What drew you to your business or career? And what keeps you going?
 
I reunited with Canadian actress Kim Roberts once again at this year’s Vaughan Film Festival (VFF) in what has now become an annual tradition.
 
This was my FIFTH time interviewing her. Always a riveting conversation.
 
Kim never stops working. She is known for her roles on Paw Patrol, The Sinner, The Handmaids Tale, and Schitt’s Creek. In 2022, Roberts won the Independent Leader Award at the VFF.
 
We discuss her latest projects, how she stays motivated and how she’s lasted so long in the acting business.
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Could you work with your family?

Arianna Baldassarra is Vice-President of Greenpark Group, the Presenting Sponsor at the 2023 Vaughan International Film Festival (VFF). 

Greenpark Group is Arianna’s family business, started by her grandfather. I sat down with her to discuss her VP role and being a woman in a traditionally male-dominated business: construction, building & development. We also talk about what it is like working alongside her grandfather, father, and uncles. The appreciation they have for her and her background in interior design, graphic arts, and dance, as she brings a fresh perspective to their housing & condo projects. And much more!

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Crank up the radio to the most popular Top 40 hits and you’re bound to hear American/Canadian singer/songwriter, Derik Baker’s, better known as Virginia to Vegas.

He’s released two studio albums and seven extended plays. His gold and platinum-certified upbeat, hyper catchy, indie pop songs. 

include: "We Are Stars", "Lights Out", "Selfish", "Just Friends" and "Betterman", released through Wax Records and Ultra Records.

I caught up with Derik on the red carpet of 2023’s The Vaughan International Festival (VFF) Awards Gala where he was the entertainment headliner to talk about how he transitioned from aspiring filmmaker to popular singer, where he derived his inspiration and band name, what’s next for him, and much more!

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Have you ever been scammed? So much of our world is full of fake news, fake people, and fake things. But who would have ever thought that the largest fake ID empire in North America could be invented by two teenage girls in West Vancouver, British Columbia? 
That’s the theme of the show Fakes - an American-Canadian television comedy/drama series, which premiered in 2022 on CBC Gem in Canada and Netflix internationally.
The series stars Emilija Baranac and Jennifer Tong as Zoe and Rebecca and premiered September 1, 2022.
Each episode is portrayed from the perspective of one of the two young women, making use of the unreliable narrator technique as their respective viewpoints sometimes contradict each other. Richard Harmon, who plays the supporting character Tryst, highlighted this aspect of the show as a fun creative opportunity for him as an actor, because it allowed him to play more than one variation on the character, based on the differing views of his character in each of the main characters' perspectives, instead of having to maintain a single consistent characterization.
The cast also includes Eric Bempong, Wern Lee, Matreya Scarrwener, Lauren K. Robek, Dylan Sloane, Mya Lowe, Ryan Mah, Emily Leung, Cindy Piper, Devon Slack, Oliver Rice, Debbie Podowski, Roraigh Falkner, Devon Alexander and Toby Hargrave.
The show was nominated for Best Comedy and Best Picture Editing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series. David Turko, creator, and writer and I met on the red carpet at this year’s Canadian Screen Actors Awards where I interviewed him about the challenges of writing comedy and what’s next for him.

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Have you ever regarded Canadian actors, TV & film negatively now or in the past?

Tammy Frick is a Canadian film industry executive, who was appointed as chief executive officer of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television in October 2022.

Previously, she was executive director of the Cinéfest Sudbury International Film Festival from 1995 to 2022, and an associate director of Cultural Industries Ontario North. In 2019, she won an award from the Toronto chapter of Women in Film and Television International in honor of her achievements in the film industry.

In 2021 she sought the nomination to be the Liberal Party of Canada candidate for Sudbury in the 2021 Canadian federal election, losing to Viviane Lapointe.

Now Tammy’s advocating for Canadian talent. I caught up with her on two different days and red carpets at this year’s Canadian Screen Actors Awards to talk about Canada’s TV & Film Industry and the trends lead by Ryan Reynolds and Other Famous Canadians that are sure impact how you consider and consume Canadian content.

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Remember high school? How hard it was and still is when you're different? That’s how it is for outcast BFFs Astrid (Jana Morrison) and Lilly (Samantha Aucoin) who, after being bullied and deciding enough is enough, accidentally crack open a portal to a terrifyingly quirky monster dimension, causing their world to become a lot more complicated. Not only do Astrid & Lilly have to navigate high school, their families, and their crushes, but they also must vanquish a bunch of terrifying monsters with the help of their guide Brutus and their hilarious new superpowers. It's up to them to conquer the creepy creatures and save the world, becoming the badass heroes they were meant to be while surviving the horrors of high school.

Astrid and Lilly Save the World is a Canadian supernatural teen comedy-drama television series that premiered on January 26, 2022. Produced by Blue Ice Pictures, the series, which was nominated for Best Comedy at The Canadian Screen Actors Awards,  airs on Syfy in the U.S., CTV Sci-Fi Channel in Canada. and ITVX in the U.K. It is also available for streaming on Tubi in the U.S. and Crave in Canada.

I caught up with the show’s creators, show runners, producers, director and leads on the red carpet to talk about how being weird is wonderful!

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Thinking about your kids going back to school, what courses & extra-curricular activities to register them for, and what their future holds? Time to experience the incredible filmmaking of some of this year’s brightest VFF’s (Vaughan International Film Festival’s) Student Screenings that took place at York University’s Faculty of Fine Arts this June in this week’s DOUBLE FEATURE.
First up -The Test from RHHS STUDIOS, winner of the impressive Student Short Films line-up. Filmed entirely on a mobile phone, this psychological thriller depicts a brilliant student rushing to take a crucial exam, but when she finally stumbles in, a far more perplexing challenge presents itself. How does she use her skills to handle the pressure and pass? Featuring lead actress, Enchan Chen, directors, Nicholas Hoffman & Marcus Yang, Lucas Chee and teacher, Anna Wilson.
 
