Emmys triumph for Breaking Bad

The Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra added to its haul in Los Angeles on Sunday night during an Emmy Awards ceremony that didn't see one show dominate, but departing series Breaking Bad earn the coveted best drama trophy nonetheless.

The night's final two awards — best comedy series and best drama series — went to TV favourites Modern Family and Breaking Bad, respectively.  

Behind the Candelabra added a trio of trophies to the leading eight awards it picked up at last week's Creative Arts Emmy ceremony. Along with being named best miniseries or movie, it also earned kudos for director Steven Soderbergh and actor Michael Douglas, who starred as the internationally renowned, closeted gay performer Liberace.

"This is a two-hander and … you're only as good as your other hand," Douglas said as he acknowledged his co-star and fellow nominee Matt Damon, who portrayed Liberace's younger one-time lover Scott Thorson.  

"You were magnificent and the only reason I'm standing here is because of you, so you really deserve half of this," Douglas declared before adding saucily, "So, you want the bottom or the top?"

Ensemble comedy Modern Family picked up its fourth consecutive Emmy as American television's top comedy, adding to an earlier win for direction.

Primetime Emmy winners:

• Comedy series: Modern Family
• Actress, comedy series: Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Veep
• Actor, comedy series: Jim Parsons, The Big Bang Theory
• Supporting actress, comedy series: Merritt Weaver, Nurse Jackie
• Supporting actor, comedy series: Tony Hale, Veep
• Writing, comedy series:Tina Fey, Tracey Wigfield, 30 Rock
• Direction, comedy series: Gale Mancuso, Modern Family
• Dramatic series: Breaking Bad
• Actress, drama: Claire Danes, Homeland
• Actor, drama: Jeff Daniels, The Newsroom
• Supporting actress, drama: Anna Gunn, Breaking Bad
• Supporting actor, drama: Bobby Cannavale, Boardwalk Empire
• Writing, drama series: Henry Bromell, Homeland
• Direction, drama: David Fincher, House of Cards
• Miniseries or movie: Behind the Candelabra
• Actress, miniseries or movie: Laura Linney, The Big C: Hereafter
• Supporting actor, miniseries or movie: James Cromwell, American Horror Story: Asylum
• Supporting actress, miniseries or movie: Ellen Burstyn, Political Animals
• Writing, miniseries, movie or special: Abi Morgan, The Hour
• Direction, miniseries, movie or special:Steven Soderbergh, Behind the Candalabra
• Reality competition: The Voice
• Variety series: The Colbert Report
• Writing, variety series: The Colbert Report
• Direction, variety series: Don Roy King, Saturday Night Live
• Choreography: Derek Hough, Dancing with the Stars

"I cannot begin to express how surreal this ride has been because none of us grew up feeling like winners," show creator Steven Levitan said as his large cast and creative crew filed onstage behind him.

"Thank you to the bullies, to the popular kids, to the gym teachers who taunted us, who rejected us and who made fun of the way we ran. Without you, we never would have gotten into comedy. Thank you."

The much touted drug drama Breaking Bad, which ends its acclaimed five-season run next week, captured the title of best drama. Sunday night's awards vied for viewers of the penultimate episode of the series, which followed the transformation of a terminally ill school teacher into a drug kingpin.

"I did not see this coming," said Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan, as he proceeded to acknowledge his fellow dramatic nominees, which included Mad Men, Homeland, Downton Abbey, Game of Thrones and House of Cards, the first online series to be a top contender for the Emmys.

"It could have been any of them and even some others that were not nominated in this golden age of television we feel so proud to be a part of," Gilligan noted.

Awards spread out

The strength of television's current offerings could be one reason for the night's widespread distribution of awards. There were no real landslide victories and quite a few surprises.

"This just in. Nobody in America is winning their Emmy office pool," host Neil Patrick Harris quipped as the televised gala approached its finale.

Jeff Daniels nabbed one of the evening's top acting honours, triumphing in the dramatic actor category for his turn as an outspoken TV anchor in The Newsroom. His win came over stiff competition, including Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston and Mad Men's Jon Hamm.

"I usually don't win anything," Daniels quipped as he accepted his trophy, joking that his last honour came from the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP) for "best actor over the age of 50" for The Squid and The Whale.

