The Starlost is a Canadian-produced science fiction television series created by writer Harlan Ellison and broadcast in 1973 on CTV in Canada and syndicated to local stations in the United States. The show's setting is a huge generational colony spacecraft called Earthship Ark, which following an unspecified accident has gone off course. Centuries after its original launch however, most of the descendants of the original crew and colonists are unaware that they are even aboard a spaceship. The series experienced a number of production difficulties, and Ellison broke with the project before the airing of its first episode.
Exotica is a 1994 Canadian film written and directed by Atom Egoyan, and starring Bruce Greenwood, Mia Kirshner, Don McKellar, Arsinée Khanjian, and Elias Koteas. Set primarily in the fictional Exotica strip club in Toronto, the film concerns a father grieving over the loss of a child and his obsession with a young stripper. It was inspired by Egoyan's curiosity about the role strip clubs play in sex-obsessed societies. Exotica was filmed in Toronto in 1993.
Mia Kirshner is a Canadian actress, writer, and social activist. She is known for television roles as Mandy in 24 (2001–2005), as Jenny Schecter in The L Word (2004–2009), as Amanda Grayson in Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2019) and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2023), and as Isobel Flemming in The Vampire Diaries (2010-2011). Her film credits include Love and Human Remains (1993), Exotica (1994), The Crow: City of Angels (1996), Mad City (1997), Not Another Teen Movie (2001), and The Black Dahlia (2006).
Fast Times at Ridgemont High is a 1982 American coming-of-age comedy film directed by Amy Heckerling from a screenplay by Cameron Crowe, based on his 1981 book Fast Times at Ridgemont High: A True Story, and starring Sean Penn, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judge Reinhold, Phoebe Cates, Brian Backer, Robert Romanus, and Ray Walston. Crowe went undercover at Clairemont High School in San Diego and wrote about his experiences.
Psi Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal is a Canadian science fiction drama television series which was filmed in and around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and aired 88 episodes over four seasons from 1996 to 2000. In 1996, Christopher Chacon and Peter Aykroyd co-created the show.
The Crow: City of Angels is a 1996 American superhero film directed by Tim Pope and written by David S. Goyer. It serves as a standalone sequel to the 1994 film The Crow in addition to being the second installment in The Crow film series. The film stars Vincent Pérez, Mia Kirshner, Richard Brooks, Iggy Pop, Thomas Jane and Thuy Trang. It received negative critic reviews. It was followed by 2000 film sequel, The Crow: Salvation.
Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love is a 1989 stage play written by Canadian playwright Brad Fraser. Set in Edmonton, Alberta, the comedy-drama follows the lives of several sexually frustrated "thirty-somethings" who try to learn the meaning of love — during a time in which a serial killer is terrorizing the city. Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love was published in 2006 by Playwrights Canada Press as Love and Human Remains.
Brad Fraser is a Canadian playwright. He is one of the most widely produced Canadian playwrights both in Canada and internationally. His plays typically feature a harsh yet comical view of contemporary life in Canada, including frank depictions of sexuality, drug use and violence.
The Black Dahlia is a 2006 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Brian De Palma and written by Josh Friedman, based on the 1987 novel of the same name by James Ellroy, in turn inspired by the widely sensationalized murder of Elizabeth Short. Starring Josh Hartnett, Scarlett Johansson, Aaron Eckhart, and Hilary Swank, the film follows two Los Angeles Police Department detectives investigating Short's murder, leading them through a series of shocking discoveries. Mia Kirshner, Mike Starr, Fiona Shaw, John Kavanagh, Rachel Miner, and Rose McGowan appear in supporting roles.
Leaving Metropolis is a 2002 Canadian drama film, written and directed by Brad Fraser as an adaptation of his theatrical play Poor Super Man. The film, about a gay man and a married heterosexual man who fall in love, was filmed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, and played the international gay and lesbian film festival circuit throughout 2002 and 2003.
Jennifer "Jenny" Diane Schecter is a fictional character from the American Showtime television drama series The L Word, played by Mia Kirshner. Jenny debuted on-screen during the pilot episode and remained until the series' final episode. Jenny became well documented in the media for her outlandish plots. Jenny was created by series creator Ilene Chaiken, based on herself as a younger woman living in the lesbian community. Chaiken implemented a series of changes to the character, one of which being the inclusion of a sexual abuse story line and self-harm, which some critics observed as being attempts to make her likable in the LGBT community. One storyline that gained mainstream attention was adopting a homeless dog, only to have it put down for personal gain. Other story lines include stripping, writing novels, coming out, directing a film, affairs, and her possible murder. The final season is based around the lead-up to her death, during which Jenny made herself extremely unpopular with her friends, who became suspects.
Jo Vannicola, formerly known as Joanne Vannicola, is a Canadian actor. They are most noted for their roles as Dr. Naadiah in Being Erica, Dr. Mia Stone in PSI Factor, Jerri in Love and Human Remains, Sam in Stonewall, Renee in Slasher: Guilty Party, Amber Ciotti in Slasher: Solstice and Slasher: Flesh and Blood, as well as voice roles in Crash Canyon and My Dad the Rock Star.
Jenny Cooper is a Canadian actress. She made her professional debut in 1995 as series star Molly in the Canadian TV series Jake and the Kid as the series regular Molly, went on to star in the Showtime series Fast Track, and has subsequently been a guest star in numerous shows including Monk, Scandal, The Outer Limits and CSI Miami. Cooper also starred in the miniseries The Feast of All Saints. Cooper also played trauma surgeon Jenny Blake in the 2015 TV mystery drama Open Heart.
Dustin Lance Black is an American screenwriter, director, producer, and LGBT rights activist. He is known for writing the film Milk, for which he won the Oscar for best original screenplay in 2009. He has also subsequently written the screenplays for the film J. Edgar and the 2022 crime miniseries Under the Banner of Heaven.
Rent: Filmed Live on Broadway is a 2008 film of the final performance of the original Broadway production of the musical Rent on September 7, 2008, with some footage of the closing night celebration. The film had a limited theatrical release between September 24 and 28, 2008, in more than 500 theaters with high definition digital projection systems in the US and Canada. According to Sony Pictures Releasing President Rory Bruer, it was the first live Broadway show to be available in major North American movie theaters. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray on February 3, 2009.
Darrin Reed Cowan is an American journalist.
Although same-sex sexual activity was illegal in Canada up to 1969, gay and lesbian themes appear in Canadian literature throughout the 20th century. Canada is now regarded as one of the most advanced countries in legal recognition of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) rights.
Grabby Awards are presented annually in Chicago for the gay adult erotic video industry. The awards are sponsored by GRAB Magazine. The Grabby Awards and GRAB Magazine are owned and operated by Grabbys, LLC. The awards were owned until 2009 by Gay Chicago Magazine.
388 Arletta Avenue is a 2011 Canadian horror-thriller film written and directed by Randall Cole and starring Nick Stahl and Mia Kirshner as an unhappily married couple who are unknowingly stalked by an intruder. It premiered at the 2011 Toronto International Film Festival, had a limited release in Canada in June 2012, and was released on DVD in September 2012.
Little Italy is a 2018 romantic comedy film directed by Donald Petrie, with a screenplay by Steve Galluccio and Vinay Virmani from a story by Virmani. The film stars Emma Roberts, Hayden Christensen, Alyssa Milano, Adam Ferrara, Gary Basaraba, Linda Kash, Andrew Phung, Cristina Rosato, Danny Aiello, Andrea Martin and Jane Seymour. The film features one of Aiello's final film appearances before his death in 2019.
