China bans rowdy game show for 'wanton' content

Chinese regulators suspended a broadcaster Friday after an unaired segment of a TV game show was leaked online showing a raucous shouting match about nudity between spectators and a woman who calls her daughter the next Lady Gaga.

The suspension of all of Jiangsu Education Television's programming — because of content deemed vulgar and not educational enough — marked the government's latest attempt to rein in the increasingly freewheeling media sector. China also said earlier this year it would limit American-style reality TV and other light fare shown on satellite TV.

The latest ruling was prompted by the game show Bang Bang Bang, which has games of chance for cash prizes as well as entertainment segments with attractive women. A video clip apparently filmed by an audience member features Gan Lulu, an auto show model well-known in China for racy outfits and whose career was launched by a nude video of her posted online by her publicity-seeking mother.

The six-minute clip of the not-yet-aired game show episode, still available on YouTube, shows Gan as well audience members and the model's mother shouting and swearing after one spectator asks whether Gan's risque images have undermined China's morality.

Gan's mother, Lei Bingxia, also in the audience, stands to take up the argument, using several off-colour slurs.

"Can your mom make you the sexy goddess of China?" she later shouts. "Can your mom make billions of people like you? Gan's mom can!"

"I'm the best agent in China, I'm telling you! I will not only make my daughter the world's Lady Gaga, but the world's Marilyn Monroe."

Show cancelled, network programs suspended

The State Administration of Radio, Film and Television first ordered the show cancelled Wednesday and criticized the clip for showing name-calling, "wanton acts" and for "amplifying ugliness." It said the incident had a "negative influence on society."

On Thursday, the agency issued a second directive saying that Jiangsu Education Television, a regional broadcaster near Shanghai, had to suspend all programming effective Friday because it violated China broadcasting rules by identifying itself as an educational channel while offering entertainment content.

The Hong Kong-based Information Center for Human Rights and Democracy said in a faxed statement that some 30 programs were affected by the suspension, including some distance learning programs, meaning classes were cancelled for as many as 150,000 students.

The Bang Bang Bang editor also was fired, the Jiangsu provincial government said.

The broadcasting regulator is concerned about vulgar, violent and pornographic videos being aired, and has been tightening rules to make sure that broadcasters and Internet service companies prescreen their content.

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Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell to screen at Sundance

Sarah Polley's Stories We Tell, a popular choice during the Toronto International Film Festival, has earned a spot at next year's Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.

Programmers at Sundance, the most important U.S. festival for independent film, have selected Stories We Tell for the Spotlight program, which gathers favourite films that premiered at other festivals.

The documentary, produced by the National Film Board, features Polley unraveling the secrets of her own conception.

The Toronto actor-turned-director digs for the truth surrounding her late mother Diane — who died of cancer when Polley was 11 — via stories and memories shared by her father Michael Polley, her siblings and friends of her mom. The catalyst was discovering, in 2006, that the man who raised her was not her biological father but that she is the product of an affair her mother had in the 1970s.

Two other Canadian films have also scored berths at Sundance, which can give a boost to independent filmmakers.

Hobo with a Shotgun director

Jason Eisener, the East Coast director behind horror flick Hobo with a Shotgun, is back at Sundance with a crew of fellow directors and a new Midnight at Park City entry , S-VHS. Simon Barrett, Adam Wingard, Edúardo Sanchez, Gregg Hale, Timo Tjahjanto and Gareth Huw Evans collaborated with Eisener to write and direct S-VHS.

The story follows private investigators looking into the disappearance of a student who find a cache of VHS tapes in an abandoned house. In viewing the horrific contents of each cassette, they realize there may be terrifying motives behind the student's disappearance.

Quebec film Meteor will screen at Sundance. (Films 53/12)

The Sundance Park City at Midnight program is devoted to films that shock or dazzle.

Quebec filmmaker François Delisle's film Meteor will screen in the New Frontiers program for experimental films. Meteor is a drama about a man, his mother and his wife who are linked by crime, guilt and loneliness.

The Sundance Film Festival has booked a record slate of women directors for its main competition. It runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah.

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James Bond, Snow White in race for visual effects Oscar

James Bond, Snow White and a whole lot of hobbits and superheroes are in the running for the visual effects prize at the Academy Awards.

Ten films that made the cut for visual effects nominations for the Oscars on Feb. 24. They are:

Life of Pi is a 3D film directed by Ang Lee based on Canadian writer Yann Martel's Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name.

Members of the academy's visual-effects branch will view 10-minute excerpts from each of the films on Jan. 3, and then pick five nominees for the Oscars.

Nominations for the 85th Oscars will be announced Jan. 10.

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Critics slam CBC proposal for ads on radio

The CBC will get another chance to explain why it should be allowed to sell advertisements on two of its radio networks when the corporation makes a presentation to Canada's telecommunications regulator on Friday.

For more than a week, the CRTC has been hearing from those who have weighed in on the CBC's bid to renew the licences for its various services for the next five years. One of the most contentious issues is a plan by the corporation to begin running ads on its English-language Radio 2 network and French-language Espace Musique.

The plan is facing stiff opposition from some of the CBC's competitors.

On Thursday, the CRTC heard several submissions from broadcasters opposed to the proposition.

"I've got a lot of difficulty getting my head around an organization that can't work on a billion-dollar-plus budget," said Ross Porter, a former CBC host who is now president and CEO of Jazz FM 91, a Toronto radio station.

"I've got a hard time with them going out there and double-dipping and asking for donations from the Canadian public."

Adam Fox, from Alberta public radio station CKUA, also voiced concern with the CBC plan. He said ad dollars on top of government funding will give the CBC an unfair advantage.

"CKUA is not afraid of competition, but this isn't really a fair fight," he said. "The playing field is pitched dramatically in favour of Radio 2 and its clearly superior resources."

The Canadian Association of Broadcasters submitted its own written brief to the CRTC, urging it to reject ads on CBC Radio and calling the idea "ill-conceived."

"The Radio Council is seriously concerned that approval of this application could, over time, create a precedent for the CBC to extend this request to other CBC radio services, including locally-based CBC Radio One and La Premiere Chaine," the broadcasters wrote.

The CBC had its financing cut by $115 million in the last federal budget. The corporation says running ads and allowing program sponsorship on Radio 2 and Espace Musique could provide $15 million in additional revenue in the first year and up to $35 million within seven years.

In his presentation to the CRTC last week, CBC president Hubert Lacroix warned the commission that if its request was rejected the corporation would have to find money elsewhere.

"We have no intention of closing those radio stations down but they will change in format and content," Lacroix said. "It is going to be about the whole of the services of CBC, Radio-Canada being affected by this decision."

Lacroix and other CBC bosses are expected to be back before the CRTC Friday to answer more questions as the commission wraps up its hearings. The CRTC will then consider the arguments and issue a decision by the spring.

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Top U.S. music school connects with P.E.I. college

P.E.I.'s Holland College has signed an agreement with the Berklee College of Music in Boston to offer the U.S. school's curriculum in Charlottetown.

Holland College music student Evan McCosham hopes the new connection to Berklee will give him an edge. (CBC)

"It will make Holland College a very attractive alternative," said Holland College music instructor Alan Dowling.

"Especially to people who want to study contemporary music at the post-secondary level."

Under the agreement students who complete the two-year program at Holland College could apply to continue their studies in Boston. Two more years of study there would earn them the same degree as students who study all four years in Boston.

"We're arming [Holland College students] with some information that is going to help push them a little bit further," said Jason Camelio, Berklee's director of international programs.

"Even if they don't come to Berklee, they're going to be armed with that information. They're going to be better musicians."

The new deal will make Holland College an attractive alternative, says instructor Alan Dowling. (CBC)

Getting into the school is far from guaranteed for the Holland College grads. Berklee's reputation has been built on the more than 200 Grammies won by its alumni. Seven thousand students audition and interview to get into the school every year.

But first year Holland College student Evan McCosham hopes the relationship between schools will give him and edge.

"If you're already introduced to Berklee through Holland College, I think you already have an advantage as far as gaining entrance for one thing, but also succeeding once you get there," said McCosham.

Acceptance is just the first hurdle for students wishing to go to the Boston school. If accepted to Berklee, tuition alone for an international student will cost more than $35,000.

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Aspiring artists sell works in Beaverbrook fundraiser

The Beaverbrook Art Gallery offered aspiring artists a chance to sell their work in an effort to raise money for the provincial art gallery.

About 200 people turned out on Wednesday night for the event that was dubbed, "Stay Calm and Collect Art."

The gallery sent out an invitation inviting any gallery member to submit one or two pieces for sale.

The gallery would showcase the items in the provincial art gallery and split the sale price with the artists.

The Beaverbrook Art gallery offered artists the chance to sell their works in the provincial gallery. (CBC)

Terry Graff, the chief curator of the art gallery, said 94 pieces of art were submitted to be a part of the inaugural event.

"We thought we'd try an experiment. We know a lot of our members are closet artists, some are professional artists, so let's celebrate the creativity of our members," he said.

Sandi McKessock is one of the artists who will see their art hung in the provincial art gallery. She has two pieces in the show.

"This is exciting, the whole evening is incredible. This might be my only chance to have paintings hanging at the Beaverbrook Art Gallery," she said.

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Sundance books record slate of female filmmakers for main competition

The Sundance Film Festival has an apparent record lineup of female directors competing for its top honour this January.

Half the entries — eight of the 16 films — announced Wednesday in the festival's U.S. dramatic competition were directed by women for the next installment of Robert Redford's independent-cinema showcase, which runs Jan. 17-27 in Park City, Utah.

Going back to 1992, the best showing previously for female filmmakers was in 2000, when six of the 16 U.S. dramatic contenders were directed by women.

Sundance organizers were still trolling back to the early years of the festival's 33-year history, but this January's eight competition films appears to be most ever from women and the first time the entries have been evenly split between female and male directors.

