Canadian Crossing

2024 Toronto Blue Jays preview

The Toronto Blue Jays reportedly offered Shohei Ohtani $500 million or $600 million early in the offseason. Ohtani signed for $700 million for 10 years, jumping from the American League franchise in the Los Angeles area (Anaheim) to the National League franchise in Los Angeles.

Clearly, Rogers had money to spend on the Blue Jays leading into the 2024 season. Let's see how that went.

Centre fielder Kevin Kiermaier is back for a 1-year deal. Justin Turner and Isiah Kiner-Falefa essentially replace Brandon Belt and Matt Chapman. Turner has the power the team badly needed last season. Chapman's defence will be missed. Whit Merrifield's many hits are also gone.

The Blue Jays have quantity to fill in at 3rd base and 2nd base with Kiner-Falefa, Ernie Clement, Cavan Biggio, and Davis Schneider. Daulton Varsho (LF), George Springer (RF), Bo Bichette (SS), Vladimir Guerrero, Jr. (1B), and the 2-headed catcher duo of Danny Jansen and Alejandro Kirk are all back for Toronto.

Santiago Espinal was dealt late in spring training to Cincinnati for a minor-league pitcher.

Kevin Gausman, José Berríos, Chris Bassitt, and Yusei Kikuchi are the primary rotation hurlers. Alek Manoah may need more time and a lot of patience. Jordan Romano (Canadian) is the closer with setup help from pitchers such as Erik Swanson, Tim Mayza, and Nate Pearson.

Cuban free agent pitcher Yariel Rodriguez will fill the back end of the rotation and/or work in the bullpen. Jordan Hicks left to be a starter in San Francisco. Hyun-jin Ryu went back to Korea.

Daniel Vogelbach signed a minor league deal as a potential left-handed DH/1B bat. Joey Votto also fits that profile (more down below).

The Ohtani non-signing looks better after the bizarre scandal involving gambling and Ohtani's long-time interpreter Ippei Mizuhara. The decisions we don't make are often the best ones.

The Toronto Blue Jays are "better" if they get improvement from those who are in the dugout.

2024 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule

Luring a sports star to play in Canada is not an easy task

Ousted from #Bluejays after six seasons calling games on radio, Ben Wagner has landed a broadcast gig with the Baltimore Orioles. https://t.co/ZguPQMCERG

— Rob Longley (@longleysunsport) February 23, 2024

Glad to see Ben Wagner land on his feet, doing radio and some TV for the Baltimore Orioles in 2024. We saw Ben Shulman, Wagner's radio replacement, work on the TV side during spring training for Sportsnet. Dan Shulman will call the majority of games on the TV side. If the younger Shulman fills in for his dad, who will call the games on radio? Will Matt Devlin be part of the mix once his Toronto Raptors duties are done?

We went through the rest of the coverage roster: Dan Shulman with Buck Martinez and Joe Siddall as colour analysts on the TV side. Ben Shulman with Chris Leroux on the radio side.

We will update this story to let you know if the Toronto Blue Jays organisation send Ben Shulman and Leroux on the road, something Sportsnet was reluctant to do for Wagner.

Jamie Campbell and analysts Siddall, Caleb Joseph, and Madison Shipman will be on Blue Jays Central; Hazel Mae and Arden Zwelling as on-field reporters; as well as insiders Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith.

MLB Network along with TBS, ESPN, Fox, Fox Sports 1 can theoretically carry Toronto Blue Jays games in the United States, though more likely the team will only be on MLB Network. The U.S. network will often carry Boston and NY Yankees feeds, even if Toronto is at home.

Rogers Sportsnet will carry all the Toronto Blue Jays games, except when Apple TV+ forces them not to do so on selected Fridays. The Blue Jays aren't on that often yet more than TBS, ESPN, and Fox combined.

We know the Toronto Blue Jays will be on Apple TV+ at Washington (May 3) and hosting Tampa Bay (May 17).

2023 Toronto Blue Jays go down in 2 straight to Minnesota

2023 Toronto Blue Jays MLB playoffs preview

2023 Toronto Blue Jays second half preview

2023 Canada Day notebook

The Rogers Centre renovations — the true highlight of the off-season — means the Blue Jays start the 2024 season on a long road trip to Tampa, Houston, and the Bronx in New York City. The home opener is April 8 with the Seattle Mariners in Toronto with the homestand continuing with Colorado and the New York Yankees.

Cupholders in the 100 section seem standard in most MLB ballparks but will be new to Toronto baseball fans.

Rogers Centre renovations help but Canada still needs a really good baseball stadium

2023 Toronto Blue Jays preview

2023 Toronto Blue Jays spring training schedule

Joey Votto should be the 3rd Canadian to make the Baseball Hall of Fame as a player (Ferguson Jenkins and Larry Walker). Votto might be the last Canadian to pull off that feat.

The 2 scenarios for Votto, 40, in the offseason seemed to be 1) retire after playing his entire MLB career for the Cincinnati Reds; or 2) sign a 1-year deal to come home to Canada and play for the Toronto Blue Jays.

The Blue Jays signed Votto to a minor-league deal about 3 weeks ago. Votto started out 2023 dealing with biceps and left rotator cuff surgeries and needed more time to get into playing shape for 2024. He homered in his spring training debut and then twisted his ankle in the dugout.

