For our July 4, 2020 encore presentation of “Pop Life” we welcome Harry Connick Jr., a musician who first performed in public when he was just five years old and is still making music, most recently releasing an album of interpretations of classic standards called “True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter.” Connick Jr stops by the Pop Life bar to talks about his earliest musical memories, the massive success of his When Harry Met Sally soundtrack, how he narrowed down Cole Porter’s library of hundreds of songs to the 13 that appear on the record and more!
Then, Antoni Cimolino, the Stratford Festival’s Artistic Director, Simon Rivard, RBC Resident Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra and Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Youth Orchestra and Alina Solomon the Chef/owner of the restaurant Tutti Matti, and also a wizard of classic Italian cooking, break down why the classics ae not only important but often just as timely today as when they were first created.
Here’s a sample of Connick on the show: “I remember the feeling of going into the record stores when my first couple albums came out. I would I would say, “Hey, any new any new jazz record selling?” They would say, “No, not really.” I’m like, “What about any jazz piano players?” But when When Harry Met, Sally came out, that was a complete game changer.”
Watch the whole thing HERE! (link coning soon)
Film critic and pop culture historian Richard Crouse shares a toast with celebrity guests and entertainment pundits every week on CTV News Channel’s exciting talk show POP LIFE.
Featuring in-depth discussion and debate on pop culture and modern life, POP LIFE features sit-down interviews with celebrities from across the entertainment world, including rock legends Sting and Meat Loaf, musicians Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman, comedian Ken Jeong, writer Fran Lebowitz, superstar jazz musician Diana Krall, stand-up comedian and CNN host W. Kamau Bell, actors Danny DeVito and Jay Baruchel, celebrity chefs Bobby Flay and Nigella Lawson, and many more.
On the April 12, 2020 edition of the Richard Crouse Show: Three of Richard’s favourite interviews from the most recent season of “Pop Life.”
Harry Connick Jr., a musician who first performed in public when he was just five years old and is still making music, most recently releasing an album of interpretations of classic standards called “True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter.” Connick Jr stops by the Pop Life bar to talks about his earliest musical memories, the massive success of his When Harry Met Sally soundtrack, how he narrowed down Cole Porter’s library of hundreds of songs to the 13 that appear on the record and more!
The multi-Gold and Platinum-selling Bif Naked. She has been called a Punk Princess, Rock Goddess, and Legend… she’s all that and more. Add to the list, Cancer Survivor, Mentor and Entrepreneur. With a new tour, a new record and her own CBD brand, Bif is busier than ever. She found time to stop by the Pop Life bar to talk about the record that made her take up music over medicine, how her cancer diagnosis changed her and taking risks.
John Lennon’s personal photographer Bob Gruen. The legendary photographer opens up about taking famous pictures of every rock ‘n roll star from David Bowie and Led Zeppelin to The Clash and The Sex Pistols.
Each week on the nationally syndicated Richard Crouse Show, Canada’s most recognized movie critic brings together some of the most interesting and opinionated people from the movies, television and music to put a fresh spin on news from the world of lifestyle and pop-culture. Tune into this show to hear in-depth interviews with actors and directors, to find out what’s going on behind the scenes of your favourite shows and movies and get a new take on current trends. Recent guests include Ethan Hawke, director Brad Bird, comedian Gilbert Gottfried, Eric Roberts, Brian Henson, Jonathan Goldsmith a.k.a. “The most interesting man in the world,” and best selling author Linwood Barclay.
Click HERE to catch up on shows you might have missed!
Flipper may be the biggest dolphin movie star of all time but he’s not the only dolphin in Hollywood’s great big sea. Winter, star of “Dolphin Tale” and its new sequel, is a close second.
Winter is an injured bottleneck dolphin rescued off the Florida coast who was taken in by the Clearwater Marine Aquarium in Florida. He lost his tail to infection but a VA prosthetic designer, an Iraqi war vet and the caregivers at her new home were determined to put a new end on this tale. She now swims with the aid of a silicone and plastic tail, and is the star attraction at the aquarium and the subject of two movies.
The new film sees Sawyer (Nathan Gamble, who has perfected the “concerned face” method of acting) and Hazel (Cozi Zuehlsdorff), the two dolphin loving kids from the first film, come back for more rousing sea mammal action. This time out they and the good folks at the Clearwater Marine Hospital (including Harry Connick Jr. and Kris Kristofferson), search for a companion for the lonely dolphin when Winter’s old partner passes away. Also making return visits are Ashley Judd as Sawyer’s mom, Morgan Freeman as Dr. Cameron McCarthy the designer of Winter’s prosthetic tail and Rufus the Emotional Pelican.
Like the first film “Dolphin’s Tale 2” is a wholesome family movie for the entire clan. Messages about dealing with grief and loss are woven into the story, but the film is more about uplift and inspiration.
