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Ryan Robbins

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: June 3-9, 2013

 

  • Sunday, June 9th – Continuum 2×07 Second Degree airs on Showcase: Kiera (Rachel Nichols) & Carlos (Victor Webster) discover a juror on Julian (Richard Harmon)’s trial has been compromised and race to protect his family unaware that it’s part of a larger Liber8 plot to install Jim Martin (Tahmoh Penikett) as Mayor. Trial filmed at Vancouver Art Gallery. And Emily (Magda Apanowicz) reveals kick-ass fighting skills.
  • Sunday, June 9th – The Killing 3×03 Seventeen airs on AMC: so named for 17 body bags Sarah Linden (Mireille Enos) finds near the “Picasso Drawing” of a grove of trees by Seward (Peter Sarsgaard)’s son Adrian. Stephen Holder (Joel Kinnaman) connects with Bullet and gets the name of a pimp who might have Callie. Ryan Robbins introduced as a John.
  • Sunday, June 9th – Godzilla films third overnight in downtown New Westminster dressed as San Francisco, on 6th Street and Clarkson.
  • Sunday, June 9th – The Killing closes the south bound lane of Burrard Bridge in the morning to film scenes, then moves to Main Street cafe and then Pender & Richards.
  • Sunday, June 9th – Falling Skies 2-hour season 3 premiere airs on TNT. Tom (Noah Wyle) is president and father to a baby girl. Robert Sean Leonard joins the group.
  • Sunday, June 9th – Entertainment Weekly’s set visit to Falling Skies S3 in Vancouver.
  • Sunday, June 9th – Ratings for Primeval: New World debut on Syfy in the U.S. – a surprisingly strong 1.33 million on Saturday night.
  • Saturday, June 8th – Godzilla films second overnight in downtown New Westminster dressed as San Francisco, this time on 6th Street from Carnovan down past Columbia Street.
  • Saturday, June 8th –  Comedy couple Brent Butt & Nancy Robertson host Leo Awards Gala Ceremony at Westin Bayshore Hotel.  Continuum wins Best Dramatic Series and six other Leos. Arctic Air contingent owns red carpet. And Primeval: New World represents with three gorgeous cast.
  • Saturday, June 8th – Primeval: New World debut on Syfy in the U.S.
  • Saturday, June 8th – Ratings for Continuum S2 premiere on Syfy in the U.S. — a steady 1.42 million total viewers and 552,000 adults 18-49 on Friday night.
  • Friday, June 7th – Leo Awards celebration ceremony. Simon Barry wins screenwriting award for Continuum‘s season one finale, End Times.
  • Friday, June 7th – Godzilla second unit in overnight shoot in downtown New Westminster filming soldiers running up hill  on Begbie Street dressed as San Francisco. Aaron Taylor-Johnson on set and lots and lots of smoke.
  • Friday, June 7th – Continuum season 2 premiere on Syfy in the U.S.
  • Thursday, June 6th – Supernatural star Jensen Ackles becomes a Dad. Wife Daneel gives birth to baby girl named Justice Jay Ackles, aka J2 orJJ Ackles.
  • Thursday, June 6th – New trailer for Man of Steel starring Henry Cavil. And in interviews Cavill & Krypton Dad Russell Crowe talk about the problem of no fly in super suit.
  • Thursday, June 6th – News from Bell Media Upfront in Toronto: CTV will reverse  the Amell cousins’ Wednesday night block this fall and air it earlier than the CW with Robbie Amell’s The Tomorrow People at 7 p.m. before Stephen Amell’s Arrow at 8 p.m. In CanCon: new Toronto crime drama Players has Sanctuary’s Agam Darshi  in cast.
  • Thursday, June 6th – Psych films inside Caprice night club on Granville after doing quick establishing shot outside the Penthouse in the morning. Read More »WEEK: June 3-9, 2013

Farewell to John Pope’s Harley, Destroyed in FALLING SKIES Season 2 Premiere -Updated

Who knew at a Falling Skies location shoot in Vancouver last November that we were seeing the last of  John Pope’s Harley, destroyed by a beamer that night in a scene for last week’s second season premiere? Or that this could be our first and last chance to see a 2nd Mass resistance attack on the alien invaders using  motorbikes?

Falling Skies crew turned the warehouses along Western Street near Pacific Central Station into a post-alien-invasion disaster zone dressed with ash, dried leaves, debris and overturned burnout cars for a scene of Colin Cunningham’s John Pope on his Harley rounding a corner from Northern Street onto Western Street, followed by new series regular Ryan Robbins’s Tector on a second bike. 2nd Mass’s new insurgent strategy was to ride the bikes fullout to draw fire from the aliens, so that the rest of the fighters could target the exposed Mechs and Skitters. I spotted the heads of Sarah Carter’s Maggie and Drew Roy’s Hal above the cab of the pickup truck as it headed towards watching fans on Western Street, and when they cleared out I spied Connor Jessup’s Ben and Dylan Authors’s Jimmy (someone I never thought I’d be lucky enough to see on location) in the back of the truck too. This must be the spot where the Harley was destroyed by the aliens, who’d learned to hone in on the heat of an engine. Sarah Carter’s Maggie and Drew Roy’s Hal started running  in our direction carrying their prop guns, as if escaping from some kind of explosion, followed by the others, including Peter Sinkoda’s Dai and Mpho Koaho’s Anthony. I’m not familiar with the actors who play Beserkers yet.

I wish I’d stayed on in the bitter cold that night to see the beamer explosion with its blinding white flash and noise, which scared cast and crew alike, who hadn’t expected anything of that magnitude. I also missed the filming of a scene of Colin Cunningham’s John Pope shooting his gun at the sky next to his Harley in flames. Poor man.

But I can’t really complain much since Colin Cunnigham, the star of this long night shoot, took time out to come over and talk to us early on, posing for photos with everyone who wanted one.

Colin Cunningham and Ryan Robbins round the corner from Northern Street onto Western Street on  motorcycles.

Read More »Farewell to John Pope’s Harley, Destroyed in FALLING SKIES Season 2 Premiere -Updated

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

LEO AWARDS Nominations 2012 – Film Edition

For the first time in a long time, I have seen four of the feature films nominated for Leo Awards on the big screen, thanks to a Vancouver International Film Festival pass from Vancouver is Awesome dot com.

As expected, Carl Bessai’s Sisters & Brothers, the third in his trilogy about dysfunctional Vancouver families, leads the feature film nominations with twelve in total. How could it not with local talent like Corner Gas’s Gabrielle Miller and Benjaman Ratner as sister and brother; Intelligence’s Camille Sullivan and Amanda Crew as half-sisters on a road trip to L.A. with a sleezy hustler played by Tom Scholte; and The Killing’s Kacey Rohl and Leena Manro as another pair of half-sisters, whose mother is none other than local acting legend Gabrielle Rose? All eight of these B.C. actors are nominated either for lead or supporting performances in the film.

Read More »LEO AWARDS Nominations 2012 – Film Edition