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Nelly Furtado joins cast of SCORE: A HOCKEY MUSICAL in supporting role
Internationally renowned Nelly Furtado – who has sold over 20 million albums worldwide, since bursting onto the music scene in 2000 – will appear in a supporting role in Michael McGowan’s Score: A Hockey Musical, which is filming in Toronto until March 8. Furtado, who was born in Victoria, B.C., joins a previously announced cast that includes Olivia Newton-John, as well as Canadian music artists Marc Jordan, Dave Bidini and Hawksley Workman, and newcomers Noah Reid and Allie MacDonald.
Nelly Furtado plays the role of a zealous hockey fan, whose enthusiasm for the game is in sharp contrast to the dismay felt by the intellectual parents (Newton-John and Jordan) of a teenage hockey phenom (Reid) who, after being signed by a junior hockey team, goes from obscurity to overnight fame.
Writer/director Michael McGowan admits that he wrote the part specifically with Furtado in mind. "Nelly is an incredible entertainer and, after speaking with her, I realized that she fully relished embracing her inner hockey fanatic."
As a singer/songwriter, Nelly Furtado has demonstrated versatility in her four albums, from her eclectic debut Whoa, Nelly! (which included the 2002 Grammy and Juno Award-winning single “I’m Like a Bird”) to the more mellow Forklore (whose single “Forca” became the official anthem of the 2004 European Football Cup) to the five-time Juno Award-winning, urban-rooted Loose (which was produced primarily by beats genius Timbaland and kicked off with the hit single “Promiscuous”) to her recent Spanish Mi Plan. Furtado made her acting debut in 2007 on CSI: NY.
The film – which combines our national sport with musical numbers – will be released by Mongrel Media in Canada on October 22. Mongrel also distributed McGowan’s One Week, which took in $1.3 million at the Canadian box office.
Score: A Hockey Musical is being shot in various Toronto locations, including Nathan Phillips Square, Wychwood Park, the Art Gallery of Ontario and Weston Arena. It’s produced and directed by Toronto filmmaker Michael McGowan (One Week, Saint Ralph), who has also written the script and song lyrics.
The film is a Mulmur Feed Co. Production, produced by McGowan and Avi Federgreen, and executive produced by Richard Hanet (One Week) and Jody Colero, with the participation of Telefilm Canada, Astral Media The Harold Greenberg Fund and The Ontario Media Development Corporation, in association with the Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit. Cinematography is by Rudolph Blahachek, choreography by Amy Wright (TV’s Grey Gardens) and music composed by Jonathan Goldsmith.
- 30 - Press contact: Bonne Smith – Star PR – Tel: (416) 488-4436 – Fax: (416) 488-8438