Votto might be good for 300 at-bats in 2024 and can still play 1B and play DH. Votto got a very warm reception when the Reds were in Toronto in 2022. Votto provides a veteran presence, left-handed bat, and a shockingly high on-base percentage … if Votto gets to the big leagues in 2024.

Etobicoke’s Own 🇨🇦
Canada’s Own 🍁

OFFICIAL: We’ve signed 1B @JoeyVotto to a Minor League deal with an invite to #SpringTraining.

Votto is a 7x Tip O'Neill Award winner, 6x All-Star, 2011 Gold Glover, won the NL MVP in 2010, and has twice been named Canada’s Top Athlete. pic.twitter.com/wBiZqNlweS

— Toronto Blue Jays (@BlueJays) March 9, 2024

Canadian MLB players to watch for in 2024 (TSN)

CanadianCrossing.com MLB coverage

The Toronto Blue Jays have made the playoffs 3 times in the last 4 years. However, your humble narrator has won as many MLB playoff games as Toronto has in that stretch.

Manager John Schneider has been in charge since July 13, 2022. The power disappeared with the Barrio jacket. Don Mattingly is waiting in the wings. The pitching is there yet the offence is a wait and see.

Toronto Blue Jays playoffs history

2023	Minnesota	0-2
2022	Seattle	0-2
2020	Tampa Bay	0-2
2016	Cleveland	1-4
2016	Texas	3-0
2016	Baltimore	1-0
2015	Kansas City	2-4
2015	Texas	3-2
1993	Philadelphia	4-2
1993	Chicago (AL)	4-2
1992	Atlanta	4-2
1992	Oakland	4-2
1991	Minnesota	1-4
1989	Oakland	1-4
1985	Kansas City	3-4

photo credit: Toronto Blue Jays
Twitter captures: @longleysunsport; @BlueJays
video credit: Cincinnati Reds

Canadian film case study: Monsoon

Tornadoes, hurricanes, earthquakes, even a tsunami. Knowledge of storms depends on where you live on this planet. For some, the monsoon is a regular element in their society.

Sturla Gunnarsson takes us into monsoon season in India in her documentary Monsoon.

We see the bureaucratic nuances of the weather system in India: odd and funny at the same time. Monsoons start in June but when they officially start is surprisingly complicated. A girl wanting to live with 12 other families in a single undamaged home than being in a big city. A monsoon brings rain: some areas have breached levies while other areas don't get rain.

Rain is crucial to just about any farming. A monsoon can impact farmer suicides, an all too common occurrence in India.

Some families in the monsoon area just calmly deal with walking in very high water.

For as much water is featured in the film, the presentation is rather dry. After all, these people deal with monsoon season like those in Manitoba deal with snow every winter. This may come as a surprise to filmgoers who have not lived through a monsoon.

We see how animals are more non-plussed about the rain than the humans.

Watch Monsoon on a rainy day or when you are begging for rain. In the North America madness over storm watches, seeing this film may change your perspective on large weather patterns.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Monsoon made the TIFF list of Canada's Top Ten feature films of 2014. You might find the film online.

video credit: TIFF Originals
photo credit: Monsoon

Canadian film notebook: Évelyne Brochu gets caught in a love triangle in French Girl

We are hesitant to go too much into a Canadian film where we know very little. There is a relatively accessible Canadian film called French Girl from writers/directors James A. Woods and Nicolas Wright. The film is currently out in some U.S. theatres and has received a lot of marketing.

Sophie-Jeanne (Évelyne Brochu) is the centre of a love triangle with her American boyfriend Gordon (American actor Zach Braff) and her former lover Ruby (American actor Vanessa Hudgens). Gordon wants to propose to Sophie; Ruby offers Sophie a tempting job at at Quebec City restaurant.

One note in favour of the film: giving Sophie the last name of Tremblay, a very common last name in La Belle Province. Woods and Wright reportedly have in common that their fathers fell in love with their French Canadian mothers and moved to Quebec.

The plot also involves Gordon meeting Sophie's family. This includes Alphonse (Luc Picard), Mammie (Muriel Dutil), Junior (Antoine Olivier Pilon), Ginette (Isabelle Vincent), and Juliette (Charlotte Aubin).

Brochu wasn't exactly in a love triangle, literally, but this scenario does remind me of her role as Eloise in Monia Chokri's A Brother's Love | La femme de mon frère. Her Orphan Black character had relationships with men and women.

Without having seen the film, our main concern is Hudgens theoretically playing a Canadian character in Quebec, unless she is a transplant, as well as whether the past lesbian relationship won't be taken seriously within the plot. Braff did a Canadian film more than about a decade ago — The High Cost of Living (a review is come shortly) — playing a clueless American in Montréal. Sounds like Braff is now playing a clueless American in Quebec City.

While the French Girl title may have tested well among mainstream audiences. this is 2024 and she is a woman, not a girl, and that woman in French-Canadian, not French.

You can listen to Brochu's interview with Tom Power on Q. This CBC review is obnoxiously glowing but still worth a read.

