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CBC scores big wins at Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto

Written By Unknown on Kamis, 28 Februari 2013 | 22.19

CBC's television and online news coverage, long-running documentary series The Nature of Things and TSN's coverage of the London 2012 Olympic Games are among the big winners at the Canadian Screen Awards.

The awards, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, celebrates homegrown TV, film and digital productions.

Wednesday night's ceremony was the first of three CSA galas and focused on honouring the country's news, sports, documentary and lifestyle programming.

CBC was a major news winner, earning awards in categories including:

Breaking news coverage: CBC News Now — Jack Layton's Death.
Breaking reportage, local: CBC News Toronto — Mariam Makniashvili.
Breaking reportage, national: CBC News: The National — Reports from Attawapiskat.
National newscast — CBC News: The National.
News information series: the fifth estate.

Truth & Lies: The Last Days of Osama bin Laden, an investigative multimedia project produced by CBCNews.ca and the fifth estate won a Canadian Screen Award on Wednesday night.

The project, a first for CBC, won in the Cross-Platform Project, Non-Fiction category.

"We're incredibly flattered to win in this category," said Marissa Nelson, acting director of digital media at CBCNews.ca.

"We used the incredible investigative prowess of the fifth estate and the unique tools of digital storytelling to bring investigative reporting to a new and broader audience."

CBC's Hockey Night in Canada, meanwhile, was lauded for its coverage of Game 7 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals, winning the trophy for best live sporting direction.

Venerable CBC documentary series The Nature of Things was also a multiple winner. It picked up a trophy for best doc program, while host David Suzuki nabbed the award for best host or interviewer in a news information program.

TSN picked up several CSAs for coverage of the 2012 London Olympics, including for sports analysis, live sporting event and sports play-by-play announcer (Rod Smith).

Gala to be broadcast by CBC on Sunday

The evening also included tributes to this year's special honourees: Jeanne Beker, Flashpoint, Ian Greenberg, Victor Loewy, Andra Sheffer, Laurier LaPierre, Heather Conkie and IMAX.

The CSA celebration continues on Thursday evening with a second industry ceremony honouring the winners of drama, youth, comedy and variety categories.

The celebration ends with a televised gala hosted by Martin Short and broadcast by CBC on Sunday. Altogether, the CSAs will present awards in 120 categories.

In May 2012, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced it would consolidate the existing Genie and Gemini Awards, honouring English-language film and television respectively, into one omnibus event that would also celebrate digital media production.

In September, the group revealed the new event would be known as the Canadian Screen Awards and unveiled a logo design that has been reflected in the new CSA trophy.

Animated Program: Producing Parker
Breaking News Coverage: CBC News Now — Jack Layton's Death
Breaking Reportage, Local: CBC News Toronto — Miriam Makashvili
Breaking Reportage, National: CBC News The National — Reports from Attawapiskat
Documentary Program: The Nature of Things with David Suzuki
History or Biography Documentary Program: D-Day to Victory
Lifestyle Program: Income Property
Live Sporting Event: London 2012 Olympic Games (TSN)
Local Newscast: Global Toronto
National Newscast: CBC News The National
News Information Series: the fifth estate
Performing Arts Program: Love Shines
Science or Nature Documentary Program: Polar Bears: A Summer Odyssey
Sports Analysis/Commentary: London 2012 Olympic Games Primetime (TSN)
Social/Political Documentary Program: About Her
Cross-Platform Project, Children's: My Babysitter's a Vampire Interactive: Humans vs. Vampires
Cross-Platform Project, Fiction: Drunk and on Drugs the Happy Funtime Hour – Digital
Cross-Platform Project, Non-Fiction: Truth & Lies: The Last Days of Osama bin Laden
Original Program Produced for Digital Media, Fiction: Guidestones
Original Program Produced for Digital Media, Non-Fiction: Highrise: One Millionth Tower (National Film Board of Canada)
Editorial Research: the fifth estate — Scout's Honour
Visual Research: Love, Hate & Propaganda: The Cold War — Turning Up the Heat
Direction in a Lifestyle/Practical Information Program: From Spain with Love: with Annie Sibonney — Seafood To Die For
Direction in a Live Sporting Event: Hockey Night in Canada — Stanley Cup Finals Game 7
Direction in a News Information Program: the fifth estate — Truth & Lies: The Last Days of Osama bin Laden
Direction in a Reality/Competition Program: Undercover Boss Canada — FedEx
Direction in an Animated Program: Producing Parker — How Green is my Parker?
Original Music for a Non-Fiction Program: Semisweet: Life in Chocolate
Photography in a Documentary Program: Polar Bears: A Summer Odyssey
Photography in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program: From Spain with Love: with Annie Sibonney — Basque Country
Picture Editing in a Documentary Program: When Dreams Take Flight
Picture Editing in an Information Program: 16 x 9 The Bigger Picture — Getting into Cirque
Production Design/Art Direction in a Non-Fiction Program: Inventions That Shook The World — 1920's
Sound in an Information/Documentary Program: Museum Secrets — Inside the Imperial War Museum
Writing in a Documentary Program: When Dreams Take Flight
Writing in a Lifestyle or Reality/Competition Program: Survivorman 10 Days — Tiburon Island Desert
News Information Segment: CBC News The National — Mexico: A Country At War With Itself
Sports Feature Segment: London 2012 Olympic Games — Opening Essay
Host/Interviewer in a News Information Program: David Suzuki, The Nature of Things with David Suzuki — Journey to the Disaster Zone — Japan 3/11
Sports Play-by-Play Announcer: Rod Smith — London 2012 Olympic Games
Television documentary: CBC Saskatchewan's Geoff Leo — Blind Spot: What Happened to Canada's Aboriginal Fathers?

