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Ben Cotton

WEEK: July 8-14, 2013

LEO AWARDS: THE KILLING Season 3 Suspects Walk the Red Carpet

Each season of The Killing brings a whole new set of Vancouver actor suspects on the rain-soaked Seattle-set series. Season three introduced Ben Cotton as “Pastor” Mike who runs a shelter for street kids called Beacon Home (actually a building in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside). On screen Pastor Mike rejects the characterization of himself as a “light at the end of the tunnel” for these kids. He says he’s more like the guy trying to pull them off the tracks of  a speeding train heading towards them in the tunnel. And what’s with the tattoo “Ephesians 1:7,” on his arm. He does seem too good to be true, doesn’t he? When I suggested to Cotton on the red carpet that he might have done it — killed 17 female street kids so far — he muhuhaw-ed and stroked his chin. Don’t take that as a sign of guilt. He’s kidding. Showrunner Veena Sud doesn’t show her hand this early on.

Also in the mix, Leo favourite Ryan Robbins (with girlfriend Karyn Baltzer) who told me Saturday we’d see him on The Killing in last Sunday’s episode. And there he was. A “john”.  Robbins is Joe the Seattle cab driver whom missing girl Kallie wanted to avoid in the premiere. “Did he do something to you?” demanded her friend Bullet. There was no answer and we didn’t meet Joe until an early scene in 3×03 of Lyric on “a date” in his cab. He seems OK as far as “johns” go but definitely a suspect.

Read More »LEO AWARDS: THE KILLING Season 3 Suspects Walk the Red Carpet

WEEK: February 18-24, 2013

 

WEEK: February 4-10, 2013

  • Sunday, February 10th – Once Upon a Time 2×13 Tiny airs with Jorge Garcia’s Anton the Giant held captive on Hook’s pirate ship and then rampaging through Storybrooke. Plus we learn Charming’s real name.
  • Sunday, February 10th – Motive 1×2 airs on CTV with scenes of Kristin Lehman filmed in the Olympic Village.
  • Sunday, February 10th – Battlestar Galactica prequel pilot Blood and Chrome starring Ben Cotton finally airs on Syfy. #ThereWillBeCylons.
  • Saturday, February 9th – New survey says 3 out of 4 British Columbians strongly support government tax incentives to help the BC film & TV production industry. Global TV report #SaveBCFilm
  • Saturday, February 9th – Vancouver-filmed hunting-accident-gone-wrong A Single Shot with Sam Rockwell debuts at Berlin International Film Festival
  • Friday, February 8th – New York Times paid a set visit to Continuum in Squamish last week and came away impressed with Vancouver’s cop from the future series.
  • Friday, February 8th – Deadline Hollywood confirms Chin Han (The Dark Knight) cast on Arrow as Frank Chen, an old friend of the Queen family and part of the nefarious group The Undertaking. This is the mysterious Asian man spotted at the Westin Bayshore Hotel shoot.
  • Friday, February 8th – CW pilot The Hundred–100 juvenile delinquents sent back to Earth after nuclear war–appears on BC Production List. To film from March 14th to April 4th.
  • Friday, February 8th – Once Upon a Time films in Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver.
  • Friday, February 8th – TV Line reports Max Fowler (The Hour) cast as Twitch on season 3 of The Killing
  • Thursday, February 7th – Once Upon a Time turns Gastown into Manhattan again to film scenes for 2×18 Selfless, Brave and True.
  • Thursday, February 7th – Mayor Gregor Robertson talks #SaveBCFilm on Breakfast Television.
  • Thursday, February 7th – Once Upon a Time films in Lynn Canyon Park in North Vancouver.
  • Wednesday, February 6th – Psycho prequel Bates Motel with Freddie Highmore & Vera Farmiga wraps filming of its first season in Vancouver.
  • Wednesday, February 6th – Arctic Air 2×5 has big fight scenes filmed in Langley Airport hangar with former amateur boxer Aleks Paunovic in the ring. Read More »WEEK: February 4-10, 2013

