Latest news with #Siskel
Buzz Feed
29-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Buzz Feed
45 Forgotten '90s Things Millennials Will Recognize
The oh-so-groovy '90s-meets-psychedelic graphic design on Fruitopia vending machines: The nose full of slimy boogers on Double Dare that low-key grossed you out: Those Trace & Color coloring books that somehow made anything you traced look sloppy and like you did it with your foot: Magic Slates, which your parents would usually get you for long car trips: And the Forrest Gump: The Soundtrack, which your parents would play over and over in the car on those long car trips: Wendy the "Snapple Lady," who appeared in all of the company's commercials: Your parents having stacks of processing envelopes full of photos they got developed and never put in photo albums: And having a kids' photo album that you filled with your favorite photos (aka whatever pics your parents gave you, usually if they had doubles): Having a ton of blank VHS tapes with covers that looked like this: And all the extra labels that came with blank VHS tapes that no one would ever use: E!'s Talk Soup hosted by John Henson, which was the old-school way to watch viral videos: Elementary school square pizza, which you always looked forward to having on Fridays, along with a chocolate milk: These coarse sugar-coated orange candies (that you ONLY ever saw and ate at your grandma's): The Jerry Springer Too Hot for TV! VHS tape that they would show commercials for late at night, and made you wonder what exactly was on it: The Wendy's commercials that featured its founder, Dave Thomas: The Lay's Wow chips that were made with Olestra and gave people diarrhea: Publishers Clearing House magazine stamps that came in the mail, and you would use to order magazines that you then would never pay for: The instant coupon machines you would play with at the supermarket: The Disney bubble bath bottles that doubled as toys: Lever 2000 soap, which every mom loved to buy in bulk: Binaca and how your breath wasn't minty fresh until it felt like you had burned a hole in your mouth with it: The giant 3D cutout displays stores would have just to announce the release of an upcoming album or movie: The McDonald's cooler they would have at school functions filled with orange drink: And the McDonald's drive-thru menus that were brown and beige and had crappy speaker systems: Those big Nature Sounds music displays inside Targets: The gumball machines that Blockbuster Video would have near the exit of the store: And the Blockbuster Video-branded popcorn that was next to the candy at the checkout counter: The tickets you need to get from the video game section at Toys "R" Us and take to the cashier in order to buy the game: And Toys "R" Us Geoffrey Bucks that you would get for your birthday or holidays, and made you feel "rich": The touchscreen monitors inside of the Warner Bros. Studio Store that allowed you to paint Looney Tunes characters: Siskel and Ebert reviewing movies and either giving them a thumbs up or thumbs down. Then studios promoting their films with "Siskel and Ebert give it two thumbs up!": TGIF crossover episodes that made no sense but went hard: Tissue paper ghosts you'd make at school with Tootsie Pops, pipe cleaners, Sharpies, and the super rough tissues that the school provided year-round: Old metal jungle gyms that got super hot in the summer: The Disney Store plastic shopping bags that looked like this and that you refused to throw away because they were so magical looking: And the Mickey Mouse gift boxes the Disney Store used to have: Stencil rulers that didn't really make great stencils: Going to the Wonder Hostess Bakery Outlet to get Twinkies, Ding Dongs, and other pastries, all while taking in the oh-so-good baked goods scents: The Good Seasons dressing bottle that every family seemed to own. And which made you feel like a gourmet chef if your parents asked you to make the dressing — even if it was just pouring the seasoning packet in with oil and vinegar: And this exact wooden salad bowl (with matching salad tongs) that your family would use to serve the salad in for dinner: Halogen torchiere floor lamps that got so hot that you knew better than to even get close to touching. Or looking directly at the lightbulb while it was turned on because it had the brightness of 10 suns: Glade PlugIns when they used gel packets that would get all gooey and covered in dust: Chuck E. Cheese's colorful ball pits that always smelled like feet and were probably way more gross than you even realize: The glow-in-the-dark stars you would put on the ceiling of your bedroom and would give you a mini-heart attack when they would fall on top of you in your sleep: And lastly, always sitting very close to the TV because most TVs were relatively small with bad resolution:
