Film, Arts Etc
Best Local Actor
1. William Shatner
2. Roy Dupuis
3. Marc-André Grondin
4. Kiefer Sutherland
5.Michel Côté
6. Tristan D. Lalla
7. Derek Seguin
8. Donald Sutherland
9. Rémy Girard
10. Elias Toufexis
Wowing both audiences and critics alike with his recurring role in All-Bran ads, Captain Kirk proves that he’s better than ever (not to mention more regular). Which puts last year’s winner Roy Dupuis back in the runner-up position, a ranking the hunky actor is no stranger to (see 2002, 2003 and 2004.) Meanwhile, the rift between father and son widens with poor old Donald slipping two spots from last year as Kiefer’s 24 celebrity moves him up a spot. But the big news is C.R.A.Z.Y. star Marc-André Grondin making his debut on the top-10 while his co-star Michel Côté hangs tight, along with other BOM regs Rémy Girard (Les Boys IV) and Tristan D. Lalla (all-around popular guy and stage actor).
Crazy for rock
>> Despite his busy acting schedule, Marc-André Grondin refuses to give up his music
by SARAH ROWLAND
 It’s not uncommon for the occasional star-struck teenager to show up at a Nitrosonique gig for the sole purpose of seeing the band’s most high-profile member Marc-André Grondin, also known as that hot guy in C.R.A.Z.Y. But according to the Montreal heartthrob, these misguided groupies usually end up being sorely disappointed.
“I’m the drummer,” says Grondin. “I’m in the back. There’s a singer right in front of me blocking their view. And it’s not like I’m doing all these drum solos, Tommy Lee-style. I’m just doing my job back there. And after the show, I’m pretty low-profile.”
So don’t expect him to sign any autographs.
“It’s hard for me to be an ass and I really don’t want to be an ass,” he says. “I even tell people, ‘I’m sorry, I don’t want to be an ass. But I play music to forget my everyday life, not to promote my day job.’”
His everyday life includes riding high on the success of Jean-Marc Vallée’s coming-of-age masterpiece C.R.A.Z.Y., arguably the best Québécois film to come along since Denys Arcand’s Les Invasions barbares.
“Yes, I’m a really, really lucky guy,” admits Grondin, who plays a gay teenager desperate for his homophobic father’s approval. “Some actors have to move to Hollywood or New York and take acting lessons. But I just do my own little thing here and end up in a great film, playing an amazing character. And at the same time I get to rock on the weekends.”
He rocks, but not as much as he used to. Ever since the film exploded at last year’s Toronto film fest, Grondin has had very little time for his other musical project, the Adam Brown. As a result, Grondin will play his last show with them next week (May 17 at Main Hall).
“It breaks my heart that I have to quit because they’re really close friends and I was a fan of the band before I joined,” he says. “But it’s for the good of the band. They’re amazing people. They do amazing music so I’m not too worried for them.”
This month also marks the end of his C.R.A.Z.Y. promotional schedule, which has brought him to countless festivals held in almost every part of the world.
“I’m pulling the plug and I’m moving on to something else,” he says. “Jean-Marc is tired and I’m very tired too. There are things in town that I kind of want to take care of. I can’t be travelling all the time—I have a life, I have friends, I have a band. I have a cat.”
As for being beaten out by Captain Kirk as Montreal’s favourite local actor, the BOM newbie is understandably shocked: “William Shatner? Really? I thought he was a comedian. Do people know that he may not even be acting right now? My vote would go to Kiefer. Star Trek’s over.”
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Best Local Actress
1. Elisha Cuthbert
2. Karen Simpson
3. Lydia Lockett
4. Jessica Paré
5. Karine Vanasse
6. Isabelle Blais
7. Magenta Baribau
8. Pascale Bussières
9. Victoria Sanchez
10. Marie-Josée Croze
For the second year in a row, House of Wax hottie Elisha Cuthbert is the undisputed champ. And BOM heavyweight Karen Simpson of Saved by the Belles fame jumps three spots from 2005’s poll, securing second place. Returning after a brief absence in 2005 is Karine Vanasse from Sans Elle and also returning is Victoria Sanchez, a regular on the now defunct TV show This Is Wonderland. And gone are last year’s theatre darling Emilee Veluz and Mambo Italiano’s Ginette Reno.