Among the competition films from female filmmakers are Francesca Gregorini's Emanuel and the Truth About Fishes, whose cast includes Jessica Biel and Frances O'Connor in the story of a troubled girl fixated on a mysterious neighbour; Lynn Shelton's Touchy Feely, featuring Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney and Ellen Page in a tale of a massage therapist who develops a distaste for bodily contact; and Liz W. Garcia's The Lifeguard, with Kristen Bell as a reporter who moves home to Connecticut and takes a job as a lifeguard.

The festival's U.S. dramatic lineup also features the first Sundance entry for Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe, who stars as Allen Ginsberg in director John Krokidas' Kill Your Darlings.

'More women getting into filmmaking'

Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe will appear at Sundance as Allen Ginsberg in director John Krokidas' Kill Your Darlings. (Chris Pizzello/Associated Press)

Male directors still dominate the big-screen, but the low-budget indie world has been narrowing the gender gap. Sundance director John Cooper said some Sundance film categories have had a nearly even split between male and female directors in the past, a sign that more and more women are breaking into filmmaking.

"I think that's absolutely it," Cooper said. "Also, what we've found is that through our short-film programs, they've been coming close to 50-50 in certain years or at least a high level of women directors. So it's more of a coming-up-through-the-ranks situation" as female directors graduate from short films to feature-length stories.

Sundance has scheduled 113 feature-length films, chosen out of 4,044 titles submitted.

The festival will feature four opening-night films, one each from its U.S. drama and documentary and world-cinema drama and documentary categories. Among the opening films is director Cherien Dabis' U.S. drama contender May in the Summer, in which she stars as a woman in conflict with her family after returns home to Jordan as her wedding nears.

Other films in the U.S. dramatic lineup include:

• Napoleon Dynamite co-writer Jerusha Hess' directing debut, Austenland, starring Keri Russell and Jennifer Coolidge in a romance about a Pride and Prejudice-obsessed woman searching for love at a Jane Austen theme resort.
• In a World..., the directing debut of actress Lake Bell, who stars in the story of a woman trying to follow her father's footsteps to become a voice-over star.
• Jill Soloway's Afternoon Delight, with Kathryn Hahn and Juno Temple in the tale of a Los Angeles housewife who takes in a stripper as a live-in nanny.
• David Lowery's Ain't Them Bodies Saints, featuring Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck in a drama about an escaped prisoner crossing the Texas hills to reunite with his family.

The U.S. documentary competition also has an even gender split, with eight of the 16 films directed or co-directed by women. That's not a record, though, as women have made stronger in-roads into documentary filmmaking and have accounted for more than half of the entries in Sundance's non-fiction lineup in the past.

Among films in the U.S. documentary program are:

• Audrey Ewell, Aaron Aites, Lucian Read and Nina Kristic's 99%: The Occupy Wall Street Collaborative Film, which examines the 2011 protests over economic inequality.
• Martha Shane and Lana Wilson's After Tiller, profiling doctors providing late-term abortions after the murder of a colleague by an abortion opponent.
• Gabriela Cowperthwaite's Blackfish, which explores the consequences of captivity for killer whales, one of which was involved in the deaths of three people.

The opening-night film for the U.S. documentary lineup is Morgan Neville's Twenty Feet From Stardom, a portrait of pop music's generally anonymous backup singers. On the world-cinema front, the opening-night dramatic entry is Chilean director Sebastian Silva's Crystal Fairy, with Michael Cera and Gabby Hoffmann in a South American road trip adventure, while the opening documentary is British filmmaker Marc Silver's Who Is Dayani Cristal?, chronicling the search for the identity of an anonymous body found in the Arizona desert.

Sundance announces its lineup of premieres featuring bigger-name stars and filmmakers on Monday.

___

Online:

http://www.sundance.org/festival

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Music mogul's rare artist interviews posted online

Retired American music mogul Joe Smith has donated recorded interviews with a who's who of 20th century popular music to the U.S. Library of Congress, which is posting the digitized audio online.

The cultural institution posted the first batch of unedited audio interviews on its website Wednesday. Smith, a former radio DJ and record label president, is heard in revealing chats with music figures ranging from artists like Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, Ray Charles and Linda Ronstadt to fellow label chief Ahmet Ertegun and broadcaster Dick Clark.

Because of Smith's industry insider status, he was able to draw out surprisingly candid revelations from subjects during unguarded moments. McCartney speaks frankly about drug use by the Beatles, Bo Diddley discusses his own death and Jagger enjoys tea while contemplating the outlaw image and reputation of The Rolling Stones.

Former radio DJ and retired record label executive Joe Smith has donated a treasure trove of music interviews with subjects from Paul McCartney to B.B. King to Ahmet Ertegun to the U.S. Library of Congress, which is digitizing the recordings for posting online. (Bob Merlis/Library of Congress)

"One of the great things about the interviews is how relaxed many of them are," Matt Barton, the library's recorded sound curator, said in a statement.

"They're not on camera and they're talking to someone who's very much a colleague and a peer, if not a musical artist. The tone is very different and the camera isn't on them."

The interviews, representing nearly 240 hours of recordings, span more than 200 artists and industry representatives across multiple musical genres, including rock, folk, jazz, R&B, metal, pop and country. Smith include excerpts of some of the recordings in his 1988 book Off the Record.

Smith made the donation in June and library staffers are continuing the process of digitizing audio from the original tapes on which Smith recorded the interviews.

Further recordings from The Smith Collection will be added to the site over time.

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Lawren Harris sketch soars past estimates at Sotheby's auction

Arctic Sketch XXII is one of about three dozen oil sketches Lawren Harris completed during his trip to the Arctic in 1930. (Sotheby's )

A landscape by Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris was the big highlight at Sotheby's auction of Canadian art in Toronto Tuesday night as it sold for far more than experts thought it would bring.

Arctic Sketch XXII was in the catalogue with an estimated price of $400,000 to $600,000. But when the hammer finally came down, it had sold for $865,000.

Arctic Sketch XXII is one of about three dozen oil sketches Harris completed during his watershed trip to the Arctic with A.Y. Jackson in 1930.

"It was a turning point in his life…The farther north he got, the closer he thought he was getting to the Canadian soul," says Sotheby's Canada president David Silcox.

The big hammer price for the Harris work wasn't entirely unexpected. Prices for some Canadian artworks soared at Joyner Waddington's on Monday and Heffel last Friday, as art lovers watched for hot bidding on a range of Group of Seven and post-war artists who seem to be in demand.

On Friday, the Harris urban landscape Hurdy Gurdy sold for close to $1.1 million.

However, it wasn't all big sales. A lack of competitive bidding meant headlining works by two renowned Canadian artists failed to find buyers on Tuesday.

A painting by influential Ontario artist Tom Thomson, which depicted winter in Algonquin park, was estimated at $750,000 to $1 million, but couldn't secure a buyer.

And a highly touted work by Group of Seven painter Lawren Harris (Street in Barrie, Ont.), which was estimated to sell for between $900,000 and $1.2 million, also went unclaimed by the end of the night.

Sotheby's Canada's Managing Director, Linda Rodeck, said the failure of the two top lots to find buyers was more of a disappointment than a surprise.

View of Montreal from St. Helen's Island, by Marc Aurèle Fortin, had a pre-auction estimate of $400,000-$600,000. It sold for $462,500. (Sotheby's)

"There's not much room at the top of the bidding pyramid and while the presence of just two capable bidders can result in record prices, the absence of two bidders can lead to a different outcome," she said.

"I view the lack of bidding tonight for these lots as an opportunity lost. Both Thomson and Harris are scarce commodities and both of our star lots were beautiful examples of what each artist is renowned for."

Rodeck said Sotheby's expects to receive offers for the unsold works in the near future.

Two major paintings by impressionist Clarence Gagnon up for auction — a seascape titled St. Malo from the Cliffs of St. Briac, and a lilac-hued canvas by Gagnon called Winter Solitude, painted in Charlevoix country near Baie-St. Paul in Quebec — both failed to sell. Both were estimated at $400,000 to $600,000.

Tuesday's auction also featured works by William Kurelek, Cornelius Krieghoff, David Milne and Maurice Cullen, as well as artists such as Jean-Paul Lemieux and 1980s art collective General Idea.

Kurelek's 1962 work, Wintertime North of Winnipeg, went for more than triple its estimate, selling for $255,500. Another Kurelek, The Sacrament of Penance, went for $221,000, also far above its pre-auction estimate of $60,000 to $80,000.

David Milne's Red Pool, Temagami, marks a summer the artist spent in Temagami in 1929 before heading farther north to Cobalt. It was estimated to go for $125,000 to $175,000 and sold for $146,250.

Also auctioned Tuesday at Sotheby's:

• Winter Break-Up, by Maurice Cullen, sold for $106,000 (estimated at $90,000-$120,000).
• Mountains on Haines Highway, Yukon, by A.Y. Jackson, sold for $146,250 (estimated at $150,000-$200,000).
• View of Montreal from St. Helen's Island, by Marc Aurèle Fortin, sold for $462,500 (estimated at $400,000-$600,000).
• Woman Knitting – Repose #3, by Emily Carr, sold for $117,500 (estimated at $125,000-$175,000).
• Atomic Blast, by General Idea, sold for $30,000 (estimated at $20,000-$30,000).

With files from The Canadian Press

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Canada's War Witch earns Spirit Award nomination

War Witch, Montreal director Kim Nguyen's drama about a child soldier in an unnamed African country, has earned a nomination for best international film at the U.S. Spirit Awards.

War Witch (also known by its French title Rebelle) stars Rachel Mwanza, a young actress Nguyen recruited in the Congo, as a child stolen from her village. She is forced to kill her parents and then idolized by other child soldiers because of the visions she sees in the jungle.

The Spirit Awards celebrate films created by independent producers and are presented at a ceremony in Santa Monica, Calif., the day before the Academy Awards. The awards are administered by Film Independent, which also created the Los Angeles Film Festival.

Oddball romances Silver Linings Playbook and Moonrise Kingdom lead the nominations with five apiece.

Silver Linings Playbook, about a man with mental health issues and his relationship with a young widow, earned nominations for its lead characters, played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

The nominations for Moonrise Kingdom, Wes Anderson's adventure tale about a boy and girl who escape from a summer camp together, include best director as well as best screenplay.