Brochu and Quebec City plus a number of Quebecois actors being on display might be enough to see this actual Canadian film. Even the glowing review we noted says the film falls apart toward the end. If the film isn't coming to where you are, there will be an on-demand option, at least in the U.S.

With Dune: Part Two in theatres, Denis Villeneuve looks back at his earlier Canadian films

We are not rehashing this previous story. This is a light-hearted story about Denis Villeneuve and Montréal. Tom Power spent a recent interview on Q talking with Denis Villeneuve about Dune: Part Two and even the impact of Quebec society on Villeneuve telling the Dune story. Power's final question is worth noting.

Power noted that Timothée Chalamet, who is in Dune: Part Two, was supposed to be in Montréal for the premiere of the film but was unable to make the screening due to illness. The question was about, if they had an hour, where Villeneuve would take Chalamet "to understand your Montréal."

So many food places leapt into my head: St. Viateur or Fairmount for bagels, Schwartz's for smoked meat. Mont Royal itself. Then I thought "La Banquise."

"It's a good, good, good question. Knowing Timothée, I think that I would have to bring him to the restaurant La Banquise, which is a poutine restaurant that young people know very well because that is the place you go when you are drunk. And I think that when you go to La Banquise, there's a lot of things that you can understand about the power of Montréal."

If you do find Timothée Chalamet at La Banquise someday, you can thank Denis Villeneuve. Maybe Villeneuve will shoot one of his American films in Montréal.

2023 TIFF wrapup

2023 TIFF Canadian film preview

The 2024 version of the National Canadian Film Day is April 17. We do have a lovely preview on the day of the holiday yet feel like we should remind people of the special day to watch a Canadian film or 3 Canadian films.

Reel Canada has a lot of fun with the events, some in-person and others to enjoy at your own pace. The film includes the moose with the light bulb over his head (left). You can find out more details.

There is a spotlight entitled "Films that A.I. could never make."

One Canadian film I would love to see on April 17 is Seagrass, the Canadian film that won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival, dipped a toe into the United States with screenings in New York City, Los Angeles, and, of all places, Las Vegas last month. The film also got some Canadian theatre screenings.

Ideally, Seagrass would have the same availability to Canadians and Americans as French Girl.

We have other recent Q interviews dealing with recent Canadian films:

• Fawzia Mirza The Queen of My Dreams
• Cody Lightning Hey, Viktor!
• Chloé Robichaud Days of Happiness

The Academy Awards have come and gone but the Canadian film path is very different. You hear about them at TIFF in September and by March, they might come through. Difficult when the Canadian Screen Awards are in late May (much later than usual).

"I understand that this is a risk-averse industry, I get it. But $200 million movies are also a risk. And it doesn't always work out, but you take the risk anyway. Instead of making one $200 million movie, try making 20 $10 million movies. Or 50 $4 million movies." — Cord Jefferson.

Jefferson won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for American Fiction at the 96th Academy Awards. We know he wasn't talking about Canadian films yet his speech could apply. Lots of great Canadian films are made with relatively small budgets. Some Canadian writers and directors wouldn't mind a $4 million or $10 million budgets.

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Film

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

We mentioned Tom Power and Q quite a bit in this blog entry. You can listen to Q on CBC Radio One at 10 am and 9 pm (9:30 in most of Newfoundland) or on the CBC Listen app as well as catch the podcast version of the radio show where you get your podcasts.

Let us know if you saw French Girl or, well, a better Canadian film. Merci.

video credits: Elevation Pictures; ABC News
photo credits: La Banquise, Montréal; Reel Canada

Lily Gladstone made history in the U.S. while Canada has Indigenous winners for film acting awards

Lily Gladstone was nominated for Best Actress at the 96th Academy Awards for her role in Killers of the Flower Moon. Gladstone was the first Native American actress to be nominated for an Academy Award. As we know, Emma Stone won the Oscar for Best Actress for Poor Things.

Gladstone did win a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama and the Screen Actors Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role in a Motion Picture. Just not an Oscar.

Given the considerable number of Indigenous films and actors in Canada, we were highly curious about Indigenous representation in Canadian film awards. We compiled a list from the Canadian Screen Awards and, before 2012, the Genie Awards.

We list the winners and then those who received nominations. We need to start with a current nominee for Best Supporting Performance in a Drama Film: Alexis Vincent-Wolfe for Slash/Back. The titles listed below are the older gender-specific nominations:

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role

2020 Michael Greyeyes Blood Quantum
2008 Natar Ungalaaq The Necessities of Life | Ce qu'il faut pour vivre

nominated

2021 Phillip Lewitski Wildhood
2018 Brandon Oakes Through Black Spruce
2018 Paul Nutarariaq The Grizzlies

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role

2021 Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers Night Raiders

nominated

2019 Violet Nelson The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
2019 Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
2013 Cara Gee Empire of Dirt
2013 Kawennáhere Devery Jacobs Rhymes for Young Ghouls
1987 Tantoo Cardinal Loyalties

Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role

2021 Joshua Odjick Wildhood

nominated

2019 Douglas Grégoire Kuessipan
2017 Sladen Peltier Indian Horse
2017 Natar Ungalaaq Iqaluit

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role

2021 Cherish Violet Blood Scarborough

nominated

2021 Gail Maurice Night Raiders
2019 Yamie Grégoire Kuessipan
2018 Anna Lambe The Grizzlies
2013 Jennifer Podemski Empire of Dirt
2003 Annabella Piugattuk The Snow Walker

CanadianCrossing.com Indigenous coverage

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The one mostly common factor in these films is a strong Indigenous process. Cherish Violet Blood in Scarborough is an exception. Canada has had way more films with Indigenous stories than those in the United States and very few of the latter are considered for the Academy Awards.