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2 members of The Temptations die

The Temptations first formed in 1960 and had a long list of different performers over the years. There is only one original surviving, Otis Williams, bottom right. (Associated Press)

Two former members of the Motown group The Temptations, Otis (Damon) Harris Jr. and Richard Street, have died within 10 days of each other.

Street was with the group in the 1970s and 1980s, when it had some of its biggest hits.

Street's wife, Cindy, says her husband died early Wednesday at a hospital in Las Vegas after a short illness. He was 70.

Street's death came a little over week after the death of former colleague Harris, who was also with the group in the 1970s.

The 62-year-old Baltimore native, who performed as Damon Harris, died on Feb. 18 after a 14-year battle with prostate cancer. News of this death only emerged over the weekend.

Street, originally from Detroit, first recorded with his own group the Monitors and occasionally would fill in for Temptations baritone Paul Williams. He officially joined the group in 1971.

Soon after, the group hit it big with chart-toppers such as Papa Was a Rollin' Stone (1972) and Masterpiece (1973).

The Grammy-winning quintet had more than four dozen Top 40 hits on Billboard's R&B chart. Street left the group in 1993.

Ailing in the past year, Street was just about to finish a book about his life and musical career, his friend Jeanne Sorenson told the Lansing State Journal.

According to the Detroit Free Press, Street died in hospital. No details have been released about the cause of death.

In an interview with a British website last year, Street expressed his feelings about the evolution of popular from the Temptations' heyday to present day:

"Music from before has more expression of true feelings — of love and compassion and more respect for each other," he said.

From the cover of the Temptations album Solid Rock. On the left is Damon Harris and on the right, Richard Street. Both died in the past few days. (Motown Records)

Harris started as a gospel singer, singing with his own group, The Vandals. He became a Temptation after attending a national audition set up by Motown Records.

Harris sang on some of the band's biggest tracks, including Take a Look Around, Masterpiece, Superstar (Remember How You Got Where You Are) and Papa Was a Rollin' Stone, which nabbed The Temptations three Grammy Awards.

He left the band in 1975 and continued to sing, releasing several disco songs with his group Impact before retiring from the music scene.

The Temptations first formed in 1960 and has gone through many different group members. The group still performs with the only living original member, Otis Williams.

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Morrissey and Jimmy Kimmel in public feud

[View the story "Morrissey and Jimmy Kimmel in feud over Duck Dynasty" on Storify]

Storified by CBC News Community· Wed, Feb 27 2013 17:44:06

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Jimmy Kimmel had some fun at Morrissey's expense last nightafter the singer -- and militant vegetarian -- cancelled his talk showperformance to avoid appearing on the same program as cast members from TVhunting show Duck Dynasty.

"As far as my reputation is concerned, I can'ttake the risk of being on a show alongside people who, in effect, amount toanimal serial killers," said Morrissey in a Facebook statement announcing thecancellation Tuesday. "If Jimmy cannot dump Duck Dynasty then we muststep away.

Twimg

Duck Dynasty is a popular A&E reality seriesthat follows the lives of the Robertson family who turned their duck huntingproduct line into a multi-million dollar franchise.

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The producers of Jimmy Kimmel Live! unsuccessfully attempted to find a compromise, including an option for Morrissey to tape his performance, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

They found out Monday afternoon that Morrissey had officially cancelled, leaving them to scramble for a last-minute musical guest and change the already-announced show lineup.

Fans (and haters) of the former Smiths singer had plenty to say.

I'm not a vegetarian or a Morrissey fan but I'm glad someone finally has a reason to be critical of duck dynasty. I was waiting for it.LP Hanners

Morrissey's boycotting Kimmel because of Duck Dynasty's harmless, loveable, family-centered rednecks? Has anyone boycotted a Kardashian yet?Colleen

Good on Morrissey for cancelling his Jimmy Kimmel appearance. Too many people throw away all their morals for 10 minutes on television.Lucy

Ever the comedian, Kimmeldecided to address the cancellation Tuesday with a parody clip called "New DuckDynasty Product for Vegans" starring the cast of Duck Dynasty.