Nominees in selected categories include:

Best picture:

Best documentary:

• How to Survive a Plague, directed by David France.
• Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present, directed by Matthew Akers.
• The Central Park Five, director-producers Ken Burns, Sarah Burns and David McMahon.
• The Invisible War, directed by Kirby Dick.
• The Waiting Room, directed by Peter Nicks.

Best international film:

• Amour, directed by Michael Haneke.
• Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
• Rust And Bone, directed by Jacques Audiard.
• Sister, directed by Ursula Meier.
• War Witch, directed by Kim Nguyen.

War Witch was also chosen earlier this year as Canada's submission for foreign-language Oscar consideration. It has been widely praised on the international circuit: it won best actress and best narrative film awards at the Tribeca Film Festival and a Silver Bear for best actress as well as an ecumenical prize at the Berlin Film Festival.

The Spirit Awards ceremony takes place on Feb. 23.

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What's the secret to Gangnam Style's success?

With Korean lyrics delivered by a cartoonish rapper riding an invisible horse, Gangnam Style was an unlikely candidate to become a worldwide phenomenon.

But on the afternoon of Nov. 24, the colourful and wacky video for PSY's pop tune became the most-watched YouTube clip of all time, racking up more than 805 million online views. (Justin Bieber's mega hit Baby previously held that title.) At last count, Gangnam Style views had surpassed 834 million.

Korean pop stars and record label executives the world over are no doubt eyeing the tune and its quirky choreography for clues on how to duplicate its success.

Experts say that while Gangnam Style has all the key elements of a pop hit – including a catchy hook – its success is the sum of many elements, producing a "fluke" that will be tough to duplicate any time soon.

"I don't think any other Korean or Asian artist is likely to repeat this," said Jason Anderson, arts writer and film critic for The Grid newspaper in Toronto.

"I think just having that kind of hit song is such a freak incident. To have a song of this scale, it doesn't create any kind of precedent. It's a scientific fluke. A kind of perfect storm of pop music comes together every once in a while to create this kind of song."

Numerous parody videos

The video for Gangnam Style, which was first posted to YouTube in July, has spawned countless parodies, with everyone from UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to Britney Spears to the CBC's own Peter Mansbridge galloping and throwing an imaginary lasso to PSY's infectious synth beat.

Korean rapper PSY, right, teaches UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, left, how to dance to his massive hit Gangnam Style during a photo opportunity at the UN headquarters in New York. (United Nations, Eskinder Debebe/Associated Press)

"One of the surprising things about that song is that the lyrics are mostly in Korean ... [it's] proved that you can have a global song phenomenon that's not English-language lyrics," said Mark Simos, associate professor of songwriting at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, a school PSY himself once attended.

"There have been plenty of cases of songs with English lyrics breaking into international markets. Much fewer cases going the other way."

Gangnam Style is not the first international pop track to capture a global audience.

'A hit song can't have the same impact that it used to. Except in this case.'—Arts writer Jason Anderson

Some of its predecessors include Los del Rio's Macarena, a ubiquitous '90s ditty that also featured a signature dance, and Austrian musician Falco's Rock Me Amadeus, in the 1980s.

But in today's fractured pop music landscape, it's more difficult for songs – in any language – to reach the kind of critical mass that Gangnam Style has, said Anderson.

"It's got a lot to do with the way the pop music industry is these days," he said. "It's very polarized. A hit song can't have the same impact that it used to. Except in this case. Hit songs don't have that kind of penetration any more."

English-lyric hook a factor

One key element that helped is the explosion of Korean pop music – so-called "K-pop" – in recent years.

The growing base of fans of that genre inside and outside Korea likely helped give Gangnam Style a boost, said Simos.

"I would imagine that there was a pretty large Korean-speaking population that was a foundation … if you get millions of views from one constituency, that's certainly going to get you on the map and give you a chance of breaking in more globally," he said.

PSY joined Madonna and her dancers onstage to perform his hit song Gangnam Style during her MDNA concert in New York on Nov. 13. (Guy Oseary/Associated Press)

However, the fact that Gangnam Style is a rap song may have also helped it cross over to Western markets, he added.

"You have the rhythmic aspect of the lyrics to engage you there. I don't know if it would have worked as well with a sort of sweet Korean-language pop song or ballad. I'm not sure it would have swept in the same kind of way. You can kind of just listen to the [Gangnam Style] lyrics almost like like a rhythmic track."

The song also has a catchy hook with just enough English – "Heyyyy, sexy lady" – to keep those who don't understand Korean interested, he added.

"Who wouldn't want to sing that?" said Simos, adding that "the way in which it's put together [isn't] all that unusual in that style of pop music."

A 'throwback' to dance craze songs of '50s, '60s

The song's throbbing beat is in line with the European-style techno sounds that are ever-present on Top 40 charts in Western markets.

But there are also song production techniques that PSY used well within the song, said Simos. He points to a portion of Gangnam Style where the fast flashes of sound speed up to an unexpected pause before the music and the rapping reappears.

"That pause is just a little bit out of time… It doesn't come in quite where you expect it. It's a cool musical effect," said Simos. "This is not the first song where something like that happens. But he's used a lot of these kind of production and writing techniques. And it's done well and it creates an exciting dance pop song."

The horse dance is also a key element. Gangnam Style is a throwback to the dance craze songs of the '50s and '60s such as the twist, said Simos.

"Look at the 900 or so imitations of [Gangnam Style] that have sort of sprung up. That particular dance and the moves, that's a lot of what's gone viral," he said.

'Not your typical pop star'

The character PSY himself is an affable "anti-pop star," said Simos.

"There is no doubt that part of the charm of the video is the quirky character that is not your typical pop star. Not in his looks —he's kind of nerdy. And the dance itself is a little nerdy," he said. "Some of the charm of that is going against type."

The song's lyrics poke fun at the posh district of Gangnam in Seoul, South Korea. The four-minute video is a barrage of glossy, ridiculous scenes ranging from the South Korean rapper riding a children's carousel to PSY emphatically rapping while seated on a toilet — the kind of quirky clips that tend to go viral online, said Simos.

'It's the fact that he's both adopting pop culture and mocking [it] at the same time.'—Mark Simos, songwriting professor at Berklee College of Music

"It sort of looks like a spoiled rich guy trying to act really hip, and being a little hapless about it … It's the fact that he's both adopting pop culture and mocking [it] at the same time," he said.

"In a way, it's a very ironic video. The kind of thing that plays really well on YouTube."

Ken McLeod, an associate professor of music history and culture at the University of Toronto, said this kind of pop music sensation could be duplicated, but it's highly unlikely.

"Everyone once in a while, there's a song like Nena's 99 Luftballons that catches people's imagination," he said. "People don't understand, but they like something about it… It will happen again, but it won't happen tomorrow."

With files from CBC News and the Associated Press

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The Hobbit fans revel in New Zealand premiere

Wearing elf ears and wizard hats, sitting atop their dad's shoulders or peering from balconies, tens of thousands of New Zealanders watched their favourite Hobbit actors walk the red carpet Wednesday at the film trilogy's hometown premiere.

An Air New Zealand plane freshly painted with Hobbit characters flew low over Wellington's Embassy Theatre, eliciting roars of approval from the crowd.

Sam Rashidmardani, 12, said he came to see Gollum actor Andy Serkis walk the red carpet — and he wasn't disappointed.

"It was amazing," Rashidmardani said of the evening, adding his Gollum impression: "My precious."

Peter Jackson's 'done it again'

British actor Martin Freeman, who brings comedic timing to the lead role of Bilbo Baggins, said he thought director Peter Jackson had done a fantastic job on The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey.

"He's done it again," Freeman said in an interview on the red carpet. "If it's possible, it's probably even better than The Lord of the Rings. I think he's surpassed it."

The Hobbit cast members Barry Humphries, left, who plays Great Goblin, his wife Lizzie Spender, centre, and Sylvester McCoy, who plays Radagast, pose on the red carpet at the premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. (Ross Setford/SNPA/Associated Press)

While it is unusual for a city so far from Hollywood to host the premiere of a hoped-for blockbuster, Jackson's filming of his lauded LOTR trilogy and now The Hobbit in New Zealand has helped create a film industry here. The film will open in theatres around the world next month.

One of the talking points of the film is the choice by Jackson to shoot it using 48 frames per second instead of the traditional 24 in hopes of improving the picture quality.

Some say the images come out too clear and look so realistic that they take away from the magic of the film medium. Jackson likens it to advancing from vinyl records to CDs.

"I really think 48 frames is pretty terrific and I'm looking forward to seeing the reaction," Jackson said on the red carpet. "It's been talked about for so long, but finally the film is being released and people can decide for themselves."

Jackson said it was strange working on the project so intimately for two years and then having it suddenly taken away as the world got to see the movie.

"It spins your head a little bit," he said.

Aidan Turner, who plays the dwarf Kili in the movie, said his character is reckless and thinks he's charming.

"I don't get to play real people it seems, I only get to play supernatural ones," he said. "So playing a dwarf didn't seem that weird, actually.

Star-gazing fans, protesters

Perhaps the most well-known celebrities to walk the carpet were Cate Blanchett and Elijah Wood, who reprise their roles in the LOTR in The Hobbit.

"Mostly I came here to see everyone. I like them all," said fan Aysu Shahin, 16, adding that Wood was her favourite. She said she wanted to see the movie "as soon as possible. I'm excited for it."

At a news conference earlier in the day, Jackson said many younger people are happy to watch movies on their iPads.

"We just have to make the cinema-going experience more magical and more spectacular to get people coming back to the movies again," he said.

Jackson said only about 1,000 of the 25,000 theatres that will show the film worldwide are equipped to show 48 frames, so most people will see it in the more traditional format. The movie has also been shot in 3D.

A handful of animal rights protesters held signs at the premiere.

The protest by the group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals comes after several animal wranglers said three horses and up to two dozen other animals had died during the making of the movies because they were housed at an unsafe farm.

Jackson's spokesman earlier acknowledged two horses had died preventable deaths at the farms but said the production company worked quickly to improve stables and other facilities and that claims of mistreatment were unfounded.

