Paul Gross news archive

January-December 2004

PLEASE NOTE: Links in this news archive are not updated and information may be out of date

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24th December
Here's more information, courtesy of Angela, about the UK TV premiere of Slings & Arrows on Artsworld, starting on 2nd January!

And you can hear a message from Paul on the NORAD Santa-tracking website - thanks to Lynne for the link.

19th December
Elaine reports that, according to the preview at the end of last night's "Eleventh Hour", Paul Gross will guest star in the 1st January 2005 episode.

17th December
Congratulations are in order again - what a week! Paul Gross will receive the 2005 ACTRA Award of Excellence for his onscreen work and for his commitment to Canadian film and television industry. [more...] Thanks to Wendy, Elaine, Mary and others for the news!

14th December
Congratulations to Paul for receiving the "Best Performance by an Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role" at the Gemini Awards for Slings and Arrows (A Mirror Up To Nature)! Thanks to Felicity for letting us know. And thanks, again, to Julie, this time for links to pictures here (Paul's acceptance speech) and here (Paul announcing an award).

12th December
Paul will be appearing in the 19th Gemini Awards tomorrow, Monday 13th December at 8 pm ET. Slings And Arrows is nominated for a number of categories. The"red carpet" preshow will be shown on Star! TV at 7 pm ET. Thanks to Julie for this news.

9th December
Maria
reports that Paul Gross will appear in Season 3 of CTV's The Eleventh Hour.

4th December
Great news for viewers of digital TV in the UK: series 1 of Slings and Arrows will begin on Sunday 2nd January 2005 at 9 pm on Artsworld (Sky digital channel 157 - subscription is £6 per month). Thanks to Angela for the heads up!

25th November
Joy reports that for those in the UK, according to the Wilby Wonderful website, the film will be showing at the Commonwealth Film Festival in Manchester in 2005. (Munich, Estonia and Palm Springs are also mentioned.)

14th November
The 5 DVD/VHS set of The Greatest Canadian will be released on 14th December. The set includes Paul's documentary on Lester B Pearson and can be ordered from the CBC at $49.98 or from amazon.ca (DVD set only) at $34.99. Thank you Maria!

10th November
Many thanks to Wendy for the news that Film Movement has struck a deal to acquire rights to Wilby Wonderful. Film Movement runs a subscription service in the US that releases films simultaneously in theatres and to members via DVD.

8th November
STOP PRESS! Paul Gross is appearing in Rick Mercer's Monday Report comedy show on CBC, tonight, 8th November, at 9pm ET. You can watch the video of Paul's "sequel" to H20 online here. Thanks to Maria for the tip off!

7th November
Maria reports that inside this week's TV Guide is a mention of Paul's "Passchendaele" project. The movie (a Canadian-British co-production) is scheduled to start filming next year for a 2006 theatrical release.

30th October
In anticipation of tomorrow's broadcast of H2O, why not take a trip over to CBC Television's Official H2O website? There are lots of interesting interviews and political articles to be found there, plus a trailer. Thanks to Jill for the link.

29th October
Hot tip! Paul will be on the covers of the TV magazines for the Globe and Mail and Toronto Star tomorrow. And there is another review of H2O in today's Globe and Mail.

Paul's recent interview on "The Roundup" is now on the CBC website - you need RealPlayer to hear it.

28th October
Check out "Paul Gross delivers rollercoaster-ride political thriller in new TV drama H2O" in the National Post.

Thanks to Elaine for the news that there's an article about H2O in the Nov 1 Maclean's and that there's also an article in the Oct 30 - Nov 5 TV Guide (but it's not online).

27th October
Read "'Incredible Hunk' big on miniseries" in the Ottawa Sun and details of some of this year's Gemini Awards hopefuls which include nine nominations for Slings and Arrows. Many thanks to Louise, who also mentions that Paul Gross was apparently on The Hill in Ottawa yesterday handing out bottles of water to promote H2O!