New Duck Dynasty Product for Vegansjimmykimmellive

"For the vegan in your life, Duck Dynastyproudly presents Carrot call! Specifically designed to mimic the call of thewild carrot..." the narrator booms. "Just blow into the carrot call and wait - thoselittle suckers leap right out of the dirt and into your mouth!"

"I love yuppie food!" shouts another cast member at the end of the sketch.

Morrissey fans on Twitter were unimpressed.

I lost respect for Jimmy Kimmel for his Morrissey-Vegan skit. Very disappointing.Erik Petersen

Why slam #Morrisey becoz he stands up 4what he believes?! I give him credit 4not going on Kimmel. Kind of shocked #Kimmel would mock himDenise D. Dreon

"Yuppie food" > Gross beards RT @SPINmagazine Kimmel underestimated Morrissey's firepower in an anti-vegetarian skit http://bit.ly/15QLoGfNiandra

The singer himself was even less impressed with what he saw on television Tuesday night.

In Kimmel's intro to the parody video, he joked that that he had kept "Duck Dynasty" on the show because "they have guns and Morrissey doesn't," and also that Morrissey "keeps finding ways to depress us."

Morrissey once again issued a statement in response to those comments, accusing Kimmel of trivializing mental illness, the U.S. obesity epidemic, and gun control issues. "He found time to jokingly promote gun-ownership - hugely amusing for the parents at Sandy Hook, no doubt," read one particularly cutting line.

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Kimmel fired back once more just before 6 p.m. ET Wednesday by Tweeting a photo of the artist's seventh studio album with the text "note to Morrissey - if you have more dumb statements to make, I invite you to make them where I do, on my show."

note to Morrissey - if you have more dumb statements to make, I invite you to make them where I do, on my show http://pic.twitter.com/6QOc5uV4O7Jimmy Kimmel

The very public feud between the prominent talk show host and legendary rocker is pulling in more attention as things get increasingly heated.

Some people are choosing sides...

I'm no vegan, but I'll side with Morrissey over Jimmy Kimmel & Duck Dynasty anyday. At least he stands for something and sticks to it.Cary Whitt

You know, for someone who hates meat, Morrissey has certainly been starting many beefs.. Now with Kimmel. I love Moz but I'm #TeamKimmel.Jenelle Brightside

Many more are simply confused (or amused) by the situation.

A Morrissey-Kimmel feud about to pop off? The entertainment industry is a strange society.bombscare

Wait, so is Morrissey about to drop a Kimmel diss track? #SUBDUEDETHERRamit

I have no idea who to side with in this Jimmy Kimmel vs. Morrissey feudDillon Strange

I must admit, I never saw a Morrissey - Jimmy Kimmel feud on the horizon.Neil Richards

The Kimmel/Morrissey War of 2013 is dwarfing the Jose Canseco/Bill Nye Twitter Beef of 2013.Mac Wilson

As for the devoutly Christian Duck Dynasty gang, they're staying out of the fray.

"Whoever the guy is, I don't mind, if he wants to eat vegetables, no problem, we don't care," said Phil Robertson during the cast's appearance on Kimmel. "We love him as our neighbor, hey! We need a Bible study with him, but other than that ..."

Duck Dynasty on Jimmy Kimmel Live PART 2jimmykimmellive

In related news, the LA Staples Centre has reportedly agreed to go completely vegetarian for Morrissey's March 1 concert at the singer's request.

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Scott Weiland learned of Stone Temple Pilots firing through press

Singer Scott Weiland said he learned that he'd been fired by the Stone Temple Pilots when the band released a one-sentence statement to the media Wednesday.

"I learned of my supposed 'termination' from Stone Temple Pilots this morning by reading about it in the press," Weiland said in a statement.

"Not sure how I can be 'terminated' from a band that I founded, fronted and co-wrote many of its biggest hits, but that's something for the lawyers to figure out."

The statement by the band said: "Stone Temple Pilots have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland."

No other information was provided.

Weiland said he's focusing on his solo tour, which kicks off Friday in Flint, Mich.

Core, the Stone Temple Pilots' 1992 debut album, has sold more than eight million units in the United States. The band's hits include Vasoline, Interstate Love Song and Plush, which won a Grammy in 1993 for best hard rock performance with vocal. The band's latest album was its self-titled 2010 release.

Weiland was also in the supergroup Velvet Revolver with Slash and other musicians.

The 45-year-old has dealt with drug addiction, run-ins with the law and two failed marriages. He released his memoir, Not Dead & Not for Sale, in 2011.

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Hamilton woman directs video for David Bowie's new song

Written By Unknown on Rabu, 27 Februari 2013 | 22.19

A Hamilton woman is the director of a video for David Bowie's latest single The Stars (Are Out Tonight), released Tuesday.

The video, featuring actress Tilda Swinton, isn't the first time that Hamiltonian Floria Sigismondi has worked with the rock legend.

She also directed videos for Little Wonder and Dead Man Walking, more than a decade ago.