"No mistreatment, no abuse. Absolutely none," Jackson said at the news conference.

Animal rights protesters joined the crowds of fans at the Wellington world premiere of The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. (Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)

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Ken Gass launches new Canadian theatre project

Ken Gass, the former Factory Theatre artistic director fired from his longtime post earlier this year, plans to revive his Canadian Rep Theatre project by taking on a series of major works by Canadian writers.

Ken Gass is relaunching his Canadian Rep Theatre by tackling a series of new Canadian plays. (Facebook)

New work by leading Canadian playwrights Wajdi Mouawad, George F. Walker and Judith Thompson are lined up for the resurrected production company Gass first created in the mid-1980s and which he hopes to turn into a new permanent theatre company.

Past Canadian Rep Theatre projects include Circulations, the first Robert Lepage work staged outside of Quebec, A Day At The Beach by John Palmer, Agiluk by Herschel Hardin and productions of Claudius and Amazon Dream by Gass in the 1990s.

Gass said it was a long-held ambition to create a season and permanent life for the theatre company.

"Given my sudden and unexpected departure from Factory this summer, I now see a golden opportunity to fast-track that ambition and to re-build Canadian Rep project-by-project before attempting to launch a full repertory season in the near future," he said in a statement released Monday.

"Key to this work will be creating a strong resident company of artists committed to risk and to continual, renewed training and experimentation, and who — as an ensemble — reflect the face of our richly diverse country."

The company will be dedicated to new and classical Canadian plays. Three major projects already lined up are:

• April/May 2013: The English-language premiere of Mouawad's Pacomambo, a powerful play for children about death.
• Fall 2013: The Canadian premiere of Dead Metaphor. Written and directed by Walker, the dark comedy follows a former sniper just back from Afghanistan and the way he is regarded at home.
• Spring 2014: The world premiere of Thompson's Watching Glory Die, about a chronically disturbed young woman in the prison system.

Gass's firing at Factory Theatre, a company he helped found in 1970 and revive in the 1990s, sparked outrage in the Canadian theatre community.

Some playwrights withdrew their works from the Toronto company's lineup. Among them was Walker, whose Dead Metaphor was slated to be part of Factory's upcoming season.

Gass is working with Andre du Toit, a former Factory Theatre production manager, and a team of volunteers to launch his new company.

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Lindsay Lohan critics live-tweet Liz & Dick premiere

[View the story "Lindsay Lohan watchers live-tweet Liz & Dick premiere" on Storify]

Storified by CBC News Community · Mon, Nov 26 2012 13:24:05

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After months of anticipation, rumour, and leaked shots of Lindsay Lohan in bathing suits on set, the television movie "Liz & Dick" premiered Sunday evening on Lifetime.

The film, which recounts the scandalous relationship between screen icons Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton during the 1960s and 70s, stars Lohan in the title female role - a casting choice as controversial as it was seemingly brilliant for ratings.

Telegraph

Droves of viewers tuned into Lifetime's World Premiere Event Sunday night, many of them for the sole purpose of seeing how well (or poorly) Lohan fared.

The 26-year-old child star turned paparazzi magnet had reportedly been struggling for years to get her career back on track after a series of high-profile legal cases and stints in rehab. 

Fans were hopeful that this might be her comeback role.

Recording Liz and Dick... I need it to be amazing because I would love a LiLo comebackSarah Murray

Happy 'Liz & Dick' DayToday is the day ... Today, we get to see Lindsay Lohan's much-talked about acting comeback in the role of Elizabeth Taylor in the Lifeti...

Just started watching #Liz&Dick Hoping is good and is helps the comeback for #lindsaylohan #lifetime #teammeraDIANA MERA

Tomorrow Sunday November 25 at 9/8c on Lifetime Lindsay Lohan is Back with #LizAndDick! Don't miss it out! http://pic.twitter.com/x9uVVZTQLindsay Lohan Fans

You guys I am missing Lindsey Lohans big comeback tonight!!!!!! (Liz and Dick...a lifetime movie for those not up on pop culture)Jordan E

Happy "Liz and Dick" day to you and yours. http://pic.twitter.com/GMfviBRPamy o'connor

But the majority of critics were unimpressed with LiLo's performance as Taylor.

In his review, The Hollywood Reporter's Tim Goodman says calls the actress "woeful as Taylor from start to finish."

"At one point, Lohan has to shout, 'I won't live without you!' and then run down a hall. It's like a high school play," he wrote. "By the time Lohan is playing mid-'80s Taylor and it looks like a lost Saturday Night Live skit, your body may be cramped by convulsions."

The star's inconsistent British accent and failure to master (or even attempt) Taylor's signature girlish tone of voice was particularly irksome to many.

Imagine all the seconds, even minutes, Lindsay must have spent working on that Liz Taylor accent. #LizandDickRichard Roeper

Who knew Liz Taylor had the voice of a 22 year old Bennigan's waitress on the Jersey Shore?!? #lizanddick #partygirlvoiceScott Barnhardt

#LizAndDick was ostensibly Lohan's comeback vehicle. And again, like every other vehicle she's ever driven, she manages to total it.Kelsey Young

"Wow, that's a scratchy voice." -- Keith Richards, watching LIZ & DICK. #lizanddickChristie Mount

I feel like Madonna gave Lindsey voice lessons to prepare for this role. #LizAndDickAlyssa Eden

Lohan's smokers voice is hilarious in #LizandDick. Wait, this is a comedy right? Made it through 20 minutes of that gigantic mess. #fbLeah Harvey

She's not even trying! (And I should know, as I'm repeating everything she says in my Liz Taylor voice.) #LizAndDickKaryn Bosnak

I mastered a better Liz Taylor voice in five minutes on my couch tonight. #LIzAndDickBranden B

Gizmo is trying to turn off "Liz and Dick". #LizandDick http://pic.twitter.com/TQB4Svw5murrah noble

Yet, despite the poor reviews, people were watching. Both Lifetime and the hashtag #lizanddick were trending during the film's first run.

Like any widely-watched televised event, such as an award show or major sports game, comedians had a field day. Many of them poked fun at Lohan's real-life bag girl image and past roles in films like Mean Girls and The Parent Trap.

The set dresser had a sense of humor. #lizanddick http://instagr.am/p/SexUEbtDDg/Kathy Griffin

"We're next." -- Ben Affleck and J-Lo, texting each other. #lizanddickPatton Oswalt

I haven't seen this much chemistry since Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie. #LizAndDickDanny Zuker

After tonight, Nielsen is going to start reporting ratings in the 18-34 ironic demo.Jake Fogelnest

If you only watch #LizAndDick during football game commercials it's actually a pretty good Adult Swim comedy.Andy Levy

My response to #LizAndDick: http://pic.twitter.com/B1Z9XyBPShannonKelliher

I knew #LizAndDick was supposed to be a vehicle for #LiLo: I just never expected that vehicle to be a #Yugo.Michael Shulman

Clearly this is an outtake that accidentally made it into the movie. http://lockerz.com/s/264328664Kathy Griffin

Thank you, #LizandDick, for making this Pampers commercial the equivalent of a "palate cleanser."Patton Oswalt

Lindsay was amazingly honest in that part where she swallowed pills with vodka. #lizanddickAaron

Oh! I get it! Lindsay must have traded places with her long-lost American twin who has no acting ability. #TheParentTrap #LizAndDickKathleenInCLE

This Lindsay Lohan documentary is awesome. The dude playing Sam Ronson is a little old. Why do they keep calling her Liz? . #LizandDickJulie Knapp

Pic of my screen test for #LizandDick -- As you know I was beaten out for the part by Ms Lohan by a very narrow margin. http://pic.twitter.com/SwrZtl1RDarren Ewing

"I'M BORED. I'M SO BORED," said Lindsay, not realizing that the cameras were rolling. #lizanddick - JGo Fug Yourself

Lohan herself, not responding to the criticism, answered questions for fans during the film's screening.

Hey guys! #LizandDick is on @LifetimeTV! Got any questions for me? Please send them my way.Lindsay Lohan

@lindsaylohan did you ever meet Liz Taylor? #LizAndDickMrsBoydCrowder

.@MrsBoydCrowder No I never met her but she sent me a gift (a great ring) once & I always admired & respected her. #LizandDickLindsay Lohan

@lindsaylohan What was the best part about playing Liz? #lizanddickbecky

.@BeckySake 2 get 2 feel like 1 of the most amazing women in the world was a thrill all around & wearing the jewels wasn't bad! #LizandDickLindsay Lohan

Her fans were equally giving with their praise and defense of the actress.

Ppl need2leave @lindsaylohan alone! She did a GREAT job in #LizAndDick!! Yall R jus jealous coz yall canT act!! HA!Morgana

Your fans were very pleased, @lindsaylohan! We want more! @ladygaga said it best! Ppl need to stop hating! Never a good look! #LizandDickkevinochoa

I watched #lizanddick last night and I thought it was awesome ..lohan did a bang up job as liz ..I loved itSamantha Hipson

I love this movie! Lindsey Lohan is awesome as Elizabeth Taylor! #LizandDickDomonic Manibusan

Salon

What are your thoughts on Lindsay Lohan as Liz taylor? Do you think she'll be making a comeback?

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Early Thomson, Borduas fetch surprising bids at auction

Memories New York, 1959 is a work by William Ronald, a contemporary of Jackson Pollock, who painted this in tribute. It sold for $59,000. (Joyner Waddington )

A rare early work by Tom Thomson and a previously unknown work by Paul-Émile Borduas were among the paintings auctioned Monday evening at Joyner Waddington's in Toronto, both far surpassing their pre-sale estimates.

The fall auction of Canadian art also included works by the Group of Seven and by contemporary artists such as William Kurelek.

Thomson's River Scene, a tiny 1906 landscape painted on glass while he was a student at the Central Ontario School of Art and Industrial Design in Toronto, sold for $42,480, almost tripling its pre-sale estimate.

River Scene is "incredibly interesting because it is the only known work on glass by the artist," Joyner vice-president Rob Cowley told CBC News before the auction.

