Gord Downie to release a new solo album
Gord Downie is releasing a new solo album of 23 original songs produced with long-time collaborator Kevin Drew.
Introduce Yerself is slated for release Oct. 27 with each song written about a specific person.
Downie’s website says the tracks were recorded during two four-day studio sessions in January 2016 and February 2017. The list of titles includes “Coco Chanel No. 5,” “Snowflake” and “You Are the Bird.”
Alongside the CD and digital release, a vinyl version will arrive in stores Dec. 1 with two pullout posters.
This marks the second album by the Tragically Hip frontman since going public with his terminal brain cancer diagnosis. The Canadian Press
‘Jon’ and ‘Ygritte’ engaged in real life
Aword of advice to the happy couple: avoid the colour red when planning the wedding. Give purple a miss, too.
In a case of life imitating art, Game of Thrones actors Kit Harington and Rose Leslie are engaged.
The pair played lovers in the series after Harington’s character, Jon Snow, was captured by wildlings, including Leslie’s character, Ygritte.
One hopes for more longevity for the actors’ relationship than the characters’. Leslie, who also appeared in the popular Downton Abbey, left Thrones after Ygritte died in Jon Snow’s arms during the Battle of Castle Black.
The circumstances of the actors’ pairing seem much more genteel, with a notice in the Times of London on Wednesday announcing the upcoming marriage of “Mr K.C. Harington and Miss R.E. Leslie,” The Associated Press reports.
Weddings, alas, are not similarly happy occasions on Game of Thrones, where the “Red Wedding” resulted in the slaughter of Jon’s stepmother and stepbrother, and the “Purple Wedding” in the poisoning death of King Joffrey Baratheon. Debra Yeo
Saturday Night Live adds cast and writers
Coming off its most-watched season in 23 years and nine Emmy awards, Saturday Night Live is making major changes both in front of and behind the cameras. Heidi Gardner, Luke Null and Chris Redd will join the cast as featured players, beginning with Saturday’s 43rd season premiere.
The most recognizable of the three is likely Redd, who appeared in the Andy Samberg movie Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping and has a Comedy Central standup special Trapped in Atlanta. Gardner is a performer with the Groundlings. The Chicagobased Null is a much more unknown comic who has done sketches for the iO Comedy Network.
The new performers will fill holes left by the departures of notable vet- erans Bobby Moynihan, Vanessa Bayer and Sasheer Zamata.
More notable is the show’s substantial expansion in writing talent. NBC is adding seven new writers for the new season, including Sam Jay, Gary Richardson, Erik Marino, Andrew Dismukes, Steven Castillo, Claire Friedman and Nimesh Patel, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
Patel might be the most significant hire on a show that’s been criticized for its lack of South Asian voices. The Washington Post
Meghan’s ex sells royal comedy
As Meghan Markle’s relationship with Prince Harry heats up, so has interest in her ex-husband’s new royal TV show in Hollywood.
On Tuesday, Fox confirmed it is planning an untitled pilot from Tre- vor Engelson, Markle’s producer ex, and it looks to stir up some drama across the pond.
The half-hour single-camera comedy was described by producer 20th Century Fox Television with this logline: “Divorce is hard. Sharing custody is harder. Sharing custody with the British royal family in the unforgiving spotlight of London’s tabloid media is next level.”
The project immediately raised eyebrows, with the assumption that Engelson was borrowing from his own life (although he and Markle, who were married for two years, do not have any children together).
According to Deadline, the comedy originated in a conversation between Engelson and fellow producer Dan Farah “about what would’ve been if Engelson and Markle had kids and he had to share custody with the British royal family one day.”