"Floria was born in Pescara, Italy, to opera singer parents," according to the biography on the fillmmaker's official website. "When she was two years old, the family emigrated to Canada and settled in the industrial city of Hamilton, Ontario."

In addition to Bowie, she has also worked on videos for a wide range of artists including The White Stripes, The Cure, Bjork, Leonard Cohen and Marilyn Manson.

Her website says her work in film and photography "explores the effects of science on our contemporariy experience of the body..."

The Stars (Are Out Tonight) is the second single released from Bowie's upcoming album The Next Day, scheduled for release on March 26th. It's Bowie's first new album in about 10 years.

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B.B. King, Wu-Tang Clan, among Bluesfest headliners

Blues legend B.B. King, hip-hop collective the Wu-Tang Clan and Canadian iconic power trio Rush will headline the 20th edition of Ottawa Bluesfest summer music festival.

The annual festival is scheduled to run from July 4 to 8, and then continue from July 10 to 14.

Confirmed performers also include Weezer, The Tragically Hip, Grand Funk Railroad, Fun, Tegan and Sara, Belle & Sebastian, She & Him and the Dixie Chicks.

Tickets go on sale online on Thursday at 10 a.m.

Other acts include:

Zac Brown Band; Skrillex; Full Flex Express Tour; Kenny Wayne Shepherd; Great Big Sea; Baauer; Animal Collective; Jon Spencer Blues Explosion; Passion Pit; Grace Potter & the Nocturnals; Alex Clare; Fitz & the Tantrums; Neko Case; Adventure Club; Ronnie Earl & the Broadcasters; Marianas Trench; Solange; LP; Killer Mike; El-P; Sharon Van Etten; Stars; Eric Burdon; Matthew Good; Flogging Molly; A Tribe Called Red; The Cat Empire; Balkan Beat Box; Alejandro Escovedo; Los Lonely Boys; Mother Mother; Atlas Genius; Mississippi Heat; Zeds Dead; The Joy Formidable; Amadou & Mariam; Blue King Brown; Femi Kuti; Hunter Hayes; Tommy Trash; Garland Jeffreys; Blues Broads; Dawes; The Harpoonist and the Axe Murderer; Los Lobos; Ra Ra Riot; Sonny Rhodes; Frank Turner; Justin Townes Earle; Cactus; Camera Obscura; Benjamin Francis Leftwich; Diamond Rings; Eddie Shaw; Mitch Ryder; The Dunwells; The Knocks; Bahamas; Jon Cleary; Cold Specks; John Smith; Joe Robinson and W.C. Clark.

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Rock Hall of Fame plans show celebrating Rolling Stones

The story of The Rolling Stones is so huge it takes 2 1/2 floors of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum to tell.

The Cleveland-based museum will open Rolling Stones: 50 Years of Satisfaction, an exclusive exhibit celebrating the archetypal rock band, on May 24.

"The Rolling Stones are the epitome of rock and roll," Rock Hall president Greg Harris said in a statement.

"This first-ever exhibit gives us an opportunity to tell the story of one of the definitive rock and roll bands.

The exhibit will be open until March 2014 and will include personal and collected items that have never before been seen by the public along with film, text and interactive components and periodic lectures on the band's 50-year career.

The entire presentation will take up more than two floors of the museum.

The band was inducted into the Rock Hall in 1989.

Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood and Charlie Watts recently held a series of concerts to celebrate their 50th year together and there have been rumours of more activity.

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Saskatchewan modern artist William Perehudoff dies at 94

Well-known Saskatchewan artist William Perehudoff has died at age 94.

Perehudoff, who grew up in Langham, Sask., died peacefully on Tuesday, his family told CBC News.

Best known for his abstract style, his paintings have been displayed all over the country including the National Gallery of Canada.

Fellow artist Robert Christie says he was a pioneer of abstract painting in this province.

"He was a bit of a mentor to me and certainly to others," Christie said. "Not just in Saskatoon, but in Edmonton, Calgary and further afield and even into Britain."

Perehudoff was in the news in November 2009, when several of his murals from 1950 were successfully removed form the former Intercontinental Packers plant, which was slated for demolition.

The murals will find a home in Saskatoon's new art museum.

He was a member of the Order of Canada and had been awarded the Saskatchewan Order of Merit.

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Oscars hail Argo as year's best picture

Written By Unknown on Selasa, 26 Februari 2013 | 22.19

Actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck's Argo has captured the coveted best picture trophy at the 85th annual Academy Awards.

Coming into the Oscars already having won a slew of prizes, the slickly made drama is based on the Canadian Caper, the covert rescue operation of Americans during the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis. It centres on a former CIA agent and his scheme to disguise the escapees as a Canadian film crew working on a fake sci-fi movie.

After Michelle Obama announced Argo as winner via satellite link from the White House, Affleck — its lead actor, director and co-producer — raced through a long list of thank yous, including for Tony Mendez, the CIA agent on whose perspective the film is based. Affleck also thanked Canada as well as "friends in Iran who are living through terrible circumstances right now."

