TIFF to introduce new audience choice award for international films
Feature-length films from TIFF's official selection that are not from Canada or the United States will qualify for the new award, which will debut at this year's festival in September.
As in the festival's other people's choice awards, audiences will be asked to vote on their favourite film that meets that criteria.
TIFF's main people's choice award is considered a bellwether for the Oscars best picture race, with previous winners including 'Nomadland,' 'Green Book' and 'La La Land.'
The festival also has an audience choice award for its Midnight Madness program, and last year's winner, 'The Substance,' scored five Oscar nominations.
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The addition comes as TIFF prepares to launch a content market in the 2026 festival, which would run alongside the public-facing event to facilitate distribution and funding deals.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 16, 2025.
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Toronto Sun
a day ago
- Toronto Sun
Toronto referee remembers Hulk Hogan, the man behind the myth
'He was the guy. He was the catalyst. If it wasn't for him, I don't think wrestling would have taken off the way it did.' Published Jul 25, 2025 • 4 minute read Hulk Hogan celebrates a win at Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens in a 1988 handout photo, as referee Jimmy Korderas raises the World Heavyweight Championship belt. Photo by THE CANADIAN PRESS / Handout — Steve Argintaru TORONTO — Even as Hulkamania was catching fire around the world, former WWE referee Jimmy Korderas says Hulk Hogan always treated him like 'one of the boys.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Unlimited online access to articles from across Canada with one account. Get exclusive access to the Toronto Sun ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition that you can share, download and comment on. Enjoy insights and behind-the-scenes analysis from our award-winning journalists. Support local journalists and the next generation of journalists. Daily puzzles including the New York Times Crossword. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Don't have an account? Create Account When Korderas joined what was then called the WWF in 1985, one of his first jobs was picking up wrestlers from the airport and driving them to Toronto's Maple Leaf Gardens. 'Hulk was one of the first guys I had to pick up, and right away, he made me feel comfortable and at home, like I belonged,' says Korderas, a Toronto native. On one occasion, while giving Hogan and his then-wife Linda a ride, Korderas caught Hogan's eyes in the rear-view mirror as Linda gushed about Toronto. 'The entire time Linda was talking about how beautiful the city is, this is her first time, oh my goodness. I could see Hulk's eyes going, 'Oh boy,'' he laughs. 'When we got to the building, he pulled me aside and said, 'Brother, I'm sorry.' I said, 'For what?' He said, 'She kept going on and on.' I got a chuckle out of it and so did he. That's the nature he had … Here's this megastar and he's concerned about my needs.' Your noon-hour look at what's happening in Toronto and beyond. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. Please try again This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, died Thursday at 71. Known for his stars-and-stripes swagger, handlebar moustache and chest-thumping catchphrases, Hogan was the face of professional wrestling's golden era and one of the most recognizable pop culture figures of the 1980s. Korderas would referee many of Hogan's matches over the years and says he felt 'like a kid in a candy store' doing so. 'You're trying to curb your emotions while you're out there trying to do your job, but at the same time you're thinking, 'Oh my God, I'm in here with Hulk Hogan,'' says the 63-year-old, reached by phone Thursday in Toronto. 'He was the guy. He was the catalyst. If it wasn't for him, I don't think wrestling would have taken off the way it did, hit the mainstream the way it did and become the global juggernaut it is today.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Korderas vividly recalls officiating several hard-hitting bouts between Hogan and Mr. Perfect, but one that looms especially large is the inaugural Survivor Series in 1987, when Hogan's team battled Andre the Giant's in a stacked main event. 'I have this picture of myself and (referee) Joey Marella in the ring trying to keep Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan separated,' he says. 'Other guys got a great reaction from the crowd, whether it was cheering or booing, but it was different when Hogan entered the ring … He would flex for the crowd, he'd put his hand to his ear, he would pose and that got incredible reactions. He knew it was more about the entertainment aspects as opposed to the actual technical aspect of pro wrestling.