Talking Heads' David Bryne to bring cultural mashup to Canada

Multi-disciplinary event to debut at Toronto's Luminato Festival on June 22 and 23

The Canadian Press Posted: Jan 22, 2015 9:58 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 22, 2015 10:00 AM ET

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A multi-disciplinary colour guard event masterminded by David Byrne will debut in Toronto during the Luminato Festival.

Boasting appearances from stars including Nelly Furtado, Kelis and St. Vincent, Byrne's Contemporary Color will have its world premiere at the Air Canada Centre on June 22 and 23.

The show heads to New York on June 27 and 28.

• On mobile? Watch a promo video here

The production will pair 10 high school colour guard — or flag-spinning — teams with an array of artists.

In addition to the former Talking Heads frontman himself, Tune-Yards' Merrill Garbus, Dev Hynes and How to Dress Well are among the artists who will participate.

A form of competition found in schools around North America, colour guard finds teams of 20 to 40 people performing acrobatic routines to music with props including flags, rifles and sabres.

Byrne says he discovered colour guard after a high school team asked to use his music back in 2008.

"I was stunned at what I was seeing," Byrne said in a statement.

"And being a musician, I naturally wondered to myself: what if these performances had really great live music? Wouldn't that lift it to another level?"

Tickets for the event begin at $39 and go on sale Jan. 23.

With files from CBC News

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Madonna 'profoundly grateful' for arrest of Israeli hacking suspect

American pop icon Madonna is expressing her gratitude after the arrest Wednesday of an Israeli man suspected of hacking the computers of a number of artists and selling their unreleased music online.

"I am profoundly grateful to the FBI, the Israeli Police investigators and anyone else who helped lead to the arrest of this hacker," the singer said on her Facebook page Wednesday.

"This invasion into my life - creatively, professionally, and personally remains a deeply devastating and hurtful experience, as it must be for all artists who are victims of this type of crime."

An unauthorized leak of several unfinished songs from her upcoming album, Rebel Heart, forced the music industry veteran to release six tracks from the record in December.

The full 19-track album isn't due out until March 10.

Police raided the home of a 38-year-old Tel Aviv man on Wednesday, arresting him and seizing computers and other evidence, according to Israeli news outlet Haaretz.

The FBI and Israel's national cyber unit reportedly launched an investigation after receiving a complaint from an international recording artist.

Madonna's attorney in Israel told Haaretz that the theft of "sketches of songs, photos and other personal material" had been going on for a long time, and had cost the Queen of Pop millions of dollars in damages.

Madonna posted this picture of a smashed iPod in her Instagram feed in Decmeber after the unauthorized release of unfinished songs were distributed online. (madonna/Instagram)

The singer posted a picture of a smashed iPod on her Instagram feed back in December with the caption: "This broken ipod is a symbol of my broken heart! That my music has been stolen and leaked! I have been violated as a human and an artist!"

It's not clear which other musicians were hacked.

The unnamed suspect was due in court Wednesday to face charges of intellectual property theft and aggravated fraud.

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'I don't know why it's so hard to believe women': Jay Leno on Cosby allegations

Former NBC late night host Jay Leno voiced his support on Wednesday for the women who have come forward claiming they were sexually assaulted by comedian Bill Cosby.

Leno, who stepped down as host of The Tonight Show last year, was asked at a National Association of Television Program Executives conference what he thought of the allegations against Cosby.

"I don't know why it's so hard to believe women. I mean, you go to Saudi Arabia and you need two women to testify against a man; here you need 25," he replied.

'I don't know why it's so hard to believe women. I mean, you go to Saudi Arabia and you need two women to testify against a man; here you need 25.'- Jay Leno

Over the last three months, more than a dozen women have come forward alleging that Cosby had sexually abused them. Many of those allegations are decades old and fall outside the statute of limitations for criminal or civil cases.

Cosby's attorney Marty Singer has dismissed the allegations as "discredited" and "defamatory."

At Wednesday's conference, Leno added that he supported the way the allegations against Cosby were brought into the spotlight, after standup comedian Hannibal Buress called Cosby a rapist during a performance last October.

"He made a flat-out statement that reverberated around the world. If that was on TV, it would have been edited. If it were on any other medium, it would have been edited," Leno said.

"But because somebody just filmed it and put it out there, you're getting your news raw and unfiltered, which I think is fantastic."