Actress Claire Danes picked up her third Emmy for her lead turn in the terrorism drama Homeland and devoted half of her speech to the late Henry Bromell, a writer on the series who died in March. Bromell posthumously won a Emmy earlier in the evening, with his wife accepting his trophy.

Dramatic supporting actor and actress winners were Bobby Cannavale (for Boardwalk Empire) and Anna Gunn (for Breaking Bad), respectively.

Comedy up front

Comedy was the focus in the early portion of the broadcast, with Veep and 30 Rock among the many shows that took awards.

Tina Fey and 30 Rock co-writer Tracey Wigfield picked up one of the night's first honours: outstanding writing for a comedy series. Early trophies also went to several first-timers: Nurse Jackie's Merritt Weaver (supporting actress in a comedy series) and Veep's Tony Hale (supporting actor in a comedy series).

Though demonstrably stunned by his own win, Hale got into character quickly afterwards as he leaped up to follow Veep star Julia Louis-Dreyfus onstage after she was named winner for best actress in a comedy series. The veteran sitcom star, who previously nabbed Emmys for Seinfeld, The New Adventures of Old Christine and an earlier win for Veep, feigned forgetfulness as Hale, who plays her personal aide in the vice-presidential comedy, prompted her.

Meanwhile, the corresponding best lead actor in a comedy trophy also went to a previous winner: Jim Parsons of The Big Bang Theory, scoring his third Emmy for his turn as oddball physicist Sheldon Cooper.

"I'm very aware of how exceedingly fortunate I am. First, to have a chance to do this role in this show… but secondly to be here to be a part of such a phenomenal group of people," an emotional Parsons said onstage.

"It's so silly to be emotional, isn't it?"

In addition to winning for its writing, The Colbert Report also saw its first ever win as best variety series — besting the show that spawned it, The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

"As I said before, it's just an honour to be nominated. And that's a lie. This is way better," host and writer Stephen Colbert noted.

"I personally have to thank my friend and my brother Jon Stewart, who is the one who said 'We should do a show together where you're a professional idiot.' And Jon never told me how good this feels."

Controversial memorial

Extended homages to TV personalities who passed away in the past year were interspersed throughout the proceedings.

Actor Robin Williams offering a tribute to his mentor, comic actor Jonathan Winters, while actor-director Rob Reiner shared a heartfelt remembrance of his "TV mother-in-law," All in the Family's Jean Stapleton. Michael J. Fox's spoke about Family Ties and Spin City creator and his "second father and beloved friend" Gary David Goldberg, while Edie Falco became emotional as she recalled her Sopranos counterpart, actor James Gandolfini. Glee cast member Jane Lynch remembered her late Canadian co-star Cory Monteith.

Before Sunday night's ceremony, TV critics, fans and family members had questioned the segment, which was in addition to the traditional "in memoriam" montage. Some blasted producers for the inclusion of Monteith — who was not a past Emmy nominee and whose role on Glee was the most prominent work of his short career — over more established individuals.

Sunday night's ceremony included musical performances by Elton John, who spoke about the influence of Behind the Candelabra subject Liberace, and Carrie Underwood, who offered a rendition of the Beatles classic Yesterday following a segment highlighting TV's impact on culture after two major events: the assassination of U.S. president John F. Kennedy and the American debut of the Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show a half-century ago.

Performances also came courtesy of host Harris, who surprisingly eschewed a song-and-dance number in his opening. Instead, following a montage of clips from the past year in television, he cracked a few jokes before being heckled and subsequently joined onstage by a number of former Emmy emcees, including Jimmy Kimmel, Jane Lynch, Jimmy Fallon, Tina Fey and Amy Poehler.

Nevertheless, the famed song-and-dance man delivered at the half-way point by performing a tune he dubbed The Number in the Middle of the Show, which featured cameo appearances by Nathan Fillion and Sarah Silverman. He also performed as part of a subsequent dance number that revealed the choreography nominees.

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Glee's Cory Monteith recalled in Emmy tribute

Five emotional tributes to deceased TV personalities punctuated Sunday night's Primetime Emmy Awards, including a salute to the late Glee actor Cory Monteith.

The B.C.-born performer's co-star Jane Lynch spoke about the young actor, who died in July at the age of 31 from an overdose of heroin and alcohol.