Yahoo
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg': True crime film tells odd story of sportscaster-turned-bank robber
In the documentary The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg (now on Prime Video), narrated by Will Arnett, directors Ben Daughtrey and Charlie Siskel chronicle the odd true crime case of broadcaster-turned-robber, Steve Vogelsang. The beloved sports anchor confused locals when he was found to have led a number of odd bank heists. For Daughtrey and Siskel, it's the character study component of Vogelsang's story that interested them. With a "made for TV personality" — Vogelsang even reenacts his own crimes for the documentary — it's a fascinating film that brings up several questions about fame and celebrity. "I don't think either of us has a particular interest in true crime as a genre, but this was an opportunity to take it apart as a form, and break it open and look at the true crime industrial complex that we seem to all feed on," Siskel told Yahoo Canada. While Vogelsang's crimes weren't victimless, with traumatized bank employees impacted by his actions, the heists were so mishandled and executed without strategic thinking that they're more like heists you would see in a comedy movie, not real life. "When you look at Steve's crimes, his half a dozen robberies, he created characters for each of these crimes," Siskel highlighted. "They were theatrical, they were performative. They're funny. He's got little jokes in them." "He hid the money that he stole from one of the banks inside an urn with his mother's ashes. Did he have to do that? Was that the best hiding place? Or was it something that would make a great story to tell afterwards." But all of that also feeds into is Vogelsang's desire for attention. "He's a media animal," Siskel said. "As a kid, his mother called him, 'My son the Prime Minister.' This was a guy who knew his way around storytelling." "He made himself kind of a centrepiece of a lot of the sports stories he did. So it seemed fitting to kind of take him apart as a character, as someone who didn't want to live an ordinary life. Steve got quite used to being a celebrity, lost that celebrity, and I think we kind of asked the provocative question, is it possible that Steve robbed a bunch of banks in order to tell a great story. In order to become a celebrity again, in order to have ... another crack at fame?" Going one step further, The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg also becomes an evaluation of its audience, and the filmmakers. There's a moral question about how we create and consume crime stories as entertainment. "We wanted all of that complexity, moral complexity, narrative complexity, and allow the audience to be jury members and decide what they think of it," Siskel said. "What do they think of Steve as a character? What do they think of the filmmakers? What do they think of themselves as consumers of this kind of entertainment? And hopefully have a lot of laughs too. Sometimes at Steve's expense, because he is quite willing to play the fool, I would say." What's brought up in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg is who the "real" Vogelsang is, and what's just a facade or a show. When asked if the directors believe they got to know the real Vogelsang, they identity him as both a "publicity monster" and "a human being trying to figure out who he is." "I think both things are equally true, and that's what we're trying to do with the film," Daughtrey said. "I think Steve maybe grew in some ways over the course of the film. I think Charlie and I were like, at moments, 'God, I hate this guy.' And then other parts of us were like, 'I sort of empathize with him.'" Vogelsang also claims in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg that he didn't enjoy fame very much, but the filmmakers aren't so sure, and the audience is likely to be dubious of that statement as well. "Steve is hyper-intelligent and he's super delusional, in my opinion, and he has an answer for everything," Daughtrey said. "Some days I believe him, some days I don't." "Clearly where he ends up is quite modest, but maybe that's just a fault of his life choices."
