Latest news with #ElizaReid
Winnipeg Free Press
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
On the night table: Eliza Reid
Eliza Reid Author, Death on the Island I just finished Chris Hadfield's book An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth — I read that there was a quote in the book that I wanted to use in another book I'm writing. I read the whole thing to see if I could find the quote, and it turns out it was one of those fake internet things. It hadn't been on my radar that much to read, but I really enjoyed it — I'd definitely recommend it. SAGA SIG PHOTO Eliza Reid Buy on Winnipeg Jets Game Days On Winnipeg Jets game days, hockey writers Mike McIntyre and Ken Wiebe send news, notes and quotes from the morning skate, as well as injury updates and lineup decisions. Arrives a few hours prior to puck drop. And I just started a book called Cobalt, which is by former Member of Parliament Charlie Angus, all about the mineral and the town Cobalt. It came out at the same time as (Reid's first book) Secrets of the Sprakkar; I bought it at a bookstore where I was doing an event, and I just hadn't managed to start reading it yet. So I'm only one chapter into that. Buy on An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Digital Comedy Producer Stapleview Fuels North American Expansion With Investment From Blink49, Hires Jackie Sosa & Robbie Ezratty In Key Roles
EXCLUSIVE: Stapleview, the digital comedy production outfit founded by Sam Grey, is expanding its North American footprint with a strategic investment from Blink49 Studios as well as two key hires. The capital raise from Blink49 Studios, a Fifth Season-backed company, will fuel the growth of Stapleview's production and management divisions, particularly helping to scale the company's slate of scripted and unscripted comedy for a broader North American audience. More from Deadline Korea's Barunson E&A Unveils International Remake Deal With Indonesian Studio Imajinari Gold House Unveils This Year's A100 List Honoring Most Impactful Asian Pacific Leaders Blink49 Studios Adapting Debut Novel Of Eliza Reid, Former First Lady Of Iceland, As TV Crime Drama In particular, Stapleview and Blink49 will focus on co-producing long-form adaptations of Stapleview's digital comedy series and formats for the U.S. and Canadian markets. Stapleview will also launch a Canadian content hub to manage Canadian talent and develop original series and formats with the Canadian creative community. Stapleview, which launched in March of 2022, has already had an eye on expansion in the last year with the hire of co-founder and COO Daniel Lantsman. The company has been focused on growing the following for its online comedy shows Bareback Acres, Ad World, The Method, Clear the Air, and Beautiful Questions. 'This strategic investment is a formidable vote of confidence in our model and our company. Our team has shown an incredible ability to discover the next generation of comedic talent and showcase these emerging stars through a slate of truly hilarious series,' Lantsman said in a statement. 'This new round of capital is going to allow us to double down on our core competencies, grow our management business, create more original series, and expand our studio initiatives. We're excited about the future and look forward to solidifying our spot in the comedy ecosystem alongside John, Nelson, and the rest of the Blink49 team.' As part of the deal, Blink49 co-founder John Morayniss will assume a seat on Stapleview's board of directors. Blink49 joins an investor and advisor base that includes FirstGen Content, Guggenheim Brothers Media, Kate Capshaw, Joe Drake, Nick Meyer, Peter Schlessel, and Steven Spielberg, as well as newly appointed advisors Steve Mosko and Doug Herzog. 'We are thrilled to partner with Sam, Daniel, and their entire team as we continue expanding into the comedy space,' adds Morayniss. 'This collaboration opens up significant opportunities, from supporting Stapleview through Blink49's creative and production resources in both scripted and unscripted, to helping grow their bold slate through our Brand Studio and formats division. We're also excited about introducing the Canadian 'secret sauce' into the Stapleview strategy. Comedy has always been a standout strength in Canada, with the talent here consistently punching above its weight. With series like The Trades, Late Bloomer, and Run the Burbs already on our roster, this partnership further cements our commitment to the genre.' Additionally, Stapleview has announced two new hires to aid with this expansion. Jackie Sosa will be joining Stapleview as vice president, Head of Development and Production, and Robbie Ezratty will join as a talent and literary manager. In her role, Sosa will oversee Stapleview's broad programming slate, including scripted and unscripted originals, formats, sketch comedy, and podcasts. Most recently, she was the VP of Development for Chelsea Handler Productions, where she packaged and sold projects to FX and Peacock. She joined CHP after a seven-year tenure on the Talent & Development team at Comedy Central. Ezratty spent the last three years at Artists First, where he managed a stable of predominantly multi-hyphenate comedy clients. He began his career at ICM and Brillstein, the latter of which represented Fish Ladder, an AMC Networks based production company where he later served as creative executive. Several clients are expected to follow Ezratty to Stapleview. 'Welcoming Jackie and Robbie into the Stapleview family is a monumental step in our mission to elevate the next generation of comedic voices. They join us with a strong vision and proven track record of nurturing comedic voices and uplifting artists to be discovered,' Grey said in a statement. 'When Stapleview was relaunched, we knew that success would be built over time by following our creative partners' visions. By joining the team, Jackie and Robbie will not only allow us to expand on the creative goals across our digital-first strategy, but also more broadly across the entertainment and comedy landscape.' Best of Deadline 2025 TV Series Renewals: Photo Gallery 2025 TV Cancellations: Photo Gallery 2025-26 Awards Season Calendar: Dates For Tonys, Emmys, Oscars & More