Thanks to Mary Beth for the news that due South character Benton Fraser will be profiled on CBC Radio One's The Roundup on Tuesday 9th November as part of their search for the greatest fictional Canadian. Paul was interviewed on "The Roundup" yesterday - we all missed it, but it's possible that CBC might put a sound file on their website in the next few days.

24th October
There is a review of H2O in the Globe and Mail today. Thanks Felicity!

Ack - look what we missed! http://www.synapse.net/radio/caj/ottawa-oct-2004.htm. Anyone who was there, please let us know how it went!

19th October
The CBC last night named the top nominations for Greatest Canadian. In the Top 10 was Lester Pearson (former Prime Minister). Paul Gross will appear as his advocate, trying to convince people to vote for Pearson as the Greatest Canadian: http://www.cbc.ca/greatest/advocates/paul-gross.html. This will be shown on CBC on Wednesday 10th November at 8 pm (8.30 pm in Newfoundland), with encore presentations on CBC Newsworld. Some others in the Top 10 were Pierre Trudeau, Alexander Graham Bell and Wayne Gretzky. Thanks to Marie for this!

And thanks to Maria for the excellent news that filming of a second series of Slings And Arrows will begin next month.

Go to insidetoronto.com to read an interview with Peter Gentile, who directed "Amazin' Gross: The Life and Times of Paul Gross". Thank you, Angela!

16th October
Wendy wrote to CBC to ask if H2O would eventually be available for the public to buy - and there was good news! Here's their reply:

"This e-mail is to confirm that the production H2O will be made available in March 2005. Although we have not received confirmation on price, the film is available for sale."

12th October
There's lots to pore over in the press! Thanks to all who contributed these items:

Paul will be introducing his choice for the Greatest Canadian Who Ever Lived on CBC-TV on Wednesday 10th November (repeated on CBC Newsworld, Thursday at 8pm and 11pm ET and Saturday at 8pm ET)

And Joy points out that at cbc.ca some previous Life and Times programmes are available to buy on video/DVD. You never know.....!

6th October
There's a new article to read about Wilby Wonderful - Paul Gross is back in the saddle in the Toronto Star.

2nd October
Maria writes: The half hour program MovieTelevision includes a segment on Wilby Wonderful today at 7pm ET on CityTV (the Toronto TV station). Repeat times: Thursdays at 5pm ET; Sundays at 7pm ET. Movie Television can also be seen on the cable channel Star TV.

If you have RealPlayer, you can watch the clip at http://www.citytv.com/movietv/.

27th September
The Life & Times of Paul Gross will air on CBC on 14th October at 8 pm.

26th September
Read the "Gunning For Quality" interview with Paul in the Montreal Gazette.

24th September
Like the sound of "Paul Gross hitting a career high"? Read the review of Wilby Wonderful at straight.com! (Scroll to the bottom of the page.) And don't forget to visit our new H2O page.

19th September
Thanks to Elaine, who writes: There's a short article in last week's Maclean's on Canadian miniseries that will air during the upcoming season. The first paragraph is about H2O. And there's an airdate! [31st October and 1st November on CBC]

6th September
Many thanks to Angela for the link to A day in the life of a movie extra in today's Ottawa Citizen.

Lys writes: I just visited the Wilby Wonderful site and there is a page there listing all the places the film will premiere. At the bottom of the page is an email link where you can contact the film producers about getting the film to play in your area. Write and request the film in your area!

4th September
"For anyone who has $19.98 US they don't know what to do with, The Martian Chronicles is out on DVD now." It turns out this is not the same as Ray Bradbury's Chronicles: The Martian Episodes and does not include Mars is Heaven with Paul Gross and Hal Linden - thanks to Sandi for this warning, added 6th October.

27th August
Lillian has spotted that Paul Gross and Callum Keith Rennie will both be in attendance at the TIFF - could it be for the screening of Wilby Wonderful?

26th August

Calling all Duesers! Help us get due South released on Region 2 DVD!