"From the first time you saw Cory, he had a star quality and a genuine sweetness that made it impossible not to fall in love with him. And millions did fall in love with Cory," Lynch said during the ceremony.

"I'm here to say that all that warmth and that charm, that open-hearted quality that we loved in Cory was no act," she continued.

"Cory was a beautiful soul. He was not perfect, which many of us here tonight can relate to. His death is a tragic reminder of the rapacious, senseless destruction that is brought on by addiction. Tonight, we remember Cory for all he was, and mourn the loss for all he could have been. To a generation that loved Cory so, please know that this gifted and wonderful young man was worthy of your love. And if you were lucky enough to know Cory as we did and witnessed first-hand Cory's goofy, breezy sense of humour, his natural instinct for inclusiveness and his unbridled sense of generosity, day in and day out, I promise, you would have loved him even more." 

The tributes also included Robin Williams speaking about his mentor, comic actor Jonathan Winters; actor-director Rob Reiner's heartfelt remembrance of his "TV mother-in-law," All in the Family's Jean Stapleton; Michael J. Fox's memories of Family Ties and Spin City creator and his "second father and beloved friend" Gary David Goldberg; and Edie Falco's teary recollections of her Sopranos spouse, actor James Gandolfini.

The extended individual salutes, which came in addition to the traditional "in memoriam" montage, sparked controversy last week when producers first announced them.

TV critics, fans and family members were among those who blasted the idea, with many questioning the inclusion of Monteith, who was not a past Emmy nominee and whose high-profile role on teen-centred musical series Glee had been the most prominent work of his short career.

Many noted that tributes to Dallas and I Dream of Jeannie star Larry Hagman, Evening Shade's Charles Durning or Jack Klugman of The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E. would have been more appropriate.

"It's an insult and it really seems typical of this youth-centric culture that has an extremely short attention span and panders to only a very narrow demographic" of young adults, Klugman's son Adam declared on the weekend.

However, Emmy executive producer Ken Ehrlich defended the decision.

"To a younger generation, Cory Monteith's portrayal of Finn Hudson (on Glee) was highly admired, and the producers felt that he should be included along with the four other individuals we have singled out," he said in a statement.

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Music PEI aims to get Islanders on soundtracks

Music PEI is adding movie and television music supervisors to a showcase this week to increase the chances for musicians to get played on television and film.

'It's a pretty small investment considering the work that's created.'- Rob Oakie, Music PEI

Five music supervisors are at this year's showcase. Three supervisors were invited to Music Week in January as panelists sharing their expertise with artists. One of those panelists went on to get music from four Island artists on the popular Canadian TV shows Rookie Blue and Saving Hope.

Music PEI executive director Rob Oakie said that success prompted his group to pay the airfare for five music supervisors to be delegates at this week's Showcase events.

"We had so much success the first time around. We saw some fantastic placements, so it just made sense to increase the number," said Oakie.

"It's a pretty small investment considering the work that's created as a result of it."

Three of the music supervisors are from Los Angeles. Oakie said it is more expensive to bring in music experts from that far away, but Hollywood is the centre of the movie business so he thinks it's a good investment.

Oakie would not break down the cost of bringing in the supervisors. The entire cost of the three-day Showcase is $60,000, covered by a mix of private and public money.

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Britain stops Kelly Clarkson's export of Jane Austen ring

A campaign to prevent U.S. pop singer Kelly Clarkson from taking a ring owned by 19th century novelist Jane Austen out of Britain has raised enough money to save it, a museum said on Monday.

The singer, who became the first contestant to win the TV singing contest American Idol more than a decade ago, bought the turquoise and gold antique ring at an auction last year £152,450 ($238,096).

But the U.K.'s Culture Minister Ed Vaizey placed a temporary export bar on the ring, which stops it leaving the country, and appealed for a British buyer to come forward and save it for the nation.

Jane Austen's House Museum said a fundraising campaign had been successful and it could now afford to buy the ring that had been owned by the Austen family for more than 200 years until its sale at auction last year.

Curator Mary Guyatt said the campaign received a £100,000 donation from an anonymous donor and contributions from Austen fans from all over the world.