"I never thought it would be back here and I am because of so many of you here today," he said, recalling his earlier Oscar win for co-writing Good Will Hunting.

"You can't hold grudges. It's hard but you can't hold grudges...It doesn't matter how you get knocked down in life, because it happens. All that matters is that you get back up," added Affleck, who was left off the directing nominees in what was widely considered a snub.

He shared the best-picture win at Hollywood's Dolby Theatre with co-producers George Clooney and Grant Heslov. Earlier in the evening, Argo's Chris Terrio won the adapted screenplay trophy. The writer thanked former CIA agent Mendez as well as the Canadian diplomats responsible for the real-life escape from Iran: "the [Ken] Taylors and the [John] Sheardowns and people all over the world, in the U.S., in Canada, in Iran, who use creativity and intelligence to solve problems non-violently."

Argo, which also earned the Oscar for film editing, sparked controversy after its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival in September. Canadian media, film critics and Taylor himself objected to historical inaccuracies in the film and the fact that Canada's role was minimized. Affleck subsequently worked with Taylor to amend the film's postscript.

After the ceremony, former Canadian ambassador Taylor said from New York that he was satisfied with Affleck's speech. "He, in a rush, accepted and tried to extend recognition to everybody in sight and so that was fine. We were comfortable with that."

Kudos for Life of Pi

Taking home the most hardware Sunday night was the 3D shipwreck epic Life of Pi. Canadian composer Mychael Danna earned his first ever Oscar for his original score. Shortly thereafter, director Ang Lee picked up directing honours for the film, based on Canadian novellist Yann Martel's award-winning book.

Mychael Danna has won several honours for his Life of Pi music, including the Oscar for best original score. (Paul Drinkwater/Getty Images)

"I share this wondrous award with our visionary captain, Ang Lee... [Life of Pi] transcends culture and race and religion," Toronto composer Danna said of his third collaboration with the Taiwanese filmmaker.

For his part, Lee thanked the "movie god," the massive crew of his film — "All who believed in this story and shared this story with me" — and Martel for writing "this incredible, inspiring book."

Life of Pi's two other wins came for its cinematography and its visual effects, with Vancouver-based effects supervisor Guillaume Rocheron among those honoured with the latter prize.

Awards spread out

Considered a lock for the award practically from Lincoln's debut, Daniel Day-Lewis won a record third best actor Oscar for his memorable turn as Abraham Lincoln.

Meanwhile, another two frontrunners this season captured the best actress and supporting actress titles: rising star Jennifer Lawrence, noted for her performance as a troubled widow in the oddball romance and mental illness drama Silver Linings Playbook, and Anne Hathaway, for her turn in Les Misérables.

Hathaway's supporting actress win was the third trophy for Tom Hooper's star-studded musical, which also earned Oscars for its sound mixing and makeup and hairstyling.

Django Unchained's Christoph Waltz triumphed in a supporting actor field where all nominees were past Oscar winners: his rivals included Alan Arkin, Robert De Niro, Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Tommy Lee Jones.

"We participated in a hero's journey, the hero here being Quentin [Tarantino]," declared Waltz, whose previous win came for his role in Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds.

"You scale the mountain because you're not afraid of it. You slay the dragon because you're not afraid of it. You cross through fire because it's worth it. I borrowed my character's words. So sorry... I couldn't resist.," he said.

In turn, Tarantino later enthused about Django Unchained actors when accepting the Oscar for best original screenplay.

"I've been saying things like 'I want to thank the actors for what they've done with my script.' It's not just an easy thing to say, it's why I'm standing here," he told the audience.

Canadians lose out

Overall, Canadians had mixed success on Oscar night. B.C. set decorator Jim Erickson was among the Canucks who triumphed, sharing in the production design win for Lincoln.

Montrealer Kim Nguyen's child soldier drama War Witch (also known as Rebelle) was the third consecutive Quebec film to become a best foreign-language film nominee, but failed to win the category. The end-of-life drama Amour, an awards season favourite directed by Austrian film auteur Michael Haneke, took the prize.

Three of the evening's live-action short nominees also had Canadian connections: Toronto-area producer Mino Jarjoura for the Somali pirate coming-of-age story Asad, Montreal filmmaker Yan England for Henry, inspired by his late grandfather, and Afghan story Buzkashi Boys, whose producers include Halifax-born, Montreal-based producer Ariel Nasr and Langley, B.C.-born filmmaker Leslie Knott. They all lost out to Curfew, directed, written by and starring U.S. filmmaker Shawn Christensen.

A major question mark for the evening was the choice of Seth MacFarlane as host. Known for creating TV's edgy cartoon Family Guy and the raunchy film Ted, as well as for being an able crooner, MacFarlane delivered an opening that relied heavily on song-and-dance as well as pre-recorded skits, including appearances from a choir, Charlize Theron and Channing Tatum, Daniel Radcliffe and Joseph Gordon Levitt, Sally Field and Canadian William Shatner (in character as Star Trek's Capt. James T. Kirk).