We also listed actors with significant Indigenous blood as opposed to a theoretical 1% rule.

Another consideration is that we aren't factoring in TV work, such as Reservation Dogs (that stars Canadians such as Devery Jacobs and D'Pharaoh Woon-A-Tai. The Podemski sisters — Jennifer, Tamara, and Sarah — have had more accolades on the TV side than in films from any country. In fact, Tamara Podemski won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her portrayal as Alison Trent on Coroner for her work in 2020. Coroner aired in both countries on CBC and the CW. All 3 Podemski sisters have been on Reservation Dogs, though Sarah has the most prominent role of the sisters.

Little Bird received the most Canadian TV nominations for the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards with 19. The drama based on the Sixties Scoop has nominations for best lead performer (Darla Contois and Ellyn Jade) and best supporting performer (Braeden Clarke). The program aired on APTN and Crave in Canada and PBS in the United States.

Independent Spirit Awards nominations have some Canadian flair

Jennifer Podemski interview (Toronto Life)

If you break down the Oscars in terms of North American Indigenous people, consider that both nominations for Best Supporting Actor belong to Canadians: Chief Dan George Little Big Man (1970) and Graham Greene Dances With Wolves (1990).

Michael Greyeyes got film and television nominations at the 2021 Independent Spirit Awards: (film) Best Male Lead for Wild Indian and (television) Best Male Performance in a New Scripted Series for Rutherford Falls. Greyeyes didn't win either award.

This isn't saying Canadians are better on this topic. Canadians have made a lot more Indigenous themed content in Canadian film and Canadian television. While Canadians might think Indigenous people are relatively invisible in their country, they truly are invisible in U.S. society.

Beans from Tracey Deer won Best Motion Picture at the 2021 Canadian Screen Awards. The late Jeff Barnaby, creator of Blood Quantum and Rhymes for Young Ghouls will posthumously receive the Board of Directors' Tribute Award at the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards.

None of these film awards factor in the incredible documentary work such as Angry Inuk, Birth of a Family, Kímmapiiyipitssini: The Meaning of Empathy, and numerous documentaries from Alanis Obomsawin.

2024 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

My relatively limited knowledge of Indigenous issues is based in great part by Canadian films and Canadian television tackling Indigenous issues and stories. You can find them in our Indigenous, Canadian film, and Canadian television sections. They make a difference in what we know and how much we don't know.

photo credits: Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open; Beans

Canadian film review: Alice, Darling

Sometimes we are happy when a film is more complex. Alice, Darling is a complex film that is, perhaps, a little too complex.

Alice (American actor Anna Kendrick) is in love with Simon (English actor Charlie Carrick). She is a bit obsessed with making him happy. Her friend Tess (Kaniehtiio Horn) is turning 30. Tess and their friend Sophie (British actor Wunmi Mosaku) are going to a cottage in the woods to celebrate. Alice lies to Simon and tells him she is going on a business trip to Minneapolis.

Alice is not in the spirit of celebrating. She is pulling her hair out and not in a jovial mood. Eventually, we discover that Alice is in an abusive relationship with Simon.

Tess and Sophie feel like Alice is being a jerk to them. Once they realize what their friends is dealing with, they quickly change gears to help their friend.

Watch this film for Anna Kendrick, who is absolutely wonderful. This is a serious film about a huge societal problem in abusive relationships. This subject deserved a better film than we got.

Alice, Darling is a bit inconsistent. Director Mary Nighy, in her directorial debut, gives us a bunch of films. The pacing is so slow in the first third of the film, then turns upbeat once her friends know about the abusive relationship, and then crawls once Simon shows up at the cottage. This doesn't help the script from Canadian Alanna Francis. Francis wrote the script for the Canadian film The Rest of Us, a more consistent film.

Canadian film review: The Rest of Us

The lack of chemistry with the 3 female characters is a bit of a surprise. They come across as women who barely know each other. There are odd choices, such as Tess working on a jigsaw puzzle outdoors at night.

Alice tells her friends, "He wouldn't love me if he knew how bad I am," justifying her mistreatment. This film has such meaningful moments and needed more of them.

Tess and Sophie are more interesting characters than Alice. This is frustrating when Tess and Sophie mostly exist to serve Alice. Their characters needed to be more full fledged to make up the difference.

Alice, Darling is still worth a watch for the subject matter, though you could almost fast forward through the first 30 minutes of the film. Better editing and strong supporting characters would have made this film a much worthier watch.

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Though Alice, Darling is a Canadian film, there is little Canadian presence: cottage country in Ontario, Horn, who does her best in a limited role, and Francis. Alice, Darling had its world premiere at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival.