Back in 2002, Momentum Pictures, the UK subsidiary of Alliance Atlantis, regained the rights to due South from Clearvision, and promised the many European fans of the show that the Region 2 release on DVD was only months away. In fact, they wrote:

"We are planning the DVD release in the UK in the first half of 2003 and have started discussion with UK retailers on dating the release. We are watching with interest the Canadian release and hopefully will have a region 2 disc every bit as good as if not better than the region 1 disc!"

After waiting not very patiently for nearly THREE YEARS, Angela got in touch with Momentum Pictures to remind them of this promise and was told yesterday that there were no longer plans to release due South in Region 2 format. Momentum even said they weren't aware that there was any demand for it!

ARE THEY ILL?

We feel it is incumbent on all loyal Region 2 Duesers to do their duty and let Momentum know that the demand IS there, so to make the job easier, here are the necessary contact details:

Thank you kindly and please spread the word!

20th August
Wilby Wonderful is the gala opening film at the Atlantic Film Festival in Halifax on 17th September. Thanks to Wendy for passing this along.

18th August
Thanks to Lillian for the news that Wilby Wonderful will be screened at the Toronto International Film Festival on 13th and 14th September. The film's release date is now 8th October 2004.

3rd July
Many thanks to Lyds, Lisa and Mark who wrote in with the news that the DVD release of due South Series 3 is now expected on 21st September 2004.

28th June
CallumKeithRennie.net have created a new section called www.PGSnapshots.com - go there to find a truly comprehensive collection of screencaps and photos of Paul all under one roof! Thanks to Bast for this news.

Thanks to Wendy for letting us know that the Wilby Wonderful release date is 1st October 2004.

3rd June
Paul will be speaking at the Magnetic North Theatre Festival Speaker Series on Saturday 19th June at the Timms Centre for the Arts in Edmonton. Martha Burns will also be moderating a lunchtime panel on Friday 18th June. More details can be found at the MNTF website. Thanks to Felicity for the news!

1st June
Breaking news on the Globe and Mail website - Paul has been speaking today to members of ACTRA about the future of Canadian TV broadcasting.

26th May
Paul Gross
, Martha Burns, Susan Coyne, Eric Peterson, Nino Ricci, Rick Salutin and Jane Urquhart will be appearing on Sunday evening in a fundraiser to protect the arts in Ontario schools - more in today's Toronto Star. Thanks to Maria for the news.

24th May
There is a brief H20 Q&A with Paul at macleans.ca - thanks to Mary Beth for this.

16th May
They say that life imitates art, and an article in yesterday's Ottawa Sun seems to tie in quite spookily with Paul's current project, H20!

14th May
Getting Married in Buffalo Jump is at last available on DVD from amazon.com/amazon.ca!

12th May
Here's a further update on the DVD release of due South Season 3. Alliance have written to Mary saying that they are currently completing some legal clearances and are aiming for an early September release.

8th May
Thanks to Susan for the news that Murder Most Likely will be shown in the UK on Friday 14th May at 11.50pm on Channel 5.

30th April
Happy Birthday Paul! To celebrate, he's appearing tonight on the cable channel CPAC's one hour show Talk Politics at 9pm ET. The show is rebroadcast at midnight. If you have a fast enough internet connection and you don't live in Canada, you can watch the show live on your computer. Thanks to Maria for the news.

24th April
Liveunity.com have revamped their website and are selling various Gross and Keeley goodies again - thanks to M Kojima for letting us know.

23rd April
Many thanks to Lys for telling us about an article entitled "Gross power on the Hill" in today's Ottawa Sun.

21st April
The 2004 Canadian Screenwriting Award for a Dramatic Series has gone to the "Outrageous Fortune" episode of Slings & Arrows written by Susan Coyne, Bob Martin and Mark McKinney.

14th April
Prime Minister Gross, I presume? Read an interview with Paul in today's Globe and Mail.