Tom Thomson's River Scene is a 7.5-centimetre oil painting on glass that sold for $42,480, almost tripling its pre-sale estimate. (Joyner Waddington)

The 1957 Borduas canvas Chatterie sold for $660,800, far surpassing pre-sale estimates of between $150,000-200,000. It had been unknown for more than 50 years as its dealer lost track of where it was sold.

One of three abstracts he painted in 1957, one of which is in the collection of the Art Gallery of Ontario, Chatterie was expected to draw interest because it has been out of the public eye for so long in a private collection.

After some feverish bidding both on the telephone and in the auction room, it missed setting an auction record for Borduas by less than $3,000.

Chatterie highlighted the Post-War and Contemporary Canadian offerings in the auction.

"It is a Canadian art treasure that displays the immense skill of one of our country's most celebrated painters," said Joyner senior art specialist Lydia Abbott.

A canvas by Painter's Eleven member William Ronald entitled Memories New York, 1959, sold for $59,000 during the evening sale.

The large canvas, splattered and dripped with paint, reveals Ronald's dialogue with Jackson Pollock's artworks which he encountered while living in New York City.

A William Kurelek painting entitled Yukon Trappers' Stop depicting a Yukon trapper treading through deep snow fetched $82,600, surpassing its pre-sale estimates of up to $80,000.

A 1920s oil painting by Quebec artist Marc-Aurele Fortin depicting Maison Tessier in the Saguenay region of Quebec fetched a final price of $76,700, more than double its estimate.

Other highlights included a rare large format 1889 oil painting by Frederick Arthur Verner entitled Indians Paddling West Coast Canoes which sold for $70,800.

Three small oil on panel artworks by Clarence Gagnon depicting Quebec villages in winter and dating to the 1920s surpassed pre-sale estimates with each selling for over $30,000.

An online bidding session of Canadian Art will continue until Nov. 29 at 2 p.m. ET.

With files from CBC News

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Teen Two and a Half Men star calls show 'filth'

The teenage actor who plays the half in the hit CBS comedy Two and a Half Men says in a video posted online by a Christian church that the show is "filth" and that viewers shouldn't watch it.

Angus T. Jones, 19, has been on the show, which used to feature bad-boy actor Charlie Sheen and remains heavy with sexual innuendo, since he was 10 but says he doesn't want to be on it anymore.

"Please stop watching it," Jones said. "Please stop filling your head with filth."

Jones plays Jake, the son of Jon Cryer's uptight divorced chiropractor character, Alan, and the nephew of Sheen's hedonistic philandering music jingle writer character, Charlie. Sheen, who has publicly criticized CBS, was fired and replaced by Ashton Kutcher, who plays billionaire Walden.

In the video posted by the Forerunner Christian Church in Fremont, Calif., Jones describes a search for a spiritual home. He says the type of entertainment he's involved in adversely affects the brain and "there's no playing around when it comes to eternity."

"You cannot be a true God-fearing person and be on a television show like that," he said. "I know I can't. I'm not OK with what I'm learning, what the Bible says, and being on that television show."

CBS and producer Warner Bros. Television had no comment Monday.

Two and a Half Men survived a wild publicity ride less than two years ago, when Sheen was fired for his drug use and publicly complained about the network and the show's creator, Chuck Lorre. Sheen later said he wasn't still angry at the sitcom's producers and the network and acknowledged he would have fired himself had he been in their shoes.

The show was moved from Monday to Thursday this season, and its average viewership has dropped from 20 million an episode to 14.5 million, although last year's numbers were somewhat inflated by the intense interest in Kutcher's debut. It is the third most popular comedy on television behind CBS's The Big Bang Theory and ABC's Modern Family.

The actors on Two and a Half Men have contracts that run through the end of this season.

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Chinese film takes top prize at Golden Horse Awards

China's Beijing Blues has won the best film award and Hong Kong's Johnnie To took home the best director's award at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival, an event considered the Chinese-language Oscars.

Beijing Blues portrays the lives of the urban dwellers through the work of a squad of plainclothes crime-hunters.

In receiving the award, director Gao Qun Shu was visibly shocked, and he thanked "the globe" for giving an inexperienced director like him such honour and recognition.

Hong Kong's To won best director for Life Without Principle, which is about ordinary citizens in Hong Kong who are caught in the fallout of the global financial meltdown.

The film also won veteran Hong Kong actor Lau Ching Wan the best actor award for his portrayal of a triad thug seeking to recover money lost in a loan shark scheme.

Lau said he was happy to receive the award "even though you don't act in order to win an award."

Taiwan's Gwei Lun-mei won the best actress award for portraying a woman involved in a romantic triangle in GF-BF (short for "Girlfriend-Boyfriend"). She burst into tears on receiving the award after beating out prominent contenders including Hao Lei and Bai Bai He, both of China.

Controversial Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye did not receive the widely expected director's award for his box-office hit Mystery. Lou's name was mentioned at the ceremony, though, in recognition of his finally directing a movie that was screened in Chinese theatres.

Mystery — about a woman's radical revenge after uncovering her husband's infidelity — is seen as marking Lou's entry into the commercial mainstream after years on the social and artistic edge.

Lou's films have long focused on sensitive subjects like sex, violence and politics, and have repeatedly been censored by China's cultural authorities.

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PSY's Gangnam Style breaks YouTube's record

South Korean rapper PSY's Gangnam Style has become YouTube's most viewed video of all time.

YouTube says in a posting on its Trends blog that Gangnam Style had been viewed 805 million times as of Saturday afternoon, surpassing Justin Bieber's Baby, which has had 803 million views.

The blog says the "velocity of popularity for PSY's outlandish video is unprecedented."

PSY's video featuring his horse-riding dance was posted on YouTube in July, while Baby was uploaded in February 2010.

PSY's video has become a global sensation, with many people around the world mimicking his Gangnam Style dance. In their October meeting, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, a South Korean, joked that he had to relinquish his title as "the most famous Korean," and tried a few of PSY's dance moves.

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Bieber booed, Lightfoot lauded during splashy Grey Cup halftime

Justin Bieber faced a hostile homecoming at the 100th Grey Cup on Sunday, with the jeering capacity crowd at the raucous Rogers Centre providing the teen idol with a reception as unyieldingly cold as a long Canadian winter.

The 18-year-old grew up roughly 150 kilometres down the road in Stratford, Ont., but that didn't help his cause with the rowdy crowd on hand, who took aim at the ubiquitous pop star whenever possible.

They booed when his face popped up on the JumboTron. They booed when a host spoke his name at the onset of halftime. And they booed with extra glee as he took the stage and throughout his medley of the finger-snapping, chart-topping hit "Boyfriend" and the disco-inflected club come-on "Beauty and a Beat."

If Bieber was bothered by the boo-birds, it didn't show.

"It's an honour to be here at the Grey Cup in Canada," he said, a smile tugging at his lips despite the reaction.

"Make some noise. I said make some noise!"

Unfortunately, the crowd obliged. More boos.

Still, Bieber was outwardly unruffled. Clad in a black leather tanktop with baggy pants and a gold chain dangling around his neck, he put in a lithe performance, slickly executing his steps surrounded by dancers dressed in black-and-gold letterman jackets branded with his second initial.

As he wrapped up "Beat" — which typically features a verse from rap's reigning oddball queen Nicki Minaj — a dazzling array of pyro popped into the air and at first the crowd responded enthusiastically. But once again, the cheers dissolved into boos.

"Thank you so much Canada," Bieber announced, ignoring the response. "I love you."

If the feeling of this particular crowd wasn't mutual, there were certainly omens. There were those early-game jeers any time Bieber's face popped up onscreen, and as fans poured into the Rogers Centre, few summoned much enthusiasm for the teen idol.

Most figured that while Bieber is a bona fide draw — an international star and tabloid fixture whose latest record "Believe" became his third straight to reach multi-platinum status in Canada after its June release — most of those fans simply weren't at the game.

Surely, the CFL was hoping to court his army of tween followers (numbering more than 30.6 million), who hang on Bieber's every tweet but might otherwise be unlikely to tune into the Grey Cup game between Toronto and Calgary.

But the divide between Bieber's young, predominantly female fanbase and the CFL faithful is as broad as a lineman's shoulders.

"Not a real big fan of Justin Bieber, sorry," said 52-year-old Johanna Ellis of Kitchener, Ont., as she navigated the Rogers Centre before the game.

"It's not a very good choice in a stadium full of football fans."

Indeed, recent Grey Cup halftime performers have skewed toward the comparatively heavy likes of Bachman & Turner, Nickelback, Theory of a Deadman and Lenny Kravitz, a drastic contrast to Bieber's fizzy pop confections.

"J-Biebs doesn't scream football, you know? Neither does Carly Rae Jepsen," agreed Calgary's Ryan Prisque, 22.

"Gordon Lightfoot — that'll be the time I turn back from the beer gardens and watch."

The 74-year-old Lightfoot certainly did captivate the crowd Sunday. With the stadium lights down, Lightfoot opened the halftime show by materializing on a modest stage near the 50-yard line, dressed in black and strumming an acoustic guitar. The crowd roared.

His long grey hair swept back, the stalwart songwriter — originally from Orillia, Ont. — put in a gentle performance of his iconic 1967 hit "Canadian Railroad Trilogy" that lacked the theatrics of Bieber's performance but nonetheless enthralled the audience, who gamely clapped along. When he was finished, they roared again.

Attention then shifted to set of three stages lined up along one side of the stadium, with a cluster of amped-up fans rushing in and clustering around.

Vancouver pop outfit Marianas Trench was greeted mostly with indifference after their performance, while 27-year-old Jepsen also received a mixed reaction at first but won the crowd over during an enthusiastic medley of her latest single, "This Kiss," and her dangerously infectious smash hit "Call Me Maybe."

But the crowd was seemingly immune to Bieber's charms — and some seemed to have been waiting for the opportunity to show their displeasure with the young star.

He had certainly been visible during Grey Cup week.