WEEK: November 12-18, 2012

  • Sunday, November 18th – Once Upon a Time pre-empted by American Music Awards. New episode 2×08, Into the Deep, airs next Sunday.
  • Sunday, November 18th – The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2 boasts a US$349 million global opening weekend via Deadline.com.
  • Saturday, November 17th – Bates Motel films at the HI Vancouver Jericho Beach Hostel.
  • Friday, November 16th – Red Widow wraps filming of its first order of eight episodes set to premiere early next year on ABC.
  • Friday, November 16h – On Fringe‘s ep. 5×07 Joshua Jackson’s Peter tracks Observer lieutenants on Hastings West and Blair Brown returns as silver-haired Nina Sharp in her wheelchair filmed on the Olympic Village seawall.
  • Friday, November 16th – Fringe films pickup scenes with the panelled blue mini-van in Chinatown.
  • Friday, November 16th – Battlestar Galactica prequel Blood and Chrome with Ben Cotton – third & fourth webisodes online.
  • Friday, November 16th – Mr. Cranky Pants lives. CBC releases season two teaser for Yellowknife and Vancouver-filmed Arctic Air which moves to Wednesday nights in its second season next year.
  • Thursday, November 15 – Midnight screenings of blockbuster The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2. which was filmed in Vancouver, Squamish and Whistler.
  • Thusrday, November 15th – Arrow films police chase & shootout featuring Seth Gabel as season one’s big bad Vertigo on the second level of the Front Street parkade in New Westminster.
  • Thursday, November 15th – Sitcom Package Deal films its fourth episode in front of a live studio audience in Burnaby.
  • Thursday, November 15th – Bates Motel films on its permanent motel and Bates house set in Aldergrove, a replica of the Alfred Hitchcock set from his classic horror film Psycho.
  • Thursday, November 15th –  Vancouver detective series Motive films out in Aldergrove.
  • Thusrday, November 15th – Red Widow films near Victory Square.
  • Wednesday, November 14th – Misha Collins’s Castiel returns on Supernatural 8×07 & meets with Amanada Tapping (Stargate/Sanctuary)’s angel Naomi. Watch your back Cas.
  • Wednesday, November 14th – The Royal Flush Gang robs Starling Trust Bank on Arrow‘s ep. 1×06 filmed in the Read More »WEEK: November 12-18, 2012

WEEK: November 5-11, 2012

  • Sunday, November 11th – Once Upon a Time‘s Red Riding Hood/Ruby-centric episode 2×07 Child of the Moon.
  • Sunday, November 11th – Glen Schaefer (The Province)’s feature on Brent Butt’s big movie No Clue — No Bogart in this Joint
  • Friday, November 9th – Fringe reveals the child Observer whom Walter hid in a pocket universe in the sixth episode of the final season, Through the Looking Glass and What Walter Found.
  • Friday, November 9th – Red Widow films on the North Vancouver waterfront.
  • Friday, November 9th – Bates Motel films in Fort Langley.
  • Friday, November 9th – Battlestar Galactica prequel Blood and Chrome with Ben Cotton debuts first and second webisodes
  • Thursday, November 8th – Sitcom Package Deal tapes its pilot in front of live studio audience in Burnaby.
  • Thursday, November 8th – Brent Butt’s No Clue films in Coal Harbour on a yacht with a follow boat and a technocrane photographed by Rusty Deluce.
  • Thrusday, November 8th – Emily Owens M.D.’s Mamie Gummer & Justin Hartley film at UBC’s Life Sciences Centre,
  • Thursday, November 8th – Fringe films episode eleven on the platform for the West Coast Express at the Waterfront station with Loyalist soldiers, Peter, Olivia, Walter and the child Observer.
  • Thursday, November 8th – News of AMC and Netflix nearing deal for surprise third season of The Killing via Deadline.com.
  • Thursday, November 8th – News of Twilight fans already lining up for Monday’s Los Angeles premiere of The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn 2 Read More »WEEK: November 5-11, 2012

BIG READ: LEO AWARDS Live-Tweets its Hotel Vancouver Gala

Published May 31, 2012 on Vancouver is Awesome

Live-tweets turned out to be the best thing about last weekend’s Leo Awards celebrating the best of B.C.-made film and television. Tweets from @LeoAwards gave an award-by-award account plus details of all the hijinks in between at both the Celebration and Gala Awards: hijinks that ranged from Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott mock-fighting over their award to Gala co-hosts Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne calling each other evil twin and English MILF to Nancy Robertson and Ryan Robbins pitching a new comedy series to Emilie Ullerup re-enacting Angelina Jolie’s notorious one-leg Oscars pose to acting legend Gabrille Rose swearing on stage while presenting the final award to Sisters & Brothers for Best Feature Film.

It was a great way to let the public share in this celebration of artistic talent after a tough week, which had started with the official cancellation of homegrown sci-fi series Sanctuary, the most-recognized B.C. production by far with 18 Leo nominations going in. Sanctuary ended up winning four Leos for its fourth and final season, but only one on the night of the gala for a guest performance by Arctic Air’s Pascale Hutton, who sang beautifully and turned her head right around in the Glee-meets-The-Exorcist episode Fuge.

I’d hoped for a repeat of last year’s wild times on the red carpet outside the Hotel Vancouver on West Georgia Street, but organizers moved the red carpet inside the hotel this year to the conference floor and restricted access. Most of the nominees kept the party going after the red carpet to take a turn at the new Media Wall by the bar where I had a spot, but it was so dimly-lit I had to jack some light from the pro-photographers’ flashes. Here’s The Express’s Johanna Ward interviewing nominee and eventual winner Johannah Newmarch on the red carpet about her supporting performance in mockumentary Sunflower Hour. Ward later dropped by the Media Wall to wrangle nominees Ali Liebert from Bomb Girls and Emilie Ullerup from Arctic Air as a backdrop to her standup.

You can see the start of Emilie Ullerup’s one-leg Angelina homage and how the popular Cassini brothers photo-bombed the arrangement. That’s Frank on the left and John on the right. Frank Cassini later won a roar from the crowd and a Leo for his supporting performance on Read More »BIG READ: LEO AWARDS Live-Tweets its Hotel Vancouver Gala