Tron: Legacy

Stars Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Garrett Hedlund, Olivia Wilde, and Michael Sheen were in attendance for the packed session which also included an eight-minute preview of the film.

Tron: Legacy debuts in theatres on December 17, 2010, and will feature a score by electronic music legends Daft Punk.

Watch the trailer:

Noah Reid as Farley in Score: A Hockey Musical

During a special press conference at the Hockey Hall of Fame last week, TIFF CEO and director Piers Handling and co-director Cameron Bailey announced that Michael McGowan‘s Score: A Hockey Musical will make its world premier as the opening night gala film for this year’s 35th annual festival.

The film stars newcomer Noah Reid as the very sheltered Farley, a teenager with an uncommon ability on the ice who finds himself propelled to overnight stardom when he’s discovered at the local rink. For his hippy-dippy parents, it’s almost a nightmare though, and Farley has to learn the rules of the ice if he really wants to stay in the limelight.

Score: A Hockey Musical co-stars Allie MacDonald as Farley’s best friend, and potential love interest, while Olivia Newton-John and singer/songwriter Marc Jordan play Farley’s unique parents. The film also stars Stephen McHattie, John Pyper-Ferguson, Brandon Firla, and features cameos by the likes of Nelly Furtado, George Stroumboulopoulos, Hawksley Workman, John McDermott, Evan Solomon, Steve Kouleas, Walter Gretzky, and Theo Fleury.

The film includes a total of 19 original songs by McGowan, performed by the Barenaked Ladies, Amy Sky and Marc Jordan, Olivia Newton-John, and Hawksley Workman, who also contributed to five of the tracks.

For McGowan, who both wrote and directed the musical comedy, this marks his third film to premier at TIFF; he previously debuted One Week at TIFF in 2008, and Saint Ralph in 2004.

This year’s festival also comes with a small gift for film fans since the event has been extended by one day, running a total of eleven days from September 9th to 19th.

For more information, stay tuned to The GATE, and head over to tiff.net/thefestival for tickets, or call 1-877-968-FILM.

Photo Gallery:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Photos and stills from the film:

Bell Lightbox

For the 2010 TIFF, the festival also announced a number of updates and changes for tickets, including a brand new box office on King Street West, which opens on August 24.

Among the changes for this year, the festival has announced that World and North American premieres will now be considered Premium Screenings, with red carpet events added to multiple venues.

Additionally, the festival has added a new ticket package called “The Canadian Pack” which will expose film lovers to five new Canadian films. All festival ticket packages put together by TIFF programmers will also include a voucher to catch a free screening at TIFF’s Bell Lightbox, which is set to open later this year.

Maybe the best news though? The festival will run an additional day this year, kicking off on September 9 and closing on September 19.

For the 16th year, TIFF will host Gala Presentations, and the Opening and Closing night films at Roy Thomson Hall, while other film presentations will be held at the Visa Screening Room at the Elgin Theatre, AMC 24 at Yonge & Dundas, Cineplex Odeon Varsity Cinemas, the Isabel Bader Theatre at Victoria College, the Winter Garden Theatre, Jackman Hall at the Art Gallery of Ontario, Ryerson Theatre at Ryerson University, the Scotiabank Theatre, and select screenings at TIFF Bell Lightbox.

Visa cardholders have until July 11 to buy ticket packages through the phone at 416-968-FILM (or toll-free at 1-877-968-FILM), online at tiff.net/festival, or in-person at the TIFF Box Office at 2 Carlton Street. Regular ticket package sales, for cash and debit, begins on July 12.

Starting on August 24, when the official film schedule becomes available and advance ticket sales begin for My Choice Packs, the festival’s new box office will open at 363 King Street West. Single tickets go on sale starting on September 3.

More detailed information follows below, and check back in to The GATE for ongoing coverage of the 2010 TIFF.

BOX OFFICE HOURS OF OPERATION

TIFF Box Office (until August 20)
2 Carlton Street
West Mezzanine level
Monday to Friday: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
Closed August 2

Festival Box Office at 363 King Street West (opens August 24)
August 24: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
August 25 through September 1: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
September 2 through 3: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
September 4 through 8: 10 a.m. – 7 p.m.
September 9 through 18: 7 a.m. – 7 p.m.
September 19: 7 a.m. – 5 p.m.

PRICING SAMPLES*

50-Film Pack – $524.00
25-Film Daytime Pack – $202.00
Student One-Day Pass – $19.69

TIFF CHOICE PACKS**

The Canadian Pack (5 Films) – $80.00
Midnight Madness Pack (10 Films) – $157.00
Sampler Pack (3 Films) – $69.00
Double Date Gala Pack (2 Films, 8 tickets) – $299.00
Closing Night Film & Cocktail – $180.00

SINGLE TICKETS (available as of September 3)

Regular Public Screenings: $19.69
Premium Public Screenings: $38.27

* Prices exclude taxes and fees.
** Packages include a TIFF Bell Lightbox Voucher

Blending sci-fi, noir, and good, old-fashioned sexuality, the 13-episode series is set in a world where human cloning and androids are just another marvel of science and the company 4 Ever Innovations sells memories to anyone willing to pay for their ultimate dreams and fantasies.

