Gross, Paul

Slings & Arrows: The Complete Collection

As seen on the Sundance Channel

"Deliciously written" —TV GUIDE

"Big and powerful, a corker" —LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Charming and complex and lovely" —THE NEW YORK TIMES

Showered with awards and critical acclaim, this darkly comic Canadian series follows the fortunes of a dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre troupe, exposing the high drama, scorching battles, and electrifying thrills that happen behind the scenes.

Paul Gross (Due South) stars as Geoffrey Tennant, the passionate but unstable artistic director of the New Burbage Theatre Festival. Haunted by the ghost of his predecessor (Stephen Ouimette), he struggles to realize his creative vision while handling touchy actors, a jittery general manager (Mark McKinney), a pretentious guest director (Don McKellar) and his own tempestuous romance with the festival's leading lady (Martha Burns). The backstage bedlam mirrors the onstage angst as Geoffrey directs three of Shakespeare's masterpieces -- Hamlet, Macbeth and King Lear -- one in each season. Guest stars include Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers), Colm Feore (Chicago), Sarah Polley (Go, The Sweet Hereafter), and renowned Stratford Festival actor William Hutt in one of his last performances.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE cast interviews, bloopers, deleted and extended scenes, photo galleries, production notes, trailers and song lyrics. Plus exclusive bonus disc: "A Look Behind the Scenes" featurette, more cast and crew interviews, and on-set footage.

Tales of the City (Collector's Edition)

"The City" in question is San Francisco, and the tales are novelist Armistead Maupin's, his romantic, affectionate, and spirited homage to the glory days of his hometown. Maupin's idea of SF's glory days isn't the drug-filled Summer of Love (1967), but rather the drug-filled lust-in of the late '70s. Replacing acid with coke and ludes, psychedelia for disco, this six-hour miniseries (which caused controversy for its open drug use, nudity, and direct depiction of homosexuality upon its initial airing on PBS) follows the romantic struggles and identity crises of a colorful cast of characters. The action--as addictive as the drugs the characters ingest--is seen mostly from the innocent point of view of Mary Ann, the city's newest culture-shocked resident--so its presentation is rather decadent and hedonistic. Because the story originally ran as a daily serial in the San Francisco Chronicle before being compiled into a novel, its serialized structure suffers from typical soap-opera mawkishness and the need to shock with ridiculous revelations. Thankfully, this degeneration mostly occurs during the final two hours, allowing you to just enjoy the personalities and hilarious and often-touching interactions of the richly drawn characters before they're manipulated by plot devices. The performances are all outstanding, especially Chloe Webb's spacey ex-hippie Mona, Marcus D'Amico's romantically doomed Michael, and Olympia Dukakis's Anna Madrigal, the enigmatic mother hen/landlady of many of the film's central characters. --Dave McCoy

Slings & Arrows - Season 1

The title of Slings and Arrows, like many of the themes and characters in this show, comes from Shakespeare's Hamlet. It refers to "the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune" that the Danish prince suffers, leading him to question whether he is to be or not... you know. It's a clever title for an inspired show about--what else?--the theatre. Set in the New Burbage Theatre Festival, a fictional Canadian Provincial theatre, a jaded, burnt-out artistic director, Oliver Welles (Stephen Ouimette), dies suddenly, and is replaced by a potential genius, his visionary protégé Geoffrey Tennant (Due South's Paul Gross). Geoffrey is legendary at the New Burbage for his awe-inspiring performance of Hamlet there years before, and also because he went mad and now his sanity seems to be hanging by a thread. And oh, by the way, Oliver's still hanging around as a ghost, but Geoffrey's the only one who can see him (sound familiar?), and his impulsive reactions and out-loud arguments with Oliver--including one captured while being interviewed for a news program--besides being hilarious, convince the cast and crews he's really lost it. The show details the daily activities at the festival as they attempt to mount a new production of Hamlet (starring a movie star who's all face and no talent), and in doing so it employs a huge cast of peripheral characters, including the dysfunctional acting company (rising star Rachel McAdams has a key part), scheming board members, and a neurotic theatre staff, each with their own little subplots interweaving to make one big drama.

This first-season set of the Sundance Channel program contains only six episodes, which is too bad because the series is so excellent it'll leave you wanting more. The fact that shows of this caliber are rare makes it stand out all the more. The writing is topnotch, with memorable dialogue, biting dark humor, and clever situations that continually point out how absurd real life can get. This one is a real gem, a show that demonstrates `tis nobler in the mind to laugh at the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, rather than suffer them. --Daniel Vancini

Showered with awards and critical acclaim, this darkly comic Canadian series follows the fortunes of a dysfunctional Shakespearean theatre troupe, exposing the high drama, scorching battles, and artistic miracles that happen behind the scenes.

