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Entertaintment

Smudge the Blades, make no mistake, is not Heated Rivalry.

Unlike the hit Canadian TV drama and its off-ice romance, Cody Lightning’s underdog Indigenous hockey team dramedy is mostly high-energy on-ice play. And no actors needed training in how to skate before cameras on the indie rolled.

“I would rather cast hockey players and coach them in acting than to teach an actor how to play hockey,” says Lightning, who, while directing, also stars as coach Willie of the Treaty 6 Blades, a struggling team of teen hockey players in northern Alberta. 

Of course, Smudge the Blades — Lightning’s second feature headed to the Toronto Film Festival for a world premiere (the first being TK) — does mirror, in parts, Disney’s 1992 hockey comedy The Mighty Ducks. But Coach Willie in the Canadian indie is no win-at-all-costs lawyer-turned-coach, as was Emilio Estevez as Gordon Bombay.

Cody Lightning in ‘Smudge the Blades.’

Toronto Film Festival

The high-strung coach in Smudge the Blades is first played by Ed Helms, until the Blades are kicked out of the league. This being an Indigenous hockey team film, it’s left to Lightning as the local arena Zamboni driver to take over coaching the losing Blades team.

Significantly, Coach Willie has no Estevez-style motivational speeches to get do-nothings to push past their limits to championship glory. 

“Coaches usually want players to have a team spirit,” he explains.  “Mine is the opposite: ‘You guys are so hard on yourselves and just take it so seriously that you’re not having fun. Enjoy yourselves or let loose.’” 

Lightning is also no Kurt Russell in the hockey drama Miracle when he is telling Team USA: “Great moments are born from great opportunity.” In Smudge the Blades, no one expects the indigenous team to win their games because of the historical trauma and systemic racism Canada’s indigenous peoples have endured, both on and off the ice.

Ed Helms, Cody Lightning in ‘Smudge the Blades.’

Toronto Film Festival

“There’s prejudice and racism and we face a high amount, not just in hockey, but in general, says Lightning. And that deflates your confidence as a young person. And when you know dysfunction continues to happen, it’s hard to break out of that.”

Resignation and gloom hang in the air of the Blades’ drab changing room as the young Indigenous players look increasingly depressed after each loss.

Having in real life coached young indigenous players, where racism is endemic in Canadian hockey arenas, and there are fights in the stands and outside in parking lots, Lightning adds that it can be challenging to get kids to fully buy in. “It’s hard to let your kids know, ‘hey, you’re worthy,” he says. “You’re worth it. You guys are great players and just keep playing your game if this stuff happens.’ That’s a life lesson, not just a hockey lesson.”

Being an underdog sports movie, however, Coach Willie eventually does channel his inner Herb Brooks and the Treaty 6 Blades, with newfound energy, catch fire as a united and driven team all the way to the championships.

Smudge the Blades will world premiere on Sept. 12 at TIFF Lightbox.

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Smudge the Blades, make no mistake, is

Latest News

Watching the MGM+ limited anthology series “American Hostage” with exec producer and star Jon Hamm at its Sept. 12 Toronto fest premiere, you might be reminded of last year’s Sept. 7 Toronto premiere, Gus Van Sant’s thriller “Dead Man’s Wire,” about the same 1977 Indianapolis hostage crisis. Or the 2022 podcast “American Hostage” with Jon Hamm. Or the 2018 doc “Dead Man’s Line,” whose directors were consultants on “Wire.”

Welcome to a new level of déjà view. There have long been competing projects (on killer asteroids, volcanoes, etc.), but with an increasing reliance on reboots and new-to-you IP, an overabundance of outlets, and more mediums like audiobooks, podcasts and YouTube videos at viewers’ fingertips, audiences are experiencing more projects about the same subject than ever before.

So how can Toronto film buyers navigate these waters? How can producers get the most out of film sales in this changing marketplace? And do similar projects increase or cannibalize audiences?

The exception to every rule right now is true crime: “61% of true crime podcast listeners are also watching true crime TV shows or movies, and [half of them] are also watching it on YouTube,” says Edison Research at SSRS VP Megan Lazovick.

“A funny thing I keep noticing,” jokes one Hollywood agent, “is that they’re running out of true crimes.”

As for other genres? “It’s complicated, because it depends upon how and when something is released in its life cycle,” says Ampere Analysis’s USA general manager Zak Shaik. “The examples you have around different access points to a universe or IP — a documentary on it, then a dramatic series or podcast about it — do tend to be additive.” Ampere recently bought PlumResearch, two of the top entertainment research firms alongside Nielsen, Comscore and its recently sold box office arm Rentrak. “We have contracts [for third-party data] with everybody, [including] Netflix, Amazon, Apple, Warner Bros. for HBO Max.”

