Latest news with #Calgary-raised
Calgary Herald
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Calgary Herald
Calgary's Steven Ogg returns to the dead (sort of) in Revival
Steven Ogg first heard about the new supernatural-horror series Revival when he received a flattering note from co-creator Aaron B. Koontz, who told him that he wanted the Calgary-raised actor to take on the role of the wonderfully named Blaine Abel. Article content It's the sort of note that every actor would love to receive. Article content 'He actually wrote a really lovely letter to me,' says Ogg, in an interview with Postmedia from Montreal. 'I find it interesting when people approach with, 'Well, I know I could never afford you,' or 'You're too busy.' Of course, neither is the truth. But he had written a letter saying he was a big fan of my work and wanted to chat with me about if I was available. It was just a really lovely letter that moved me to tears, with him being so gracious and lovely. I spoke to him and he described the concept of the show, and then he also said this character was a preacher, a preacher's son. That opportunity to play a preacher, I was already interested. They had my interest with that.' Article content Article content Revival, which was filmed in New Brunswick and is currently airing Thursdays on Syfy, is based on the comic book series of the same name by Tim Seeley and Mike Norton. It's a novel take on the undead subgenre. In a small Wisconsin town, the recently deceased are resurrected on Revival Day and appear to maintain their memories and personalities. So they are not really the 'undead,' but mysterious 'Revivers' who divide the small town. At the centre of the show is a murder mystery that finds our protagonist, single mother and cop Dana Cypress, played by Wynonna Earp's Melanie Scrofano, investigating the death of her troubled sister Em, played by Romy Weltman. Em, like many of the recently departed, doesn't stay dead for long. Article content Article content While the Hollywood Reporter described the series as Syfy's midwestern zombie mystery, the Revivers are not the mushy-brained nuisances of the variety Ogg faced as Walking Dead chief antagonist Simon in seasons 6 through 8 of AMC's The Walking Dead. Nevertheless, Blaine Abel considers them to be demons and the work of Satan. He begins to attract a cult-like following among the townsfolk and, at least as of episode 3, is setting the stage for what he calls a 'holy war.' Article content For now, it's hard to tell if Blaine will become a full-blown villain in the show. Ogg has a talent for playing bad guys, of course. He not only played Simon in The Walking Dead, but also a murderous synthetic android named Rebus in HBO's Westworld. He is also adept at playing characters that reside in a morally ambiguous grey zone, such as Pike, the former criminal turned rebel leader in TNT's runaway-train sci-fi series Snowpiercer. Whatever the case, Ogg traded in his trademark facial hair for a stringy mullet to play Blaine, and he manages to exude maximum creepiness in the role. Article content 'We collaborated quite easily and effortlessly, and he became more of this character who, as you will see, progressed throughout the series, and literally and figuratively becomes bigger,' Ogg says. 'Revival Day, for Blaine, gives him this mission in life to save souls, essentially. The Revivers are the devil's children for him. So it really brings back this passion and devoutness to a cause. That all appealed to me. When you get to speak verse from the Bible, it's Shakespeare in a sense with the language. So all of that was super exciting for me.'
Hamilton Spectator
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Hamilton Spectator
Oilers fans find a home in Calgary bars as Edmonton takes another shot at the Cup
CALGARY - About an hour before every Edmonton Oilers game for the next few weeks, Ernie Tsu plans to stroll down the street in Calgary for a cup of sake. Wearing his Oilers jersey, he'll then walk from the restaurant back to join a raucous crowd of Edmonton fans at his bar in the heart of Calgary's Red Mile, the name given to the stretch of 17th Avenue during the Flames' 2004 Stanley Cup run. 'I'm pretty superstitious,' Tsu, owner of Trolley 5 Restaurant and Brewery, said in the lead-up to the Stanley Cup final between the Oilers and the Florida Panthers. Edmonton won Game 1 on Wednesday. 'Since I've been having sake there, they haven't lost (a series).' Trolley 5, a not-so-secret hub for Oilers fans in rival Calgary, has flourished in the team's consecutive runs for the Cup. Two large flags — one for the Oilers, another for Alberta — hang from the rafters of the three-storey bar. Aside from a few framed flaming C jerseys plastered to the wall, it's evident oil country has found a home while the local franchise remains excluded from the playoffs for the third straight year. As the Flames continue to rebuild, the Oilers have provided another springtime boom for Calgary sports bars. The Oilers surged past the Los Angeles Kings, Vegas Golden Knights and Dallas Stars in the first three rounds. Tsu said Calgary's community of Oilers fans has grown organically since he opened the bar nine years ago. He now likens it to a family. Earlier in the week, he took 30 diehard followers out for dim sum as a thank you. This year, he said, more Oilers fans have seemed engaged in light of surging patriotism. 'I'd say there's more people, and I think with the U.S. tariffs, you've got more people supporting a Canadian team,' he said. Not all Calgary bar owners are as thrilled by another successful Oilers run. 'I'm a Matthew Tkachuk-Florida fan for the rest of the season,' said Mike Shupenia, referring to the Panthers' captain and former Flames player. 'I will never be an Oilers fan.' But he'll take the business. The owner and manager of Side Street Pub and Eatery in Calgary's Kensington neighbourhood suspects his restaurant would be just as busy if the Flames were gunning for the Cup. During last year's finals, people were lining up for tables as early as 3 p.m. The Calgary-raised Shupenia is begrudgingly offering service to Oilers faithful this year. A handful of red goal lights around the bar go off every time Edmonton scores. And the bar gives a boxing championship belt decorated in Oilers blue and orange to the winner of a raffle, with five-dollar entries given to a children's food charity. For now, Shupenia is bracing for perhaps the busiest few weeks of the year. But he'll keep his fingers crossed behind the bar for the Panthers to claim their second straight Cup. If not, he said, 'I don't think we'll ever be able to live it down.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 5, 2025.