U.S. singer Kelly Clarkson bought the ring at an auction last year, but British Culture Minister Ed Vaizey put a temporary hold on the item, preventing it from leaving the U.K. (John Shearer/Invision/Associated Press)

"The museum is now able to reveal that their offer to purchase the ring has been accepted," she said in a statement.

The ring is one of only three surviving pieces of jewellery known to have belonged to the author of such classics as Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Emma. It comes with papers documenting its history within her family.

Clarkson congratulated the museum on raising the funds to purchase the ring owned by the writer who died in 1817.

"The ring is a beautiful national treasure and I am happy to know that so many Jane Austen fans will get to see it at Jane Austen's House Museum," she said in the statement.

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Emmy Awards to toast TV's best

Web-streamed shows House of Cards and Arrested Development, drug drama Breaking Bad and genre hits American Horror Story and Game of Thrones are among the high-profile contenders at tonight's 65th Emmy Awards gala.

American Horror Story: Asylum, the sophomore season of the creepy series, earned a leading 17 nominations, closely followed by the bloody fantasy epic Game of Thrones with 16 nods. Sketch comedy stalwart Saturday Night Live and Liberace biopic Behind the Candelabra were next with 15 nominations each.

Actor Neil Patrick Harris, seen at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 15, returns for his second stint as host on Sunday night. (Richard Shotwell/Invision/Associated Press)

The breakout Netflix hit House of Cards is the first internet series to compete for the top Emmy categories. The show is vying for multiple wins, including for best drama, best dramatic actor (series lead Kevin Spacey is nominated) and best dramatic actress (for Robin Wright).

But the online newcomer faces a tough batch of rivals for the TV drama trophy: soon-to-end cable series Breaking Bad; British favourite Downton Abbey; the aforementioned Game of Thrones; political suspense thriller Homeland; and style-soaked 1960s advertising drama Mad Men.

On-demand film and TV streaming service Netflix also scored another high-profile nod with its revived series Arrested Development, which earned a best comedic actor nomination for Jason Bateman. In recent years, the U.S Academy of Television Arts and Sciences changed its rules to allow online entries to compete with cable and network programming, but this year's edition was the first to see web shows recognized in major categories.

Other series nominees include:

• Comedy: 30 Rock; Girls; Louie; Modern Family; The Big Bang Theory; Veep.
• Reality competition: Dancing with the Stars; Project Runway; So You Think You Can Dance; The Amazing Race; The Voice; Top Chef.
• Miniseries or movie: American Horror Story: Asylum; Behind the Candelabra; Phil Spector; Political Animals; The Bible; Top of the Lake.
• Variety: Jimmy Kimmel Live!; Late Night with Jimmy Fallon; Real Time with Bill Maher; Saturday Night Live; The Colbert Report; The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.

Several Canadians were among this year's Emmy nominees, with Toronto's Mychael Danna already a winner. He earned the trophy for outstanding music composition for a miniseries, movie or special for his score to the miniseries World Without End, a followup to The Pillars of the Earth) at last week's Creative Arts Emmys ceremony.

The evening ceremony will also include a number of extended "in memoriam" tributes to television figures who have died in the past year, including actors James Gandolfini, Jean Stapleton, Jonathan Winters, Cory Monteith and writer-producer Gary David Goldberg.

The annual celebration of American prime-time television is being broadcast live from Los Angeles beginning at 8 p.m. ET, with popular actor and three-time Emmy-winner Neil Patrick Harris returning for his second stint as host.

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Jay Baruchel wants U.S. films shot in Canada to be set in Canada

TIFF: The Art of the Steal 8:17

TIFF: The Art of the Steal 8:17

Jay Baruchel has a Canadian flag tattooed on his heart — but sometimes it seems the Maple Leaf might as well be etched across the actor's lips.

His new hybrid heist flick The Art of the Steal is a cross-border caper set against the inimitable backdrop of Niagara Falls, Ont. And really, it's set there — not Niagara Falls dressed to look like some generically tourist-friendly town someplace vaguely in the U.S. — and on the Canadian side, no less.

It's an important point to the 31-year-old Montreal native.

"I'm just sick of watching Canadian movies with Canadian actors and Canadian backdrops and then they exchange money and it's American cash," said the excitable star during a promotional whisk through the Toronto International Film Festival, where the film premiered ahead of its cross-Canada opening on Friday.