Leno's comments come after actor Malcolm-Jamal Warner, who played Cosby's son on television, told music trade magazine Billboard that he found it painful to hear the claims that the comedian sexually abused more than a dozen women.

Warner, who played Theo Huxtable on The Cosby Show in the 1980s and 1990s, said the allegations do not match Cosby's reputation.

"The Bill Cosby I know has been great to me and great for a lot of people," Warner was quoted as saying.

"Just as it's painful to hear any woman talk about sexual assault, whether true or not, it's just as painful to watch my friend and mentor go through this."

The 44-year-old Warner joined Cosby Show actors Phylicia Rashad and Keshia Knight Pulliam in defending the 77-year-old comedian.

Meanwhile, the Associated Press reported that nearly 40 per cent of the tickets originally purchased for Bill Cosby's two comedy shows in the Denver earlier this week were refunded, according to an official for the company that runs the venue.

According to his website, Cosby next performs Jan. 30 in Sandusky, Ohio, with a pair of Feb. 8 shows scheduled in Boston.

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'She was our flower,' friend says of celebrated fiddler

Fleur Mainville, the celebrated fiddler from Pictou, died Wednesday.

She leaves behind her husband, Andrew Heighton, and their two adopted children. Pictou residents also knew her as an active volunteer and fundraiser.

Friend and fellow musician John Spyder MacDonald played with her many times.

"She had a beautiful touch on the fiddle and she was also a fabulous singer," he told the CBC's Information Morning on Thursday.

"She didn't record a lot of her singing because she didn't start singing until after she met her husband. She said he brought the singing out in her."

MacDonald met Mainville when she was 14, when her music teacher contacted him about getting her some playing time. He brought her up to Cape Breton for a St. Andrew's Day event. She played Out On the Myra.

"She sang that with this pure, sweet voice. I knew she was a singer then," he said.

She played with David Gunning and many other musicians. 

"She was one of those that stood out from the rest and you knew, 'This girl's got it.' And she was so humble and a very giving person," MacDonald said. "She probably couldn't count the number of benefits she played at over the years."

Mainville also taught music to children and gave young dancers a stage to perform on.

"It was always about somebody else. It was never about her. That's one of the great things about her and one of the things we're going to miss," said MacDonald.

Mainville and her husband adopted a boy, 10, and a girl, five, in 2014.

"That makes it even harder. It's a devastation, really," MacDonald said. "As her name says, she was our flower. She will be sadly missed by everybody."

Mainville was 37, and died after a long struggle with cancer. 

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Tatiana Maslany, Canadian star of Orphan Black, reportedly tests for new Star Wars movie

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29-year-old Regina-born actress reportedly up against Dragon Tattoo star Rooney Mara

CBC News Posted: Jan 21, 2015 9:40 AM ET Last Updated: Jan 21, 2015 9:56 AM ET

Tatiana Maslany, the Regina-born star of the cult sci-fi television series Orphan Black, is in the running to play the lead in a new Star Wars movie, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

American actress Rooney Mara was nominated for an Oscar for her role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.

The industry publication reports the 29-year-old is screen testing for a space drama spin-off that will be directed by Britain's Gareth Edwards, who helmed Godzilla and Monsters.

Maslany is said to be up against Girl With the Dragon Tattoo star Rooney Mara and Oscar-nominated The Theory of Everything actress Felicity Jones for the part.

The Canadian talent is no stranger to high-profile competition.

This Sunday, Maslany will take on big-screen heavyweights Robin Wright, Maggie Smith, Claire Danes, Viola Davis and Julianna Margulies at the 21st Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards.

Lucasfilm has released few details about the Star Wars spinoff film, other than it is slated to be released on Dec. 16, 2016.

The yet-unnamed movie is one of two Star Wars stand-alone films that the studio has up its sleeve.

Fans are already counting down the days to the release of the franchise's next instalment, Star Wars: The Force Awakens, due out on Dec. 18.

Disney, Lucasfilm and representatives for Maslany have not commented on the casting process for the Edwards project.

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Jessica Chastain, A Most Violent Year star, shocked by attacks following diversity speech

The award-winning actress says she's received a barrage of abuse following Critics' Choice Awards speech

The Associated Press Posted: Jan 20, 2015 1:55 PM ET Last Updated: Jan 20, 2015 1:55 PM ET

Interstellar: FILM REVIEW 2:56

Interstellar: FILM REVIEW 2:56

Jessica Chastain says she has received a barrage of abuse following her recent speech at the Critics' Choice Awards.