He drew mixed reviews for his blending of a Frank Sinatra-style singing voice and stylish Rat Pack-like appearance with boundary-pushing humour, which included riffing on Chris Brown and Rihanna's rocky relationship, a joke about Lincoln's assassin John Wilkes Booth and a strange bit about Jews in Hollywood as he presented an award (in character) as the titular lewd teddy bear of Ted alongside co-star Mark Wahlberg.

In addition to MacFarlane's opening numbers, producers punctuated the ceremony with musical sequences, including a tribute to the 50th anniversary of the James Bond film franchise. One-time Bond girl and Oscar-winner Halle Berry introduced a montage of the 007 films, while singer Shirley Bassey proved to be one of the evening's highlights with her powerful performance of the iconic theme to Goldfinger.

A segment honouring movie musicals of the past decade — including Chicago, Dreamgirls and nominated film Les Misérables — came mid-evening, followed later by Barbra Streisand, Norah Jones and Adele, who sang her James Bond theme Skyfall before it won the Oscar for best song.

MacFarlane and Broadway star Kristin Chenoweth closed the broadcast with a slightly impromptu number about the night's "losers."

The Oscars represent a posh finish line to the marathon movie awards season, coming after year-end critics' prizes, industry association and guild tributes as well as other honours such as the Golden Globes. The main awards ceremony was broadcast live to more than 225 countries.

Click here for the mobile-friendly version of the live chat. With files from The Associated Press and The Canadian Press

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Mychael Danna's Oscar win 10 years in the making

After winning the Oscar for best score for his work on Life of Pi, Canadian composer Mychael Danna was quick to thank both director Ang Lee and author Yann Martel.

Winnipeg-born, Toronto-raised Danna won the Academy Award in a field that included the legendary John Williams for Lincoln and Thomas Newman for Skyfall.

"It's a wonderful thing, it's what we all hoped and dreamed for this film and most of the time we were not sure if that was ever going to be the case," Danna told CBC News in a backstage interview.

The composer said it took him more than a year to write the score for Life of Pi, as the music had to convey strong emotions, without overwhelming the visual impact.

Based on Saskatchewan writer Martel's Man Booker Prize-winning novel about an Indian boy adrift in a lifeboat with a Bengal tiger, the story was thought to be unfilmable until Ang Lee turned his talents — an innovative use of 3D and other visual effects — to the script.

"I think I started working on this film when I read the book 10 years ago," Danna said backstage. "A lot of the time while I was working, I would go back to remembering how I felt when I was reading the novel and just minding those feelings and that impression that I had of the world that Yann Martel created."

Danna praised the novel for its "great Canada sensibility" and its "openness to different points of view."

Martel was in the audience at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles to watch the recognition earned by Life of Pi.

He said he was "over the moon" at the four Oscars earned by the novel based on his book.

In addition to its win for best score, Life of Pi earned best director honours for Lee and Oscars for both best visual effects and cinematography.

"I think the Oscars that it got played to the movie's strengths — it got visual effects, cinematography, score and direction — which is precisely what really made the movie," Martel said. "It all came together in a masterful way."

Danna has worked with Lee on two previous movies, The Ice Storm and Ride with the Devil. He said they collaborated for about five years on the picture and decided it needed both a big orchestra and a big choir. Ang is "very sensitive" to music, Danna said.

Life of Pi actor Suraj Sharma, left, poses with director Ang Lee and author Yann Martel. (Charles Sykes/Invision/Canadian Press)

"But we knew that we wanted to respect the culture that Pi came from, respect his sense of inclusiveness of all the world's cultures and religions — his sense of not seeing any borders between different ways of looking at the world, that different cultures around the world have, different points of view," Danna said.

"So we wanted to respect that in the music and reflect that in the music, and so we knew right from the beginning that was our approach."

Last month, Danna also won the Golden Globe for best score for his work on Life of Pi.

Danna's wife, Aparna is Indo-Canadian and the composer says he considers India a second home.

"I think he is so familiar with our culture and the music that I think he had it all, and he was able to put it all together," Aparna told CBC News after the awards ceremony.

He acknowledged his mother who gave him piano lessons, his wife and their two sons in his acceptance speech, but his greatest praise was for Lee.

"I share this wondrous award with our visionary captain, Mr. Ang Lee," he said in his speech on stage.

"There he is, we're playing this game again. You've guided a truly global cast and crew in the telling of this wondrous, beautiful story that transcends culture and race and religion. In the same spirit, musicians from around the globe came together to breathe life into this music and I hold this award on their behalf."

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Northern artists to take over Ottawa for spring festival

Inuit throat singer Tanya Tagaq performing live alongside a screening of the iconic Canadian film Nanook of the North is one of the high-profile performances of the Northern Scene cultural festival in Ottawa this spring.

