Watching the Olympics’ closing ceremonies, I loved all the appearances
by Canadian artists, especially the actors who proudly expressed their
love for their motherland. So thank you, Canada, for giving us the
following contributions to movies & television (so music artists and um, Tom Green are not on the list). These are in no particular order:

1) Anne of Green Gables.
Set on Prince Edward Island, starring Canadian actors Megan Follows,
Colleen Dewhurst and Jonathan Crombie, this television movie (and its
two sequels) were must-see watching for any young woman on either side
of the border.

2) Jim Carrey



3) Christopher Plummer. (I admit I had no idea he was Canadian.)

4) SCTV. The sketch comedy series that ran 1976-1984 birthed John Candy, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Harold Ramis, Eugene Levy, Dave Thomas, Rick Moranis, and many other Canadian comedians.


5) The Sutherlands (Donald and Kiefer). One of the busiest and well-regarded veterans of Hollywood, and his son, aka Jack Bauer. (Incidentally, Sutherland’s 24 co-stars Elisha Cuthbert and Leslie Hope are also Canadian).

6) Michael J. Fox



7) Dan Aykroyd



Ryan Gosling and Rachel McAdams: Though they are no longer a couple in real life, their tear-jerking coupling in The Notebook
remains one for the chick-flick ages, not to mention their rising
Hollywood profiles. (You could also be the greatest Canadian Hollywood
couple if you could just… get back together? Please?)



9) Mike Myers



10) William Shatner, who mentioned during the Olympics’ closing
ceremonies that Canadians know “how to make love in a canoe.” Only the
Shat can say this line with authenticity.


11) Norma Shearer



12) Mon Oncle Antoine: The 1971 French-language film was twice voted the greatest Canadian film ever.



13) Ryan Reynolds


14) Atom Egoyan: The indie director of The Sweet Hereafter, which starred Canadian actress-turned-director Sarah Polley

15) Degrassi High:
This Toronto-based series, which aired in 1987-1991 (with a couple of
spinoffs), was hailed for its realistic portrayals of teens.

16) Sandra Oh

17). Keanu Reeves

18) Nathan Fillion: Star of TV’s Castle, Firefly, and Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along blog. And. Just. Hilarious.



Who/what else would you list as a great Canadian export? –Ellen

We are not talking about cute and cuddly. We’re not talking about
sweet. (This is why The Office’s Jim & Pam are not on the list.) We’re talking
about the stuff of legend, like when millions tuned in every week to
see David and Maddie (Bruce Willis and Cybill Shepherd) spar on Moonlighting,
right up until that (fateful) night they consummated all that buildup.
(Viewers left shortly afterwards, making this show forever set the bar
for Why You Should Not Let Your Main Couple Hook Up.)

The other day I was watching an unnamed TV drama
currently on the air (I do not identify the show because I don’t want
to be blamed for spoiling any plot points for those of you who only
watch shows on DVD or on DVR weeks later) in which the leading male and
female had so far had no hints of romance, until she was in need of
comforting and he stroked her hair, and suddenly I found myself leaning
so far off the sofa waiting as their faces came very, very close. I was
not rooting for these two to become a couple, but now that they’ve
flirted with the idea, I have to say I’m intrigued.

I am also a fan of Meredith & Derek (Ellen Pompeo and Patrick Dempsey) on Grey’s Anatomy,
mostly because this relationship started from a one-night stand–so at
least we got THAT out of the way–but managed to sustain the tension
through breakups, other relationships, and hospital politics.
Particularly season two, with a lot of very tense moments in an
elevator and a night of passion at the prom (don’t ask).

