Coyote crack-up

It’s almost always a bad sign when a movie’s release is put off for months or years.

Not so with this long-delayed flick, an anarchistic delight that follows Looney Tunes character Wile E. Coyote as he heads to the big city of Albuquerque, N.M., to find Kevin Avery (Will Forte), a washed-up human lawyer who specializes in “cartoon accident law.”

Wile E. wants Kevin to sue the Acme Corporation, whose products — magnetic gloves, catapults, parachutes, TNT detonators — have been malfunctioning for decades, sabotaging the coyote’s perpetual pursuit of his archnemesis, the Road Runner.

With direction by David Green (who has worked on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise) and a scripting team that includes Superman helmer James Gunn, Coyote vs. Acme is not quite as revolutionary as Who Framed Roger Rabbit, the 1988 classic that kicked off animation/live-action mashups.

Peter Cullen, Canadian-born voice of Optimus Prime in ‘Transformers,’ dies at 85

Peter Cullen, the Montreal-born actor who lent his calm and steady voice to Optimus Prime in the "Transformers" franchise, died Wednesday at age 85, his family said.

He died in his Los Angeles home, surrounded by loved ones, the family said in a statement sent by his agent.

"His family asks that you honor his remarkable legacy by serving your communities and leading others with compassion, integrity, and loyalty and always remember 'be strong enough to be gentle,'" the statement reads.

That quote comes from the story Cullen told about how he found the voice for Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots in the "Transformers" franchise of TV shows, films and video games.

‘The Debut’ and ‘Wild Horse Nine’ to bookend Vancouver International Film Festival

Actor-director Jesse Eisenberg's film about the cutthroat world of New Jersey community theatre will open the Vancouver International Film Festival.

"The Debut," which stars Julianne Moore as a suburban housewife and Paul Giamatti as a bullish director, will screen in Vancouver on Oct. 1.

VIFF announced its lineup on Wednesday, including a slate of Canadian premieres for hotly anticipated upcoming films.

They include "Wicker," a romance about a fisherwoman, played by Olivia Coleman, who orders a basket weaver to make an Alexander Skarsgard-shaped husband for her; "Behemoth," starring Pedro Pascal, Olivia Wilde, Eva Victor, and Will Arnett; and "Nowhere to Lay My Eyes," the latest from beloved South Korean auteur Hong Sang-soo.

Tim Curry, iconic character actor and ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show’ star, dies at 80

Tim Curry, a character actor who created a gallery of delicious, very loony villains for stage and screen, including Dr. Frank-N-Furter in “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and the smug concierge in “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” has died. He was 80.

Curry, who suffered a stroke in 2012 that put him in a wheelchair, died Tuesday night at his home in Los Angeles, according to his longtime manager and friend Marcia Hurwitz. No cause was disclosed.

Known for his arch humor, a puttylike face and gift with voices, Curry earned three Tony nominations — for “Spamalot,” “My Favorite Year” and “Amadeus” — and a Primetime Emmy nod in 1994.

“I like playing the more curious corners of the human mind and human behavior, partly because they’re a tad more interesting,” Curry told The Associated Press in 1993.

‘Nina Roza’ selected as Canada’s submission for Oscars international film category

TORONTO - A film about a Bulgarian-Canadian art consultant's investigation into a supposed child prodigy from his homeland is Canada's submission for Oscars consideration.

Telefilm Canada announced Tuesday that "Nina Roza" is Canada's pick for best international feature.

The movie from director Geneviève Dulude-De Celles premiered at Berlinale earlier this year, where it won the Silver Bear for best screenplay, and it had a theatrical release in Quebec in April.

The film follows Mihail, who returns to Bulgaria for the first time in decades to look into the authenticity of an eight-year-old artist whose abstract paintings went viral online.

Criterion to establish brick-and-mortar home in Canada at Cinema Cellar

TORONTO - Out of the closet, into the cellar.

Criterion is making a permanent home in downtown Toronto in collaboration with its Canadian distributor Cinema Cellar.

Criterion is a home entertainment company popular among cinephiles for its meticulously curated collection of films.

The shop will open during the Toronto International Film Festival next month.

Let’s make a deal: TIFF touts its first market, says Canadian creators will benefit

TORONTO - Executives with the Toronto International Film Festival boasted Wednesday that their inaugural marketplace would serve as a launchpad for Canadian directors and producers to make global connections.

CEO Cameron Bailey made the remarks at an event celebrating the festival's lineup of Canadian films, which also served as an unofficial introduction for TIFF: The Market, where filmmakers can shop around their projects and make deals with financiers and distributors. 

"Without the business of screen storytelling -- the deals, the financing, bringing the creative people together with the money -- none of this happens," Bailey said, on stage at the TIFF Lightbox.

"Filmmakers don't get to make their next works. Talent doesn't get developed. Projects don't get developed. Canadian stories don't get to see the light of day. So we are very proud to be opening the biggest storefront the world has ever seen for Canadian storytelling."

TV that waxes poetic, vacations hard, reminisces

The summer TV drawer is nearly empty, but here is a varied platter of viewing suggestions to amuse through to September, including: travelling with an epic poem, a group vacation, an anniversary reflection on the Tragically Hip (sob), a missing-child crime thriller and the return of a fictional talk-show host.