Paul Gross (Due South) stars as washed-up actor Geoffrey Tennant, who returns to the New Burbage Theatre—the site of his acting triumph and his career-ending meltdown—to assume the artistic directorship after the sudden death of his mentor, Oliver Welles. Believing that theatre is meant to provoke not anesthetize, Geoffrey takes on the suits who want to turn the festival into a theme park, a director who runs amuck with Hamlet, and his own demons, including Oliver—who returns to haunt him. Also starring Rachel McAdams (Wedding Crashers, The Notebook), Stephen Ouimette (Mentors), and Mark McKinney (Kids in the Hall).

Aspen Extreme: Top Gun On The Slopes!

In this heart-pounding action-adventure, two buddies abandon their blue-collar world to become ski instructors in Aspen, Colorado. There, they discover the electrifying playground of the rich and famous -- experiencing firsthand extreme skiing, wealth, and seduction. Surrounded by temptation, and Aspen's alluring lifestyle, the two friends soon face the toughest challenge of their lives ...

Slings & Arrows - Season 3

It's a shame that there aren't more shows this good on TV, and now it's gone. Well, Slings and Arrows always was conceived by its creators to be a set of three seasons, and so after two tremendous offerings it comes to its third and final set of episodes about the backstage drama, onstage embarrassments, and personal trials and tribulations of the staff and actors of the fictional New Burbage Theatre Festival. Following the show's conceit of using plotlines that parallel the Shakespeare play being performed--Hamlet in season one and Macbeth in season two—this season sees artistic director Geoffrey Tenant (Paul Gross) mounting an ambitious production of King Lear with a lead actor (William Hutt as the aptly named Charles Kingman) who begins to literally live the role. Meanwhile the festival's general manager, Richard (Mark McKinney), deals with the unexpected burdens brought by the critical and financial success of their last production, continuing the show's structure of dual plotlines that focus on the artistic and financial aspects of theatre, detailing how inextricably the two are linked. Richard joins forces with flamboyant director Darren Nichols (Don McKellar) tries to top it with East Hastings, a contemporary musical about a heroin-addicted hooker with a heart of gold. As the musical becomes a big hit, Lear turns into a train wreck, and Geoffrey and Richard are both forced to make big decisions that have huge consequences for the Festival staff and actors. Such is the nature of outrageous fortune. It's bittersweet to see a show this well done come to an end. On the one hand, three seasons seems like such a short run for such a good program. On the other hand, it's good to see it go out on a high note, and the addition of extra features on this set, including extended interviews, deleted scenes, production notes, and more, should help serious fans through their withdrawal. --Daniel Vancini

"Pitch-perfect drama and comedy" -- San Francisco Chronicle
"Sweet, smart and seriously addictive" -- Philadelphia Inquirer
"The most fully satisfying slice of entertainment in ages" -- Newsday

As seen on the Sundance Channel

In its third season, this universally acclaimed series continues to mine dramatic and comic gold from the trials and tribulations of a dysfunctional Canadian theatre troupe, both on- and offstage.

Struggling with the unfamiliar burdens of success, the New Burbage theatre festival mounts two ambitious productions: King Lear, Shakespeare's epic tragedy, and East Hastings, a debut musical about a heroin-addicted hooker with a heart of gold. Emotionally fragile artistic director Geoffrey Tennant (Paul Gross) coaxes legendary actor Charles Kingman out of semi-retirement to play Lear. But with plenty of personal baggage, Kingman doesn't so much play the part as live it. Meanwhile, the festival's resident bean-counter (Mark McKinney) joins forces with the musical's flamboyant director (Don McKellar) to create the unlikeliest hit in theatre history. Special guest stars include award-winning actor William Hutt of Canada's Stratford Festival and indie-film sensation Sarah Polley (My Life Without Me, The Sweet Hereafter).

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE interviews with Paul Gross and Susan Coyne; extended scenes of King Lear; bloopers; deleted and extra scenes; trailer; production notes; photo gallery, song lyrics, and cast filmographies.

Contains strong coarse language

Wilby Wonderful

Wilby Wonderful is the February selection in the Film Movement Series. A bittersweet comedy about the difference a day makes. Over the course of twenty-four hours, the residents of the tiny island town of Wilby try to maintain business as usual in the face of very unusual business.

Getting Married in Buffalo Jump

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea

Due South

Due South: Season 3

No synopsis available.