Plex is making thousands of ad-supported movies and TV shows available free for streaming
Plex is a streaming media service known for making it easy to stream your personal media – movies, music, photos from your computer or attached hard drive to all your devices. The company has recently announced they’ll be making thousands of movies and TV shows available free for streaming. And while the service is ad-supported,…
Though the story of Frozen 2 is a fairy tale, it contains many deep truths
I have to admit I’m not a big fan of fiction and less a fan of blockbuster films. I prefer to know what actually happened and is happening in the world. Still, great fiction is great because it reveals deeper truths about humanity. My intention in seeing Frozen 2 during the opening weekend of its…
It hurts to be rejected or see a dream come to an end, but it shouldn't impact our ability to live with integrity and find success
We all face disappointments and challenges. We don’t get picked for a team, we don’t get a promotion, we’re turned down by a potential lover or we see a dream come to an end. What’s important in life isn’t what happens to us, however. It’s how we respond. Great people aren’t without problems. They’re people…
The longevity and sustained popularity of Gunsmoke and Bonanza put them in a class apart
When Bonanza made its debut on Saturday, Sept. 12, 1959, it was joining a TV schedule littered with series westerns. During that 1959-60 season, over 30 westerns regularly stalked North American home screens. And most of them were on network evening TV, thus occupying plum spots during peak viewing hours. ABC’s 1959-60 Sunday night roster…
Canada’s creative lobby may have turned its back on the world but that doesn’t mean Canadians are joining them in their quest to hide
Canada’s creative lobby may have turned its back on the world but that doesn’t mean Canadians are joining them in their quest to hide behind a big wall of regulations aimed at protecting them from foreigners. A recent study by Ryerson University’s Faculty of Communication and Design, entitled Watchtime Canada: How YouTube Connects Creators and…
No matter their appeal, superheroes fall far short of teaching us principles which will make our world better
Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards once said, “I don’t think rock n’ roll should be analyzed or even thought about deeply.” As much as I admire Mr. Richards as a musician, I can’t say that I agree with him. In fact, as I developed my own thoughts I found myself listening to his band less…
Steve Schroeder talks about how the Calgary International Film Festival contributes to the city’s cultural vibrancy
Steve Schroeder is executive director of the Calgary International Film Festival, which takes place Sept. 18 to 29 this year. How has the arts/culture scene in Calgary evolved? Schroeder: I’ve been working professionally in the Calgary arts scene for almost 24 years, so my perspective on this question takes the long view. There’s no doubt…
Fifty years ago, True Grit and The Wild Bunch opened in theatres. They were both westerns, but they were dramatically different in tone and intent
The big stories from the summer of 1969 were Neil Armstrong’s moon walk and the counterculture music extravaganza at Woodstock, N.Y. But there were also two classic westerns. One was True Grit and the other was The Wild Bunch. In fact, they debuted within a week of each other. True Grit opened on June 11…
Luke Azevedo talks about how the region became a hotbed of creativity – and what it needs to grow even larger
Luke Azevedo is commissioner of Film, TV & Creative Industries with Calgary Economic Development. How big is the creative services, film and TV industry in Calgary? Azevedo: The province of Alberta did $255 million in film, television and commercial production activity in 2017-2018 and the majority of that production was done in Calgary and southern…
Jeff Bradshaw of V Strategies talks about how an entrepreneur must constantly find ways to be innovative and stay relevant
Jeff Bradshaw is president and CEO of V Strategies. Tell me about V Strategies. What is it and what does it do? Bradshaw: We’re a video production company. We’ve been in business coming up to 22 years and our primary focus is we do a lot of corporate marketing, learning video content. We also do…