Tanya Tagaq will perform alongside a screening of the silent classic Nanook of the North. (National Arts Centre)

Hosted by the National Arts Centre, the festival will draw 250 established and emerging artists from Yukon, the Northwest Territories, Nunavik and Nunavut to the nation's capital to showcase their talents.

Tagaq's performance alongside the 1922 silent film casts a contemporary light on the film, considered a significant landmark in recording the lives of Inuit people. Her soundscape incorporates improvisation by Jesse Zubot and Jean Martin, as well as Derek Charke's original score.

Another high-profile event at Northern Scene will unite four female Aboriginal and Inuit artists for an evening of music: Leela Gilday, Sylvia Cloutier, Diyet and Nive Nielsen.

Altogether, artists from across Canada's North will take part in the 10-day event.

Participants from Yukon include:

Sobey Award-nominated visual artist Charles Stankievech.
Spoken word artist and author Ivan Coyote.
Singer-songwriter Sarah MacDougall.
Dakhká Khwáan Dancers.

The Dakhká Khwáan Dancers are to perform at the festival kick-off. (National Arts Centre)

Participants from Northwest Territories include:

Author Richard Van Camp whose play I Count Myself Among Them is being performed.
Fiddler Richard Lafferty.
Storyteller Pat Braden.

Participants from Nunavut include:

Circus troupe Artcirq.
Artist Shuvinai Ashoona.
Alt-rocker Lucie Idlout.

Participants from Nunavik include:

Juno-nominated singer-songwriter Elisapie.
Poet/spoken word artist Taqralik Partridge.

Northern Scene will encompass visual arts, theatre, music, food and fashion. The festival takes over Ottawa from April 25 to May 4. The summer NAC festival has previously focused on artists from Atlantic Canada, Quebec, B.C., Alberta and the Prairies.

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Just For Laughs to produce theatre for Broadway, West End

The producers behind one of the largest comedy festivals in the world are launching a new theatrical subsidiary that hopes to become a major player on Broadway and in London's West End.

The Just For Laughs Group on Monday unveiled its new stage-orientated producing division and said Adam Blanshay will be its chief executive officer.

The new CEO of Just For Laughs Theatricals, Adam Blanshay will develop and produce plays and musicals internationally. (Dennis Kwan/The Hartman Group/Associated Press)

Just For Laughs Theatricals, which will be based in New York City, is already signed on to help produce the new Broadway musical Kinky Boots, the West End productions of A Chorus Line, Old Times with Kristin Scott Thomas, and Merrily We Roll Along. Future projects include the new Broadway musical Bullets Over Broadway in 2014.

"While comedy has always been our focus, we believe great theatre — whether musical, drama or comedy — can be an equally powerful unifying force," Gilbert Rozon, founder of the Just For Laughs Group, said in a statement.

Blanshay's recent Broadway credits include the revival of Evita starring Ricky Martin, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying with Daniel Radcliffe, The Scottsboro Boys, Catch Me If You Can and Jerusalem. He has been nominated for six Tony Awards, one Grammy Award, and is a graduate of McGill University.

The Just For Laughs Group creates comedy festivals around the globe, dozens of hours of TV and operates concert tours. It is behind the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival, which this summer will celebrate its 31st anniversary.

The festival attracts 2 million people each summer and has featured Jerry Seinfeld, Dave Chappelle, John Cleese, Jon Stewart, Chris Rock, Ray Romano, Jason Alexander, Dane Cook and Tim Allen.

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Ken Taylor satisfied with Affleck's Oscar shoutout to Canada

Written By Unknown on Senin, 25 Februari 2013 | 22.19

Former Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor says he was satisfied to hear Ben Affleck thank Canada as the director accepted the best picture Oscar for the political thriller Argo on Sunday night.

Taylor watched the awards bash from the AOL offices in New York, where he took part in a live online interview with James Lipton of Inside the Actors Studio.

The diplomat had earlier suggested he was hoping Affleck would mention Canada's role in the 1980 rescue of six U.S. embassy staffers in the Iranian capital if Argo — which dramatizes the high-risk operation — won the top prize.

Former Canadian Ambassador Ken Taylor, seen here with his wife Pat, at the premiere of Argo in Washington, says he was satisfied to hear director Ben Affleck thank Canada as he accepted the best picture Oscar for the film. (Cliff Owen/Associated Press)

Late Sunday, he acknowledged Affleck's shoutout to Canada during a rapid-fire speech that also offered thanks to "everyone in the movie."

"He, in a rush, accepted and tried to extend recognition to everybody in sight and so that was fine. We were comfortable with that," Taylor said in a phone interview immediately after the AOL taping.

"I think that the nature of the Oscars is such that it's an electric moment for those involved and they all want to say something within a set time and I think that's it. Whatever scripted thoughts they had they put away and get caught up in the theme and the celebration."