Best Local Filmmaker
1. Denys Arcand
2. Kidnapper Films
3. Ziad Touma
4. Robert Lepage
5. Jean-Marc Vallée
6. Christos Sourligas
7. Robin Spry
8. Sv Bell
9. Pierre Falardeau
10. Automatic Vaudeville Studios
The media savvy folks behind Kidnapper Films bump Webdreams director Ziad Touma out of the #2 slot. Making their BOM debut are Christos Sourligas (Elephant Shoes) and Sv Bell (Purple Glow). And after disappearing off the charts in 2005, Montreal funny men Automatic Vaudeville Studios manage to claw their way back onto this year’s poll. Meanwhile, 10 Genies, 13 Jutras and countless festival awards weren’t quite enough for C.R.A.Z.Y. director Jean-Marc Vallée to topple Academy Award winner Denys Arcand. Tough crowd.
Best Play
1. Blacks Don’t Bowl
2. Johnny Canuck and the Last Burlesque
3. A Midsummer Night’s Dream
4. Condoville
5. Hosanna
6. Always Lost, Never Found
7. Sex & La Cité
8. Le Projet Andersen
9. Spring Awakening
10. Tecumseh As A Doorstop
We’re not sure about their 10-pin skills, but the Black Theatre Workshop proves they know how to put on a play, taking #1 with Blacks Don’t Bowl. Right behind them is MainLine Theatre’s first-ever production, Johnny Canuck and the Last Burlesque.
Best Dance Company/
Choreographer
1. La La La Human Steps
2. 8 Count
3. Studio A
4. Les Grands Ballets Canadiens
5. Solid State
6. Illmatic Styles
7. O Vertigo
8. Marie Chouinard
9. Dead Doll Dancers
10. Ruberbandance Group
Best Spoken Word Act
1. Lydia Lockett
2. Kalmunity
3. Catherine Kidd
4. Alexis O’Hara
5. Coco Café
6. Memo
7. Euphrates
8. Blu Klein (Coco Café)
9. Kaie Kellough (Kalmunity)
10. Luna Allison
Best Museum
1. Montreal Museum of Fine Arts
2. Montreal Museum of Contemporary Art
3. McCord Museum
4. Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA)
5. Pointe-à-Callière
6. Just for Laughs Museum
7. Biodôme
8. Château Ramezay Museum
9. Redpath Museum
10. Ecomuseum
Best Gallery
1. Zeke’s Gallery
2. VAV
3. Galerie Clark
4. Galerie Gora
5. Art Mûr
6. Foufounes Électriques
7. Galerie Lamoureux Ritzenhoff
8. Madame Edgar
9. Canvas Gallery
10. La Centrale
Though the owner seems to have shifted favour from visual arts exhibitions to live music and spoken word events, Zeke’s is still a gallery, and still the favourite in your eyes. Notable newbies on the list are two spots centred on the quirkier, more street-level side of things: the Foufs and St-Hubert haunt Madame Edgar. Welcome to both.
Best Art Exhibit
1. Anselm Kiefer (MAC)
2. Art Matters (various locations)
3. Miklos Rogan (Galerie Lamoureux Ritzenhoff)
4. Catherine the Great (MMFA)
5. Eternal Egypt (MMFA)
6. Much of Madness, More of Sin (Foufounes
Électriques)
7. Tagur (Off the Hook)
8. Carlo Cosentino (Galerie Lamoureux
Ritzenhoff)
9. William Kentridge (MAC)
10. Electric Art Derby
If German art star Anselm Kiefer’s giant winged book didn’t register at the gallery, it became entrenched in people’s consciousness through the MAC’s ubiquitous billboards. Meanwhile, Concordia’s great big grassroots extravaganza Art Matters slips just a notch to #2.
Best Author
1. Mordecai Richler
2. Leonard Cohen
3. Michel Tremblay
4. Yann Martel
5. Bill Brownstein
6. Irving Layton
7. Nelly Arcand
8. Dany Laferrière
9. Ian McGillis
10. Taras Grescoe
Little change from last year’s rankings, though Dany Laferrière returns after an absence and Taras Grascoe makes his debut appearance. Bill Brownstein, who to the best of our knowledge did not release a book last year, actually climbed up the list, from #9 to #4. If he keeps not releasing books, he could yet claim the top spot.