Written, directed, produced, edited, and lead actress, Lauren Pappas, Saint Elizabeth Catholic High School, Influence (d), showcases a teen influencer who has had enough of hiding her true identity. Instead of posting her normal weekly video, she posts an insightful self-monologue video to show others what it truly is like to be an influencer today.
 
In both episodes, I speak with the students/stars about their passion for filmmaking, what they learned shooting these films, how VFF can pave their future in filmmaking, theatre, & music careers, the challenges they faced, and more!

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Thinking about your kids going back to school, what courses & extra-curricular activities to register them for, and what their future holds? Time to experience the incredible filmmaking of some of this year’s brightest VFF’s (Vaughan International Film Festival’s) Student Screenings that took place at York University’s Faculty of Fine Arts this June in this week’s DOUBLE FEATURE.
First up -The Test from RHHS STUDIOS, winner of the impressive Student Short Films line-up. Filmed entirely on a mobile phone, this psychological thriller depicts a brilliant student rushing to take a crucial exam, but when she finally stumbles in, a far more perplexing challenge presents itself. How does she use her skills to handle the pressure and pass? Featuring lead actress, Enchan Chen, directors, Nicholas Hoffman & Marcus Yang, Lucas Chee and teacher, Anna Wilson.
Written, directed, produced, edited, and lead actress, Lauren Pappas, Saint Elizabeth Catholic High School, Influence (d), showcases a teen influencer who has had enough of hiding her true identity. Instead of posting her normal weekly video, she posts an insightful self-monologue video to show others what it truly is like to be an influencer today.
 
In both episodes, I speak with the students/stars about their passion for filmmaking, what they learned shooting these films, how VFF can pave their future in filmmaking, theatre, & music careers, the challenges they faced, and more!

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How was your weekend - everything you expected or a complete bore? Let’s get your week rocking! Take a moment to experience yet another fascinating tale & lifestyle of the accomplished, influential, and motivational! 

Sheba Mason is a comedian, singer, actress, MC and the “love child” of the late comic genius Jackie Mason and Ginger Reiter. 

Since 2020, Sheba has been running “Speakeasy” – a comedy club at Three Monkeys - a bi-level bar/restaurant on Manhattan’s West Side, 7 days a week. She also costars in the latest iteration of The Jackie Mason Musical, portraying her mother.

The play written by Ginger in 1983 (originally appearing as herself) chronicles Jackie & Ginger’s 10-yearrelationship from the time they first met in Miami to Sheba’s birth, the front-page news paternity suit, Jackie’s finger flip on The Ed Sullivan Show (which nearly cost him his career), and lots more! It’s been selling-out across the USA and is coming to Toronto this December.

Sheba & I met in Toronto last winter when she was headlining Jewish Princesses at Leah Poslun’s Theatre.  We chat about her relationship with her famous father, decision to follow in his footsteps, role in Reality Disorder now Streaming on Amazon Prime, record album: Not Just a Whore (available on i-Tunes), NYC performances at Gotham Comedy Club and what’s behind The Jackie Mason Musical.

Learn More

https://shebamason.com/

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Set in the 1870s, Gabe Polsky’s adaptation of John Williams’ literary western stars Nicolas Cage as a buffalo hunter who lures a naïve young man into an ambitious expedition in the Colorado Rockies.

On the red carpet at tiff 2022 and at the premiere of the film Butcher’s Crossing, I caught-up with actors Nicolas Cage, Rachel Keller, and the rest of the cast, followed by the film’s Q & A to discuss the Cage’s decision to star in and strong themes in this movie. Best known for Moonstruck and his wild turns as cinema’s most volatile man, Cage continues to prove he is also capable of great depth and nuance on screen, playing opposite Fred Hechinger (The White Lotus) in a beautiful adaptation of John Williams’ literary western.

This frontier epic tells the story of an Ivy League drop-out as he travels to the Colorado wilderness, where he joins a team of buffalo hunters on a journey that puts his life and sanity at risk.

From Will’s innocence to insight, as the adventure unfolds, Director Gabe Polsky (TIFF ’14’s Red Army) frames deep subject matter: greed, wrong & right, betrayal, destruction, distinction, and total carnage. Will and his ostensible mentor Miller fall into a spiral reminiscent of Willard and Kurtz in Apocalypse Now — something Cage nods to in the shades of Brando he brings to his performance.

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The life, music, and activism of legendary Indigenous singer-songwriter Buffy Sainte-Marie are explored in this documentary that is as captivating as its subject, who smashed through barriers to become an inspiration to fans and fellow musicians alike.
 
Just in time for Canada and Independence Day, comes a tribute to Canadian/American singer & activist, Buffy Sainte-Marie’s extraordinary life and career, Madison Thomas’s Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On is as captivating and vital as its legendary subject, the first Indigenous person to win an Oscar (in 1983 for Best Original Song “Up Where We Belong” which she co-wrote and was featured in An Officer and a Gentleman). She was also the first recurring Indigenous guest star on Sesame Street.
 
This well-researched film divulges many lesser-known details of Sainte-Marie’s life and brings together a fine collection of subjects whose love and admiration is palpable — most notably Joni Mitchell, who beams with affection when she talks about her. Buffy Sainte-Marie: Carry It On is a much-needed, inspiring biography of one of our most revered and courageous artists.

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