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Years later, Hogan reminded the world of his unmatched ability to command a crowd at WrestleMania X8 in Toronto in 2002, when he faced Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson in a blockbuster showdown. Hogan was firmly in his villainous 'Hollywood' persona, while The Rock was WWE's top babyface — but the Toronto crowd flipped the script and threw its support behind Hogan. While Korderas didn't referee the match, he snuck out to watch it live and says several wrestlers did the same. 'The crowd literally got them to call an audible and switch roles. They were backing Hogan because they remember him as their superhero from the past,' he recalls. 'Ask anybody who was there, whether they were in the crowd or in the locker room, that building was literally shaking on its foundations when those two were staring off across the ring.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Behind the scenes, Korderas says Hogan treated him like 'part of the locker room' — ribbing included. During the '80s, then-CEO Vince McMahon enforced a strict no-smoking policy in WWE. Korderas remembers sneaking a cigarette before stepping into an elevator — only to find McMahon, Hogan, Brutus (The Barber) Beefcake and several other wrestlers already inside. 'The entire ride down, Vince is reading me the riot act about how bad smoking is,' Korderas says. 'While he's doing that, Hulk was giving me little elbow shots in the back, so I'm jerking forward. Vince is like, 'Are you all right? What's wrong with you?' I said, 'No, I am good.' And the whole time, they're all laughing. So Hulk was a bit of a prankster at times.' This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. But Hogan was also a controversial figure at times. In 2015, WWE terminated his contract after leaked audio captured him using a racial slur and describing himself as 'a racist, to a point.' He later issued a public apology. Korderas says the news 'disappointed' him, and that he had 'never witnessed that side' of Hogan. 'It's hard when you hear that stuff about people who you consider friends,' he says. 'It makes me feel sad to see that side.' Still, he says it's tough to deny Hogan's role in reshaping the wrestling industry. 'The business of wrestling may not be as hot and as popular as it is today if it wasn't for him, because he is arguably the main reason why it is so,' Korderas says. 'Take the other stuff away from it, the controversies — you can't deny that he was the catalyst for this.' Toronto & GTA Hockey Sports Toronto Blue Jays Columnists
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Want to say ‘I Do' at the CNE? Fair launches ‘Marriage on the Midway' contest
People walk past the ferris wheel the Canadian National Exhibition (CNE) in Toronto, Thursday, Aug. 29, 2024. The Canadian National Exhibition says big Labour Day long weekend crowds helped lift attendance to 1.49 million visitors during this year's festivities. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Paige Taylor White Have you been dreaming of saying 'I Do' amidst the scenic backdrop of North America's tallest travelling wheel during the largest summer fair in Canada? Well, the Canadian National Exhibition is giving one lucky couple that chance this year. The CNE is launching the 'Marriage on the Midway' contest for couples who have a special connection to the fair. The couple selected for the Ontario-wide contest will win a vow ceremony under the backdrop of the SuperWheel, an official wedding photographer and a wedding cake designed by a local bakery as part of the fair's cake decorating competition. 'Every year we meet and hear from visitors who tell us that they had their first date at the CNE or met their partners while working their summer job; and we even know of a few vendors, some who have been married for more than 50 years, who first met and fell in love at the CNE,' Jane Matthews, the fair's marketing director, said in a statement. 'We've had wedding proposals at the CNE, so this year we thought, why not a wedding ceremony?!' The CNE said the couple and up to 20 of their guests will also get unlimited rides, $500 food vouchers and reserved seating at the Bell CNE Bandshell for the concert of 98 Degrees, who will serenade the winners with their song 'I Do (Cherish You). The CNE noted that the ceremony is not intended as a legally binding marriage or ceremony but is just a 'symbolic celebration of love.' Couples who want to enter can submit their love story online until Aug. 8, with the winners being announced by Aug. 15, the first days of this year's CNE.
