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Live From Queen West… It’s The Social!

The Social
Melissa Grelo, Traci Melchor, Sarah Prince, Cynthia Loyst and Elaine Lui

I’ve been eager to attend a live taping of CTV’s The Social since it premiered in September. The Social is like a younger version of The View with a stronger interactive component, as viewers’ social media engagement is integral to the series.

The Social takes the second screen experience to a new level because it’s filmed live and selected Twitter and Facebook posts are displayed onscreen. Offering opinionated viewers an opportunity to gain exposure on national television is definitely a better incentive to follow the show’s social media accounts than simply for the sake of entering contests or seeing behind the scenes photos.

Interestingly, the invitation to live tweet the show is extended to audience members as well, so I think Bell Media should install a mobile charging station in the audience waiting area. That would be a cost-effective way to ensure more fans can post on social media with the show’s hashtag. If iPhone chargers were available, then I would’ve taken more pictures and tweeted more commentary. Nevertheless, I preserved my battery as much as possible and was able to take photos with the hosts after the cameras stopped rolling.

I was so excited to see Wednesday’s special guest Jessica Alba that I didn’t care what brought her to Toronto. The fact that Jessica booked interviews with Canadian media outlets to promote her new line of eco-friendly baby products rather than a new movie didn’t matter. Plus, I’m certainly not complaining about getting a free copy of Jessica’s book, The Honest Life.

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October 10, 2013 by

Gilmore Girls Cast Meet & Greets

To kickstart this summer break, I returned to New York looking forward to seeing a couple more of my favourite celebrities: author Jennifer Weiner (In Her Shoes, Good in Bed) and actress Lauren Graham (Parenthood).

Lauren Graham

Jennifer Weiner

Though my chats with the famous women were short, the trip was a great way to celebrate graduating from Western! Between shopping at Uniqlo and touring the Big Apple Sex and the City style with On Location tours, I started liking the city much more. Too bad we weren’t one of the lucky groups to run into Sarah Jessica Parker in her ‘hood. Regardless, I’ll definitely consider buying another tour from them, especially because they just launched a new TMZ-themed itinerary – my kind of vacation activity!

HBO

Since then, I’ve been organizing everything I moved home from London and waiting until I could attend another celebrity meet and greet during the Victoria Day long weekend. To date, I’ve met the actors who play Lorelai and Rory Gilmore, watched Jared Paledecki from afar at a Live @ Much event and now I can finally say I’ve met Rory’s dad too! David Sutcliffe, who once played Christopher, now stars in CBC’s Cracked, for which he made the transition from rom-com actor to a stern cop.

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May 20, 2013 by

Rewind and Re-watch: Legally Blonde

To kick off a new category and series of HOTS blog posts, I’ve revisited one of my favourite chick flicks: Legally Blonde.

I first saw Legally Blonde at a theatre at The Eaton Centre, which isn’t there anymore. It was 2001. Little did I know at the time that the film about a blonde sorority girl disproving others’ perception of her by going to Harvard Law School would spawn sequels and propel Reese Witherspoon’s career much further than Election could accomplish alone.

As I re-watched it for the umpteenth time on DVD, I was more attuned to the product placement. Not just the Red Bull that Elle’s sorority sister drinks while exercising or the stack of Cosmopolitan magazines on Elle’s dresser, but especially the OPI nail polish bottles scattered across her colourful room. Even when Elle has the revelation at a nail salon to enroll in law school to win Warner back, the back cover ad on the magazine she’s reading is for OPI. I also thought about the contrast between Elle’s nerdy classmates on black PCs and her brand new orange Apple iBook.

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September 23, 2012 by

Movie Review: Ruby Sparks

Created by the directors of Little Miss Sunshine (without the adorable Abigail Breslin), Ruby Sparks is about a gifted, yet struggling writer Calvin, whose therapist inspires him to meet the girl of his dreams. What’s peculiar is that Calvin (Paul Dano) meets her because he created Ruby’s character while trying to overcome writer’s block.

Anticipating a multidimensional story about Calvin writing a book within the movie, I figured my Community t-shirt, promoting the most self-referential TV show I could think of, would be highly appropriate attire for the screening.  Incidentally, a middle-aged man stopped me during the Free People opening event to ask about the characters arranged in Warhol-inspired fashion. I identified Troy and Abed, and then went to the Varsity.

Without giving too much away, it’s notable that Calvin writes Ruby a Post-it note in a far more charming manner than when Berger leaves one for Carrie in Sex And The City. That’s when I fell in love with Ruby Sparks.

After wondering if the film’s major conflict would arise when Calvin’s handy typewriter eventually broke, I was proven wrong with a wonderful ending reminiscent of (500) Days of Summer, complete with an upgraded tool to write his next works.

Lastly, the minimalist design in Calvin’s home could easily be recreated for the stage, but does Apple sponsor theatre productions too? If you’ve seen Ruby Sparks and want it to become a book and/or play, please discuss in the comments!

August 3, 2012 by

Uncertainty

I re-watched Up In The Air for the first time since it inspired my debut blog post for Hot On The Street and picked up on different elements. Keeping in mind the themes of (un)happiness and uncertainty that it shares with Take This Waltz, I realized that those must be two of the defining social issues of this era.

When Up In The Air was released, America was in the middle of the recession. Now the economy is in recovery mode and people are still feeling uneasy and lonely. Magazines, movies and the like promote romance, offering tips to help you acquire it if you’re single, but ultimately leave people unsatisfied enough to make them continue subscribing and buying, hoping for that one life-changing tip.

Despite all the critics’ rave reviews, I walked out of Take This Waltz wishing that I hadn’t over-hyped it in my mind since its premiere at TIFF, which I missed because I was too busy needed to be in London for school. Then it had another special showing in New York at Tribeca Film Festival, which coincided with my first-ever trip to the Big Apple, but I couldn’t attend because it was sold out. It wasn’t a matter of being in the same place at the wrong time; sometimes there are circumstances beyond your control. Anyway, I was frustrated because I had such high expectations for a single film, and then walked out feeling disappointed.

Did I laugh when Lena Dunham tweeted praise for Take This Waltz? Absolutely. I tweeted her right back, with my fingers crossed that she would respond. She’s the girl who a lot of my peers look up to, waiting for her to put on HBO exactly what’s on their minds, yet they’re shy about expressing out loud. Part of the reason I’m drawn to her is that she’s got spunk. She doesn’t pretend like she rolls out of bed looking like a Hollywood diva; she allows herself to be seen by millions with somewhat messy hair and she just appears to be someone who goes with the flow. But as seen on TV with her character Hannah, we all have bad days. Girls feel miserable when they don’t have their periods. Just ask Dove. Those are the times when companionship matters most.

It’s not just about having someone to lean on when you get fired. People sweat the small stuff too – it happens. That’s when you need to recruit your personal support team – family, friends, professional mentors, even trustworthy acquaintances who may not call you a ‘friend’ per se, but you think the world of and respect.

If you have time to casually surf the web and read my blog right now, take a few extra minutes to compile a list of people to whom you can turn when times are rough and you can’t sleep peacefully anymore. Make the list and store it somewhere. Don’t publish it on Facebook and tag them all in it. Keep it in your nightstand drawer for easy access. If you never have to use it, consider yourself lucky.

July 8, 2012 by