Thanks to Maria for this heads up for Canadian viewers: the next edition of @ the Movies (Sat 8.40 pm - 9pm ET) on TMN will profile Atlantic filmmaker Daniel MacIvor's new feature Wilby Wonderful starring Paul Gross and Sandra Oh.

13th April
Lisa
has managed to squeeze a little more info out of Alliance Atlantis concerning the delayed DVD release of due South series 3:

We are currently completing some legal clearances on Due South: Season #3 and will be re-announcing the street date as soon as we can. We know how anxious Due South fans are for this release and assure you we are doing all we can to get this, and the remaining seasons, available as quickly as possible.
Included in the 3rd season release, as a bonus, will be the much anticipate pilot episode.

And Susan has been told by the Wilby Wonderful team that they hope to release the film in the UK next year!

12th April
Wendy
wrote to the Wilby Wonderful team and received this reply:

We are hoping the film will be released in the US next year. We will have a Canadian release probably by next January. The details are still being worked out. It has been sold to the four following Canadian broadcasters: CBC, City TV, Movie Central and The Movie Network. Sometime next year a DVD will be released.

Please check the web site every so often for more details. Release info will be posted to our "tourism" page (still under construction.)

8th April
Not that we'd be trying to swing the vote or anything, but Carole has noticed that CBC is doing a series on the Top Ten Great Canadians, as chosen by viewers. You can nominate and vote before 16th May at http://www.cbc.ca/greatest and it doesn't seem to be limited to the Canadian audience only.

7th April
Wilby WonderfulIf you're feeling strong 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will be playing in the US on the SciFi Channel on Saturday 10th April at 9 pm Eastern. Thanks to Gretchen for letting us know!

Thanks to Maria for passing on this link to a page about Wilby Wonderful, a forthcoming TV dark comedy in which Paul plays a police officer in the Maritimes. And keep an eye on wilbywonderful.com - is that Callum Keith Rennie we spy in the trailer?

6th April
Passers-by in Ottawa might catch a glimpse of the filming of H20 if they're in the vicinity of the British High Commission over the next three days!

We received the following press release today.

PAUL GROSS STARS IN CBC TELEVISION POLITICAL THRILLER H20 - PRODUCTION UNDERWAY IN OTTAWA ON MINI-SERIES

CBC Television is pleased to announce that production starts in Ottawa this week on H2O, a 4 hour political thriller starring Paul Gross that opens with a bang: a canoe trip on a northern river goes horrifyingly wrong and the Prime Minister of Canada drowns. Set in what the film-makers call the ‘recent future’, H2O is a storm warning, a cautionary tale of political ambition, hidden agendas, murder and the betrayal of a country’s trust. This mini-series will be telecast in CBC Television’s 2004-05 season.

Joining Paul Gross in the cast is an extraordinary line-up of actors: Leslie Hope, Guy Nadon, Kenneth Welsh, Yves Jacques, Martha Henry, Louise Portal, Callum Keith Rennie, Masha Grenon, Michael Murphy and Gordon Pinsent.

“I’m very excited that CBC Television has developed this mini-series with Whizbang Films,” said Slawko Klymkiw, Executive Director, Network Programming at CBC Television. “Paul Gross and John Krizanc’s script is intriguing, intelligent and shockingly current. We’re pleased that Paul is returning to CBC Television with this project.”

Gross plays Tom McLaughlin, the son of the late Prime Minister, who returns from The Hague, where he serves as a War Crimes prosecutor at the World Court. At the state funeral for his father he delivers a eulogy that moves the nation and galvanizes the power brokers of politics. Reluctantly, Tom stands for the leadership of the party, narrowly wins and is installed as Prime Minister. Almost immediately clouds gather, questions swirl and the story takes on dark overtones. Was the Prime Minister’s drowning really an accident? That possibility sets off a high-octane thriller that takes many shocking twists and turns, finally coming to a jarring climax where the future of the nation hangs in the balance.