It’s probably safe to say Netflix felt its four-part March docuseries “Dynasty: The Murdochs” would only increase viewership for its just-announced pickup of Danny Boyle’s TIFF Murdoch family biopic “Ink,” adapted from James Graham’s 2017 play. And look at “Spider-Man: Brand New Day.” Just before its July 31 debut, there were 26 million-32 million hours of “Spider-Man” franchise content watched in a week across the major platforms’ back catalogs, according to Showlabs from Ampere/PlumResearch. Then,in the week after the film’s debut, the same viewership tripled to 98 million.

WME partner Eric Reid, who specializes in managing rights in the agency’s lit division, says he hasn’t seen projects on the same subject in different mediums take away viewers from each other — or necessarily add them. “There are people who exclusively listen to podcasts, or watch TV shows, or YouTube,” he says. “[Each format has] different audiences.”

Shaik agrees, but adds that “what studios and streamers usually do that’s quite smart is an expansion. The podcast might have been the first point of entry for that story, and then there’s the documentary, then the dramatic series. Those formats tend to get larger and larger.”

But not TIFF’s two big Mt. Everest projects: Apple Original Films’ shot-on-location drama “Tenzing” (in theaters Oct. 9) and National Geographic Documentary Films’ “Everest: The Other Side” (out Oct. 30).

What projects are you less likely to see? “I think the sports doc has hit its peak, because a couple of years ago there were many, many more being made,” Shaik says. Unless, say, they have unique characters with narrative potential.

For producers, Ramo entertainment lawyer Elsa Ramo says docs can present big opportunities. (She reps Boardwalk Pictures, at TIFF on Sept. 13 with the cowgirl bronco riders doc “Cheyenne”). “Those tend to get set up and go to market sooner.” And securing as many of the right rights is important. “Consumers now want a life story as a feature, a doc series, a scripted TV show and short-form content. Nobody is thinking that things are just a one-off.”

Even the anthology series “American Hostage.” Despite three competing projects out already, writer Eileen Myers (an exec producer alongside writer/exec producer Shawn Ryan and podcast/series exec producers Shawn Christensen and Gabriel Mason) has more in mind. “There will be a spoken word album and a Broadway musical coming soon!”

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Watching the MGM+ limited anthology series “American

DCU

DC Studios revealed who will follow John Stewart as the next main character of the DCU, specifically when it comes to the franchise’s television shows. All eyes are on Lanterns right now concerning the DCU, as the TV-MA HBO series is currently debuting new episodes every Sunday. Lanterns has proved that Aaron Pierre’s John Stewart is already one of the franchise’s central characters and will likely return in multiple future projects (he’s already set to return in 2027’s Superman sequel, the James Gunn-written & directed Man of Tomorrow). However, DC Studios is already looking to the future, as it has already picked out its next central character.

DC Studios recently attended the Annecy International Animation Film Festival in Annecy, France, where (as shared by Nexus Point News) multiple executives, including Peter Safran, took the main stage to provide updates on certain projects that have been confirmed for the DCU.

DC Studios

Specifically, when talking about Creature Commandos Season 2, which was confirmed in December 2024, DC Studios revealed that the Bride is going to be the main character of those upcoming episodes. Specifically, it was revealed that the Bride is going to be leading the Creature Commandos team, making her the focal point of the series.

This isn’t necessarily a surprise, as many considered her to be the lead character in Season 1 as well and the character who received the most development. It seems as though DC Studios is taking an “if it’s not broke, don’t fix it” approach to Creature Commandos Season 2, as the upcoming season will seemingly be similar in tone and nature to Season 1, which many fans enjoyed. 

Creature Commandos Season 2 has not been given an exact release date yet, but it is expected to premiere sometime in 2027.

Other Existing DCU Characters Who Are Returning to Lead Roles in TV Shows

The Bride is not the only character who has already been established in the DCU and is set to return in a future project as the lead character. In fact, there are a handful of DCU characters who fall under that category, both in live-action and in animation.

Jimmy Olsen in Superman.
DC Studios

For example, James Gunn just confirmed that a TV show titled The People vs. Gorilla Grodd is officially in the works at DC Studios. While that show is obviously going to feature Gorilla Grodd, Gunn also confirmed that Skyler Gisondo will be reprising his role as Jimmy Olsen in the series. Notably, Jimmy Olsen will essentially be taking on main character duties in the project, which will definitely be a change of pace after fans saw him in a supporting role in Superman.