The American actress, who was honoured as Most Valuable Player at last Thursday's ceremony, used her time onstage to make a plea to Hollywood executives and actors on the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr.

The 37-year-old American actress implored those in attendance to "stand together against homophobic, sexist, misogynistic, anti-Semitic and racist agendas."

Speaking to The Associated Press Tuesday, Chastain acknowledged she was shocked by messages she's received since the ceremony - calling the reaction "strange."

"I've had really terrible people who are racists comment on the speech and say really terrible things. I'm understanding that some people in this world, how much hate they can have," she said. 

Comments on this story are moderated according to our Submission Guidelines. Comments are welcome while open. We reserve the right to close comments at any time.

Submission Policy

Note: The CBC does not necessarily endorse any of the views posted. By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that CBC has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Please note that comments are moderated and published according to our submission guidelines.

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Justin Bieber to be roasted on Comedy Central, responds to SNL jokes

Justin Bieber, Canada's notorious pop music export and celebrity underwear model, is offering himself up to be the butt of the jokes on a Comedy Central roast next month.

The cable network series features a panel of comedians who insult the show's so-called honoured guest with biting humour.

"For years I have wanted Comedy Central to roast me," wrote 20-year-old Bieber on Twitter on Tuesday. "They said only if I provided them w/ more material so for a year now I have worked hard."

A comedic treasure trove

The last 12 months could be considered a treasure trove of material for any comedian. The music industry bad boy has had a number of reported brushes with the law, including:

While the Miami and California cases were resolved with fines and/or probation, Bieber still faces charges after the Stratford incident.

That's not to mention an alleged dust-up with actor Orlando Bloom and some monkey business with authorities in Germany.

The Comedy Central Roast of Justin Bieber will tape in Los Angeles on March 7.

No air date has been set.

Previous roast subjects have included James Franco, David Hasselhoff, and Canadians William Shatner and Pamela Anderson.

Bieber reacts to SNL parody

Bieber was most recently made fun of on a Saturday Night Live sketch this past weekend.

The parody, spoofing Bieber's new Calvin Klein underwear campaign, featured comedian Kate McKinnon's well-honed impression of the tattooed and frequently shirtless celebrity. 

VIDEO: SNL spoofs Justin Bieber's Calvin Klein campaign2:05

• On mobile? Watch the SNL Bieber parody here.

Despite being painted as pouty and immature, Bieber took the jokes in stride.

"Well played," he tweeted to SNL during the broadcast, followed up with the acronym "LOL."

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Ryan Reynolds to reprise Deadpool in Canadian-shot Marvel movie

Canadian actor Ryan Reynolds is reportedly set to return to the West Coast to begin shooting Deadpool for a 2016 release.

Fans might recall Reynolds's last outing as a super hero, the ill-fated Green Lantern film. Heavy on CGI and short on character development, the movie was widely panned by comic book lovers and sent one of DC Comics most popular heroes into hibernation.

This isn't the first time Deadpool has had some screen time. But most fans would rather forget the treatment of the character in X-Men Origins: Wolverine—a movie so troubled it's been written out of X-Men movie continuity.

Marvel's manic mercenary Deadpool is one of the few Canadian-born superheroes. (Marvel)

Reynolds, a charming actor who was born in B.C., has struggled to land a hit the past couple years appearing in the critically derided The Captive and the ghost cop film R.I.P.D.

But the stars may be aligning for Reynolds's return. Deadpool is an almost invincible Canadian-born mercenary who functions as the court jester for the Marvel universe. (Imagine Spider-Man with a potty mouth and a craving for Mexican food and you get the idea). 

A leaked video of Deadpool director Tim Miller's test footage suggests the film will feature motion-captured computer animation to bring the manic assassin to life.  

Warning: clip contains explicit language.

•  On mobile? Watch the leaked video here.

While a digital Deadpool might upset purists, it should help to draw attention to Reynolds's greatest asset: his voice.

Leading man looks aside, some of Reynolds's best recent performances have been entirely animated. Listens to Reynolds as the speed-obsessed snail in Turbo, or the prehistoric inventor in The Croods, and you'll hear characters that are fast, funny and yet entirely convincing.

Deadpool, a hero with a healing-factor that rivals Wolverine, needs an actor with his own kind of super-charm to make it believable. If the fan reaction to the leaked test footage is any indication, Reynolds may finally have a hit on his hands.