Bieber was spotted at a trendy local club on Friday night after being photographed earlier in the evening playing hoops with Toronto rap star Drake and Raptors forward Amir Johnson.

Earlier in the week, he was presented with a Diamond Jubilee Medal by Prime Minister Stephen Harper and courted controversy with his casual wardrobe choice: striped blue overalls (unbuttoned on one shoulder) over a white T-shirt, accessorized with a backwards black baseball cap and glittering jewelry jangling around his neck and wrist.

There was sufficient uproar over his outfit that Harper even weighed in on Twitter.

"In fairness to [Bieber]," Harper tweeted Sunday, "I told him I would be wearing my overalls too."

Well, the fashion feedback seemed tame compared to the scathing response from the Toronto crowd.

Of course, Bieber — who will return to both the Rogers Centre and his usual bevy of deliriously adoring fans next Saturday — did have faithful supporters sprinkled among the fans crammed into the cavernous building.

"I missed Justin Bieber in Winnipeg ... so this is good for me," said Brittnay Dueck, attending the game with her mom.

"I'm surprised that they chose someone who's a little bit younger. Being 26, I'm OK with it. But I think everyone else who's here might not like it."

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Rolling Stones mark 50th year with London show

The Rolling Stones made a triumphant return to the London stage on Sunday night in the first of five concerts to mark the 50th anniversary of their debut as an American-oriented blues band.

They showed no signs of wear and tear — except on their aging, heavily lined faces — as frontman Mick Jagger swaggered and strutted through a stellar two-and-a-half hour show. He looked remarkably trim and fit and was in top vocal form.

The Stones passed the half-century mark in style at the sometimes emotional gig that saw former bassist Bill Wyman and guitar master Mick Taylor join their old mates in front of a packed crowd at London's 02 Arena.

Rolling Stones, Thursday July 12, 2012, as issued to mark the 50th anniversary of their first ever live performance on 12 July 1962 at the Marquee club in London. (Rankin/Associated Press)

It was the first of five mega-shows to mark the passage of 50 years since the band first appeared in a small London pub determined to pay homage to the masters of American blues.

Jagger, in skin-tight black pants, a black shirt and a sparkly tie, took time out from singing to thank the crowd for its loyalty.

"It's amazing that we're still doing this, and it's amazing that you're still buying our records and coming to our shows," he said. "Thank you, thank you, thank you."

Lead guitarist Keith Richards, whose survival has surprised many who thought he would succumb to drugs and drink, was blunter: "We made it," he said. "I'm happy to see you. I'm happy to see anybody."

But the band's fiery music was no joke, fuelled by an incandescent guest appearance by Taylor, who played lead guitar on a stunning extended version of the ominous Midnight Rambler, and Mary J. Blige, who shook the house in a duet with Jagger on Gimme Shelter.

The 50th anniversary show, which will be followed by one more in London, then three in the greater New York area, lacked some of the band's customary bravado — the "world's greatest rock 'n' roll band" intro was shelved — and there were some rare nostalgic touches.

Even the famously taciturn Wyman briefly cracked a smile when trading quips with Richards and Ronnie Wood.

The concert started with a brief video tribute from luminaries like Elton John, Iggy Pop and Johnny Depp, who praised the Stones for their audacity and staying power. The Stones' show contained an extended video homage to the American trailblazers who shaped their music: Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash and others. The montage included rare footage of the young Elvis Presley.

The Stones began their professional career imitating the Americans whose music they cherished, but they quickly developed their own style, spawning hundreds — make that thousands — of imitators who have tried in vain to match their swagger and style.

The concert began with some early Stones' numbers that are rarely heard in concert, including the band's cover of the Lennon-McCartney rocker I Wanna Be Your Man and the tune It's All Over Now.

They didn't shy away from their darker numbers, including Paint It Black and Sympathy for the Devil — Jagger started that one wearing a black, purple-lined faux fur cape that conjured up his late '60s satanic image.

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Daniel Nestor, Pat Quinn among Order of Canada recipients

Tennis star Daniel Nestor and longtime NHL coach and general manager Pat Quinn are among the 44 Order of Canada honourees being recognized today.

Others receiving Order of Canada honours at an investiture ceremony at Rideau Hall include:

• Author and journalist Silver Donald Cameron.
• Writer Greg Hollingshead.
• Autism advocate Margaret Spoelstra.
• Columnist and CBC At Issue panelist Chantal Hébert.
• Architect Marianne McKenna.
• Journalist Craig Oliver.
• Retired Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie.
• Aaju Peter, an Iqaluit clothing designer, lawyer and activist.

The Order of Canada is bestowed four times a year at an investiture ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. David Johnston. Anyone can nominate a living Canadian (politicians and judges must not be in office) for the honour, and appointments are recommended by an advisory panel chaired by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

More than 5,000 people have been invested in the Order since its inception in 1967.

Watch the ceremony live. Here is the full list of Friday's 44 recipients:

Members of the Order of Canada

• Carolyn Acker, C.M., Toronto.
• Patsy Anderson, C.M., Toronto.
• Allan Gordon Bell, C.M., Cochrane, Alta.
• Robert B. Bourne, C.M., London, Ont.
• Silver Donald Cameron, C.M., O.N.S., Halifax.
• Franklin Delaney, C.M., Beaconsfield.
• Wadih M. Fares, C.M., Halifax.
• Anthony (Tony) Fields, C.M., Edmonton.
• Alia Hogben, C.M., Gananoque, Ont.
• Greg Hollingshead, C.M., Edmonton.
• Nancy Kilgour, C.M., Calgary.
• Henry Kloppenburg, C.M., Saskatoon.
• Merril Knudston, C.M., Calgary.
• Louis LaPierre, C.M., Dieppe, N.B.
• William Laskin, C.M., Toronto.
• Monique F. Leroux, C.M., Montreal.
• Kenneth Maybee, C.M., O.M.M., C.D. (deceased), Fredericton.
• Elizabeth McWeeny, C.M., Thunder Bay, Ont.
• Bernice Morgan, C.M., St. John's.
• Daniel Nestor, C.M., Toronto and Nassau.
• Aaju Peter, C.M., Iqaluit.
• Gordon Rawlinson, C.M., Calgary and Prince Albert, Sask.
• Jean-Guy Rioux, C.M., Shippagan, N.B.
• Michèle Rouleau, C.M., C.Q., Montreal.
• Marie Saint Pierre, C.M., C.Q., Montreal.
• Steven Schipper, C.M., Winnipeg.
• Margaret Spoelstra, C.M., Toronto.

Officers of the Order of Canada

• Elizabeth Dowdeswell, O.C., Toronto.
• Gordon Guyatt, O.C., Dundas, Ont.
• Chantal St-Cyr Hébert, O.C., Montreal.
• Paul F. Hoffman, O.C., Victoria.
• Maryse Lassonde, O.C., C.Q., Montréal.
• John Last, O.C., Ottawa.
• Jean-François Lépine, O.C., Montreal.
• Hadi-Khan Mahabadi, O.C., Toronto.
• Marianne McKenna, O.C., Toronto.
• Jean-Jacques Nattiez, O.C., C.Q., Montréal (Promotion within the Order).
• Craig Oliver, O.C. Ottawa
• John Brian Patrick (Pat) Quinn, O.C., Vancouver.
• The Hon. John D. Richard, O.C., Ottawa.
• Cecil H. Rorabeck, O.C., London, Ont.
• Gordon Semenoff, O.C., Surrey, B.C.
• The Hon. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, O.C., O.N.B., Sackville, N.B.

Companion of the Order of Canada

• The Hon. William Ian Corneil Binnie, C.C., Toronto.

Corrections and Clarifications

• An earlier version of this story incorrectly mentioned Helene Campbell as a recipient of the Order of Canada. Campbell in fact received the Order of Ottawa on Nov. 22. Nov. 23, 2012 | 11:30 AM ET

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Dallas TV star Larry Hagman dies

Larry Hagman, the American actor who played the nefarious oilman J.R. Ewing in popular TV series Dallas, has died at age 81.

His family said in a statement that he died Friday afternoon in a Dallas hospital of complications of cancer.

"Larry was back in his beloved hometown of Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved the most. Larry's family and closest friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday," the family said.

The actor was surrounded by friends and family before he passed peacefully, "just as he'd wished for," the statement said.

Hagman had undergone a liver transplant in 2005 and treatment for throat cancer as recently as 2011.

A stage actor early in his career, Hagman made his name primarily in TV, first in the soaps and later as astronaut Maj. Anthony Nelson in I Dream of Jeannie.

Dallas made him an international star, both in the original series, which ran 1978 to 1991, and the more recent show, which began its run in June 2012.

This 1981 file photo shows Larry Hagman in character as J.R. Ewing in the TV series Dallas. (CBS/Associated Press)

Linda Gray, his on-screen wife and later ex-wife in the original series and the sequel, was among those with Hagman in his final moments, said her publicist, Jeffrey Lane.

"He brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest," the actress said.

With its twisted family dynamics, soapy plots and cliffhanger endings, Dallas was a phenomenon. As J.R. Ewing, Hagman was the man the world loved to hate. His scheming and greed kept the Ewing family divided and TV viewers mesmerized.

Hagman said he'd modelled J.R. after a Texan he'd known who had four sons "and when he died the four sons were all jockeying over who was going to take over the empire."

In 1980, the "Who Shot J.R.?" episode drew 83 million people, a record at the time for a single TV episode. It had 400 million viewers around the world. In an interview with the BBC, Hagman recalled travelling to Romania and being recognized.

"A guy came up to me with tears in his eyes and said 'Thank you, J.R. for saving Romania.' I said 'What?' He said 'You saved this country. We were allowed to have three television shows a day and two were political speeches and the other was Dallas to show how corrupt the morals of the United States was," Hagman recalled. "Big mistake. People saw what was happening in America and they wanted that."

2 Emmys for Dallas portrayal

Hagman's other major foray into American living rooms couldn't have been more different. He played genial astronaut Maj. Anthony Nelson on I Dream of Jeannie, the 1960s sitcom also starring Barbara Eden.