CTV News
2 days ago
- CTV News
Hulk Hogan's storied wrestling career included iconic made-in-Canada matches
Toronto City Mayor Rob Ford (left) celebrates after beating Hulk Hogan in an arm-wrestling match to promote Fan Expo in Toronto on Friday August 23, 2013. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young) TORONTO — At the fan festival leading up to WrestleMania X8, World Wrestling Federation chairman Vince McMahon wanted to get a sense of who the audience would be pulling for in the anticipated match between Hulk Hogan and Dwayne (The Rock) Johnson. Hogan was still in his villainous 'Hollywood' persona while The Rock was the promotion's bankable baby face star heading into their March 17, 2002, showdown at Toronto's SkyDome. Canadian wrestling crowds, however, were famous for resisting the force-fed storylines trotted out by the promotions, and those in attendance gave a full-throated endorsement of Hogan. The ensuing fight, which has become something of a WWE legend, was one of many big moments in Hogan's wrestling career that came north of the border. Hogan, born Terry Gene Bollea, died Thursday at 71. Hogan's matches in Canada included a headline title fight against the Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI in Toronto — an uncommon Hogan loss and even rarer title fight between two baby faces — championship bouts against Paul (Mr. Wonderful) Orndorff and Ric Flair, and even an arm wrestling match with then-Toronto Mayor Rob Ford (who died in 2016) at Fan Expo in 2013. But Hogan's most memorable match in Canada came at WrestleMania X8 — and it wasn't even the main event. When he finally faced The Rock in the 'Icon versus Icon' showdown, the crowd's support for Hogan was unequivocal. In a remarkable display of adaptive storytelling, the two wrestlers switched attitudes mid-match. Hogan broke out some of the signature moves that wrestling fans remembered from his rise from wrestling star to pop culture icon in the 1980s. He exhorted the throng of over 62,000 to cheer him on, cupping his hand to his ear and leaning toward the crowd and 'Hulking Up,' which involved glaring wide-eyed at his opponent while seemingly impervious to pain, often accompanied by a finger wag before he unloaded some offence. The Rock cleanly won the match, but the Canadian response set up a storyline that would see Hogan break off from his heel New World Order faction and return to his do-gooder persona of the '80s. That version of Hogan was arguably best known to Canadian fans leading into WrestleMania X8, and perhaps why the crowd at SkyDome (now Rogers Centre) was firmly in his corner. Another key fight at the same venue came 12 years earlier, when Hogan faced the Ultimate Warrior — a rising star whose popularity at the time rivalled Hogan's — for the WWF title. The fight, which was well-received by the fans in attendance — and included future wrestling stars Adam (Edge) Copeland and Jay (Christian) Reso — was meant to be a passing of the torch as Warrior beat Hogan cleanly by pinfall — the first time that happened since 1981. However, Warrior's title run proved to be short-lived, and by WrestleMania VII Hogan was once again champion after defeating Sgt. Slaughter in the main event. Hogan also had a couple of successful title defences in Toronto, notably a decision over Orndorff on Aug. 28, 1986, at Exhibition Stadium before a crowd of over 60,000. In a confusing ending that was typical of the ongoing feud between the wrestlers, Orndorff was disqualified despite appearing to win the match after his manager Bobby ('The Brain') Heenan laid out Hogan with a chair. In another matchup between legends, Hogan defeated Flair on a May 13, 2002, episode of Monday Night Raw in Toronto to retain the WWE Undisputed Championship. In another messy ending, nWo member X-Pac interfered with a Hogan pin attempt of Flair in the no-disqualification match. Flair's attempt to win the match via submission was then interrupted by (Stone Cold) Steve Austin, who laid out the 53-year-old Flair, allowing Hogan to perform his signature leg drop and cover for the pin. In a less heralded matchup, Hogan took the fall in an arm wrestling battle with Ford at the 2013 Fan Expo pop culture showcase in Toronto. 'I own this town, man!' Ford yelled after the dubious win as Survivor's 'Eye Of The Tiger' played in the background. Hogan's main-event appearance at the first-ever WrestleMania in 1985 also had a Canadian connection, as he teamed with 'The A-Team' star Mr. T to defeat Roddy Piper — born Roderick Toombs in Saskatoon — and Orndorff. Curtis Withers, The Canadian Press
