Score: A Hockey Musical to open 2010 TIFF

Michael McGowan’s Score: A Hockey Musical – which combines musical numbers with Canada’s national sport – will screen as the Opening Night Gala at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival on Thursday, Sept. 9.  Canadian distributor Mongrel Media, which also released McGowan’s One Week ($1.3 million at the Canadian box office), will open the film October 22 across Canada.

Starring is music icon Olivia Newton-John (Grease, TV’s Glee) alongside a slew of Canadian talent – among them singer/songwriter Marc Jordan (who’s
composing credits include Rod Stewart’s “Rhythm of My Heart” and Cher’s “Taxi Taxi”), newcomers Noah Reid and Allie MacDonald, along with cameos
by music artists Nelly Furtado, Hawksley Workman and John McDermott, journalists George Stroumboulopoulos and Evan Solomon, sports anchor Stephen Kouleas, hockey dad Walter Gretzky and hockey star Theo Fleury.

The film tells the story of a teenage hockey phenom (Reid).  Much to the dismay of his intellectual parents (Newton-John and Jordan) and best friend (MacDonald), Farley goes from obscurity to overnight fame.  But Farley finds that hockey stardom comes with a price – including the expectation to fight.  Unlike other musicals, the story doesn’t stop just for the sake of a song.  Instead, the lyrics (by McGowan) drive the plot.  There are 20 original songs, including one by Barenaked Ladies.  Choreographed sequences range from b-boy moves in the dressing room, to swirling patterns on the ice,

The cast also includes Stephen McHattie (Watchmen, The Rocket) as the team owner, John Pyper-Ferguson (Hard Core Logo, TV’s Brothers & Sisters) as the coach, Brandon Firla (TV’s Little Mosque on the Prairie) as an agent, Dru Viergever as Farley’s enforcer, John Robinson as the team trainer, and Gianpaolo Venuta as Eve’s would-be suitor

Serving as a love letter to Toronto, the film was shot in various city locations, including Nathan Phillips Square, the Annex, Wychwood Park, the Art Gallery
of Ontario and Weston Arena.  The film is directed by Toronto filmmaker Michael McGowan (One Week, Saint Ralph), who also wrote the script and song yrics. 

Score: A Hockey Musical is a Mulmur Feed Co. Production, produced by McGowan and Avi Federgreen, and executive produced by Richard Hanet and Jody
Colero, with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Ontario Media Development Corporation, Astral Media: The Harold Greenberg Fund and Mongrel Media, in
association with The Movie Network, Movie Central, Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and Ontario Film and Television Tax Credits.  Colero and Marco DiFelice are song supervisors, and Jonathan Goldsmith is composer.  Choreography is by Amy Wright, production design by Tamara Deverell, cinematography by Rudolf Blahacek, and editing by Roderick Deogrades.