As Maj. Nelson, Hagman spent most of the series trying to hide the fact that he'd found a genie in a bottle. Eden, glamorous in her harem outfit, calls him "Master" and complicates his life by using her magic in an effort to fix problems.

Born in Fort Worth, Texas, Hagman was the son of actress Mary Martin and a local attorney, Benjamin Hagman. His parents divorced when he was five and he split his time between his grandparents in Texas and his mother in New York.

After falling in love with acting in high school, he attended Bard College in New York state and followed his mother into acting.

He appeared in the New York City Center production of The Taming the Shrew, did a year in regional theatre and five years in London as part of the cast of his mother's South Pacific.

This 1967 file photo shows Barbara Eden, left, and Larry Hagman in a scene from the TV show I Dream of Jeannie. (NBC/Associated Press)

He served in the U.S. air force during the Korean War, where he produced and directed several series for members of the service.

After completing his service in the air force, he appeared in Broadway and off-Broadway productions of plays such as Once Around the Block, Comes A Day and The Nervous Set.

Hagman began his television career in 1961 with a number of guest appearances on such shows as The Alcoa Hour before getting a role for two years on the popular daytime series The Edge of Night in 1956.

"They didn't have Teleprompters in that time and it was live and if you goofed up, you goofed up. There was no coming back," Hagman said of his time on the soap. "I did a couple of years of that and it really paid off. You got confidence after a while."

His other TV credits included The Good Life, Here We Go Again and Applause, a TV version of the Broadway musical in which he played opposite Lauren Bacall.

Then Dallas made him a household name. Hagman was nominated twice for an Emmy Award for his role as J.R. Ewing and became the highest-paid actor in television after it became clear to producers his character was driving the show. A couple of Dallas reunion movies followed.

Later projects included hosting Lone Star, an eight-part documentary series about the history of Texas, and appearing in Oliver Stone's movie, Nixon. He also had roles in recent TV series such as Desperate Housewives and Nip/Tuck.

Hagman told a Dallas fanzine he had never seen Desperate Housewives before he was offered the part of Frank Kaminsky.

"He's a terrible man: ultra, ultra rich and very profane and just awful. I mean he's much more awful than J.R.," he said. "J.R. had some subtleties to him - this guy's straight-out bad."

Heavy drinking leads to cirrhosis

In 1995, Hagman needed a liver transplant, after years of heavy drinking led to cirrhosis of the liver. He was successful in getting a donor and spent seven weeks in hospital, but the procedure was controversial among people who felt he had caused his own illness with too much alcohol.

After that experience, Hagman became a prominent spokesman for organ donation and adopted a healthier lifestyle. He also created the Larry Hagman's Stop Smoking for Life video for the American Cancer Society.

In his autobiography, Hello Darlin': Tall (And Absolutely True) Tales About My Life, he also admitted to trying LSD and finding it a "profound experience in my life that.. changed my pattern of life and my way of thinking."

He also spoke of marijuana and mescaline use in the book.

Later in life, Hagman became an advocate for a green lifestyle and showed off the solar energy he harnessed at his home.

In 1954 Hagman married Swedish-born Maj Axelsson, who he met in the U.K, They had two children, Heidi Kristina and Preston and lived in Ojai, Calif. In 2008 Maj Hagman was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.

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'The Beachcombers' remembered 40 years later

Jackson Davies, one of Canada's most recognizable veteran actors, has just published a book about the 40th anniversary of the show that launched his career, and he's called it, appropriately, Beachcombers at 40.

When The Beachcombers began airing on CBC in 1972, it soon became a Sunday night viewing habit for many Canadian families at a time when there weren't 200 channels and homes had only one TV.

Davies, who played the tall, earnest and moustachioed Const. Constable, has watched a lot of the shows again in the course of writing the book.

"It's funny. There were some I looked at and I couldn't remember. I went, 'I did that?' Again, I think it's the carry-over of the shows we did," said Davies. "We were really ahead in doing First Nations stories as part of the community. I look back and realize just how much fun we had."

Heart of the show

The late Bruno Gerussi starred as Nick Adonidas, and really was the heart of the show, Davies said. The book is subtitled Bruno and the Beach.

Davies said Gerussi was a man of big passions, whether it was food, wine or acting, and around him were dozens of other cast and crew members who formed a community.

Davies hopes the book reflects that.

"We wanted it to be kind of like a family album, kind of a fun little look back at this show that wasn't supposed to survive but it ended up being the longest running show in Canadian television history."

The Beachcombers was an international hit and was the first look at Canada for many foreign viewers.

"Well, you know, it sold in 50 or 60 countries, and not just one or two episodes. We're talking hundreds of episodes for a number of years."

With files from the CBC's Tim Weekes

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Chinese film takes top prize at Golden Horse Awards

China's Beijing Blues has won the best film award and Hong Kong's Johnnie To took home the best director's award at Taiwan's Golden Horse Film Festival, an event considered the Chinese-language Oscars.

Beijing Blues portrays the lives of the urban dwellers through the work of a squad of plainclothes crime-hunters.

In receiving the award, director Gao Qun Shu was visibly shocked, and he thanked "the globe" for giving an inexperienced director like him such honour and recognition.

Hong Kong's To won best director for Life Without Principle, which is about ordinary citizens in Hong Kong who are caught in the fallout of the global financial meltdown.

The film also won veteran Hong Kong actor Lau Ching Wan the best actor award for his portrayal of a triad thug seeking to recover money lost in a loan shark scheme.

Lau said he was happy to receive the award "even though you don't act in order to win an award."

Taiwan's Gwei Lun-mei won the best actress award for portraying a woman involved in a romantic triangle in GF-BF (short for "Girlfriend-Boyfriend"). She burst into tears on receiving the award after beating out prominent contenders including Hao Lei and Bai Bai He, both of China.

Controversial Chinese filmmaker Lou Ye did not receive the widely expected director's award for his box-office hit Mystery. Lou's name was mentioned at the ceremony, though, in recognition of his finally directing a movie that was screened in Chinese theatres.

Mystery — about a woman's radical revenge after uncovering her husband's infidelity — is seen as marking Lou's entry into the commercial mainstream after years on the social and artistic edge.

Lou's films have long focused on sensitive subjects like sex, violence and politics, and have repeatedly been censored by China's cultural authorities.

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'The Beachcombers' remembered 40 years later

Jackson Davies, one of Canada's most recognizable veteran actors, has just published a book about the 40th anniversary of the show that launched his career, and he's called it, appropriately, Beachcombers at 40.

When The Beachcombers began airing on CBC in 1972, it soon became a Sunday night viewing habit for many Canadian families at a time when there weren't 200 channels and homes had only one TV.

Davies, who played the tall, earnest and moustachioed Const. Constable, has watched a lot of the shows again in the course of writing the book.

"It's funny. There were some I looked at and I couldn't remember. I went, 'I did that?' Again, I think it's the carry-over of the shows we did," said Davies. "We were really ahead in doing First Nations stories as part of the community. I look back and realize just how much fun we had."

Heart of the show

The late Bruno Gerussi starred as Nick Adonidas, and really was the heart of the show, Davies said. The book is subtitled Bruno and the Beach.

Davies said Gerussi was a man of big passions, whether it was food, wine or acting, and around him were dozens of other cast and crew members who formed a community.

Davies hopes the book reflects that.

"We wanted it to be kind of like a family album, kind of a fun little look back at this show that wasn't supposed to survive but it ended up being the longest running show in Canadian television history."

The Beachcombers was an international hit and was the first look at Canada for many foreign viewers.

"Well, you know, it sold in 50 or 60 countries, and not just one or two episodes. We're talking hundreds of episodes for a number of years

With files from the CBC's Tim Weekes

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Daniel Nestor, Pat Quinn among Order of Canada recipients

Tennis star Daniel Nestor and longtime NHL coach and general manager Pat Quinn are among the 44 Order of Canada honourees being recognized today.

Others receiving Order of Canada honours at an investiture ceremony at Rideau Hall include:

• Author and journalist Silver Donald Cameron.
• Writer Greg Hollingshead.
• Autism advocate Margaret Spoelstra.
• Columnist and CBC At Issue panelist Chantal Hébert.
• Architect Marianne McKenna.
• Journalist Craig Oliver.
• Retired Supreme Court justice Ian Binnie.
• Aaju Peter, an Iqaluit clothing designer, lawyer and activist.

The Order of Canada is bestowed four times a year at an investiture ceremony presided over by Gov. Gen. David Johnston. Anyone can nominate a living Canadian (politicians and judges must not be in office) for the honour, and appointments are recommended by an advisory panel chaired by the chief justice of the Supreme Court.

More than 5,000 people have been invested in the Order since its inception in 1967.

Watch the ceremony live. Here is the full list of Friday's 44 recipients:

Members of the Order of Canada

• Carolyn Acker, C.M., Toronto.
• Patsy Anderson, C.M., Toronto.
• Allan Gordon Bell, C.M., Cochrane, Alta.
• Robert B. Bourne, C.M., London, Ont.
• Silver Donald Cameron, C.M., O.N.S., Halifax.
• Franklin Delaney, C.M., Beaconsfield.
• Wadih M. Fares, C.M., Halifax.
• Anthony (Tony) Fields, C.M., Edmonton.
• Alia Hogben, C.M., Gananoque, Ont.
• Greg Hollingshead, C.M., Edmonton.
• Nancy Kilgour, C.M., Calgary.
• Henry Kloppenburg, C.M., Saskatoon.
• Merril Knudston, C.M., Calgary.
• Louis LaPierre, C.M., Dieppe, N.B.
• William Laskin, C.M., Toronto.
• Monique F. Leroux, C.M., Montreal.
• Kenneth Maybee, C.M., O.M.M., C.D. (deceased), Fredericton.
• Elizabeth McWeeny, C.M., Thunder Bay, Ont.
• Bernice Morgan, C.M., St. John's.
• Daniel Nestor, C.M., Toronto and Nassau.
• Aaju Peter, C.M., Iqaluit.
• Gordon Rawlinson, C.M., Calgary and Prince Albert, Sask.
• Jean-Guy Rioux, C.M., Shippagan, N.B.
• Michèle Rouleau, C.M., C.Q., Montreal.
• Marie Saint Pierre, C.M., C.Q., Montreal.
• Steven Schipper, C.M., Winnipeg.
• Margaret Spoelstra, C.M., Toronto.