Best Magazine/Zine
1. Vice
2. Nightlife
3. Maisonneuve
4. Fish Piss
5. Urbania
6. Siafu Magazine
7. Strut
8. Lou Lou
9. Elle Québec
10. Exposé
Vice moved to New York a few years ago, but you’ll have none of that. Should we chalk it up to local boys done good, or is it because you stayed up all night snorting coke off some midget’s forehead and just can’t think straight? Also worth mentioning is that Strut moved down the 401, so remember not to vote for them next year. Meanwhile, locals Maisonneuve, Nightlife and Fish Piss hold strong.
Best Newspaper
1. Mirror
2. Gazette
3. La Presse
4. Le Devoir
5. Journal de Montréal
6. Hour
7. Métro
8. The Link
9. Voir
10. The Plant
We got your back, Montreal.
Best Cartoonist
1. Aislin
2. Chapleau
3. Rick Trembles
4. Dstrbo
5. Memo
6. Billy Mavreas
7. Hvyw8
8. Rosen
9. Jack Dylan
10. Theo Radomski
Best Blog
1. Montreal City Weblog (w5.montreal.com/ mtlweblog)
2. J. Gallagher (jgallagher.blogspot.com)
3. Zeke’s Gallery (zekesgallery.blogspot.com)
4. Adrian’s Lemon Juice blog (www. adrianspeyer.blogspot.com)
5. The Hugger Busker’s Journal (huggerbusker.com/journal)
6. The Mass Is Secretly Obsessed With Nipple Dream (andrewrose.blogspot.com)
7. Rappaz (rappaz.net)
8. La ville s’endormait (piette.blogspot.com)
9. Patrick Lagacé (pat.blogue.canoe.com)
10. Not good looking enough (To Live in Montreal) (combatdavey.blogspot.com)
Montreal City Weblog moves up one spot to first place in the sophomore year for Best Blog. Short on the common blog musings, the site links mostly to local media coverage of Montreal news. It knocks last year’s winner, J. Gallagher, down one. The persistent Zeke remains at three.
Best Fashion Designer
1. Philippe Dubuc
2. Lydia Lukidis
3. Ritual Design
4. Mackage
5. Renata Morales
6. Parasuco
7. Nevik
8. YSO
9. Kitchen Orange
10. Fairyesque
Better by design
>> Despite recent financial woes, Philippe Dubuc
feels stronger than ever about his eye for fashion
by SARAH ROWLAND
 “You go up and you go down very quickly in this business,” says Philippe Dubuc and he should know. Not only has he been voted Best Fashion Designer three times in row, but he is a five-time recipient of the Matinee Fashion Foundation grant to leading Canadian designers and a two-time winner at the Canadian Designer of the Year Awards—and those are just some of his domestic accomplishments. On the international catwalk, he’s worked alongside Jean Paul Gaultier, Paul Smith and Vivienne Westwood.
But despite all his success here and abroad, last March his company, Dubuc Mode de Vie, had to (very publicly) declare bankruptcy. So now after a 13-year fairytale fashion career, Dubuc and his partners have to focus their efforts on rebuilding and restructuring his label’s financing, which should take them well into 2007. He’s not worried, though—he is, after all, in very good company.
“I wasn’t the first and I won’t be the last to go through this terrible thing—a lot of designers have gone through this: the Marc Jacobs, the Michael Kors, the John Gallianos—it’s a roller coaster,” says Dubuc, who was able to keep his flagship store on St-Denis along with several boutiques in the States and a portion of his label’s distribution. However, that wasn’t before he lost a ton of cash, something that used to be a very sensitive subject.
“Today, I can honestly say that I feel stronger than ever and more confident in what I do,” he says. “But three months ago,
I wasn’t able to be speak so positively. It was a such a strange period for me. All of sudden I had to be out there explaining what went wrong with my business—I was no longer talking about the colour or length of a skirt.”
So in the spirit of talking fashion, what colours can we expect to see a lot of in his boutique this season? “Earth tones, dusty effects, softness—very soft and very rough.”
And what trend will we never see encouraged in a Dubuc outlet?
“Cropped t-shirts on older women. Leave it to the younger ones. They have the body to wear it.”
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Best Graffiti Crew
1. Kops Crew
2. ICM
3. NME
4. AS Crew
5. Trife Life
6. Roadsworth
7. Omen
8. Team Autobot (TA)
9. HVYW8
10. Urban Xpressions
Best Festival
1. Jazz Fest
2. Just for Laughs
3. Fringe Festival
4. Pop Montréal
5. Montreal Beer Festival
6. Fantasia
7. Les Francofolies
8. Divers/Cité
9. Under Pressure
10. Art Matters