Sometimes too much so.
For instance, Connick Jr. officially plays the biologist who runs the aquarium but, in reality, is a living embodiment of Father Knows Best. He always seems to know exactly the right thing to say and do which gives the film the feel of a 1950s family drama. Reaching hand over fist for emotional moments, “Dolphin Tale 2” relies a bit too heavily on inspirational children’s movie clichés—any movie that features Bethany Hamilton romping with dolphins is unafraid of embracing its redemptive soul—but does so without an ounce of cynicism.
The two F’s are front and center—family and friends—along with lessons in determination and fighting for what you believe in. Good stuff all round, if a little ham-fisted in its presentation.
“All I did was teach you not to cover her blowhole,” he says.
“I wouldn’t have known that,” she laughs.
No, that’s not the punchline to a bad joke, it’s part of the easy banter between Dolphin Tale 2’s teen stars Nathan Gamble and Cozi Zuehlsdorff. They were preteens when they first worked together on Dolphin Tale, the story of Winter, an injured dolphin rescued by the Clearwater Marine Hospital and fitted with a prosthetic tail.
“My character didn’t really get to go underwater in the first one,” says Cozi, “so it was all, almost, a new experience. Winter and Nathan were the veterans and they taught me and Hope (the second movie’s dolphin star) the ropes.”
Like not covering the blowhole.
Dolphin Tale 2 is a continuation of Winter’s tale. This time around Sawyer and Hazel and the Clearwater Marine Hospital folks search for a companion for the lonely dolphin. “Think about it,” says Nathan, “has there ever been a sequel to a true story? And one that is also true? It’s pretty rare.”
The second movie’s story was inspired by a true event that happened during the wrap party for the first film.
“That’s when we got the call that Hope was rescued,” says Nathan. “We were there and so it feels like we were a little bit part of the story.”
“The truck pulled up and Hope was really carried by hand up to the pool,” says Cozi, “and really lowered into the pool the way you see in the movie. It was incredible. (Dolphin Tale 2) is as true-to-life as you could get without saying it was a wrap party for a movie. That wouldn’t have fit into the story.”
What does fit into the movie is Nathan’s relationship with Winter, a bond formed years ago.
“There was this one moment on the second one where we were just hanging out,” he says. “I did this thing where I tilted my head and said, ‘Hey Winter, how’s it going?’ She bubbled at the surface and sank to the bottom. Her trainer said, ‘That’s really bizarre,’ and then remembered that was one of the behaviours I gave her on the first film and they haven’t done that since the first film. That means she remembers me doing it three years ago, which is really bizarre.”
Harry Connick Jr. says working with his co-star everyday was “really incredible.” He’s not talking about Morgan Freeman or Ashley Judd, although he enjoyed spending time on set with them. No, he’s referring to Winter, the titular star of his new film Dolphin’s Tale.
Winter is the real-life inspiration of the story of a bottlenose dolphin whose tail was lost in a crab trap. Rescued and rehabilitated by the folks at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, the giant marine mammal was equipped with a prosthetic tail that allows it to swim normally.
“When you really got to spend time with her you got the sense that she was aware of your feelings more than your presence,” he says.
“There were times when I had to apply the prosthetic to her, when you thought she could wipe me out with her tail if she wanted to but she was very calm. It was strange, like an otherworldly type of communication.
“I’ve been around dolphins before but there is something different about her. I guess it’s because she’s been so ultra socialized, she’s been around so many different people since she was months old that maybe there is a different type of relationship she has with humans. I’m not sure. There is something you can feel. It’s pretty cool.”
“When we got her she was about 60 pounds and about two-and-a-half or three feet long,” says David Yates, CEO and director of the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. “Very, very small. A dolphin that small, with that kind of trauma, is not expected to live at all.”
But Winter defied expectations and is now an inspiration for visitors to the aquarium, and starting this weekend, to movie audiences.
“I know exactly how the movie is going to impact people because we see it every day around here in real life,” says Yates.
“Winter is a young dolphin who lost her tail and wouldn’t give up, simply wouldn’t quit. People look at her, especially kids and they realize she is different, and what kid doesn’t think they are different?
“But they look at Winter and go, ‘You know, she’s different and she’s OK. I’m different; I’m going to be OK.’ That’s the essence of the movie.”
For our July 4, 2020 encore presentation of “Pop Life” we welcome Harry Connick Jr., a musician who first performed in public when he was just five years old and is still making music, most recently releasing an album of interpretations of classic standards called “True Love: A Celebration of Cole Porter.” Connick Jr stops by the Pop Life bar to talks about his earliest musical memories, the massive success of his When Harry Met Sally soundtrack, how he narrowed down Cole Porter’s library of hundreds of songs to the 13 that appear on the record and more!