This comment raises the attention of writer-director Jonathan Sobol, seated next to him.

'You're in Canada, you use Canadian money,' director says

Given that the film — which casts Kurt Russell as a reformed criminal-turned-motorcycle daredevil who's pried from that depressing gig by the promise of one more big score — explicitly needs to take place on both sides of the border, it makes sense that characters' wallets would be packed with more than just American greenbacks.

Still, it was apparently an issue.

"I didn't tell you this, but when we were onset one day and Kurt (in character) had to give his lady money —" Sobol begins.

"I bet there was a convo," Baruchel interjects.

"Well, I got pulled aside," replies Sobol, nodding. "I mean, like, of course, you're in Canada, you use Canadian money."

"Why the (hell) wouldn't you?" says Baruchel, in fact using a harsher profanity.

Sobel responds: "But then there was a little huddle. They're pulling me over. I'm like, no, what?"

Asked to explain the anxiety over Canadian currency appearing onscreen, an exasperated Baruchel takes over.

"They seem to think that the moment Americans see Canadian cash on the screen, no matter how long they've watched the movie already, they'll say: 'Aw, (screw) this then!"'

In this case, Baruchel and Sobol stuck to their guns — or, to use a more appropriate cliche, put their money where their mouths were.

The Art of the Steal stars Baruchel, Kurt Russell and Terrence Stamp

The film, which features a sparkling international cast including British Oscar nominee Terence Stamp, Americans Matt Dillon and Russell and Canadian supporting players including Katheryn Winnick, Chris Diamantopoulos and arch "Daily Show" vet Jason Jones, doesn't try to hide its setting, in fact basking in Niagara Falls' kaleidoscopic carnival. (They also shot in Hamilton).

At least one of those Americans in the cast was mystified by any anxiety over The Art of the Steal looking too Canadian.

"I don't think it has anything to do with anything," Russell bristled. "Movies, where they're shot, makes zero difference to the audience. What the audience is looking for is a show-me experience. Show me that this is entertaining."

Increasingly, it seems as though filmmakers are banking on exactly that.

At the recently completed Toronto film festival, several buzzed-about films anchored by major international stars were both shot and set in Canada, including Denis Villeneuve's Toronto-set, Jake Gyllenhaal-starring psychodrama Enemy, Don McKellar's uproarious The Grand Seduction, which cast Friday Night Lights heartthrob Taylor Kitsch as a doctor docked in a Newfoundland fishing village, and Michael Dowse's Daniel Radcliffe-headlined romantic comedy The F Word, which so lovingly filmed Toronto-specific idiosyncrasies, it couldn't have been mistaken for another city.

Still, Baruchel argues that rooting Canadian films in Canada is still a problem for some — including Canadians.

"I remember when The Trotsky came out," he says, referring to his 2009, Montreal-set comedy about an eccentric high-schooler leading a student rebellion.

"All the reviews were like: 'Ohh, some of the Montreal inside jokes will take some getting used to.' I was just like, what inside jokes? We reference the town we were shooting in.... We got a lot of flack. More in Canada than the States. Americans just watched it."

When Sobol says he optimistically hopes the tide is turning, Baruchel responds: "If you leave it alone and don't make it too much of an issue — if you don't oversell the Canadian-ness — you're OK, usually."

Baruchel plans sequel to Goon

In fact, Baruchel has long been critical of homegrown stars who turn their backs on homegrown fare.

It's a position that seems to mean more as the Goon star sees his profile — and opportunities — grow in Hollywood. Earlier this summer, he was among a twinkling cast heading up the raunchy Armageddon smash This is the End, and he has upcoming roles in other hotly anticipated properties including the 2014 Robocop reboot and two or more sequels in the animated How to Train Your Dragon series.

Still, he says he's determined to continue working on Canadian films, including his own sequel to Goon.

"I was in a movie that connected a lot with the Americans this summer, and that means that I can use that and make more (stuff) happen up here maybe," said Baruchel, who's still based in Montreal.

"I'm not chasing a brass ring anymore. I'm not trying to be a movie star. I'm so happy with the life that I have right now, and part of that is being up here. And I love movies. So it just comes down to I want to make movies at home. I prefer spending time here than any other country in the world, simple as that."