The series stars hotties Austin Ball, Noelle DuBois, Joanne Alderson, and Vanessa Broze, and will no doubt offer a lot of skin and other late night thrills. Forbidden Science was created by Doug Brode, and was produced by William Burke and executive producer John Quinn, best known for his work on the Sin City Diaries

For a little primer, check out the trailer below, in addition to a few photos of the cast. Click here for more details from Space.

Series Trailer:

Gallery:

Justin Bieber

Co-hosted by Miley Cyrus, the 2010 MMVAs also featured performances by Katy Perry, and of course, Canadians Drake and Justin Bieber.

Bieber also walked away with a total of three trophies, nabbing the awards for audience favorite video, new artist, and International video by a Canadian; while Hedley took three awards, including best video, best pop video, and best post-production.

Below is the full list of winners, and a few official photos from the night. Stay tuned tomorrow for The GATE’s full MMVA gallery, plus audio and video clips from the press room.

List of Winners:

UR FAVE Video
Justin Bieber f. Ludacris – “Baby”

UR FAVE New Artist
Justin Bieber f. Ludacris – “Baby”

UR FAVE International Video
Adam Lambert – “Whataya Want From Me”

MuchMusic.com Most Watched Video
Young Artists for Haiti – “Wavin’ Flag”

Video Of The Year
Hedley – “Perfect”

International Video Of The Year – Artist
Miley Cyrus – “Party in The U.S.A.”

International Video Of The Year – Group
Jonas Brothers – “Paranoid”

Pop Video of the Year
Hedley – “Cha-Ching”

International Video Of The Year By A Canadian
Justin Bieber f. Ludacris – “Baby”

MuchLOUD Rock Video Of The Year
Billy Talent – “Devil on my Shoulder”

MuchVIBE Hip-Hop Video Of The Year
Trey Songz & Drake – “Successful”

Director Of The Year
Billy Talent – “Saint Veronika”

Post-Production Of The Year
Hedley – “Perfect”

Cinematography Of The Year
Trey Songz & Drake – “Successful”

MuchFACT Indie Video Of The Year
Belly f. Snoop Dogg– “Hot Girl”

Miley Cyrus, co-host of the 2010 MMVAs

Featuring some of the biggest names in music, the 2010 MMVAs will include performances by Adam Lambert, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Ke$ha, Drake, Hedley, Marianas Trench, Down With Webster, and of course the night’s co-host, Miley Cyrus.

Also in attendance at this year’s MMVAs are a pile of stars and celebrities: Whitney Port from The City, Snooki and Pauly D. from Jersey Shore, Miranda Cosgrove from iCarly, Bedouin Soundclash, Three Days Grace, Kristin Cavallari from The Hills, JLS, singers Nikki Yanofsky and Emily Osment, and Nina Dobrev from The Vampire Diaries.

Not to menion Twilight Saga: Eclipse stars Kellan Lutz, Ashley Greene, and Xavier Samuel; plus Shailene Woodley, Daren Kagasoff, and Megan Park from The Secret Life of the American Teenager.

For the full list of nominees, visit the official website at mmva.muchmusic.com/awards.

Stay tuned to The GATE tonight for photos from the MMVAs, or follow us on Twitter for updates throughout the evening.

The 2010 MMVA red carpet begins tonight at 8:00 PM (ET), with the show starting at 9:00 PM (ET). Viewers tuning in from the United States can watch the show on Fuse, which will simulcast the event.

Julia Voth, Erin Cummings and America Olivo in Bitch Slap

During last year’s festival, actresses Erin Cummings, America Olivo, and Canadian Julia Voth–who walked the red carpet for their indie cult film, Bitch Slap–were “blown away” by the overwhelming response from fans.

Months later, with the film released on a 2-disc special edition dubbed Bitch Slap: Stacked Edition, fans are still talking about Bitch Slap and what makes the sexploitation action film so much fun.

Here’s what the actresses had to say about making the film, why they got involved, and where the whole process took them.

W. Andrew Powell
“What made you want to get involved in Bitch Slap?”

Erin Cummings
“The common theme is just the strong, iconic female characters; superheroes, if you will. Each of us represents a different aspect of feminine power, and so for me, being able to portray a character who was not only strong and could do these amazing fight scenes, and if I do say so myself, very lovely sex scenes, but was incredibly intelligent. There was just something that that really made me go, wow, this is not your classic, I’m being exploited exploitation film. As a woman, I went, you know what, this role isn’t going to come along any time soon, I better take it while I got it.”

