New: The elimination of Nova Scotia’s publishing funding has left the book sector reeling in a province that often depends on its independent houses to preserve its history and tell its stories. Some worry it could set a precedent for other provinces www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...

New from me: The AGO's failed Nan Goldin acquisition raises questions about art-gallery collections committees. What kind of power are they supposed to have? www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/art-...

The Beach theatre, later the Beach Mall was home to Lido's nightclub in the 80s, the big open room was the swingingest club in the East end at the time.

With the closure of the Beaches multiplex, this week’s Downtown Theatre newsletter looks at the original palatial Beach theatre on Queen Street East. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/torontos-o...

Had Slobulus.

What an incredible lineup of Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe classics playing at the Imperial Theatre on Yonge Street, June 30, 1967. Which of these is your fave? I’ll always have a soft-spot for The Raven.

This right here.

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For this week’s Downtown Theatre newsletter, a look at the legendary, very-missed Rio Theatre on Yonge Street, which includes a chat with Mark Ulster, heir to the Rio legacy. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/the-rio-th...

UHF on opening weekend, July 1989, more so cause it was rated 14A in Ontario and I somehow got in.

Janus Films just announced they're releasing Sophy Romvari's BLUE HERON in the US in April, which is wonderful news and had better yield a proper Criterion edition with all of Sophy's short films.

We’re quite privileged in Ontario re: liquor sales in cinemas — plenty of theatres in other provinces (like B.C.) are still trying to lobby the government to open that up

I was running the Revue when it finally got a liquor license, and yup, the per-head revenues jumped significantly and made a big impact on 2018 & 2019 fiscal. Margins can be a little tough, but it did (and I’m assuming continues to do) especially well during special event screenings.

For CBC Arts, I pop into the history of the cinema snack bar. Once protested —“We are sorry to see our favourite movie house so undignified after many pleasant years,” someone once wrote in the Toronto Star— popcorn has since become a lifeline for a precarious industry. www.cbc.ca/arts/movie-s...

Thanks Will!

Horrifying read. Anyone in Canada who took piano lessons as a kid likely remembers Boris Berlin’s books. Turns out he was a monster.

“Candy is dandy but eight cents ain’t handy.” In this week’s Downtown Theatre newsletter, we leave the movie theatre & step out onto the streets where 200 students protested the rising cost of candy bars on May Day in 1947. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/the-great-...

This week’s newsletter looks at how a now-lost horror film was the first all-talking film to play Toronto screens in late 1928! The Terror, a haunted-house whodunit, opened at the Tivoli Theatre, a major downtown showplace, on December 28, 1928. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/talkies-th...

If you press that button Francis Coppola drives to your home to watch with you.

The Outlaw & The Blue Dahlia — this week’s newsletter looks at the Ontario Censor Board’s creation of the “Adult Entertainment” classification in 1946 & how an age restriction wasn’t enough for some conservative lobby organizations. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/curves-cus...

How much does that job pay? Employers still failing to comply with new salary transparency laws

Honoured to be the recipient of a Recommender Grant from the Ontario Arts Council, on the recommendation of @ecwpress.bsky.social. My book on the social history of moviegoing in Toronto—with a focus on rep cinema from the 1960s to the present—is taking shape. I’m deeply grateful for this support.

A 16mm print of Singin’ in the Rain screens at U of T tonight, but here are some ads from its Toronto premiere in 1952.

Always happy to shed light on the very invisible labour in the archive world. If you attended a rare 35mm screening in a rep cinema or just watched a new boutique bluray, someone like Christina or Rachel made that all possible.

A great article on the efforts of the U of T Film Archive and their Pop-Up Cinémathèque. I'm still working on convincing them to make the Feb 9 screening of Zéro de conduite a back to back screening of the film (since it's only 41 minutes). ZdCX2!

“‘Why do all the work if nobody gets to see it?’ In today’s Toronto Star, I chat with the film archivists responsible for the Pop Up Cinematheque series at U of T www.thestar.com/entertainmen...

For the first Downtown Theatre column of the year, a fascinating look back at a 1923 popularity contest pitting Harold Lloyd against Charlie Chaplin. The results may surprise you! thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/the-great-...

Happy 2026

We mourn the loss of Amos Poe. A fixture of the '70s New York art scene that produced legends in every medium, he made several films before getting a chance at the relative "big time" with ALPHABET CITY. We were so proud to launch FCE with AC and to have Amos be a part of it. ❤️ to his loved ones.

It’s March, 1970. A Yonge St cinema circumvents the Ontario censor board, ends up on trial for showing Russ Meyer’s Vixen & prompts a debate on the future of film censorship in the provincial legislature. This is the wild story of Cinema 2000. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/cinema-200...

I wrote about A MUPPET FAMILY CHRISTMAS and EMMET OTTER'S JUG-BAND CHRISTMAS for my reader's choice series. Happy holidays everyone. I hope they're kind to you. This post is free. I don't believe in putting the Muppets behind a paywall. www.patreon.com/posts/146603...

I've seen this going around today and it's beautiful, so here's a gift link.

If you told me back in January that in the final week of the year, people would be using limewire to download a 60 Minutes segment, I would have politely left the room.

The Free Speech wing of the Free Speech party has made it so you have to upload journalism like it's an ISIS video

The full spiked 60 Minutes CECOT package, clean & subtitled. 1/5

It is accomplished! My latest SHINY THINGS column is up, running down the best discs I saw this year. If I didn't include your favorite, it's probably because I didn't get my hands on it. But, uh, that's a good thing! Physical media is experiencing a renaissance, you know!

ICYMI, i talked to THE Director Park Chan-wook about how he balances his incredible filmmaking with personal still photography

Next time you win a raffle prize at the Fox or Revue, remember that a Junction theatre once tried to raffle off a Shetland pony. This week’s newsletter travels to the Junction, dropping in on The Beaver, Apollo & Mavety Theatres. thedowntowntheatre.substack.com/p/the-beaver...

Absolutely infuriating getting around the city on a regular Saturday, but this was a nightmare.

Why physical media? Because you won’t see these pieces of cinema on Netflix. (Or Paramount +. This stuff would singe David Ellison’s eyebrows off. Oh wait)

This week’s newsletter looks at the history of the B Festival, a 1980s genre film festival held at the Bloor Cinema & later known as the Cult & Video Film Festival. Was fun chatting with Rob Salem, Julian Grant & others about cult film programming in the ‘80s. open.substack.com/pub/thedownt...

"I'm not in denial, I'm in open rebellion" damn that quote goes hard

December 11 in Toronto, ON: Derek Jenkins: Vulgar Reliquaries presented by AD Hoc & U. of T. Cinema Studies Institute. A program of films by Derek Jenkins with the filmmaker in person! 🔗

RIP Frank Gehry: his childhood home in Toronto still exists!

Brutal day for film exhibition. Can I cheer anyone up by sharing ads for Hellraiser’s Toronto release in September, 1987?

It’s hard to not see the Netflix/WB news as a sort of doomsday scenario. The constant mergers and large scale absorptions of brands might be good for business, in theory, but they are bad for art; they are bad for creators; they are bad for preservation. Which makes it bad for us.

Nobody wins here.

Dream nite. Cannot wait.

This week’s Downtown Theatre newsletter looks at the history of the Madison, Midtown, Capri, Eden, Hot Docs — a cinema with many names, but which most of us remember as The Bloor. open.substack.com/pub/thedownt...

Absolute delight to chat with Norm about the history of Ontario film censorship, Emmanuelle in Ontario & Just Jaeckin’s film.