Winnipeg Free Press
03-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Winnipeg Free Press
Death in the diplomatic service
Eliza Reid has been a force in the Icelandic literary community for over a decade. In 2014 she co-founded the Iceland Writers Retreat, just two years before becoming first lady of the country after her husband, Gudni Johannesson, was elected president, a position he held until 2024. And while the Ottawa-born Reid (whose mother and maternal grandparents have Winnipeg roots) has written extensively for a range of Icelandic publications, it wasn't until 2020 that she penned a book of her own, Secrets of the Sprakkar, which detailed the achievements and contributions of women in her Nordic country. Now Reid, 48, has returned with her first work of fiction, Death on the Island, published April 29 by Simon & Schuster in Canada. Reid will be in Winnipeg at McNally Robinson Booksellers' Grant Park location on Sunday at 2 p.m., where she'll be joined in conversation by Shelagh Rogers. (She'll also be at Gimli's Unitarian Church at 3:30 p.m. today.) Saga Sig photo Eliza Reid's first mystery novel, Death on the Island, is set on Iceland's Westman Islands. The premise of Death on the Island: At a dinner party, guests (including diplomats, business leaders, a novelist from Gimli and others) mingle before the restaurant serves up its signature cocktail, the Flaming Viking, as a welcome. Within moments, the Canadian deputy ambassador is dead, seemingly poisoned. But which of the guests gathered at Skel, the high-end restaurant located on Iceland's Westman Islands, could have done it, and why? That's what Jane Shearer, the head ambassador's wife, wants to find out. Reid started work on Death on the Island right after finishing Secrets of the Sprakkar. 'I was in the writing mindset; I had enjoyed that process,' she says by Zoom from her home outside Reykjavik prior to her Canadian visit. 'And I thought, you know, if I ever want to write another book, maybe I should start right now — otherwise I'll tell myself that I'm too busy to actually do anything.' She's already at work on a sequel to Death on the Island, and on May 1 it was announced her debut work of fiction had been picked up to be made into a TV series in a joint Iceland-Canada production, for which Reid will serve as executive producer. Rather than join the long and rich literary tradition of bestselling Nordic noir thrillers, Reid fancied a less grisly and dark murder mystery, inspired more by the likes of Agatha Christie. 'I don't know that I would define it as necessarily a cosy mystery … I've always loved the British-style, closed-room murder-mystery,' she says. 'You're not going to discover five pages before the end that the murderer is someone you've never met. I want to give the reader a fighting chance to be able to figure out what happened.' Setting the novel on one of the Westman Islands allowed weather to trap the cast of characters on the island when the ferry shuts down and flights are grounded — and the suspense ratchets up. It also gave Reid a chance to highlight the remote, relatively unknown locale. Death on the Island Every Second Friday The latest on food and drink in Winnipeg and beyond from arts writers Ben Sigurdson and Eva Wasney. 'It's an area of the country that visitors know a bit less about, but like many regions of the country, it has this long rich history,' she says, noting a 1973 volcanic eruption that decimated many homes on the island also proved an 'interesting metaphorical backdrop.' Reid's own experiences and interactions with ambassadors and diplomats served as an inspiration in writing Death on the Island — particularly the misconceptions around what they do. 'It's a bit of an homage to the diplomatic service. When I was serving as first lady, I saw the work they did first-hand and I think that it's often unappreciated. 'I think that there's a sense that it's very glamorous, people drinking champagne all the time,' she says, adding with a laugh 'the book's not an international thriller where they're going around the world to bring about world peace, but I'm hoping it's a little sexier than 'I lost my passport somewhere.'' Ben SigurdsonLiterary editor, drinks writer Ben Sigurdson is the Free Press's literary editor and drinks writer. He graduated with a master of arts degree in English from the University of Manitoba in 2005, the same year he began writing Uncorked, the weekly Free Press drinks column. He joined the Free Press full time in 2013 as a copy editor before being appointed literary editor in 2014. Read more about Ben. In addition to providing opinions and analysis on wine and drinks, Ben oversees a team of freelance book reviewers and produces content for the arts and life section, all of which is reviewed by the Free Press's editing team before being posted online or published in print. It's part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