Flanked by co-producer George Clooney, Affleck threw kudos to his fellow nominees, especially Lincoln director Steven Spielberg and the real-life CIA agent who inspired his film.

"Tony Mendez, who let us do his story, thank you," Affleck said after Michelle Obama announced the top prize.

'[Affleck], in a rush, accepted and tried to extend recognition to everybody in sight and so that was fine. We were comfortable with that.'—Ken Taylor, former Canadian ambassdor to Iran

"I thank everyone in the movie, on the movie, who worked on the movie, did anything with this movie," Affleck continued, as the star-studded crowd chuckled.

"I want to thank Canada, I want to thank our friends in Iran living in terrible circumstances right now. I want to thank my wife, who I don't normally associate with Iran."

Affleck's film — which had already won a slew of awards leading up to the Oscars — centres on Mendez and a Tinseltown scheme to concoct a fake movie project that would disguise the escapees as a Canadian film crew.

Taylor has been outspoken in his assertion that Argo minimizes Canada's role in spiriting the employees out of Iran in the midst of the hostage crisis.

Starring Canadian actor Victor Garber as Taylor, Argo says little about the ambassador's intricate role in concealing the fugitives and makes no mention of his efforts to persuade Ottawa to issue fake passports, arrange plane tickets and spy for the U.S. government — all while carrying on with his role as a diplomat.

It also completely ignores the role of Taylor's deputy, the recently deceased John Sheardown, who took the first call from escapee Bob Anders seeking refuge and also hid embassy employees in his home.

Praise for Taylor's creativity during crisis

Argo screenwriter Chris Terrio, who won best adapted screenplay prize on Sunday night, mentioned Taylor in his speech, after saluting Mendez.

"Thirty-three years ago Tony, using nothing but his creativity and his intelligence, got six people out of a very bad situation," said Terrio, who based his script on Mendez's book The Master of Disguise and a Wired magazine article by Joshuah Bearman.

"And so I want to dedicate this to him and the Taylors and the Sheardowns and people all over the world in the U.S., in Canada, in Iran, who use creativity and intelligence to solve problems non-violently."

Taylor said it was no surprise that Terrio put more weight on Mendez's contributions than his own.

"I think they had to — it was his book they used and that was the theme of what he wrote about so I think he was compelled to talk about Tony Mendez," said Taylor.

"Otherwise, the movie itself would lose its authenticity."

He added that it was nice to hear mention of the late John Sheardown, noting that he "certainly played a key role."

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Shirley Douglas calls for star system for Canadian talent

Stage and screen star Shirley Douglas is calling on Canada and the CBC to do more to support home-grown talent.

The 78-year-old star was centre stage in Toronto on Saturday, accepting a lifetime achievement award from the Toronto branch of the actors' union, the Alliance of Canadian Cinema, Television and Radio Artists.

'I'm just fed up that we can't do better.'—Shirley Douglas

Douglas — best known for theatre and TV roles in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, The Stone Angel and the CBC series Wind at My Back — said Canadian performers need more recognition.

"There isn't a picture on a cover of a magazine in Canada by Canadians that has our people on it. And somebody has to change it unless they want everyone to leave," she said upon accepting the prize, which was presented by CBC's Rick Mercer in recognition of her acting career and activism on issues including civil rights and public health care.

"I'm never leaving, I'm here. Too old to be leaving anyway," she added.

Douglas also took aim at CBC for not doing more to promote its talent.

"I just cannot believe that that company has not recognized that they need name recognition," said Douglas, remarking that a promotional poster for the series Heartland has, "miles of blue sky to write everyone's name on."

"I'm terribly, terribly sad and angry," she said. "I'm just fed up that we can't do better."

Other winners at the annual ACTRA gala included best actress Tatiana Maslany, who was recognized for her starring role in the indie coming-of-age feature Picture Day, and best actor Shawn Doyle, who co-stars in the dramatic film The Disappeared.

Shannon Kook-Chun was named best voice performer for the animated short Requiem for Romance.

Douglas was escorted to the annual awards gala by her son, Kiefer Sutherland, who divided his time between Canada and Hollywood during the early days of his career.

"I would come back and do plays, do theatre here," said Sutherland, whose father is acting legend Donald Sutherland. "I've loved coming back here to work over the course of my career."

Sutherland admitted he didn't get much advice from his mother on career direction but did say he consults her on how to approach specific roles.

"The calls she would get from me late at night would be: 'I've run into a scene and I have no idea what to do with it and what do you think about that?"' he said.

"Certainly between my mother and my father, the experience that they have in the situations that they've had to deal with in the course of their career, I'd be foolish not to try and learn from that."

With files from Canadian Press

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Oscars hail Argo as year's best picture

Actor and filmmaker Ben Affleck's Argo has captured the coveted best picture trophy at the 85th annual Academy Awards.

"I never thought it would be back here and I am because of so many of you here today," he said, recalling his earlier Oscar win for co-writing Good Will Hunting.