Check out episode twenty-three of Richard’s web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet Liberty DeVitto. He joins me via Zoom but you’ve been listening to him for decades. As Billy Joel’s drummer from 1976 to 2003, he’s credited as drummer on records with sales of over 150 million copies. Do you love “Just the Way You Are”? That Liberty DeVitto. How about “She’s Always a Woman,” “Only the Good Die Young” “You May be Right” or “It’s Still Rock and Roll to Me”? All Liberty DeVitto. He’s what they call a New York City style drummer, solid and powerful. He also an author with a new memoir, “Liberty: Life, Billy and the Pursuit of Happiness,” available now wherever you buy fine books. It details not only the good times with Joel, but also the bad… leading up to their split in 2006. Later in the show I ask Liberty about how his relations with the singer disintegrated… and how they buried the hatchet after fifteen years. We started though, by talking about something we’re all missing these days: live music.
Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube or HERE on ctvnews.ca!
Check out episode twenty-two of Richard’s web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet actor James Purefoy, direct from the south west of England, via Zoom. If you were a fan of HBO’s “Rome,” you know him as joyfully decadent Roman general and politician Mark Antony. Perhaps you were a fan of “The Following,” which saw him play a college professor-turned-serial-killer and cult leader for three seasons opposite Kevin Bacon. The versatile actor has a list of credits as long as my arm including the film he joins me to talk about today, “Fisherman’s Friends.” No, it’s not about the cough drops… it is a is a good-natured crowd pleaser about a real life singing group from Cornwall in England who went from singing at the local pub, when they weren’t on the water making a living, to producing the biggest selling traditional folk album of all time. Purefoy plays Jim, the leader of the group, who was initially skeptical about their chances for success outside their tiny village. When we did this interview he was sitting in his garden, and proudly showed me all the produce he’s been growing since the beginning of the pandemic. That also means that from time to time you’ll hear a bird chirping or a bit of wind… it’s not your speakers, it’s just nature on Purefoy’s property.
“I’ve become so inured and disappointed towards marketing people and advertising people,” he says in the interview, “what they’ve done to projects that I’ve been in where you go, “I can’t believe you even watched it, and yet you’ve come up with this poster. Do you know anything about this show?” So I think that one becomes a little cynical about that kind of thing and I think the answer to that is just to really be present between action and cut, and that that’s the thing. That’s the only really, really pure bit of job that I’m really interested in. That’s what I love doing. And the fame? Keep it. It really doesn’t bother me. If I can keep doing what I’m doing and not be vastly famous, then I’m really happy with that. That’s OK.”
Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube or HERE on ctvnews.ca!
How many times have you said to yourself I’d like to have a beer but I also feel like having a Bloody Mary? Today I’ll teach you how to have both simultaneously. I’ll show you how to make a drink called a Michelada. Traditionally it’s made with beer, lime juice, spices, tomato juice, and chili peppers and served in a chilled, salt-rimmed glass. There are many variations on the cocktail and today I’m putting my own spin on it. I have combined a few recipes to come up with a refreshing, and, I’d like to think, tasty version.
Take some time to join me because… it’s five o’clock somewhere!
Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube or HERE on ctvnews.ca!
Check out episode twenty-one of Richard’s web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet Dan Lyons. He’s spent much of his recent career, following jobs as a senior editor at Forbes magazine and a writer at Newsweek, examining something that is on people’s minds these days… work. Drawing on his experience at his first job outside of a newsroom, at the HubSpot start-up he has looked at how and why we work from all angles. He has been called “the Mark Twain of Silicon Valley,” and “Jonathan Swift for our own digital age.” No less an expert than money man Dave Ramsay, of daveramsey.com,” says Lyons is “the expert on the culture of work, and how it’s changing business and lives.” Today we take the conversation he started in his last book, “Lab Rats: How Silicon Valley Made Work Miserable for The Rest Of Us,” and re-contextualize it for the pandemic to talk about what work will look like in the coming months and years. Come visit with us! In isolation we are united!
Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube or HERE on ctvnews.ca!
Check out episode nineteen of Richard’s new web series, “In Isolation With…” It’s the talk show where we make a connection without actually making contact! Today, broadcasting directly from Isolation Studios (a.k.a. my home office), we meet a Grammy award winning singer-songwriter, a record producer, author and actor whose song Copperhead Road is still a jukebox favorite thirty-three years after it made him a superstar. Steve Earle Zooms in from his home in Tennessee to talk about how his new album “Ghosts of West Virginia” might bridge the political gap, going to Walmart and how doing yoga helps to center him in these anxious times. Come visit with us! In isolation we are united!
Steve Earle on songwriting from the “In Isolation With” interview: “This job is about empathy. That’s what makes it work. That’s how you’re able to tell really complicated stories in three or four minutes. That’s how you’re able to get ideas across that are unpopular… I have had three people over the years and, keep in mind, not everybody has access to walk up and talk to me, or the opportunity to do that. I’ve had three people come up to me and say something you wrote changed my mind about the death penalty. So, you can’t tell me that music can’t change the world because I have experience of that in my life.”
Watch the whole thing HERE on YouTube and HERE on ctvnews.ca!
Author appearance, Round table, Special Event: IFOA
Exhibition Place – Direct Energy Centre
210 Princes’ Blvd
Toronto M6K 3C3
IFOA returns to the CNE for an exciting panel with authors Crissy Calhoun, Richard Crouse, Adam Nayman and Richard Rosenbaum, who will take the stage to discuss their pop culture commentary.
For information about admission to the CNE, please click HERE.
Participants
Crissy Calhoun is the author of the Love You to Death series of Vampire Diaries companion guides and, under the pen name Liv Spencer, she’s co-authored books on topics like Pretty Little Liars and Taylor Swift. She lives in Toronto. Calhoun presents the fourth installment of her Vampire Diaries guides, Love You to Death: Season 4, which delves headlong into the twists and turns of each episode, exploring the layers of rich history, supernatural mythology, historical and pop culture references.
Richard Crouse is a regular film critic for CTV’s Canada AM. He is also the author of six books on pop culture history and writes two weekly columns forMetro newspaper. Crouse presents Raising Hell: Ken Russell and the Unmaking of The Devils, which examines Russell’s 1971 film about an oversexed priest and a group of sexually repressed nuns in 17th-century France. From the film’s inception through its headline-making production and controversial reception, Crouse explores what it is about Russell’s cult classic that makes it a cinematic treasure.
Adam Nayman is a film critic for TheGlobe and Mail, and a contributing editor to Cinema Scope. He is a lecturer at Ryerson and the University of Toronto, and programs for the Toronto Jewish Film Society. He lives in Toronto. Nayman presents It Doesn’t Suck: Showgirls, which examines and encourages a shift in cultural perspective on the box-office bomb Showgirls.
Richard Rosenbaum is a fiction editor at Broken Pencil and a regular contributor to OverthinkingIt.com. He has a Master’s degree in Communication and Culture, and lives in Toronto. Rosenbaum presents Raise Some Shell: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which examines the origins, evolution and impact of the Ninja Turtles phenomenon.
From Emmanuel Lopez – Motivatorman’s blog: Toronto film critic Richard Crouse has become my latest hero for inspiring resilience. In a recent article, Richard revealed that in mid-2013 a tumor was found during a routine colonoscopy. He experienced shock and anger and then transformed his mindset and attitude to say… “Screw you, cancer. You’re not making the rules, I am.”
“The mishmash of Kafka’s bureaucratic frustration, Beckett’s oddness, and Del Rio’s sense of humour puts an entertaining spin on the Canadian theatre controversy.” -Mooney on Theatre
“Del Rio’s dialogue is lively, and Salgueiro has fun being the aggressor, twisting Gass’s statements into politically correct pretzels of incoherence.” -NOW Magazine
Monday February 24, 2014 (Toronto): By popular demand, HLIBKA ENTERTAINMENT INC. in association with BIG PICTURE CINEMA are bringing back the critically acclaimed comedy THE TRIAL OF KEN GASS from Friday March 21st to Thursday April 3rd.