Alice, Darling is available on Starz in the United States.

video credit: Lionsgate Movies
photo credit: Alice, Darling

Reflecting on the complete legacy of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney

We went back and forth on writing a post about the death of former Prime Minister Brian Mulroney. This had more to do with a bunch of Canadian film and Canadian television stories. Mulroney died on February 29 at the age of 84. The dust on that has settled for now, so let's jump in with a few thoughts.

People often asked me how I got interested in Canada, usually from Canadians. I got a chance to take 2 Canadian politics courses at Northwestern University from R. Barry Farrell. I was taking a bunch of history and politics classes from around the world (think tail end of the Cold War).

Professor Farrell spoke with great pride of having an op-ed in The Globe and Mail on the day of the 1988 election, November 21. That election essentially was over the proposed Canada–United States Free Trade Agreement (CUSFTA). CUSFTA was the parent to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which came a few years later.

Mulroney had won convincingly in 1984 over John Turner (Liberal), who took over after Pierre Trudeau left the political stage. The Liberals and NDP, with Ed Broadbent (who died this year on January 11) as the party leader, both opposed to CUSFTA.

The Progressive Conservatives won 211 of the 295 seats in the House of Commons in 1984. That number fell a bit to 169 in 1988. The party still had a majority and the free trade agreement went through.

Free trade. The Meech Lake Accord. The establishment of a federal goods and services tax (GST). The privatization of a lot of companies, especially Petro-Canada and Air Canada. The failure of the Charlottetown Accord. The Canadian Environmental Assessment Act and Canadian Environmental Protection Act. Cancelling the National Energy Program, a favourite of Pierre Trudeau.

Mulroney appointed Beverley McLachlin to the Supreme Court of Canada on March 30, 1989. Later, Prime Minister Jean Chrétien appointed McLachlin to be the chief justice of the Supreme Court of Canada on January 7, 2000. McLachlin was the first woman to be chief justice of the court, serving until 2017.

Mulroney's legacy includes "cash in envelopes" and forces to his political right getting restless. Mulroney jumped ship, handing the reigns to Defence Minister Kim Campbell (still Canada's only female prime minister). The 1993 election was so bad that the Progressive Conservatives fell to 2 seats, neither of which Campbell won. While provinces still identify as Progressive Conservatives, even Ontario, this was the beginning of the end for the federal party.

The current Conservative federal party is much more Reform (later Canadian Alliance), the right-wing party that formed in the 1993 federal election. The 1988 election was the last time before 2011 that a conservative government won a majority government in Canada. In fact, Mulroney became the second PC prime minister to win 2 majority governments, the first since John A. Macdonald. John Diefenbaker and Stephen Harper each won a single majority government.

Mulroney was from Quebec and had an easier time winning seats in La Belle Province than any conservative leader since then.

Here is a multiple choice question involving picking the least problematic conservative leader of the 1980s and 1990s.

• Margaret Thatcher/John Major (United Kingdom)
• Ronald Reagan/George H.W. Bush (United States)
• Brian Mulroney (Canada)

Mulroney would win that in a heartbeat over his peers of that era. Definitely conservative just not as mean-spirited as the others on that list. Mulroney and Kim Campbell didn't get along well with Stephen Harper and the current Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre. Didn't mean they weren't conservative, just a different kind of conservative.

Brian Mulroney was the first Western leader to push to recognise Ukraine's independence in 1991. Mulroney was also aggressive in pushing the South African government to dismantle apartheid. 

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian politics coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian society coverage

CanadianCrossing.com trade coverage

While NAFTA has been a disaster in all 3 countries, the dynamics of a bilateral free trade agreement were more palatable, though Canadians lost a lot initially in that deal.

When Canadians were struggling during COVID-19 in terms of getting needed supplies from within Canada, that is part of Mulroney's free trade legacy.

Mulroney's son Ben Mulroney is known for his television career in various positions with Bell Media. His daughter Caroline is a Progressive Conservative MPP in Ontario for the York—Simcoe riding. Caroline Mulroney has served as the minister of Francophone affairs (current), president of the Treasury Board (current), minister of transportation (past), and attorney general of Ontario (past).

Mulroney was heavily present during MLB's only All Star Game in Toronto back in 1991. If you think Mulroney's time in office was long ago, and you would be correct, Mulroney was prime minister the last time a NHL team won the Stanley Cup: the 1993 Montréal Canadiens.

The former prime minister will have a funeral on March 23 at the Notre-Dame Basilica of Montréal. There will be a lying-in-state in Ottawa and a lying-in-repose in Montréal.

photo credit: @CdnHeritage
video credits: CBC News; MLB

Canadian film review: Tokyo Cowboy

You get born into one culture yet you dream of living in another culture. Pen pals were a great way to have a friend in a different part of the world.

In Tokyo Cowboy, No Ogawa (Hiromoto Ida) is Japanese but he envisions himself as a cowboy on the Alberta plains. No spent his childhood being pen pals with Kate Beatty (Christianne Hirt).

Kate and No haven't written each other in years. Suddenly, No appears in her small Alberta town.

Kate is living with her love Shelly (Janne Mortil), a secret in her community, especially from her mother. She is also no longer a cowgirl but an artist.

