Tag: Vancouver

Swimming to the Mainland for Studio Ghibli’s The Red Turtle

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By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

When I heard The Red Turtle, a collaborative work between Studio Ghibli, Wild Bunch (distributing) and Michaël Dudok de Wit, is making its rounds at special screenings, I knew I had to jump at the chance to see it as soon as it arrived in North America. Flying to Japan or Toronto was sadly out of the question due to budget, but as soon as I saw that it was playing at the 2016 Vancouver International Film Festival, I wanted to hop a ride on a whale to the mainland as soon as my schedule allowed. In the Pacific Northwest, orcas are representative to the region and I do not think one would kindly take to riding her back to English Bay / Vancouver Harbour just for this film. The same might be said for this film’s protagonist when considering his first encounters with the reptile, and he got off lucky!

With this movie, I find Hayao Miyazaki never fails to astound his fans in the talents he recognizes as masters of their craft. After he stated, “All I did was announce that I would be retiring and not making any more features,” in a report by LA Times, he would still be influential in the future of the company he helped co-found. His son Gorō is involved in other co-productions with various studios and Isao Takahata helped with the artistic development of this Dutch animator / director feature-length film debut.

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Evil Dead the Musical To Hit The Pacific Northwest with a New Stop!

file_747610_edmusicalBy Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

Portland, OR
October 14-15, 2016
Alberta Rose Theatre

Vancouver, BC
October 28-29, 2016
Revue Stage at Granville Island

Victoria, BC
November 4-5, 2016
Metro Studio Theatre

Tickets can be bought online here

If you have not made any plans for Halloween yet, Last Chance Productions is taking Evil Dead: The Musical across the Pacific Northwest before, during and after Halloween 2016! This year, they are adding Victoria, BC to the list of where to hit and the timing could not be any better. Since I have seen three versions by different troupes, I must say this particular group are dedicated film buffs who have an absolute love for the cinematic genre.

And, of course, they promise to lay the blood thick in the splatter zone! When I saw the Arts West production, I did not realize you have to sit very close to the kitchen set to get sloshed the most. Depending on whether the show can be held outdoors or indoors, hidden sprinklers can be used to really get people soaked! Tip: wear a white shirt if you intend to be hit with the stage effects. Afterwards, those leaving the theatre can proudly show off their badge of honour with wicked glee.

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Harry Potter’s Draco Malfoy to Appear at Fan Expo Vancouver!

TomFeltonProImageBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

Tom Felton, better known as villainous Draco Malfoy from J.K. Rowling‘s Harry Potter films, will be appearing at the 2016 Fan Expo Vancouver.

Originally hailing from Epsom in Surrey, Felton is a talented actor who established himself in two feature films before landing the role as Potter’s Slytherin house rival. Felton played Peagreen Clock in the 1997 film The Borrowers with Jim Broadbent and as Louis Leonowens in Anna and the King starring Jodie Foster and Chow-Yun-Fat.

Felton’s post Potter acting credits include Dodge Landon in Rise of the Planet of the Apes, as Viscount Trencavel with John Hurt in the TV mini series Labyrinth, James Ashford in Belle, and as tech genius and prime suspect in the Steven Bocho series Murder in the First.

Felton is a noted singer who turned down a position with the famed Guildford Cathedral Choir at a younger age. His YouTube performances have racked up millions of hits. He is also one of the founding owners and talents at Six String Productions, a record company that signs young musical talent normally overlooked by major recording labels.

Fan Expo Vancouver will be held November 11-13 at the Vancouver Convention Centre in Vancouver, British Columbia. For more information, visit their official website at http://fanexpovancouver.com/.

Source(s): Fan Expo Vancouver and InternetPerson16.

[Vancouver, BC] Identifying “Sour Grapes” is Not Easy; Premiere @ VanCity Aug 12

SourGrapes1By Ed Sum (The Vintage Tempest)

August 12
Vancity Theatre
1181 Seymour St.
Vancouver, BC

* Spoiler Alert

Not to be confused with the 1998 comedy, there’s a new Sour Grapes. This documentary is touring the festivals and art house theatres and it had its world premiere at Hot Docs. It is now making its way to Vancouver for its official Western Canadian Premiere, opening August 12 at Vancity Theatre in Vancouver. The City of Victoria had a prestigious showing during Feast, Food and Film with local winemakers de Vine offering tastes of both this sparkly film and local cheeses.

This feature by Jerry Rothwell and Reuben Atlas slowly but surely examines the personality behind one of the world’s greatest wine frauds. Rudy Kurniawan was not caught until March of 2012 where he was indicted for allegedly selling fake wines at auction. Many bottles made in the Burgundy region of France were relabelled and sold as expensive wines, like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Clos St. Denis.

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Animation Voice Over Facility, Go Studios, Ransacked by Thieves

VoiceStudioRanscakedBy James Robert Shaw (The Wind up Geek)

A Vancouver studio has been ransacked with more than $100,000 in production equipment taken from the premises. It seemed like an almost perfect job but what the thieves didn’t realize is their profiles were caught on camera on two different occasions. The break-in happened at Go Studios‘ East 3rd Avenue location on Thursday morning, August 4th between the hours of 6 and 7am. The two male suspects were clever with the cameras they did see but were still caught unawares by the cameras they didn’t. The cameras monitored the suspects as they went from room to room of the facility that houses casting and voice over studios. At one point one of the suspects used a 42-inch TV as a battering ram to try to gain access to other rooms that were locked. Among the items the suspects made off with were six televisions, fours computers, and hard drives.

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Sad Times, Vancouver Comic Book & Entertainment Expo Cancelled

Vancouver Expo LOGOThe Pacific Northwest is dealt a blow when Brasco Exhibitions announced on Facebook on July 5th that the 2016 Vancouver Comic & Entertainment Expo, set for August 5-7 at BC Place, will not be going forward. Unlike IFCon in Victoria, BC, thankfully the information was put out a good month away so not to anger fans who purchased tickets only to find out too late that the show is not happening.

The company will be issuing refunds through this company’s ticketing agent. As for how they will handle combo tickets which allow entry to Anime Revolution, no further comments has been made. For those people who have finalised their plans for travelling to this city, the option exists to enjoy this other convention.

Whatever the reason for this convention to not go forth, no rampant speculation is needed. The calendar for pop culture events in this region can be considered busy with certain months being “prime” for fans of pop culture to get their geek on. Trying to find a perfect time is touch when considering March / April has Emerald City Comicon and Sakuracon, August has Anime Evolution and Revolution (expanding to include a February event), October with Spark Animation Film Festival and in November, the new date for Fan Expo Vancouver. There’s rumours Anglicon will change dates (was in June last year, August this year). Smaller shows take place in this city year-round.

For further inquiries, the company asked to be contacted at: info@brascoexhibitions.com