The impossible is finally happening this week on End Credits. For instance, we’ll review a Tom Cruise movie where everyone’s favourite self-serve stuntman finds himself in a role where he’s not on cruise control (pun intended). In the news, a certain sequel series finally begins production, although the jury’s still out for cynics as to whether or not we’ll ever see it, and Netflix may be home to the new Beachcombers, or a similarly appropriate piece of TV Canadiana. Finally, more bad news if you’re hoping that we’ve finally reached the bottom of the harassment barrel.
This Thursday, October 5, at 10 am, Adam A. Donaldson with Vince Masson will discuss:
1) Ain’t It Cruel News. In harassment news this week, Harry Knowles joined the growing list of men who’s alleged past as an abuser has caught up with them. The Ain’t It Cool News founder was outed online for harassing and grabbing an employee of the Alamo Drafthouse years ago, and when that news made the web, the flood began with several other women joining the chorus of victims. Speaking of the Drafthouse, this is the second black eye for them and their Fantastic Fest after the Devin Faraci affair a few weeks ago. What is going on in the film criticism community, and how much worse can it get for the Drafthouse?
2) The $1 Billion Man. Production fiiiiiiiiiiiinally began last week on the series of four Avatar sequels under the direction of James Cameron. The long-in-the-works sequels to the 2009 hit that remains the highest-grossing in movie history began principle photography, and the price tag for the movies has gotten the most attention: $1 billion. That’s a lot of money to cut a cheque for at one time, and Cameron is likely worth the investment, but let’s be honest, when was the last time you heard anyone talk about Avatar? Can Cameron capitalize on the success of the original, or was Avatar an anomaly?
3) Canuckflix? The Federal government has announced changes to the Canadian Media Fund to help make digital production easier for Canada’s writers, directors, and musicians. At the same time though, the government is partnering with Netflix so that the streaming giant will spend $500 million over five years on new Canadian-made production. But what does that mean? Will that just be covering American productions using Canada as a location, or will that money be going to tell Canadian stories by Canadian content creators? We’ll talk about that, plus we’ll talk about the current state of Canadian production, and why Netflix might have more Can Con than even homegrown media outlets.
REVIEW: American Made (2017). Tom Cruise takes a break from being the unflappable man with the plan (although he didn’t take a break from his workout regime), to play a real life character. In the late 70s/early 80s, Barry Seal flew missions to Central America for the CIA, embroiling himself in the twin devils of the Reagan administration: cocaine and communism. Oh yeah, he made himself super rich while doing it. Bourne Identity and Mr. and Mrs. Smith director Doug Liman tells another unusual spy tale that’s miles away from James Bond as Barry chases the American Dream and stays one step ahead of drug cartels, dictators, and every law enforcement agency in the alphabet.
End Credits is on CFRU 93.3 fm and cfru.ca Thursday at 10 am.
End Credits 
Leave a Reply