No ends up at Kate's old address where Kate's mother lives. She convinces No to stay with her while she works on Kate on behalf of No.

Director Kathy Garneau and writer Caroline Adderson give us a kind and gentle experience. No is welcomed into the community. No spends more time with Shelly, who is interested in his Japanese culture. Bill (Alec Willows), a local postman, befriends No and teaches him how to be a real cowboy. Turns out Kate's mother (Anna Ferguson) knows more about Kate than Kate thinks she does.

In his native Japan, No is a fast-food worker and not a very good one. In Canada, No gets a chance to live out his dreams as a cowboy.

Tokyo Cowboy gives us individual characters who aren't there as supporters. Every major character gets a chance to shine. The film encourages the audience to be accepting of different dreams and approaches to life.

You might not think this 1994 film will be memorable but once you have seen it, you won't forget this film. (There is a different film with the same name that may come up in searches. This is the 1994 film.)

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

Tokyo Cowboy is available on Tubi in the United States.

photo credit: Tokyo Cowboy
video credit: shadowraven0504

Ben Proudfoot won his second Oscar at the 96th Academy Awards

🇨🇦 Congratulations to fellow Canadian Ben Proudfoot (@bgproudfoot), and co-director Kris Bowers, whose film THE LAST REPAIR SHOP has won the Oscar® for Best Documentary Short Film https://t.co/zWKMqsXpAJ

— National Film Board of Canada (@thenfb) March 11, 2024

Ben Proudfoot won his second Academy Award last night at the 96th Academy Awards for co-directing The Last Repair Shop, the film that won Best Short Documentary Film. Proudfoot win his first Oscar for Best Documentary (Short Subject) for The Queen of Basketball (2021).

He also co-directed (with Kris Bowers) the short documentary film A Concerto Is a Conversation, nominated for an Academy Award nominee for Best Documentary (Short Subject) in 2020/2021.

If you are from the "'tis an honour just to be nominated" school of thought, there was a lot to celebrate at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles last night.

Ryan Gosling had a good night if you don't counting him not winning the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Barbie. Gosling lost out to Robert Downey Jr. in Oppenheimer. Gosling and Simu Liu (right, below) were a part of the best performance of a nominated song with I'm Just Ken. The song itself lost out to What Was I Made For? also from Barbie.

Celine Song was up for Best Original Screenplay in her directorial debut Past Lives. Song lost out to Anatomy of a Fall. Her film was also up for Best Picture, losing to Oppenheimer.

To Kill a Tiger made the cut for Best Documentary Feature Film but lost out to 20 Days in Mariupol.

The late Robbie Robertson was nominated for his soundtrack work on Killers of the Flower Moon yet lost out to Oppenheimer.

Vincent René-Lortie and Samuel Caron were up for Invincible for the live action short category. The film lost out to The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar.

Troy Quane and Julie Zackary were up for Nimona for Best Animated Feature Film. The Boy and the Heron won that award.

Stephane Ceretti (Guardians of the Galaxy 3) and Jeff Sutherland (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One) were both up for Best Visual Effects. They lost out to Godzilla Minus One.

Canada has some fun with Oscars presenters. Catherine O'Hara presented for makeup and hairstyling as well as production design. Dwayne Johnson aka The Rock presented for the international film category.

Gosling also participated in a tribute to stunt performers. Brendan Fraser, last year's winner for Best Actor for The Whale, was one of the presenters for Best Actor.

We saw a brief sample from Navalny, last year's Best Documentary winner for Daniel Roher. Alexei Navalny passed away on February 16.

Canadian film case study: To Kill a Tiger

Ryan Gosling, Celine Song, To Kill a Tiger get Oscar nominations

Stories We Tell and the documentaries inspired by the Canadian film

Canadians Oscars nomination scoreboard

Rojek misses the Oscars shortlist cut for Best International Feature Film

The Zone of Interest (United Kingdom) won the Best International Feature Film award. The film beat out The Teachers' Lounge (Germany); Io Capitano (Italy); Perfect Days (Japan); and Society of the Snow (Spain). I saw 3 of the 5 entries (Germany, UK, and Japan). While I really loved Perfect Days, The Zone of Interest is a very powerful film.

The Zone of Interest got 5 Oscar nominations and also won for Best Sound. The sound is very significant in the film. This film is the first British film to win the international award. The previous Top 5 nominees were Hedd Wyn (1993) and Solomon & Gaenor (2000).

Anatomy of a Fall was not nominated for Best International Feature Film since France went in a different direction. The film won for Best Original Screenplay and nominated for Best Picture, Best Actress for Sandra Hüller, Best Director for Justine Triet, and Best Editing. Hulu announced that Anatomy of a Fall will be available on March 22.

Speaking of non nominated films, Green Border would have been the talk in this category if Poland hadn't chickened out and picked a less controversial film.

Film is the most powerful tool for change when it's in the hands of audiences everywhere.

Today is a day we've looked forward to since we began filming Kiran & Ranjit's story.

🔥 It brings us great pride to say TO KILL A TIGER is now available globally on Netflix! #StandWithHer pic.twitter.com/HbpLqtgplo

— To Kill a Tiger (@tokillatigerdoc) March 10, 2024

Those outside Canada can (finally) find out for themselves about To Kill a Tiger. I thought Four Daughters was a better film; hopefully, you will get a chance to see both plus 20 Days in Mariupol.

