and free-ranging discussion of issues facing the local writing community. And there’s a lot of important stuff for them to hash out. Recent changes in regulatory policy, impending broadcast...

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Who says you need actors to make a movie? Why have your vision messed with by a director? A crew you need to pay? Network notes? Money to rent equipment and buy day old donuts on the craft service table? Forget it. All of them are history. Things of the past along with, “We don’t do period.”, “The horror market is over-saturated” and “Nobody cares about growing up Ukrainian in Winnipeg.” Never again will an under-funded...

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THEEEEY'RE HEEEE-RE!!! The Stanley Cup Playoffs, the greatest spectacle and the toughest trophy to win in all of professional sport! And while signs like this spring up all over the country as my hapless Leafs miss the playoffs for the fifth straight year; once again it is time to separate the men from the boys, the wheat from the chaff, the real heroes from the wannabes and poseurs. This is where those with hockey smarts...

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All guys like to climb into bed with a good lookin’ woman. My own personal bent is good lookin’ women who are also intelligent and funny. That’s why, lately, I’ve been climbing into the sack with Chelsea Lately. For those who like to curl up with another late night talk show host, all I can say is --- you’re missing one of the quickest and funniest shows on television. In all the recent fooforah about late night hosts, nobody...

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Taking a coffee break on the afternoon of April 1, I noticed a benign looking little notice in the newspaper. It was a tiny box at the bottom of the page requesting comments on a CRTC Public Proceeding labelled “2010-141”. What peaked my interest was that it was an application from Canwest appearing barely a week after the Commission had opened the door for that network and others to apply for “Value for Service” fees. The Broadcasters...

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There’s a welcome breeze from the West today in the form of a brilliant post from Will “Chinook” Dixon. Will parses the ongoing (make that endless) process of developing and instituting broadcast policy in this country from the point of view of how it’s devastating those who are supposed to be around to create content once the smarter folks in Ottawa figure out just what that content is going to be. You can savor the Prairie...

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