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg': True crime film tells odd story of sportscaster-turned-bank robber
In the documentary The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg (now on Prime Video), narrated by Will Arnett, directors Ben Daughtrey and Charlie Siskel chronicle the odd true crime case of broadcaster-turned-robber, Steve Vogelsang. The beloved sports anchor confused locals when he was found to have led a number of odd bank heists. For Daughtrey and Siskel, it's the character study component of Vogelsang's story that interested them. With a "made for TV personality" — Vogelsang even reenacts his own crimes for the documentary — it's a fascinating film that brings up several questions about fame and celebrity. "I don't think either of us has a particular interest in true crime as a genre, but this was an opportunity to take it apart as a form, and break it open and look at the true crime industrial complex that we seem to all feed on," Siskel told Yahoo Canada. While Vogelsang's crimes weren't victimless, with traumatized bank employees impacted by his actions, the heists were so mishandled and executed without strategic thinking that they're more like heists you would see in a comedy movie, not real life. "When you look at Steve's crimes, his half a dozen robberies, he created characters for each of these crimes," Siskel highlighted. "They were theatrical, they were performative. They're funny. He's got little jokes in them." "He hid the money that he stole from one of the banks inside an urn with his mother's ashes. Did he have to do that? Was that the best hiding place? Or was it something that would make a great story to tell afterwards." But all of that also feeds into is Vogelsang's desire for attention. "He's a media animal," Siskel said. "As a kid, his mother called him, 'My son the Prime Minister.' This was a guy who knew his way around storytelling." "He made himself kind of a centrepiece of a lot of the sports stories he did. So it seemed fitting to kind of take him apart as a character, as someone who didn't want to live an ordinary life. Steve got quite used to being a celebrity, lost that celebrity, and I think we kind of asked the provocative question, is it possible that Steve robbed a bunch of banks in order to tell a great story. In order to become a celebrity again, in order to have ... another crack at fame?" Going one step further, The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg also becomes an evaluation of its audience, and the filmmakers. There's a moral question about how we create and consume crime stories as entertainment. "We wanted all of that complexity, moral complexity, narrative complexity, and allow the audience to be jury members and decide what they think of it," Siskel said. "What do they think of Steve as a character? What do they think of the filmmakers? What do they think of themselves as consumers of this kind of entertainment? And hopefully have a lot of laughs too. Sometimes at Steve's expense, because he is quite willing to play the fool, I would say." What's brought up in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg is who the "real" Vogelsang is, and what's just a facade or a show. When asked if the directors believe they got to know the real Vogelsang, they identity him as both a "publicity monster" and "a human being trying to figure out who he is." "I think both things are equally true, and that's what we're trying to do with the film," Daughtrey said. "I think Steve maybe grew in some ways over the course of the film. I think Charlie and I were like, at moments, 'God, I hate this guy.' And then other parts of us were like, 'I sort of empathize with him.'" Vogelsang also claims in The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg that he didn't enjoy fame very much, but the filmmakers aren't so sure, and the audience is likely to be dubious of that statement as well. "Steve is hyper-intelligent and he's super delusional, in my opinion, and he has an answer for everything," Daughtrey said. "Some days I believe him, some days I don't." "Clearly where he ends up is quite modest, but maybe that's just a fault of his life choices."
Toronto Star
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Documentary details fall of former broadcaster once dubbed ‘sexiest man in Winnipeg'
There was a time back in the 1990s when Steve Vogelsang was known as the 'sexiest man in Winnipeg.' A former sportscaster, college instructor and executive with True North Sports and Entertainment, Vogelsang helped several Winnipeggers shape their careers. So when the Saskatoon native was arrested in 2017 for sticking up banks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, his once made-for-TV persona became rife with static. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW 'It raises a lot of questions,' said Charlie Siskel, a director and producer for 'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg,' a new documentary detailing Vogelsang's rise and fall that releases Friday on Amazon's Prime Video. 'What happened to this guy? Why did he end up robbing a bunch of banks? Why did he do it in such theatrically ridiculous fashion?' Vogelsang was sentenced in 2019 to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of bank robberies in Saskatchewan and Alberta between July and October 2017. In one case, he walked into a Regina bank with a fake bomb strapped to his chest, slid a note to the teller demanding $50,000 and pleaded for help, saying 'They've got my grandson.' On its face, it's a ridiculous but tragic story, says co-director Ben Daughtrey. 'We decided to embrace both sides of Steve's personality,' he said in an interview. 