Entertainment – mackaycartoons

Monday November 13, 2017

November 10, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Monday November 13, 2017

Who’s next? High anxiety in Hollywood amid sexual harassment allegations in the industry

The curtain has been pulled back, and, oh, is it messy.

November 9, 2017

Hollywood has always revelled in scandal. The rumour. The whisper. The unfortunate photograph. The apology and return to grace. But the recent sex abuse stories have turned into a parade of tawdry violations and twisted passions, the stuff of movies acted out in real lives against the unglamorous air of disgrace, endless transgressions that even Ray Donovan, Showtime’s half-shaven mercurial fixer, couldn’t clean up with all his hush money and muscle.

The rape and sexual abuse allegations surrounding Harvey Weinstein, Brett Ratner, James Toback and others have shattered the awards-season aplomb in a town that imagines itself bold and freewheeling but prefers the tempered and scripted. The entertainment industry has slipped into a multi-polar catharsis of emboldened women, nervous men, threatening lawyers, broken deals, spoiled careers and the uncertainty that comes when cracks run like lightning through facades.

May 25, 2011

“I think the industry is forever changed,” said Marcel Pariseau, a publicist whose clients include Scarlett Johansson and Olivia Munn, one of six women who accused Ratner of sexual misconduct in the Los Angeles Times last week. “Every morning we wake up and we don’t know what’s going to be next. You’re almost afraid to get on your gadget to see what the new story is.”

“No one is going to be going to a producer or director’s hotel suite anymore,” he added. “All meetings will be done with somebody else in the room for protection for both sides. It’s a defining moment. It’s vigilance.”

November 19, 2014

Instagram accounts are being scrubbed, Facebook pages edited, publicists consulted and memories jogged about what might have happened where and with whom on that blurry night years ago. The cocktail circuit is jittery; the Oscar buzz feels a bit listless. Talent agencies are dropping clients and scouring their own houses. Studios are pruning relationships, firing executives hours after an allegation is made public. (Source: Toronto Star)

Saturday September 23, 2017

September 22, 2017 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday September 23, 2017

Council looks to nix program forcing Hess Village bars to pay for police

The city is poised to kill contentious bylaw rules that force Hess Village bars to pay for extra policing during patio season.

August 14, 2013

Ward Coun. Jason Farr introduced the motion Tuesday that would remove paid duty policing from the special “entertainment district” bylaw governing the pedestrianized party strip.

The planning committee voted 7-2 in favour of the motion, which still needs a council sign-off next week.

The city has long insisted on extra policing along the strip, which earned a reputation over time for alcohol-fueled rowdiness and violence. Council passed a bylaw in 2010 specifically requiring Hess Village bars to pay for up to 10 paid duty officers to patrol on weekend nights in the summer.

But on Tuesday, Farr argued “the village is not was it was when we enacted that bylaw.”

He said bar owners report a “busy” night now attracts around 1,500 people compared to a high of 5,500 back in 2010.

The number of bars sharing the bill under the paid duty program has also shrunk from 15 a few years ago to seven this year.

More bars are also “getting wise” to the bylaw loopholes, he said.

Bylaw head Ken Leendertse explained some owners are adding more seating and cutting late-night hours to be treated as a restaurant, rather than a bar. Only the latter must pitch in for paid duty police.

Hamilton police Supt. Will Mason told councillors he agreed crowd sizes have “decreased somewhat” over time, “but not substantially.” (Source: Hamilton Spectator)

Tuesday May 31, 2016

May 31, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, Editorial Cartoonist, The Hamilton Spectator – Tuesday May 31, 2016

Tragically Unhip – Tragically Hip fans cry foul after presale tickets scooped up in minutes

Many fans hoping to grab presale tickets to the Tragically Hip’s farewell tour this morning found disappointment instead, with tickets selling out quickly then appearing minutes later at a massive markup on resale sites.

Tickets to the summer tour, which begins July 22 in Victoria, went on sale at 10 a.m. local time this morning to registered users of the band’s fan club who got a presale code by email.

Demand was high for this last opportunity to see the iconic Canadian rock band, whose lead singer Gord Downie announced last week he has terminal brain cancer.

But fans cried foul when they found no tickets available for some shows on Ticketmaster within minutes — even though tickets were already being resold on StubHub.

In Vancouver, for example, at 11 a.m. PT, all the Ticketmaster tickets for the July 24 show were gone, but nearly 100 floor seats were being offered on StubHub for between $237 and $2,799 US per ticket.

The original prices were between $116 and $166 Cdn for the same seats, according to Ticketmaster’s website>. (Source: CBC News)

Cartoon modified from original publication date on February 26, 2009.

Thursday February 11, 2016

February 10, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday February 11, 2016

Netflix border crackdown cuts off some customers, but unblocking services fight back

Yes, the Netflix crackdown on cross-border watching is real.

Customers worldwide have grown accustomed to sneaking over virtual walls to stream shows and movies restricted to other countries.

Now, Netflix is stopping some virtual travellers at the border, finally enforcing its age-old policy that says viewers aren’t allowed to access Netflix in other regions.

Meanwhile, unblocking companies that help virtual travellers defy the rules are fighting back. And some are already declaring victory in the battle to keep Netflix’s borders wide open.

Numerous customers with the unblocking company Unblock-Us started reporting technical problems soon after Netflix announced its crackdown on Jan. 14.

For a fee, unblocking services do the technical legwork to help customers hide their location so they can hop borders.

For example, the service would help a Netflix Canada customer watch Sons of Anarchy on Netflix U.S. The Canadian version doesn’t carry the show.

“Help,” wrote one border hopping customer on the Unblock-Us tech support site on Jan. 27, explaining that he lives in Toronto and can no longer stream content on Netflix UK.

Another customer posted, “I live in Norway and am currently using your service to watch American Netflix, but now it doesn’t work anymore.”

“Netflix blocked in Australia,” reported someone else.

Barbados-based Unblock-Us did not respond to CBC News’s request for comment. But a post on its site updated on Feb. 3 declared, “We have a solution.”

It said blocked customers need to contact the support team, which would “have some simple steps for you to follow” to resume service. (Source: CBC News)

Saturday January 16, 2016

January 15, 2016 by Graeme MacKay

By Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Saturday January 16, 2016

Hamilton gets Garth Brooks times 5

Garth Brooks has upped the ante to five record-breaking concerts at FirstOntario Centre.

Brooks initially announced that he and his wife Trisha Yearwood would perform one show at the downtown Hamilton arena on Saturday, March 26 at 7 p.m.

Within less than 45 minutes of tickets going on sale Friday morning for that show, however, four additional concerts were added to the venue in four separate announcements, the first released at 10 a.m. and the fourth released at 10:42 a.m.

The timing of the five FirstOntario Centre shows by the American country superstar are between March 24 and 27th.

“Garth Brooks has smashed his Hamilton and Toronto ticket sales record combined in 45 minutes,” Leigh Ann Pigue, advertising and promotions manager for Nashville-based promoter Varnell Enterprises, said in a statement. “He last played Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Sept. 5, 1996, and SkyDome in Toronto, Sept., 6, 1996, and sold a combined 47,910 tickets. Today he has sold 54,048 tickets for FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton and tickets are still selling.”

Tickets for all shows are on sale now for $79.81 including service fees and HST, with an eight-ticket per purchase limit. (Source: Hamilton Spectator)