He continues: "David Cronenberg's my idol for a reason. He made the world come to Toronto. He became the Fellini of Toronto. The best talents in the world will come to you if you're doing stuff that's good."

And his advice to Canadian filmmakers fretting about setting films here?

"Turn the camera on, walk down the street," he said. "Where you're shooting, that's where it takes place. Simple as that."

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Prosthetic 'wearable art' line designed by Canadian pair

A Canadian couple quit their jobs, sold their cars, moved across the country and hunkered down for months to turn their pet project of affordable, designer prosthetic covers for amputees into reality, creating a product to fill a void in an industry dominated by medically oriented prosthetists.

The founders of the Alleles Design Studio, McCauley Wanner, 27, and Ryan Palibroda, 32, first dreamed of designing high-fashion prosthetic covers years ago. Wanner developed the idea for the Medicine Hat, Alta.-based business during her industrial design studies, when she realized amputees had few affordable options for creative cosmetic covers.

A friend of the couple, John-Paul Austring, has been bothered by the lack of prosthetic options since doctors amputated his left leg when he was a 15-year-old battling bone cancer.

"Pretty much all my prosthetic legs that I first got were really ugly," says Austring, now 27. "There's just no other way for me to put it."

As a self-conscious teenager at the time, Austring recalls, he rarely wore shorts.

'I'm getting more and more people looking for different types of cosmetics than normal look-like-a-real-leg cosmetics.'— Jon Allen, Alberta Artificial Limb clinic founder

Other amputees Austring met shortly after his surgery inspired him with the amazing things they were doing, but Austring grew concerned that he never saw an artificial limb that was "the star of the show."

Austring yearned to see an amputee with a prosthesis that reflected the person's identity. "I think it would have added to that sense of hope and inspiration for me," he says.

'Wearable art' for prosthetics

He first saw what he deemed awesome and cool prosthetic cover designs when he met Wanner while both studied at the University of Calgary.

"I was always interested in fashion," explains Wanner, who first started dabbling with prosthetics during her industrial design degree thesis in 2010.

John-Paul Austring, 27, had his left leg amputated when he was 15 years old and battling a type of bone cancer. (John-Paul Austring)

During her thesis research, Wanner found a gap in the prosthetic market. Most artificial limbs are created with a focus on function rather than esthetics, she says, leaving fashion-conscious amputees few options for personalizing their prosthetic limbs.

Wanner compares the dilemma to one faced by early wearers of eyeglasses, when frames were clear or flesh-toned in a vain attempt to blend in.

"Then, all of a sudden, fashion designers came into the industry," Wanner says. "[Now] there's cat eyes, and there's big, huge ones, red ones, green ones, blue ones — whatever you can imagine, and it transformed things."

For her thesis, Wanner created what Palibroda calls "wearable art" for amputees: high-fashion cosmetic covers to add pizzazz to an otherwise plain-looking artificial limb.

They both loved her idea, but after Wanner's graduation, they weren't clear on how to turn such unique designs into wearable objects. The pair moved from Alberta to Montreal and started new jobs, temporarily placing prosthetic design on the backburner.

But they couldn't stop talking about the idea. Wanner and Palibroda started living frugally, saving money and hoping to one day purchase the expensive equipment and software it would take to produce the covers.

Meanwhile, professionals started seeing an increased demand for unique prosthetic options.

'Total paradigm shift' in amputee culture

Jon Allen founded the Alberta Artificial Limb clinic at the start of the new millennium and treats more than 100 patients annually, guiding them through the prosthetic process after amputation.

Dan Monzon wears a cosmetic cover designed by the Alleles Design Studio, which will launch its fall-winter collection this month. (Dan Monzon)

Allen says there has been "a total paradigm shift" in amputees' self-concept over the past few years.

"I'm getting more and more people looking for different types of cosmetics [rather] than normal look-like-a-real-leg cosmetics," he says.

Many people want to draw attention to their artificial limbs now, Allen explains.

Unfortunately, there are limited options available to fashion-savvy amputees.

Allen does his best to help by offering clients the option to have designs printed on their artificial limb's socket.

Even senior citizens have jumped on the opportunity, he says, remembering a woman in her 70s who asked for an imprint of sweet peas on her prosthetic.