'He is genuinely a funny person, but there's also something ultimately tragic about a person going to these depths to try to change his life.' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW In an interview from Washington state, Siskel said the documentary has been in the works since Vogelsang's release from prison. Vogelsang himself was involved in its making, re-enacting elements and sharing his thoughts for the cameras. The documentary also hears from several current and former Winnipeg reporters who knew Vogelsang and recall their shock at learning he had been arrested. 'The film is a character study, ultimately,' he said. 'Not so much a whodunit because we know who committed the crimes, but a whydunit.' Vogelsang's trial heard the former broadcaster's marriage had fallen apart, his prescribed medication for depression wasn't working and he was deep in debt from lengthy unemployment. Asked why Vogelsang gets a documentary when ordinary people convicted of bank robberies don't, Siskel said humans are obsessed with true crime and fame. His crimes were minor, so it's all the more surprising, the director said, that Vogelsang thought it was his way back. 'What is it about these crimes and criminals and crime stories that so fascinates the public and makes such a ready market for these kinds of stories ... Is this all fame seeking on his part? ... What role do we have in turning these people back into celebrities?' ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW Siskel said the viewer should 'play jury' when watching the documentary. Was Vogelsang 'some sort of monster,' he said, or an ordinary person who got a taste of fame, lost it and went about a 'weird way' of getting it back? Siskel adds that Vogelsang routinely points out in the film that he doesn't want 'that much fame.' But Siskel thinks otherwise. 'I do think that fame and fame seeking is at the heart of Steve's story,' he said. 'I think there is an element of redemption in the sense that Steve is coming to terms with his own past and his choices. 'Is it a redemption story, is it exposing the deep flaws of another human being, or is it something in between?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
Winnipeg Free Press
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Documentary details fall of former broadcaster once dubbed ‘sexiest man in Winnipeg'
There was a time back in the 1990s when Steve Vogelsang was known as the 'sexiest man in Winnipeg.' A former sportscaster, college instructor and executive with True North Sports and Entertainment, Vogelsang helped several Winnipeggers shape their careers. So when the Saskatoon native was arrested in 2017 for sticking up banks in Saskatchewan and Alberta, his once made-for-TV persona became rife with static. 'It raises a lot of questions,' said Charlie Siskel, a director and producer for 'The Sexiest Man in Winnipeg,' a new documentary detailing Vogelsang's rise and fall that releases Friday on Amazon's Prime Video. 'What happened to this guy? Why did he end up robbing a bunch of banks? Why did he do it in such theatrically ridiculous fashion?' Vogelsang was sentenced in 2019 to six and a half years in prison after pleading guilty to a string of bank robberies in Saskatchewan and Alberta between July and October 2017. In one case, he walked into a Regina bank with a fake bomb strapped to his chest, slid a note to the teller demanding $50,000 and pleaded for help, saying 'They've got my grandson.' On its face, it's a ridiculous but tragic story, says co-director Ben Daughtrey. 'We decided to embrace both sides of Steve's personality,' he said in an interview. 'He is genuinely a funny person, but there's also something ultimately tragic about a person going to these depths to try to change his life.' In an interview from Washington state, Siskel said the documentary has been in the works since Vogelsang's release from prison. Vogelsang himself was involved in its making, re-enacting elements and sharing his thoughts for the cameras. The documentary also hears from several current and former Winnipeg reporters who knew Vogelsang and recall their shock at learning he had been arrested. 'The film is a character study, ultimately,' he said. 'Not so much a whodunit because we know who committed the crimes, but a whydunit.' Vogelsang's trial heard the former broadcaster's marriage had fallen apart, his prescribed medication for depression wasn't working and he was deep in debt from lengthy unemployment. Asked why Vogelsang gets a documentary when ordinary people convicted of bank robberies don't, Siskel said humans are obsessed with true crime and fame. His crimes were minor, so it's all the more surprising, the director said, that Vogelsang thought it was his way back. 'What is it about these crimes and criminals and crime stories that so fascinates the public and makes such a ready market for these kinds of stories … Is this all fame seeking on his part? … What role do we have in turning these people back into celebrities?' Siskel said the viewer should 'play jury' when watching the documentary. Was Vogelsang 'some sort of monster,' he said, or an ordinary person who got a taste of fame, lost it and went about a 'weird way' of getting it back? 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. Siskel adds that Vogelsang routinely points out in the film that he doesn't want 'that much fame.' But Siskel thinks otherwise. 'I do think that fame and fame seeking is at the heart of Steve's story,' he said. 'I think there is an element of redemption in the sense that Steve is coming to terms with his own past and his choices. 'Is it a redemption story, is it exposing the deep flaws of another human being, or is it something in between?' This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2025.
