During Christmas week, I can almost guarantee you that I will sit in the dark and watch It's A Wonderful Life and Scrooge (AKA A Christmas Carol starring Alastair Sim). Listen, the darkness adds to the somber cinematic experience... and masks the tears streaming down...
“They sure don’t make ‘em like they used to.” It’s an old movie adage that definitely applies to making me cry. I don’t know what it is, but a handful of classic movies can still melt my heart and reduce me to tears. I don’t even have to watch the entire movie. I can...
"Living with Crystal Meth" With only one episode left in the entire "Breaking Bad" series, it's time to share my own story about working with "Breaking Bad" creator Vince Gilligan (briefly, oh, so briefly), as well as my own nightmare with crystal meth. Oh, I guess I...
This week the Writers Guild of America released their list of the "101 Best Written TV Series." Presumably this was a straight vote among the guild's members (many of whom have been or currently are creators & staffers of many of the fine programs mentioned on...
Pack your passports, we're finally landing in Los Angeles for "ET Canada's Grammy Awards Red Carpet Special." A Toronto snowstorm and the Western world's most boring airport tried to crush my sanity, but here I was in the City of Angels... 36 hours late. There's...
Last week, I mentioned that ET Canada's biggest show of the year was the "Grammy Awards Red Carpet Special." It's the show's most elaborate production and it requires the most people to make it work. And, after seven years of working at ET Canada, I was finally given...
One of the strange realities of daily writing about Hollywood celebrities is that you definitely don't get to meet the stars. And you rarely get to see them either. You want to meet a celebrity? Become a reporter. Or better yet, become a make-up artist or a camera...
(* This post was written years ago as a tipsy, knee-jerk reaction after several festive eggnogs on a cold winter's night. This is not a deep-dive into 1940's Hollywood... Happy Holidays!) I can guarantee you that I cry at least twice a year. And when I mean "cry," I...
Last week, I reflected on my first two years of writing all the award shows at the Banff World Media Festival. After the thrill of creating jokes that made Ricky Gervais and William Shatner laugh, I fully intended to leave on a creative high and end my Rocky...