BREAKING NEWS: Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Awards Announced

Two big pieces of Flashpoint news were announced today! The first was a long-awaited announcement of the US DVDs for Season 2, and now an award nomination for show creators and writers Stephanie Morgenstern (Sailor Venus #1) and her husband Mark Ellis, along with writer James Hurst were nominated for their screenwriting on the Season 2 Part 2 opener, "One Wrong Move". We're calling it that since there was some initial Season 2/3 confusion. To check out the full list of nominations, check out TV_Eh here. Congratulations to Stephanie, Mark, and James, and we wish you all the best of luck when the awards are handed out on April 19th in Toronto!

BREAKING NEWS: New Flashpoint Boxset on the Way!

According to TVShowsonDVD (posted a little over an hour ago), CBS and Paramount have announced that the United States is indeed getting a DVD release of Season 2 of Flashpoint. Flashpoint "Season 2" will be released on May 25th, and will have a runtime of 337 minutes. We don't know as of this writing how many episodes will be included on the release, as this release is nearly 50 minutes shorter than the Canadian release (and that missing time about an entire episode of Flashpoint). The extras will also be different, with the US release having a feature about weapons and stunts. We can only guess that Lamperd Less Lethal has something to do with this feature, since they provide all the mock weapons used in the show as well as training! What we do know, is that the last two releases of the Season 1 Boxset didn't differ in the menus or the layout at all, only in the box art. We would think it might have been the same for this release too, just that CBS would not release it until some time after the Canadian release, but this matter of the extras has us a little confused. Hopefully we'll hear more (and find an official press release from CBS/Paramount) soon.

Breaking News: ACTRA Toronto results!

The 2010 ACTRA Toronto award results are in and the Moon Chase Blog Network is happy to announce that actors we have been following have won on both sides of the coin!

In a direct victory for Flashpoint, Kathleen Munroe won Best Female Performer for playing Laura in the episode Last Dance.

Another Flashpoint actor, K.C. Collins, won Best Male Performer for playing Derek Wilmot in Guns. He also played another Derek, Derek Medeiros in the Flashpoint episode Exit Wounds.

On the Sailor Moon side, Julie Lemieux won Best Voice Work for playing Fuzzy Snuggems in the animated series Spliced. She was also the voice of Sammy and Young Darien on Sailor Moon.

We'd like to extend our congratulations to these great actors, for helping to bring to life the shows we love to watch!

Album Review: Hugh Dillon - Works Well With Others

“Works Well With Others” is Hugh Dillon’s first studio album in 4 years, following 5 studio albums with the Headstones and one album credited to the Hugh Dillon Redemption Choir. During the 4 year span between albums, Dillon has landed many successful acting roles, most notably lead spots on the shows Durham County and Flashpoint. Given the success he has had in acting, one might have wondered if he would return to recording music, fortunately late in 2009 this album hit the shelves.

Dillon’s new album features production from Tragically Hip guitarist Paul Langlois on 12 of the 14 tracks, and mixing from Adam Kasper (who has worked with grunge artists Pearl Jam and Soundgarden). Overall, this album features Dillon expanding on the signature sound he forged with the Headstones, adding new sounds and instrumentation (such as piano and organ) to the overall feel of his music. This album features some classic gritty Dillon rockers like the opener “Friends of Mine”, “Ten Feet Tall”, “Surface of the Sun” and “Reel to Reel” in which Dillon suggests in his lyrics that even though he is now enjoying success as an actor, he still has a love for recording rock and roll music. The country rocker “Lucky” (featuring guest guitar work from Tragically Hip guitarist Rob Baker) is a highlight of the album, on this song Dillon sings about some of his potential brushes with death and how luck can come and go at all times in a person’s life.

The second half of the album begins with a slower and more introspective song (“Lost at Sea”, which has been featured in a Flashpoint episode) before returning to the rootsy rock sounds of “Radio Plays” and “Bottom of a Dream”. “My Mistakes” begins with an errie spare organ and drums backing Dillon’s voice, before picking up and turning into an uptempo rocker before returning to organ and vocals for the song's outro. It’s another song where Dillon comes to terms with the mistakes he has made in his life, however the song also suggests not dwelling on them and moving forward in one’s life. “Ignore That Call” is another driving rocker, with a nifty guitar line providing the hook for listeners. The album finishes with two slower numbers, the romantic “Puzzle I Am” and the cautionary tale “Don’t Be Fooled” (which has also appeared on Flashpoint).

Overall, “Works Well With Others” is a solid album from start to finish, and is an excellent addition to Dillon’s catalogue of music. People who are familiar with Dillon’s acting, and are wondering what his music sounds like will find this to be a worthy album to listen to. Canadian rock fans that are familiar with Dillon’s music with the Headstones will also enjoy this album, as it shows Dillon continuing to expand his sound as a rock artist.

BREAKING NEWS: New Writer Joins Flashpoint Writing Staff; Penny Wins an Award!

Former House Writer Joins Flashpoint!

Yes, you read right, that House show on Fox and Canwest Global! Playback reports that writer Pam Davis, who wrote for 5 years on House and the first season of the upcoming CBS drama Miami Medical, will be spending the next two months in Toronto as a story editor on Flashpoint. She is also a former Canadian Film Centre grad who is excited to be back in Canada, saying that the Flashpoint gig gives her a rare chance to visit her hometown after working 50 weeks a year in the House story room under series creator and fellow Canadian David Shore! While she is still under contract to Jerry Bruckheimer for Miami Medical while it is seekingn the greenlight for a second season, both Bruckheimer and CBS gave her permission to work on Flashpoint. Congratulations to Pamela and the writing staff of Flashpoint and we wish you the best of luck for Season 3!



Penny Wins at Sundance!

Tatiana Maslany (Penny in Planets Aligned) just won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her breakout role in the film Grown Up Movie Star. In the movie, she plays a precocious 14-year-old who grows up fast after her mother walks out on her and her father, a disgraced NHL star. Mongrel Media is currently handling the distribution of the film, which opened last Friday in Toronto. The film's distribution will expand on February 19th. For more information on the movie, check out the official site! Congrats to Tatiana - you have sure come a long way since your time on Flashpoint!

BREAKING NEWS: Official Boxart in Hi-Res, No Blu-Ray This Time.

TVShowsonDVD reported a couple more details about the upcoming Season 2: Volume 1 release of Flashpoint earlier today, and fans also got confirmation about the number of episodes that are going to be included. Mark Ellis via twitter last week confirmed that there will be 9 episodes on this release. Now, since the last nine episodes (which aired last Fall in Canada) are now being billed as Season 2 by CTV, we can only assume that these nine will make up Season 2: Volume 2. Perhaps Phase 4 Films is holding out for these last nine to air on CBS before releasing them? We wish we could give every cast and crew member on the show a large slice of cheesecake with a cherry on top for the episode confusion, since those episodes were onceknown as Season 3 on CTV! TVShowsonDVD also posted a hi-res image of the cover (which we have re-posted below). Hugh Dillon was on the spine of the last release, Enrico Colantoni is on the spine of this release - who do you think will be next, fans? The site also confirmed that there will not be a Blu-Ray release at this time, and even we are baffled by this. It was well worth the wait even though it arrived to shelves weeks after the Standard DVD release! Bonus features on this release will include a photo gallery and a music video from Hugh Dillon (probably his video for Friends of Mine). Fans wishing to purchase this release can order this online from Chapters/Coles/Indigo, or Amazon.ca (both will ship to the United States)!