● Richard E. Grant’s Very Modern Odyssey

Documentary series streaming on CBC Gem

Sidestepping the argumentative hubbub about a new translation of Homer’s epic poem vs. old, and whose biceps Matt Damon wears in Christopher Nolan’s big-screen The Odyssey, consider this luscious travelogue, hosted by Richard E. Grant (Withnail and I). Beauty is beauty.

What’s canon in ‘Paw Patrol’? Canadian mega-franchise tackles creative questions as its world expands

TORONTO - Loyal "Paw Patrol" viewers learned years ago that dinosaurs didn't go extinct on whatever version of Earth is home to Adventure Bay.

A contingent of the reptiles survived for millions of years, unbeknownst to the general public, and are currently under the care of a wheelchair-using Bernese mountain pup named Rex and two scientists — at least in the universe of the TV series.

But the creative minds at Spin Master, the Toronto-based toy behemoth that's made a fortune on the backs of the search-and-rescue dogs, aren't afraid of tweaking an origin story as they adapt the franchise for the big screen.

Enter "Paw Patrol: The Dino Movie," the third Hollywood outing for the pups, in which they learn — once again — that a scientific miracle allowed a small subset of dinosaurs to survive an eons-ago asteroid impact.

The Wrong Girls is sweet and shaggy, but dazed and confused stoner comedy is hard to get right

Stoner comedy has always been kind of a dude thing. Think of the Fabulous Furry Freak Brothers, Cheech & Chong, Ice Cube’s Friday franchise, Harold & Kumar, basically any movie with the young Seth Rogen.

How Jay McCarrol helped Matt Johnson find the sound of Anthony Bourdain biopic ‘Tony’

TORONTO - Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol’s creative partnership began with a decidedly sombre project.

The Toronto duo met as teenagers after Johnson’s then-girlfriend introduced them. Johnson wanted to make films; McCarrol dreamed of scoring them. McCarrol soon scored one of Johnson’s student features.

“It was about the son of an actor, whose father is struck deaf by an on-set lighting mistake,” recalled Johnson at last year’s TIFF. “And to deal with it, he sublimates his father's deafness into his own inability to speak.”

“It was very dark. It was serious,” said McCarrol.

‘Heated Rivalry’ star Hudson Williams, comedian Chris Rock to speak at TIFF

TORONTO - Hudson Williams, Chris Rock and Andrew Scott are among the entertainers set to take the stage at TIFF to discuss their careers as part of the In Conversation With series.

Williams, the Kelowna, B.C.-born star of "Heated Rivalry," is at the festival to debut the new Crave series "Yaga."

TIFF says the event with the 25-year-old actor is part of the fest's Next Wave initiative, which spotlights young talent.

Rock, meanwhile, is set to speak on his latest film "Misty Green," which exposes the uglier side of show business as it follows a talented actress, played by Rosalind Eleazar, who is struggling in her career and personal life. The film also stars Daniel Kaluuya, Adam Driver and Anna Kendrick.

Strong film slate, FIFA screenings help boost Cineplex’s Q2 results

TORONTO - A strong film slate and theatre presentations of FIFA World Cup matches helped Cineplex Inc. swing to a profit in its most recent quarter. 

"This quarter's success was not dependent on a single blockbuster or a small number of tentpole releases. Instead, consumers embraced a broad range of compelling content across multiple genres and formats," Cineplex CEO Ellis Jacob said on the company's earnings call.

He said family films were a significant driver, with the release of "The Super Mario Galaxy Movie" and "Toy Story 5." Meanwhile, he said "Michael," which chronicles the life of pop superstar Michael Jackson, became the highest-grossing biopic ever. 

He said the quarter showcased one of the most diverse content slates it has seen in years. 

Blink-182’s Travis Barker almost died. A new documentary celebrates his life before and after

NEW YORK (AP) — The inferno rages onscreen three minutes into “ Travis Barker: Louder Than Fear.” Dashcam footage lifted from a police car shows the blaze: It's 2008, and Barker has survived a plane crash in South Carolina. Four others did not.

And then, a cut. The documentary, which follows the Blink-182 drummer from 2017 to 2026, is a celebration of Barker's life before and after the life-altering accident, a central event in a career full of them. The film began as a mirror of his memoir, 2015's “Can I Say: Living Large, Cheating Death, and Drums, Drums, Drums,” but became something else entirely after a producer suggested it end with the image of Barker, then still unable to fly due to post-traumatic stress disorder, walking toward a plane.

Ending on that note, “where this thing still has power over me,” didn’t sit well with him. Instead, he boards a plane at the end, but the documentary’s final images are a slide show of family photos, including his wife Kourtney Kardashian and kids.

“I almost died,” he says. It “could be helpful to share my life.”

Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week

TORONTO - Five things to watch for in the Canadian business world in the coming week:

Auto talks

Unifor is expected to open contract negotiations with General Motors on Monday. The union represents more than 4,600 members at Ontario GM facilities, including the Oshawa assembly plant, the CAMI facility in Ingersoll as well as operations in St. Catharines and Woodstock. The union has already reached a deal with Ford and will take on Stellantis after GM.

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