Global News
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Global News
Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara calls for kindness and civility to end political division
Pop musician Sara Quin says social media has 'tragically torn the world to shreds' in recent years, and it's time people consider ways to re-establish a more positive sense of community. The Calgary-raised performer, who's part of the duo Tegan and Sara, says while she's certain some have found 'beautiful connection online,' she fears it's done more to 'ruin the world' and stoke political divisions. Quin was joined by her twin sister Tegan at Toronto's Departure Festival for a conversation about the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which they created in 2016 after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. The foundation offers financial support to grassroots and community-based organizations such as youth summer camps, and helped create an LGBTQ2 health-care directory. 1:52 Tegan and Sara use Junos speech to call out policies affecting trans youth The sisters say they want to back initiatives that help build stronger communities, something that's become even more important to them in their mid-40s. Story continues below advertisement Sara Quin says she used to subscribe to the mindset that it was better to 'silence, shun or push out' people who didn't agree with her views, but she found it only left her feeling isolated. Get daily National news Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day. Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy 'We have got to be willing to listen to each other, make space for ideas and opinions that don't line up with ours, and figure out if there's a consensus,' she said Wednesday. 'I just want to see people be civil with each other,' she added. 'I don't want to see politicians dismissing, chastising and brutalizing each other for fun, likes (or) bits on the internet. I just want to see people be kinder.'
Hamilton Spectator
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara urges kindness, civility to end political division
TORONTO - Pop musician Sara Quin says social media has 'tragically torn the world to shreds' in recent years, and it's time people consider ways to reestablish a more positive sense of community. The Calgary-raised performer, who's part of the duo Tegan and Sara, says while she's certain some have found 'beautiful connection online,' she fears it's done more to 'ruin the world' and stoke political divisions. Quin was joined by her twin sister Tegan at Toronto's Departure Festival for a conversation about the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which they created in 2016 after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. The foundation offers financial support to grassroots and community-based organizations such as youth summer camps, and helped create an LGBTQ+ health care directory. The sisters say they want to back initiatives that help build stronger communities, something that's become even more important to them in their mid-40s. Sara Quin says she used to subscribe to the mindset that it was better to 'silence, shun or push out' people who didn't agree with her views, but she found it only left her feeling isolated. 'We have got to be willing to listen to each other, make space for ideas and opinions that don't line up with ours, and figure out if there's a consensus,' she said Wednesday. 'I just want to see people be civil with each other,' she added. 'I don't want to see politicians dismissing, chastising and brutalizing each other for fun, likes (or) bits on the internet. I just want to see people be kinder.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Sara Quin of Tegan and Sara urges kindness, civility to end political division
TORONTO – Pop musician Sara Quin says social media has 'tragically torn the world to shreds' in recent years, and it's time people consider ways to reestablish a more positive sense of community. The Calgary-raised performer, who's part of the duo Tegan and Sara, says while she's certain some have found 'beautiful connection online,' she fears it's done more to 'ruin the world' and stoke political divisions. Quin was joined by her twin sister Tegan at Toronto's Departure Festival for a conversation about the Tegan and Sara Foundation, which they created in 2016 after the election of U.S. President Donald Trump. Sara, left, and Tegan Quin from Tegan and Sara pose for a photograph in Toronto, on Friday, September 9, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov The foundation offers financial support to grassroots and community-based organizations such as youth summer camps, and helped create an LGBTQ+ health care directory. The sisters say they want to back initiatives that help build stronger communities, something that's become even more important to them in their mid-40s. Sara Quin says she used to subscribe to the mindset that it was better to 'silence, shun or push out' people who didn't agree with her views, but she found it only left her feeling isolated. 'We have got to be willing to listen to each other, make space for ideas and opinions that don't line up with ours, and figure out if there's a consensus,' she said Wednesday. 'I just want to see people be civil with each other,' she added. Winnipeg Free Press | Newsletter Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. Sign up for The Warm-Up 'I don't want to see politicians dismissing, chastising and brutalizing each other for fun, likes (or) bits on the internet. I just want to see people be kinder.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 7, 2025.