"She used to grow sweet peas and her late husband used to call her sweet pea, and that's what she wanted on her socket," Allen remembers fondly.

Custom covers typically unaffordable

Anything more intricate than an imprint on a socket is unaffordable for most patients, says Allen.

Only one other North American company, San Francisco-based Bespoke Innovations, seems to create a similar product. The company custom builds cosmetic covers, which it calls fairings, using 3D scanning. Clients generally pay $4,000 to $6,000 US, according to its website.

Wanner and Palibroda hope to have five prosthetic cosmetic cover designs for their launch. (The Alleles Design Studio)

While working and saving money in Montreal, Wanner and Palibroda brainstormed ideas on how to overcome the need to charge thousands for custom-made designer prosthetic covers.

Finally, in May, they quit their jobs, sold their cars and moved into Wanner's parents' house in Medicine Hat, where they set up a studio and started experimenting with various materials and designs using their newly purchased CNC machine.

They settled on a method to standardize their creations to fit most lower limb amputees and determined they could create cosmetic covers that would cost a couple of hundred dollars.

"If people wanted one for going out dancing, or if someone wanted one for playing soccer, they can buy multiple ones ... and not break the bank," said Wanner.

Collection to be released in September

Wanner and Palibroda plan to launch a fall-winter collection from their newly founded Alleles design studio in late September. Each cover will cost between $250 and $400, depending on the design.

The couple hope to release two collections annually, so far only for leg amputees. However, they are eager to work on children's and upper-limb lines in the future.

Allen, whom Wanner reached out to during her thesis, is eager to see the new collection, and says he would "absolutely" recommend it to his clients.

"It's like buying a neat grill for the front of your truck," he said.

Austring agrees, saying everyone he has shown the designs to so far can't help but think they're cool. He loves the robotic feel of some of the covers and is eager to try one over his prosthetic leg.

"This month I will hopefully be wearing one."

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Place des Arts: $50 million for a 50 year anniversary

Place des Arts has received $50 million in financial aid from the Government of Quebec, in commemoration of the venue's 50th anniversary.

The funding was announced yesterday by the Minister of Culture and Communications, Maka Kotto, during his visit to the exhibition: Place des Arts: yesterday, today, tomorrow.

"The funding announced today will help maintain quality assets and consolidate Place des Arts in the role of a world-class cultural complex for present and future generations of artists and audiences," said Kotto. 

"Place des Arts is, without a doubt, an object of pride for Quebec society."

Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier, the core of the five-room complex, was opened Sept. 21, 1963.

Kotto said these investments will be used, among other things, to upgrade the building, room, fireplaces and equipment of Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier.

Further work will repair the sealing system and the redevelopment of the esplanade of Place des Arts.

Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier is named in honour of the conductor of the same name.

It is the largest multipurpose stage in Canada.

Originally called La Grande Salle, it was inaugurated with a concert conducted by Wilfrid Pelletier and Zubin Mehta.

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William Shakespeare's Star Wars delights Canadian readers

American author Ian Doescher's Shakespearean twist on the blockbuster film Star Wars is inspiring Canadians to delve into and better understand the works of Britain's Bard of Avon.

William Shakespeare's Star Wars, which hit stores and book shelves in July, is a retelling in Iambic pentameter of George Lucas's epic Star Wars.

Libraries and school boards see the new book, which features Elizabethan illustrations, as a vehicle for encouraging children to read and better understand Shakespeare.

'I'm not trying to pretend I have his genius. Hopefully it's something that honours Shakespeare.'- Ian Doescher, author of William Shakespeare's Star Wars

Random House of Canada, which distributes the book here, says on its website: "The saga of a wise (Jedi) knight and an evil (Sith) lord, of a beautiful princess held captive and a young hero coming of age, Star Wars abounds with all the valor and villainy of Shakespeare's greatest plays." 

Dayna Cornwall, who has English and teaching degrees and works for the Windsor Public Library, called William Shakespeare's Star Wars a "great doorway into Shakespeare."