I asked around the office for other opinions, and here’s what they said:

Fox Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) from The X-Files. They can “trust no-one”, but each other. –Amanda

[On Mad Men], I love Pete (Vincent Kartheiser) and Peggy (Elisabeth Moss)’s
weird, painful and achingly dysfunctional pull towards one another (and
that whole “I had your baby, and I gave it away” thing is just the
icing on the crazy-cake). –Kira

Kate Beckett (Stana Katic) and Rick Castle (Nathan Fillion) on Castle. Mmmmm….. –Shauna


I hate to go the vampire answer, but Sookie (Anna Paquin) and Eric (Alexander Skarsgard) from True Blood… As they say, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach.  (Yes, I know she’s semi-engaged to Bill.) –Leah

Going back a few years, but I’m going to have to go with Bobby & Diane (Jimmy Smits & Kim Delaney) from NYPD Blue.
Chemistry, connection, and intensity that seemed for real. And pretty
much the main reason a non-cop-drama fan like me watched the show for
years. –Lisanne

Michael (Jeffrey Donovan) and Fiona (Gabrielle Anwar) from Burn Notice. They burn for each other. And kill for each other too. –Stephanie

Alright, so even though the show is not on anymore, and wasn’t for that long, Jordan Catalano (Jared Leto) and Angela Chase (Claire Danes) from My So-Called Life
were a truly intense couple, if that’s what you could call them. He was
painfully aloof, she was awkward, but despite it all, it worked. And
that moment, when he held her hand walking down the hallway, to the
tune of Buffalo Tom’s “Late at Night,” was truly epic. –Meredith B.

Who did we miss? –Ellen

Nothing can spoil the mood of a good romance movie like an awkwardly
mismatched couple. Still scratching your head over Kate Winslet and Jack
Black in The Holiday? Same here. Well, not every
onscreen duo can create a spark like Tracy and Hepburn. Here are a few
movie mates that flunked Chemistry 101.  



•  I Love Trouble: Julia Roberts was
  still riding the crest of her “America’s Sweetheart” wave in 1994 when she
  was paired with Nick Nolte in this romantic comedy about two bickering
  newspaper reporters who fall in love. Critics and moviegoers had a hard
  time believing a sizzling romance could bloom between the unlikely couple ­–
  and this was before Nolte’s infamous 2004 arrest mug shot.






•  Bewitched: There were many reasons
  this 2005 remake didn’t work its magic at the box office and topping the
  list was the attempt to create a cuddly “Samantha and Darrin” romance
  between Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell. Both actors can hold their own
  admirably when they’re in their element. But even a spell from Aunt Clara
  couldn’t conjure up a believable romance between these two. Think The Hours and  Semi-Pro: Night
  and day, eh?








•  A Perfect Murder:  Is it just me,
  but did anyone like Michael Douglas and Gwyneth Paltrow as this sterile,
  drab, before-Prada-was-fun couple? As a pair of stiff-lipped ultra-successful
  Manhattanites, it’s no surprise when she has an affair and he steps into
  the spying-spouse shtick. The plot of this 1998 thriller is full of
  interesting twists, but at no point did I find myself saying, “Wow, what a
  shame – wish they’d patch things up and get back together. Settle down,
  move out to the country . . .”  







• Seven Days, Six Nights:  Here’s the
  “Desert Island” test at work: Anne Heche is a big-city magazine editor and
  Harrison Ford is a cranky airplane pilot who are stranded on a Pacific
  isle. This 1998 rom-com is fairly entertaining while these characters are
  squabbling and trading insults, but they had to go and spoil it all by
  saying somethin’ stupid like “I love you.” 






A few more from our “What Were They Thinking?” Department:




• Continental Divide:  John Belushi
  cleaned up nicely for co-star Blair Brown in this 1981 romantic comedy. But
  the roaring success of Animal House and the pop-culture imprint of
  Belushi’s Bluto had audiences expecting him to pop “a zit” during the
  awkward love scenes with Brown.







• Exit to Eden:  Rosie O’Donnell and Dan
  Aykroyd were horribly miscast in this 1994 un-funny comedy which finds both
  of them in S&M gear.







•  Who’s That Girl?  A squeaky-voiced
  Madonna and Griffin Dunne as an uptight yuppie did not make for a good
  match in this irritating, 1987 attempt at madcap comedy. One of my cynical
  friends scoffed, “Madonna didn’t pair well with ANY of her leading men.”
  Oooh, harsh! But true.