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The Sun to stop Page 3 pics of topless women, according to report

Britain's The Sun tabloid, the country's best-selling newspaper, has decided to quietly stop publishing photographs of topless models on page three, ending a contested 44-year-old tradition of the Rupert Murdoch-owned paper, The Times reported on Tuesday.

The Sun, owned by a subsidiary of the media tycoon's News Corp, has published photographs of young models baring their breasts on page three since 1970, drawing criticism from feminists who said the practice demeaned and objectified women.

Without naming its sources, The Times, which is also part of Murdoch's British newspaper empire, said it understood that last Friday's printed edition of The Sun would be the final publication to carry a photograph of a topless model.

Such models would only appear on the paper's website from now on, it said, while scantily clad but not topless models would appear in the paper in future. The Sun has long resisted making the change, in part because it feared dropping the feature could hurt its sales. At least one rival British tabloid also features photographs of topless women.

Murdoch described the tradition as "outdated" in September last year, saying it meant "Brit feminists" didn't buy The Sun. He is understood to have sanctioned the decision to end one of the most contested mainstays of British journalism.

Murdoch's British newspaper arm News UK did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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American Sniper smashes box office records, but fuels controversy

Clint Eastwood's controversial war drama American Sniper is smashing records and expectations at the North American box office, with four-day earnings expected to surpass $105.3 million US.

The movie, which stars Bradley Cooper as real-life U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle, is also set to become the biggest film ever to open on the Martin Luther King Jr. long weekend in the U.S.

"It's become a cultural phenomenon," said Dan Fellman, head of domestic distribution for Warner Bros. "The movie reached an audience that's very hard to tap into. In both red and blue states, small and large cities, tiny towns — everywhere we went — it broke records."

The box office blowout also gives American Sniper the second-biggest debut weekend of all time for an R-rated movie, according to financial magazine Forbes. The top spot is still held by sci-fi action flick The Matrix Reloaded.

Sniper attracts accolades and criticism

The record weekend is just the latest coup in a series of successes for the movie. American Sniper surprised last week with a respectable six Academy Awards nominations, including best picture and best actor for Cooper. 

But along with the accolades there has been criticism that the film glorifies a killer.

American Sniper is based on Chris Kyle's bestselling memoir that recounts his journey from being a rodeo cowboy to a trained sniper credited with 160 kills. He was honourably discharged in 2009 after 10 years of service, including four tours in Iraq. 

Actor Seth Rogen took to Twitter to compare Eastwood's Iraq war drama to Nazi propaganda. "American Sniper kind of reminds me of the movie that's showing in the third act of Inglorious Basterds," wrote the Canadian comedian.

'Snipers are cowards'

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore pointed out the irony of releasing a movie about a sniper on the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday weekend.

Bradley Cooper stars in American Sniper. The R-rated Warner Bros. movie smashed expectations during in its first weekend in theatres. (Warner Bros. Pictures/Associated Press)

​"Lots of talk about snipers this weekend (the holiday weekend of a great man, killed by a sniper)," the Bowling For Columbine director wrote on Facebook Sunday.

"My uncle, Lawrence Moore, was an army paratrooper and was killed by a Japanese sniper 70 years ago next month," said Moore, who revealed that his dad taught him that "snipers are cowards." 

"Only a coward will shoot someone who can't shoot back," Moore wrote, quoting his father.

As for the movie, Moore called Cooper's performance "one of the best of the year," but that it was "too bad Clint [Eastwood] gets Vietnam and Iraq confused in his storytelling. And that he has his characters calling Iraqis 'savages' throughout the film." 

Documentary filmmaker Michael Moore weighed into the debate, noting that he was raised to believe snipers are cowards. (Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters)

Further criticism for the film came from New Republic reporter Dennis Jett who argued that American Sniper attempts to add more nuance to the thinking Kyle expressed in his book.

"Eastwood's film … tries to make a straightforward situation more complex than it is," Jett said in a recent commentary in the left-wing American publication.

"Anyone who has read Kyle's autobiography of the same title knows that his bravado left no room for doubt. For him, the enemy are savages and despicably evil. His only regret is that he didn't kill more."

Kyle was shot and killed at a Texas gun range along with another man in 2013. Iraq War veteran Eddie Ray Routh is facing a murder charge in Kyle's death. His trial starts next month. 

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