The GATE

Choreographer and creative director Laurieann Gibson left Toronto at the age of 17 to make a name for herself in New York City, and since then she has worked with some of the biggest names in the music industry; from Mary J. Blige, Beyoncé, and Notorious B.I.G., to Lady Gaga, and Nicki Minaj. In addition to her work directing music videos, Gibson has also made appearances on the shows So You Think You Can Dance and Making the Band.

Now, working once again in Toronto, Gibson is one of the three judges for the second season of Global’s Canada Sings, a competition reality show where teams of everyday co-workers have to create a one-off singing and dancing performance that could earn their favorite charity $25,000. Judging alongside Jann Arden and Rob Van Winkle, better known as Vanilla Ice, Canada Sings is set to debut tonight, May 15, on Global at 10:00 PM (ET/PT).

Here’s what Gibson had to say about returning home, her career, and working with these Canadians as they battle it out to help out charities that are very near and dear to their hearts.

After fans had left the set of Lost Girl in Toronto on March 25, following filming of the special Lost Girl Pre-Show, a small group of media were treated to an interview with the cast of the show–plus executive producer Jay Firestone–to get more detail about the second season ahead of the finale.

As crew struck the set, taking down the additional elements that had been put together for the Pre-Show, stars Anna Silk, Kris Holden-Ried, Paul Amos, K.C. Collins, Richard Howland, Ksenia Solo, and Zoie Palmer talked about some of their thoughts on the series in a rare group interview.

Here’s what the cast had to say, including their thoughts on the show’s following around the world, some of the plans already in the works for an appearance at the San Diego Comic-Con, and how Firestone originally worked to promote the show.

Amy Price-Francis as Jessica King

Andrew: So, looking back, what made you want to play Jessica King to begin with?

Price-Francis: “Plain and simple, the writing. This writing, for an actor, is an incredible gift, and the creation of this character, again, is just dreamy. It doesn’t come along very often, and I’m well aware how lucky I am.”

“She drew me in. It was love at first read.”

Andrew: We don’t get a lot of really strong female characters in Canada, maybe not even on television at all, but she’s got a lot of story to tell. Would you say the character has progressed a lot from the first to the second season?

Price-Francis: “Absolutely, and that’s what makes our show stand out. We do have the procedural elements, but we delve into her personal life; we know what’s going on with her, we know what she’s dealing with–what struggles she’s having at home, and we get to watch somebody, like anybody out there, who’s trying to find that balance, and how our work affects our life and how our life affects our work. It’s not an easy thing I think for anybody to find that balance, it’s a never-ending journey I’d say.”

Interview: Daniel Radcliffe discusses career, future, and ‘The Woman In Black’

Daniel Radcliffe is a thoughtful bundle of nerves and energy, exuding charm and sincerity the moment he walks in the room. On top of that, he’s one of the most conversational actors you could hope to interview, and one of the most quotable.

While he was in Toronto to promote his new film, the horror/thriller, The Woman In Black, Radcliffe sat down with a small group of press to discuss his career. What became obvious chatting with Radcliffe was that he is very eager to learn as much as he can, and he’s eager to push himself to his limits in each new role.

Following his work on stage, most notably in the drama Equus, The Woman In Black was his first pick for his post-Harry Potter career because it had a great story.

“You know, the story was so good and so compelling and I wanted to be a part of telling it. It was quite that simple. Obviously, the part was really interesting and when I met [director] James [Watkins], that became an incentive as well, to work with him. And also, I felt, because of those little art house movies I made, that people would be going in expressly to try and see bits of Harry in the performance, and I thought that a film like this, which has an incredibly strong story, that people would be less–I think, because the story’s so engrossing–people would be, after the first ten minutes, they would forget about maybe what they came in to try and see.”

Read the full interview…

Oscar-nominated actress Meg Tilly is one of the most open and honest people I have ever had the good fortune of interviewing, and she makes absolutely no qualms about the fact that she took a break from films and television. What Tilly does make a big deal about though is the show that brought her back to TV–Shaw Media’s original new mini-series Bomb Girls, which debuted last night on Global Television.

Toronto’s streets may have been packed with stars and fans alike during this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, but one of the biggest spectacles of the festival had to be the red carpet for director Robert Lieberman’s Breakaway, which offered a Bollywood-themed parade that danced and sang it’s way down Yonge street, ending with an elephant stopping outside the theatre.

For the director of the hockey dramedy, which stars writer Vinay Virmani alongside Russell Peters, Rob Lowe and Camilla Belle, it was an opportunity to direct his first Canadian feature film with a story that effortlessly brought together two cultures within the setting of a Toronto suburb and our favorite national sport.

Watch the interview…

Colin Farrell stars in Craig Gillespie’s Fright Night

Interviewing actors and filmmakers can be a difficult job when you consider the odds that are stacked against you. Are they in a good mood? Have they done a lot of interviews today? Do they even feel like talking about their latest film right now? Those questions all make you wonder what will happen when you sit down with the next star, but then, not everyone is like Colin Farrell.

Taking a short break from filming Total Recall to chat about his latest film, Fright Night, Farrell walked into the room like he was fashionably late for a party, seeming totally at ease and welcoming as he smiled at every person in the room like he knew them all from way back.

Offering everyone snacks or a soft drink, Farrell poured himself a soda and quipped that we could start asking questions: “Go for it… by the time I come back I promise I’ll have an answer.”

Recreating Tom Holland’s revered off-beat horror film from 1985, director Craig Gillespie has created a film far more engaging than the average remake, with Farrell in the lead role of the vampire-next-door, Jerry, played in the original film by the great Chris Sarandon. With that performance in mind, I asked Farrell whether he took any influences from Sarandon’s Jerry, or how he created this creepy character.

“I delighted in the fact that [screenwriter] Marti Noxon went completely against the grain that Chris had established because I would have felt very, very imprisoned by my own self-judgment if I had to follow in Chris’ footsteps.”

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Emily Rose in Haven

In the supernatural drama Haven, actress Emily Rose stars as FBI agent Audrey Parker, a woman with a strange past who finds herself taking on unnatural forces in the town of Haven, Maine.

When I spoke to her a few weeks ago, Rose was sitting in her trailer in Chester, Nova Scotia where she was taking a break from filming the upcoming new season of the series. Here’s what she had to say about the first season of Haven, what it’s like playing a character with an almost completely unknown past, and what viewers can expect from the new season.

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