Julia Voth
“It was like it was written for me. I feel so blessed that it was offered to me… it has been an amazing journey and an amazing ride. I just feel so blessed.”

America Olivo
“We all had a similar story, and there’s longer versions… and it does start out with being presented with a project, meeting the directors and producers… that were interested in us as the leads, doing an interesting thing called Bitch Slap. And I think all of that put together was a little disconcerting up front, but when you know who’s behind it; the creators of Hercules [The Legendary Journeys] and Xena [Warrior Princess], and director Rik Jacobsen, and to see their body of work in the past… it was a really friendly environment.”

Andrew
“What did it take to film some of the scenes? Did you have to form a friendship to make them work, considering they’re so intimate and intense?”

Julia
“I think that we bonded right away. We really formed a close friendship. I love these two girls dearly. We really became this family.”

“Some of the scenes Erin and I had were pretty intense, so you have to have a trust…”

America
“And respect.”

Erin
“And communication.”

Julia
“Exactly. We talked about it before — nothing is off limits — we gave each other the okay to go there and just do it. You need to have the communication, the trust, and the respect for each other to make something like this work. When you’re working so closely with each other and it’s a very intense shoot and it’s every day…”

Erin
“And we also made a committment to each other to not be the diva… at the end of the day we were all at the same level. That automatically created an environement of, you know what, it’s the three of us. There’s no star of the film. It’s the three of us together and we had an amazing supporting cast that’s just as integral as we are.”

Bitch Slap: Stacked Edition is available on DVD and Blu-ray, and includes 2 director commentaries, plus a number of special features, including: Building a Better B-Movie, Kinki’s Guide to Sexual Harassment in the Workplace, Stripping is a Feminist Act, Bitch Slap 101, promos, and deleted scenes.

Visit www.bitchslapmovie.com for more on the film.

Photo courtesy of E1 Entertainment.

Dead Rising 2 - Playboy Bunny

Set for release in North America on August 31, 2010, players exploring Dead Rising 2 will have to hunt to find the issue of Playboy magazine that’s hidden somewhere in the game and gives the main character, Chuck Greene, a unique upgrade.

“Along with the special Playboy issue,” the press release noted, “there will be a variety of different themed magazines that Chuck will be able to pick up for bonuses to use to help fend off the zombie hordes along the way.”

Set in Fortune City this time out, a city that resembles Los Vegas, players will also see billboards and ads for Playboy throughout the game.

“The Sin City-type environment in Dead Rising 2, Fortune City, is a natural playground for the Playboy Bunnies,” said Seon King, Senior Director of Licensing for Capcom Entertainment, Inc. “We have integrated the Playboy brand throughout the game in ways that bring even more life to Fortune City and add to the user experience.”

Capcom has also revealed new twists for the sequel, including how the object system works this time out. While players can still pick up any item they see to use as a weapon, you can also mix weapons together.

“Take two objects, add a roll of tape plus the inventiveness and skilled hands of Chuck Greene and an innocent water gun and a can of gasoline become a deadly flamethrower, while a garden rake and car battery combine to create an electrified zombie prod.”

Chuck also has to find a drug known as Zombrex, which will help keep his infected daughter, Katey, from changing into a zombie.

Game Synopsis:
In Dead Rising 2 former motocross champion Chuck Greene arrives at Fortune City, America’s latest adult playground, to participate in the zombie game show Terror is Reality, a gruesome test of strength and agility through excessive and imaginative dispatchment of hundreds and hundreds of zombies.

While in Fortune City, a zombie outbreak occurs and Chuck must survive the onslaught of the undead for 72 hours. Pitted against bosses and psychos – tens of thousands of zombies and the constant countdown of the clock – while potentially rescuing other survivors of the zombie apocalypse, players must also unravel the greater conspiracy behind the outbreak.

American Idol season 9 winner Lee DeWyze

DeWyze, who won against front-runner Crystal Bowersox, will release a cover of U2′s “Beautiful Day” before he records his debut album for Sony Music as part of his new recording contract.

Also noteworthy during the show was host Ryan Seacrest‘s revelation that DeWyze won with a narrow margin of just 2% more votes than Bowersox.

Bowersox’s performance on Tuesday, when she sang “Up to the Mountain,” also received a large amount of the judge’s praise.

It remains to be seen, however, which of the two would-be stars comes out on top.

Looking back on previous American Idol winners, the singer with the most votes has not always been the most popular over the long run. A notable example comes from the last season of the show when the winner was Kris Allen, who has since fallen into relative obscurity while runner-up Adam Lambert enjoys a healthy career.