Shakespeare 'isn't easy'

The Windsor Public Library says its three copies of William Shakespeare's Star Wars, the first book for American author Ian Doescher, are a popular vehicle for encouraging children to read and better understand the Bard of Avon. (Courtesy Quirk Books)

"I spent time trying to inspire students with the love of Romeo and Juliet. It isn't easy. They find the whole idea of Shakespeare pretty daunting, that's the impression we have as a culture," Cornwall said. "But we all know Star Wars so well; it's not a struggle to know what's going on. Shakespeare doesn't have to be all that tough."

"It's the sort of thing – and a hope for me – that gets high school and college students who are just approaching Shakespeare for the first time ... into Shakespeare," Doescher told CBC News.

Doescher said he got the idea for his book after a whirlwind month of movie-watching, book-reading and festival-going last year. He first watched the original Star Wars trilogy with friends, then read the mash-up book Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and went to a Shakespeare Festival in Oregon.

"It was at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival I had the idea to write the book," Doescher said.

He wrote the first act and sent it to Lucas Films.

"They were the ones who came back to me and said, "'We like what you've done so far, but we'd like you to do more. Take it outside the bounds of the movie,'" Doescher recalled. "It was a great gift to me, as a writer."

'Sweating bullets'

Doescher, a Portland, Ore., father of two who has loved Star Wars and Shakespeare since childhood, added some soliloquies throughout his book.

"The parts that were hardest to write were the ones that I knew would be under scrutiny," Doescher said. "When you deal with some of the famous lines, how will they be heard and will people like what you've done with them, I was sweating bullets."

In his book, memorable lines, such Obi Wan Kenobi's pop culture classic, "these aren't the droids you're looking for," have been translated to, "True it is, that these are not the droids for which thou search'st."

Cornwall called the book "beautiful and intriguing."

"He's poetically expressing some of the feelings of the movie," she said.

After the book became available in July, the Windsor Public Library immediately ordered three hard copies and an eBook version. On Friday, all three hard copies were on hold.

"I saw it online some months ago and got really excited," Cornwall said. "I personally placed a hold on it when I saw it was in our system."

She finally read the book about a week ago.

"I devoured it," Cornwall said.

Cornwall said Shakespeare fans are "delighted by this kind of thing."

"They see it as a way in for people who don't know or like Shakespeare all that much," she said.

The Stratford Festival, one of the most respected and acclaimed classical theatres in North America, is aware of the rewrite, but had no comment.

"This is clearly not Shakespeare. This is a guy writing a book called William Shakespeare's Star Wars," Doescher said. "I'm not trying to pretend I have his genius. Hopefully it's something that honours Shakespeare."

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Disney and Jerry Bruckheimer to end film deal

The Walt Disney Co. and Jerry Bruckheimer, the producer behind the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean franchise and the summer flop The Lone Ranger, will end their long-running film deal next year, the media company announced on Thursday.

The company and Bruckheimer decided not to renew their current deal which gives Disney first-look rights to the producer's films, according to a statement from Disney. They will continue working together on various projects, including a fifth instalment in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

Last week, Disney announced it would delay the release of the fifth Pirates movie, which had been scheduled to open in theatres in July 2015. No new date was set.

Disney's film studio will continue to focus on brands including Disney, Pixar animation, the Marvel superhero franchise, and Star Wars producer Lucasfilm, the company said on Thursday.

Bruckheimer "is looking to produce more mature films outside the scope of the Disney brand," the statement said.

The partnership dating back to the 1990s produced 27 movies, including several big hits for Disney. The four Pirates films starring Johnny Depp have generated more than $3.7 billion US in worldwide ticket sales, according to the website Box Office Mojo. Bruckheimer also produced for Disney the National Treasure series and dramas including Con Air and Pearl Harbor.

Bruckheimer's most recent Disney release, The Lone Ranger, flopped at the box office after its July release. Disney has projected it will lose up to $190 million on the film.

Walt Disney Studios Chairman Alan Horn said Disney and Bruckheimer "have had an incredibly successful collaboration over the past two decades."

"We will continue to work together in the future, and we look forward to seeing more of the films that have made Jerry Bruckheimer a Hollywood legend," Horn said.

Bruckheimer, in the statement issued by Disney, said he would work with the studio on the Pirates and National Treasure films plus "other projects we have developed together."

"I am very appreciative of the wonderful collaboration and support I have had at The Walt Disney Company for over 20 years," he said.

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