Ted Kotcheff has died at 94

 Ted Kotcheff, the prolific Toronto-born filmmaker behind classics from both sides of the Canada-Hollywood divide — from a beloved adaptation of Mordecai Richler’s The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz to First Blood, which introduced moviegoers to Sylvester Stallone’s John Rambo — died Thursday at the age of 94, his family confirmed to The Globe and Mail.

Kotcheff was born in Toronto’s Cabbagetown neighbourhood, the son of two impoverished Bulgarian immigrants. In his 2017 memoir, Director’s Cut: My Life in Film, Kotcheff recalled a formative moment growing up when he witnessed his next-door neighbours get evicted because they could not afford the monthly $2 rent. “I remember thinking, at four, ‘What sort of world would do that? It shaped me, made me compassionate about other people’s stories.” (The Globe and Mail)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/arts/film/article-canadian-filmmaker-ted-kotcheff-director-of-first-blood-and-weekend-at/

Evan Solomon to run for MP!

 Evan Solomon has announced he will be running to be an MP for the Liberal party in the next federal election.

Solomon revealed the news in a LinkedIn post on Thursday afternoon, confirming a report from CTV News earlier in the day.

“Given the urgent challenges and threats facing Canadians right now, I’ve decided it’s the right time to come home and do whatever I can to help serve my community and country,” Solomon wrote.

Solomon most recently worked for the Eurasia Group as the publisher for GZERO Media – a position he started in the fall of 2022. He was also recently a special correspondent with CTV News, but resigned from that role prior to Prime Minister Mark Carney being elected as Liberal party leader on March 9.

Previously, Solomon worked at Bell Media from 2016 to 2022, first as the host of Ottawa Now on 580 CFRA and later as the host of CTV News political programs Question Period and Power Play. During that time, he also hosted The Evan Solomon Show, a nationally syndicated radio program on the iHeart Radio network.

Before that, he was the host of CBC’s daily political show Power & Politics and weekly national radio program The House. (Toronto Star)

The CRTC wants to find out what's happening in broadcasting!

 The CRTC is looking at how the Canadian broadcasting system can survive the shift away from traditional TV to international streamers.

The regulator is opening a public consultation on market dynamics and plans to hold a hearing in Gatineau, Que. in May.

Its consultation document says the Canadian broadcast industry is at a crossroads and “facing profound changes” posed by new technologies and changes in consumer habits and global competition.

The CRTC is studying those market dynamics as Canadians move from traditional broadcasting and cable — which is regulated by the CRTC and subject to Canadian content rules — to streaming services dominated by international giants like Netflix, Amazon and Disney+.

The consultation is part of the commission’s work on implementing the Online Streaming Act, which updated broadcasting laws to capture online platforms. (CP)

Robert Fulford has died at age 92

 Robert Fulford, who died Tuesday aged 92, was one of Canada’s leading cultural journalists.

As a critic and essayist, his expertise spanned art, literature, architecture and music. As a columnist on current affairs, he grappled with some of the most urgent questions in Canadian justice and politics.

His famously clear prose was the product of fastidious rewriting, always at least twice, a rule he shared with the generations of younger writers he edited and mentored. Publishing, as he used to say, was a “necessary evil” that sadly stopped the rewriting process. (National Post)

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/robert-fulford-obituary

Trudeau to be on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" tonight!

 The Prime Minister is to appear as a guest tonight (Monday) on the CBS's "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert." The interview will be shot during his trip to New York where he is meeting with the United Nations General Assembly.

A schedule says that RuPaul Charles will also be a guest on "The Late Show" tonight.

"The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" airs in Canada on Global TV.