While John Stewart is currently the face of the DCU (thanks to the success of Lanterns), he is not always going to be the one who is front and center. However, that doesn’t mean he can’t and won’t make his way back into the spotlight.

Lanterns was already renewed for a second season, which many fans will undoubtedly be pleased to know, but considering what has happened so far in Season 1, it is safe to assume that John Stewart will return and be the main character of the second installment. 

That would make John Stewart a main character on two different occasions, joining the likes of Superman (after Man of Tomorrow is released) and the Bride as characters who have been leads in multiple installments in the DCU.

At one point, James Gunn announced that Mr. Terrific would be receiving his own self-titled TV series that would act as a spin-off to Superman, as that is the project where Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific was introduced.

Mr. Terrific in Superman.
DC Studios

That project is still in active development, meaning that when it is finally released, Mr. Terrific will act as the main character of a DCU project. The way Mr. Terrific is being treated in the DCU is similar to Jimmy Olsen, as they both were featured in Superman as supporting characters, but are now receiving spin-offs where they are more central.

It is also worth mentioning that another big name in the DCU could be returning if their self-titled series gets brought back for another installment. Of course, this is referencing none other than John Cena’s Peacemaker, whose mature television title helped establish the DCU, specifically with its second season.

Currently, there are no concrete plans for Peacemaker to be renewed for a third season. However, fans love the show, and it ended on quite a dramatic cliffhanger, so if DC Studios wanted to make another season, they probably wouldn’t receive a lot of pushback from fans.

If that were to happen, Cena’s Christopher Smith would be returning to the DCU as a main character once again. 

While Peacemaker Season 3 is nothing but hopes and dreams at this point, one project that is in active development is Blue Beetle. Xolo Maridueña brought the character of Jamie Reyes (aka Blue Beetle) to life before DC Studios was established and the DCU began.

Blue Beetle in Blue Beetle.
Warner Bros.

However, Gunn is bringing Maridueña back to reprise his role in the DCU. Fans will get to see the character in live-action in Man of Tomorrow, but Maridueña will also be voicing Blue Beetle in an animated TV series titled Blue Beetle.

After appearing in a solo film that wasn’t released under the DC Studios banner, Blue Beetle will be coming back as the main character in the DCU for the first time. It is safe to say that Gunn has a lot of confidence in the character, considering he will be featured in Man of Tomorrow and a self-titled series, so fans can likely expect to see him a lot more in the future.

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Comics

A listing for a potential special edition of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds has been spotted online.

As noticed by Sonic Stadium, Amazon UK is currently listing ‘Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds – Year One Edition’, suggesting a new release of the game with all paid DLC included.

The listing, which lets customers pre-order it now on PS5 (no other versions have been added yet), says the game will cost £54.99 and will be released on November 3.

While Sonic Racing: Crossworlds launched with a Deluxe Edition which included access to all paid DLC as and when it was released, this was a digital-only version – all physical copies to date have only included the Standard Edition of the game.

Given that the standard, non-discounted price of Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds on the digital stores for PS5, Xbox Series X/S and Switch 2 is £64.99, and that the Season Pass containing all DLC costs £24.99, this means if the £54.99 price remains unchanged players will be getting a saving of up to £34.99 on the price of the base game and Season Pass combined.

Year One of Sonic Racing: Crossworlds’ content consisted of six separate DLC packs, each containing a crossover with another IP with characters, vehicles, tracks and music from those brands.

The first pack was based on Minecraft and included Steve, Alex and a Creeper as playable characters. This was then followed by a SpongeBob SquarePants pack adding SpongeBob and Patrick.

Pack 3 included Pac-Man and the four ghosts, while the fourth pack was based on Mega Man and added the titular character along with Proto Man.

The most recent pack to date has been the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem pack, which added all four turtles to the game, while the sixth pack – based on the animated series Avatar – is coming in October.

As well as the paid characters, Sega has also released 12 free crossover racers, containing characters from other Sega IP. These have included Hatsune Miku, Joker from Persona, Ichiban Kasuga from Like a Dragon, NiGHTS, AiAi from Super Monkey Ball, Tangle and Whisper from the IDW Sonic comic book series, Red from Angry Birds, Goro Majima from Like a Dragon, Arle from Puyo Puyo, ‘Classic’ Sonic, Axel from Crazy Taxi and Amigo from Samba de Amigo.

In all, once the Avatar pack is released, the total roster at the end of Year One will stand at 59 racers.

Sega also confirmed during Summer Game Fest that Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds will be getting a Year 2 pass featuring six further DLC collaborations, revealing that the first two will be based on Godzilla and Evangelion.