H20 is directed by one of Quebec’s most accomplished filmmakers, Charles Binamé. Shooting [began] in Ottawa on March 25th and will involve many notable locations in the capital, including Parliament Hill.

H2O is Executive Produced by Paul Gross and Frank Siracusa of Whizbang Films Inc, (Men With Brooms and Due South) and is Co-Produced by Ottawa’s Neil Bregman of Sound Venture International. It is produced in association with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund, CBC. International and COGECO Program Development Fund.

5th April
More delays to the due South Series 3 DVD set. Lisa has been told by amazon.ca: "We rely on the manufacturer for release date information. Our most recent information is that Due South: The Complete Third Season would be released on 5 May, 2005."

29th March
Amazon.ca are now showing 5th May 2004 as the release date of the long-awaited due South Series 3 DVD set.

26th March
Filming of H20 started yesterday and it is to star Gordon Pinsent, Martha Henry, Guy Nadon and Kenneth Welsh. Thanks to Mary for the link to this Canoe article.

19th March
Lyds sends along the news that the release of due South Series 3 on DVD has been delayed yet again - this time because of music clearance issues. Plus ça change ....!

For our Aussie readers, Aspen Extreme is now available on DVD in Big W stores. Eileen found it for $16.

27th February
Men With Brooms
Region 2
(Europe, including France, Greece, Turkey, Egypt, Arabia, Japan and South Africa) is now shipping on DVD and video from amazon.co.uk.

15th February
If you're in the UK you'll be interested to hear that February's DVD Monthly contains an interview with Paul to coincide with the release of Men With Brooms on DVD. "He brought curling to cinema-goers and might be more familiar to you as the Mountie from Due South. He's got fingers in many pies, and we spoke to him about life after Diefenbaker." Thanks to Susan for letting us know!

10th February
Calling all wannabee Mounties, Nunavut elders and Lab Technicians etc - oh, and anyone who looks like Fidel Castro! Extras of all shapes and sizes are needed between March and May in Ottawa for Paul's new mini-series, H2O (aka The Last Prime Minister) - more details in the audition listings at www.ACTottawa.com. Thanks to Lys for the tip-off!

7th February
The inaugural award for Best Canadian DVD has gone to Men With Brooms. Thanks to Lisa for the news and congratulations to all concerned!

2nd February
Click here to see Paul in Flare magazine's photo gallery of the Giller Prize award ceremony last November - and thanks to Sandi for the link.

28th January
Many thanks to Louis for pointing out that amazon.ca are now listing 4th April as the release date for due South 3 on DVD.

18th January
Charles Binamé from Quebec has been hired as director of H2O, which starts filming in Ottawa on 25th March.

12th January
Attention US fans! Paul Gross tells his career breakthrough story on the new TV series Lucky Breaks, airing this Wednesday, 14th January at 8 pm ET on the Biography Channel.

"Due South" star Paul Gross and "Whose Line Is It Anyway?" star Colin Mochrie interact with comedy hopefuls Kenneth Branagh and Colm Feore during a "Second City" opening night in this half-hour series devoted to those incredibly lucky moments that make all the difference in the careers of celebrities. From comedy to fashion, theater to film, publishing to news, our featured celebs have one thing in common - that moment when the stars aligned, their Lucky Break!

And many thanks to Lisa for the news that the Region 1 DVD release of due South Series 3 will include the Pilot episode.

10th January
Andpatri writes:

Greetings PG fans. This is for all the American PG fans. Tune in to Showtime on Monday, January 12 at 9:45 am for Men with Brooms.

7th January
We've just heard that shooting starts in Ottawa on 25th March for Manifest Destiny (aka H2O, aka The Last Prime Minister - take your pick!). Read what Paul had to say about this exciting new drama in his recent IRC chat.

Bast has kindly sent word from CallumKeithRennie.net that the DVD release of due South series 3, expected on 27th January, has been "indefinitely delayed". This also happened with Series 1 and 2 but they did eventually come out, so there's no need to worry just yet!