Celine Song wins Best Director for Past Lives at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards

Looking back on Canadians nominated for screenplay Oscars

One key area where you see international variety at the Oscars is in the acting categories. This jingoistic news story from an ABC station (ABC carries the Academy Awards) points out the hometowns of the American nominees for acting this year. Like we should root for an actor based on where they grew up.

The story mentions 13 Americans. Danielle Brooks, Bradley Cooper, Da'Vine Joy Randoph, Colman Domingo, Emma Stone, Lily Gladstone, Robert Downey Jr., Robert De Niro, America Ferrera, Jodie Foster, Sterling K. Brown, Annette Benning, and Mark Ruffalo.

The story fails to mention Paul Giamatti, born in New Haven, Connecticut as well as Jeffrey Wright, born in Washington, DC.

The 5 not from the United States include Best Actor winner Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) raised in Ballintemple, Cork, Ireland; German actor Sandra Hüller (Anatomy of a Fall) from Oberhof and Friedrichroda in what was then East Germany; Carey Mulligan (Maestro) from London originally though spent some childhood time in Düsseldorf in what was then West Germany; Ryan Gosling (Barbie) from London, Ontario, Canada; and Emily Blunt (Oppenheimer) from London, England.

Actors from around the world come to work on American films. Barbie has 3 male Canadians in the cast: Gosling, Simu Liu, and Michael Cera.

Sarah Polley gets Oscar nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay but not Best Director

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

For the second year in a row, Canada had a male with an acting nomination and a female with a screenplay nomination. The difference was that Brendan Fraser and Sarah Polley won last year while Ryan Gosling and Celine Song came up short. Still an impressive feat.

Canada also had a Best Documentary nominee but like the other categories, a Canadian won last year and not this year.

All those Canadians with nominations should be proud. To Kill a Tiger might not have had a Netflix deal without an Oscar nod.

Twitter captures: @thenfb; @tokillatigerdoc
photo and video credit: ABC

With Dune: Part Two in theatres, Denis Villeneuve looks back at his earlier Canadian films

A rare U.S. interview with #DenisVilleneuve that mentions his early #cdnfilm. Much better films than he gives credit for doing.https://t.co/CTE20ZsTqU

— Chad Rubel (@canadian_xing) March 4, 2024

On the verge of the Academy Awards on Sunday, the biggest film in the United States these days is from a Canadian director: Dune: Part Two from Denis Villeneuve.

The typical U.S. coverage of Villeneuve is virtually isolated on the films since his U.S. debut: Enemy (technically a Canadian film), Prisoners, Sicario as well as Arrival, Blade Runner 2049, and Dune.

You might get mentions of Incendies and Polytechnique, much more the former than the latter film.

Denis Villeneuve was one of 6 directors who did short films under the title of Cosmos (1997) along with Jennifer Alleyn, Manon Briand, Marie-Julie Dallaire, Arto Paragamian, and André Turpin. Villeneuve also did August 32nd on Earth | Un 32 Août sur Terre (1998) and Maelström (2000). Canada submitted all 3 films as the Academy Awards entry for the Oscars for what was then the Best Foreign Language Film.

Canada also submitted Incendies (2010) to the Academy Awards for the Best Foreign Language Film category. Unlike the other films that failed to make the shortlist, Incendies made the Top 5 cut.

This The Hollywood Reporter interview crossed the invisible line and actually asked Villenueve about his earlier films.

From 1998 to 2000, you released August 32nd on Earth and Maelström, but then you stayed on the sidelines until 2009's Polytechnique, based on the Montreal massacre. What prompted the intermission?

When I finished my first two feature films, I realized that I wasn’t happy at all with the results and that the core of the problem was me. I went into filmmaking a bit too quickly, and those movies were driven by ego. It created a movie [August 32nd on Earth] that I wasn’t really proud of. Both movies were well received, but I felt empty at the end of both experiences. So I had to approach cinema differently. I had to learn more about storytelling and, most important, working with actors. So I stopped for many years, saying to myself, “If I go back behind the camera, it’ll be for something meaningful.” For three years, I read and spent time in a theater, watching directors direct plays, to understand how to communicate with actors. I was a sponge. I then started developing what became Polytechnique and Incendies, and it took me many years to write them with other people. So that pause was probably the best and most important artistic decision I’ve ever made. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be here today. I would’ve just repeated myself and died, artistically, quite quickly.

Villeneuve is more than entitled to think that way about those films. As he notes, "Both movies were well received" and that is very true.

We all learn as our careers go along. Villeneuve may be more proud of his U.S. films but that shouldn't detract from his earlier films, which happen to be Canadian films.

2010’s Incendies, which was nominated for the foreign-language Oscar, is your most celebrated Canadian film, and it established your style and voice. Would you  agree?

Absolutely, yes. It honestly touches me to hear you say that, because that’s the film where I got rid of influences and just made something on pure instinct. I’m proud of Polytechnique, but I was still trying things. So Incendies is when I finally found my voice as a filmmaker. I finally felt at home, and it was the payoff of all those years of studying.