•  Head Above Water:  Cameron Diaz and
  Harvey Keitel? Another good example of perfectly fine actors when
  performing to their respective strengths. But not as a couple.









Who
else are we missing from this list of miscast mates? –Francine



Titanic’s nearly 12-year reign as the all-time domestic box office champion fell today as Avatar, the other James Cameron pic, surpassed it with $603.8 million (Titanic’s take was $600 million). Industry experts had seriously doubted any film would ever best that record because of the shortened window between theatrical and DVD, but Avatar’s steeper ticket prices due to its 3D IMAX sales did the trick.




But it’s still no Gone With the Wind.

That’s right; if you actually adjust for inflation, Avatar is only #21 on the all-time box office list, while Gone With the Wind, 70 years later, has still sold more movie tickets than any other film in history. 

Here’s the real box-office champ list after adjusting for inflation: (data from boxofficemojo.com)




1. Gone With the Wind: $1,537,559,600




2. Star Wars: $1,355,490,100




3. The Sound of Music: $1,083,781,000




4. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial: $1,079,511,500




5. The Ten Commandments: $996,910,000

6. Titanic: $976,712,20

7. Jaws: $974,679,800

8. Doctor Zhivago: $944,670,800

9. The Exorcist: $841,427,600

10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: $829,490,000

11. 101 Dalmatians: $760,370,300

12. The Empire Strikes Back: $747,154,600

13. Ben-Hur: $745,780,000

14. Return of the Jedi: $715,792,100

15. The Sting: $678,377,100

16. Raiders of the Lost Ark: $670,759,500

17. Jurassic Park: $656,026,500

18. The Graduate: $651,198,300

19. Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace: $645,524,400

20. Fantasia: $631,960,900

21. Avatar: $603,789,300

22. The Godfather: $600,600,700

23. Forrest Gump: $597,732,100

24. Mary Poppins: $594,963,600

25. The Lion King: $587,733,900

–Ellen

I’m still a bit bleary-eyed from this morning’s 5:30 a.m. call, but this year’s Oscar nominees have been announced. Avatar and The Hurt Locker, as expected, tied for the most nominations with nine each. You can see the full list and nab the ones already available for pre-order, and meanwhile ponder these surprises:



1) The Blind Side in the Best Picture race? Really?! Over Star Trek, A Single Man, Invictus, and a host of other films that made the top 10 lists other than this one? (Seriously, I would have been less surprised over The Hangover being mentioned instead.) My big fear here is that this nod will cinch Sandra Bullock the Best Actress crown over Meryl Streep,
whom, it must be said, I am really rooting for this year, because
despite her 16 record nominations, the woman last won in 1982. That’s
also only a 0.125 batting average. There weren’t just gasps this
morning upon the inclusion; there was also a bit of stuttering.



2) No Clint Eastwood in the Best Director category. The awards buzz for Invictus has been slowly fading since its opening, which had strong but not wild reviews. Despite its nods for Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon, it was not only shut out of the Best Picture race but copped no nod for the evergreen nominee.



3) Maggie Gyllenhaal edges out Julianne Moore for Best Supporting Actress. There were no late-breaking upsets in the acting categories, but this was the first showing of Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart) in awards season over the four times-nominated Moore. Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds)
also had an outside shot, considering she got the SAG nomination
instead of Moore. Still, it’s a pleasant surprise for Gyllenhaal, who
always does great work.



4) What is The Secret of Kells? The producers of Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs, Ponyo,
and many other overlooked animated films all scratched their heads over
the inclusion of this Irish tale about monks and Vikings.



5) The strength of The Last Station
in the acting categories, especially 1) No one ever talks about this
film, and 2) it also was not nominated for anything else. The Young Victoria’s Emily Blunt is left to watch at home (or perhaps present at the awards) with her adorable fiance as grand dame Helen Mirren instead takes her place in the Best Actress race. And kudos to Christopher Plummer, who, with a nod for Best Supporting Actor has received his very first career Oscar nomination at the age of 80.



–Ellen