Officers of the Order of Canada

• Elizabeth Dowdeswell, O.C., Toronto.
• Gordon Guyatt, O.C., Dundas, Ont.
• Chantal St-Cyr Hébert, O.C., Montreal.
• Paul F. Hoffman, O.C., Victoria.
• Maryse Lassonde, O.C., C.Q., Montréal.
• John Last, O.C., Ottawa.
• Jean-François Lépine, O.C., Montreal.
• Hadi-Khan Mahabadi, O.C., Toronto.
• Marianne McKenna, O.C., Toronto.
• Jean-Jacques Nattiez, O.C., C.Q., Montréal (Promotion within the Order).
• Craig Oliver, O.C. Ottawa
• John Brian Patrick (Pat) Quinn, O.C., Vancouver.
• The Hon. John D. Richard, O.C., Ottawa.
• Cecil H. Rorabeck, O.C., London, Ont.
• Gordon Semenoff, O.C., Surrey, B.C.
• The Hon. Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, O.C., O.N.B., Sackville, N.B.

Companion of the Order of Canada

• The Hon. William Ian Corneil Binnie, C.C., Toronto.

Corrections and Clarifications

• An earlier version of this story incorrectly mentioned Helene Campbell as a recipient of the Order of Canada. Campbell in fact received the Order of Ottawa on Nov. 22. Nov. 23, 2012 | 11:30 AM ET

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Stars from Bieber to Lightfoot ready for Grey Cup party

An all-star, all-Canadian roster of entertainers spanning the generations is set to perform over the next four days in Toronto as part of the Grey Cup Festival.

The younger generation is well-represented at the half-time show Sunday, with Stratford, Ont., teen sensation Justin Bieber and hot new artist Carly Rae Jepsen of Mission, B.C., to perform.

But Grey Cup organizers haven't forgotten the veteran fans. Somewhere during that short 20 minutes, Gordon Lightfoot will take to the stage and, for those who prefer their rock a little harder, Vancouver band Marianas Trench.

Lightfoot has no hesitation about sharing a stage with Bieber, saying he was impressed by the youngster's album, My World 2.0.

"It has that truly professional sparkle to it," said Lightfoot, who was singing himself as a teenager.

"It's a wonderful opportunity for me to have a show with Justin Bieber. It certainly is and I'm certainly going to give it a great shot."

Lightfoot told CBC News he's a long-time football fan and excited about being part of the Grey Cup experience.

"I learned about it from my Dad. I used to watch the Grey Cup games when I was in grade school My Dad, Gordon Sr., knew all about the CFL," he said.

The all-Canadian lineup and its refreshing diversity is a change from past years. Organizers offended many Canadian music fans by inviting American band Black Eyed Peas to play in 2005.

Last year, in Vancouver, it was Nickelback and only Nickelback, who performed at halftime, a band with as many naysayers as admirers.

In Toronto, before the Calgary Stampeders face the Toronto Argonauts on the field, there'll be yet more Canadian faces on the field.

A pre-show will feature singer-songwriter Kathleen Edwards of Ottawa, Burton Cummings of Winnipeg and Johnny Reid, the Scottish-born country singer who has lept onto the pop charts with Let's Go Higher.

The festival staged around the 100th Grey Cup also features musicians from across the country. Some of the stars slated to perform:

• Thursday: Kardinal Offishall and K'naan with Mia Martina and Kreesha Turner.
• Friday: Sam Roberts Band, Matthew Good and Treble Charger.
• Saturday: Myles Goodwyn and April Wine, Kim Mitchell and Big Sugar featuring reggae artist Willi Williams.

Judging by the poor turnout for the hip hop concert Thursday at the Metro Convention Centre, Grey Cup organizers may have misjudged their crowd.

The concert by international star K'naan drew very few fans, CBC's Steven D'Souza reports.

Streets are already closed outside the Rogers Centre as a stage is erected to host yet more artists for a series of free concerts. The Grey Cup tailgate party and street festival begins at 4 p.m. Friday.

There was a poor turnout for Thursday's concert featuring K'naan. (Steven D'Souza/CBC)

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Dallas TV star Larry Hagman dies

Actor Larry Hagman, who soared to TV stardom in the 1980s, is dead at the age of 81. His family said in a statement that he died Friday afternoon in a Dallas hospital of complications of cancer.

"Larry was back in his beloved hometown of Dallas, re-enacting the iconic role he loved the most. Larry's family and closest friends had joined him in Dallas for the Thanksgiving holiday," the family said.

The actor was surrounded by friends and family before he passed peacefully, "just as he'd wished for," the statement said.

Linda Gray, his on-screen wife and later ex-wife in the original series and the sequel, was among those with Hagman in his final moments, said her publicist, Jeffrey Lane.

This 1981 file photo shows Larry Hagman in character as J.R. Ewing in the TV series Dallas. (CBS/Associated Press)

"He brought joy to everyone he knew. He was creative, generous, funny, loving and talented, and I will miss him enormously. He was an original and lived life to the fullest," the actress said.

Hagman was best known as ruthless oil tycoon J.R. Ewing in the TV series Dallas.

J.R. Ewing was a business cheat, faithless husband and bottomless well of corruption. Yet with his sparkling grin, Hagman masterfully created the charmingly loathsome oil baron — and coaxed forth a Texas-size gusher of ratings — on television's long-running and hugely successful nighttime soap.

Although he first gained fame as nice guy Capt. Tony Nelson on the fluffy 1965-70 NBC comedy I Dream of Jeannie, Hagman earned his greatest stardom with J.R. The CBS serial drama about the Ewing family and those in their orbit aired from April 1978 to May 1991, and broke viewing records with its "Who shot J.R.?" 1980 cliffhanger that left unclear if Hagman's character was dead.

Years before Dallas, Hagman played an astronaut whose life is disrupted when he finds a comely genie, portrayed by Barbara Eden, and takes her home to live with him.

Eden recalled late Friday shooting the series' pilot "in the frigid cold" on a Malibu beach.

"From that day, for five more years, Larry was the centre of so many fun, wild and sometimes crazy times. And in retrospect, memorable moments that will remain in my heart forever," Eden said.

This 1967 file photo shows Barbara Eden, left, and Larry Hagman in a scene from the TV show I Dream of Jeannie. (NBC/Associated Press)

Hagman also starred in two short-lived sitcoms, The Good Life (NBC, 1971-72) and Here We Go Again (ABC, 1973). His film work included well-regarded performances in The Group, Harry and Tonto and Primary Colors.

But it was Hagman's masterful portrayal of J.R. that brought him the most fame. And the "Who shot J.R.?" story twist fueled international speculation and millions of dollars in betting-parlour wagers. It also helped give the series a place in ratings history.

When the answer was revealed in a November 1980 episode, an average 41 million U.S. viewers tuned in to make Dallas one of the most-watched entertainment shows of all time, trailing only the MASH finale in 1983 with 50 million viewers.

It was J.R.'s sister-in-law, Kristin (Mary Crosby) who plugged him — he had made her pregnant, then threatened to frame her as a prostitute unless she left town — but others had equal motivation.

The oil tycoon also tried to get his alcoholic wife, Sue Ellen (Gray), institutionalized.

"I know what I want on J.R.'s tombstone," Hagman said in 1988. "It should say: 'Here lies upright citizen J.R. Ewing. This is the only deal he ever lost."'

On Friday night, Victoria Principal, who co-starred in the original series, recalled Hagman as "bigger than life, on-screen and off. He is unforgettable, and irreplaceable, to millions of fans around the world, and in the hearts of each of us, who was lucky enough to know and love him."

Ten episodes of the new edition of Dallas, in which Hagman returned as J.R., aired this past summer and proved a hit for TNT. Filming was in progress on the sixth episode of Season Two, which is set to begin airing Jan. 28, the network said.

There was no immediate comment from Warner or TNT on how the series would deal with Hagman's loss.

In 2006, he did a guest shot on FX's drama series Nip/Tuck, playing a macho business mogul. He also got new exposure in recent years with the DVD releases of I Dream of Jeannie and Dallas.

The Fort Worth, Texas, native was the son of singer-actress Mary Martin, who starred in such classics as South Pacific and Peter Pan. Martin was still in her teens when he was born in 1931 during her marriage to attorney Ben Hagman.

As a youngster, Hagman gained a reputation for mischief-making as he was bumped from one private school to another. He made a stab at New York theatre in the early 1950s, then served in the Air Force from 1952-56 in England.

While there, he met and married young Swedish designer Maj Axelsson. The couple had two children, Preston and Heidi, and were longtime residents of the Malibu beach colony that is home to many celebrities.

Hagman returned to acting and found work in the theatre and in such TV series as The U.S. Steel Hour, The Defenders and Sea Hunt. His first continuing role was as lawyer Ed Gibson on the daytime serial The Edge of Night (1961-63).

He called his 2001 memoir Hello Darlin': Tall (and Absolutely True) Tales about My Life.

"I didn't put anything in that I thought was going to hurt someone or compromise them in any way," he told The Associated Press at the time.

Liver transplant after years of heavy drinking

Hagman was diagnosed in 1992 with cirrhosis of the liver and acknowledged that he had been drinking heavily for years. In 1995, a malignant tumour was discovered on his liver and he underwent a transplant.

After his transplant, he became an advocate for organ donation and volunteered at a hospital to help frightened patients.

"I counsel, encourage, meet them when they come in for their operations, and after," he said in 1996. "I try to offer some solace, like 'Don't be afraid, it will be a little uncomfortable for a brief time, but you'll be OK.' "

He also was an anti-smoking activist who took part in "Great American Smoke-Out" campaigns.

Funeral plans were not immediately announced.

"I can honestly say that we've lost not just a great actor, not just a television icon, but an element of pure Americana," Eden said in her statement Friday night. "Goodbye, Larry. There was no one like you before and there will never be anyone like you again."

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