The remount has a STAR-STUDDED cast including: Stratford veteran David Fox, actor/playwright Matthew Edison, Canadian comedy legend Kenny Robinson, movie reviewer Richard Crouse, Second City mainstage alum Anand Rajaram, Kids in the Hall alum Paul Bellini, performer and personality Ryan G. Hinds, Caitlin Driscoll, indie film darling Robert Nolan, Just for Laughs comedian Sandra Battaglini, and many more.
The Trial of Ken Gass is a play based on the famous dismissal of Canadian theatre legend Ken Gass. In a Kafkaesque series of interrogations, Ken Gass is continually put on trial for crimes he is not aware of. The absurdist comedy is a metaphor for the power institutions wield over artists and individuals.
The play is being put up by producer / conceptual artist Jonathan Hlibka and will again be directed by acclaimed playwright Bobby Del Rio. Every show, the spectacular Jess Salgueiro returns to play SARAH BRIGHT opposite DIFFERENT ACTORS PLAYING KEN GASS!! It is highly encouraged to see multiple performances as each performer will bring their own unique interpretation to the role of Ken Gass. Lighting and set design will be a collision of minimalistic expressionism and pop art design styled by Jonathan Hlibka.
Opening March 21st: Matthew Edison – 8:00pm
March 22: David Fox – 8:00pm
March 23: Amish Patel 2:30pm matinee, Kenny Robinson – 8:00pm
March 24: Richard Crouse – 8:00pm
March 25: Caitlin Driscoll – 8:00pm
March 26: Anand Rajaram – 8:00pm
March 27: Ryan G. Hinds – 8:00pm
March 29: Paul Bellini – 8:00pm
March 30: 2:30pm matinee TBA, Robert Nolan – 8:00pm
March 31: Sandra Battaglini – 8:00pm
April 1: Derrick Chua – 8:00pm
April 2: TBA
April 3: TBA
In 2013, at the Sterling Studio Theatre’s first one-act playwriting competition, The Trial of Ken Gass ended up as a top-3 finalist. The original production was at Sterling Studio Theatre in July 2013. Highlight performances from the first run include: Peter Keleghan (The Newsroom), Diane Flacks, Huse Madhavji (Saving Hope), Pat Thornton and Julian DeZotti.
The play will open Friday, March 21st @ 8pm. It will close on Thursday, April 3rd @ 8pm. All shows will be @ 8pm. The show will run every night from March 21 – April 3 (except Friday March 28th). On Sundays, there will also be matinees @ 2:30pm. All tix are $15, with PWYC Sundays for both shows. Passes for all performances for the run of the show are available for $35. Big Picture Cinema is located at 1035 Gerrard St East. Tickets can be purchased at the door, or online at www.bigpicturecinema.com
Please join us for a unique and exciting panel discussion. The C.C.E. welcomes film critics Richard Crouse, Rob Salem and Parker Mott to discuss their views on editing in film and television and how it impacts their reviews and criticism. How did we get from Eisenstein believing editing was the most important ingredient in filmmaking to today, where it is an invisible art known only by those in the industry? A young filmmaker is given a chance by a major studio to direct… with a caveat. They must hire a veteran editor to lead them through the story and pacing. Why will Schoonmaker be mentioned in a review, but not Lee Smith or Dylan Tichenor? How important is the editing to them in reviews? These topics and much more will be discussed, with a Q&A to follow. The discussion will be moderated by Film Editor and Canadian Cinema Editor Co-President Paul Winestock, C.C.E.
This event is open exclusively to C.C.E. members until February 11th, non-members may RSVP now and will be notified February 12th if there is still space available.