Knowing your audience is key in an interview. The Hollywood Reporter is asking about those past films out of professional courtesy. Why praise those earlier works when you want people to focus on the last decade?

Whatever people might think of his earlier films, Polytechnique deserves to be celebrated. Glad he is proud of that film. Villeneuve should also be proud of those other films.

The Canadian influence on Dune from Denis Villeneuve and others

Oscar nomination should help people find Denis Villeneuve Quebec films

Ryan Gosling, Denis Villeneuve get Oscar nominations

Canadian film review: Polytechnique

Canadian film case study: Enemy

Canadian film review: August 32nd on Earth

Canadian film review: Maelstrom

Getting to do a version of Blade Runner and Dune is really where Villeneuve wanted to be all along. In that sense, we are happy for him in his U.S. career. His friend, the late Jean-Marc Vallée, also crossed over into the United States, first in films and then later television.

We should point out that while the world celebrates Villeneuve and Vallée, they were also great writers, at least in Canada. Villeneuve wrote August 32nd on Earth, Maelström, Polytechnique, and Incendies. He did go back to writing with the Dune films. Vallée wrote and directed C.R.A.Z.Y. and Cafe de Flore but not writing in any of his American projects.

Villeneuve won Genie Awards for Best Direction and Best Screenplay for Maelström (also Best Picture); Best Direction for Polytechnique; and Best Direction and Best Adapted Screenplay for Incendies.

Villeneuve cited Duel from Steven Spielberg as an early influence. We would expect Spielberg to be proud of Duel, even if most filmgoers don't know the film.

Maybe those early films aren't his favourites, but Denis Villeneuve should be proud of that work. Those films made him what he is today.

Ryan Gosling, Celine Song, To Kill a Tiger get Oscar nominations

CanadianCrossing.com film reviews

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

The 96th Academy Awards will be on Sunday with a new start time of 7 pm EDT/4 pm PDT and 8:30 pm in most of Newfoundland on ABC in the United States and CTV in Canada. Remember, if you have a choice, the feed is the same but CTV won't censor anything, unlike ABC.

Twitter capture: @canadian_xing
photo credits: August 32nd on Earth | Un 32 Août sur Terre; Maelström

2024 Canadian Screen Award nominations

Exciting News! We're thrilled to announce the 2024 #CdnScreenAwards with comedian Mae Martin! Join us for an unforgettable night on @CBC and @CBCgem on Friday, May 31 at 8:00 PM (9:00 AT, 9:30 NT).

Visit https://t.co/YD6JYx3oXY for the full Canadian Screen Week schedule. pic.twitter.com/1Z4wvuwuo3

— The Canadian Academy (@TheCdnAcademy) February 22, 2024

Mae Martin will host the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards conclusion program on May 31 on CBC and CBC Gem. The CBC show will not be live as in pre-pandemic times … again.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced the Canadian film and Canadian television nominations earlier today. We have the prominent nominees in separate articles for Canadian film and Canadian television.

Canadian Screen Week will run May 26-June 1 at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto.

The Canadian Screen Awards got delayed. The new setup has Canadian Screen Week on May 28-31 with the nominations announcement this morning. Originally, the announcements were supposed to be on February 22 with the week celebrations on April 7-14.

Tammy Frick, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, said in a statement that venue availability and budgetary concern figured into the date and event shifts.

The finale will be tape-delayed (starting live at 4 pm Eastern) from same day coverage on May 31 at 8 pm Eastern on CBC and CBC Gem.

NEW: Mae Martin to host 2024 Canadian Screen Awards, a one-hour show promising "innovative blend of unpredictable, emotional award-show moments and unprecedented access." Producers Roma Ahi and Katie Lafferty return after handling last year's disastrous CSAs, which is...a choice.

— Barry Hertz (@HertzBarry) February 22, 2024

As cruel as we were about last year's awards, we weren't cruel enough. Barry Hertz, who is good with words, weighed in on how terrible the presentation was to Canadian film and television. "Embarrassing and condescending": indeed.

“You hear that information for sure. And of course, everyone's allowed to have their own perspective… It’s an awards show, we're going to get poked at because that's what people do to award shows, and rightfully so. They challenge us to always be improving and doing better, which is great," Frick said in a recent interview. Frick did say this year's show will draw from the gala.

Not the mea culpa people wanted and needed. We feel bad for Mae Martin, all those who work in Canadian television and Canadian film in advance. Please be a lot better than last year. Please.

2023 Canadian Screen Awards wrapup

2023 Canadian Screen Award nominations

2023 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Film

2023 Canadian Screen Awards nominations: Television

The special Canadian Screen Awards have not been announced yet. The obsession with the special awards was a major problem in the TV coverage in 2023.

CanadianCrossing.com film coverage

CanadianCrossing.com Canadian TV coverage

CanadianCrossing.com television coverage

CBC and CBC Gem will carry the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards on May 31 at 8 pm Eastern at the CBC Broadcast Centre in Toronto. The telecast concludes a week of awards presentations.

The full schedule for the 2024 Canadian Screen Awards can be found at CanadianScreenWeek.ca.

Overview Canadian television Canadian film

Twitter captures: @TheCdnAcademy; @HertzBarry
photo credit: Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television