An Intervention Gala – July 31, Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier LiveEvents July 25, 2017 3909 Montreal: An Intervention Gala The Just For Laughs Festival refuses to be upstaged on their 35th birthday, and so dishes the dirt on its hometown in honor of its 375th anniversary at the Montreal: An Intervention Gala. This sharp-tongued French kiss to our fair city features a hilarious lineup of celebrated comedians including Rachid Badouri, Caroline Rhea, Jimmy Carr, Alonzo Bodden, Mark Critch, and DeAnne Smith. The show stopping, closing night gala will be hosted by a series of special guests, each introducing a comedian, short film, or comedy segment. The presenters include Jay Baruchel, Corey Hart, Brittany LeBorgne, Max Pacioretty, Jonathan Drouin, Vanessa Grimaldi and more! Additional comics, presentrs, and surprises to be unveiled closer to the festivities! See this all-star lineup of stellar stand-ups and local legends roast and toast our beautiful, beleaguered metropolis on Monday, July 31 at 7:00 PM at Salle Wilfrid-Pelletier at Place Des Arts. Jay Baruchel Montreal native, Jay Baruchel, continues to cement his leading man status with many exciting projects on the horizon. He currently stars in the critically acclaimed FXX comedy series Man Seeking Woman based on Simon Rich’s book, The Last Girlfriend on Earth and executive produced by Lorne Michaels. Baruchel is also the voice of ‘Hiccup’ in the DreamWorks How to Train Your Dragon franchise. He co-wrote the film Goon with Evan Goldberg and was nominated for two 2013 Canadian Screen Awards in the Best Supporting Actor category and for Adapted Screenplay. Baruchel is now reprising his role in Goon: Last of the Enforcers, which he also co-wrote and in which he made his directorial debut. Some of his other film credits include: Knocked Up, This is the End, She’s Out of My League, Tropic Thunder, and the Academy Award-winning Best Picture Million Dollar Baby. Corey Hart Corey Hart is recognized as one of Canada’s most successful singer-songwriters selling over 16 million records worldwide and amassing 9 consecutive US Billboard Top 40 Hits, all while scoring an impressive 30 top 40 singles in his native Canada (Including 11 – Top 10’s). Hart is a Grammy Nominated, ASCAP & multiple Juno, Quebec ADISQ award winner that has sold out arenas from Tokyo to Toronto. His sophomore album Boy In The Box achieved Diamond status faster than any Canadian artist in History. HIs video Sunglasses At Night was an MTV staple during the summer of 1984, becoming an international sensation and propelling him to the summit of the pop world. The song has been covered by over 500 artists from every genre of music. He has also written and produced several songs for fellow Canadian superstar Celine Dion. In 2014, after a 12 year hiatus from live work, Corey returned to the stage for a sold out show at the Bell Centre, here in his hometown of Montreal – billed as One Night -Three Decades Of Music. He released his autobiography Chasing The Sun on the same night. Hart was inducted into Canada’s Walk Of Fame in 2016. He lives in The Bahamas with his four children & wife, Quebec singer Julie Masse Hart. Brittany LeBorgne Brittany LeBorgne is a Montreal-based actress who is best known for her work on Mohawk Girls, an award-winning dramatic comedy series on Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN). Brittany received a nomination for Best Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on the show at the 2016 Canadian Screen Awards. Brittany is from Kahnawake, a Mohawk community on the south shore of Montreal. Knowing she wanted to be an actor since she was 5 years old, Brittany enrolled in her community’s summer theatre camp, playing lead roles in Annie, Grease, Guys and Dolls, and The Sound of Music. She is still part of Kahnawake’s community theatre family today. Brittany attended John Abbott College’s Theatre Workshop program and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism from Concordia University. After college, she landed small television and film roles, appearing in the Discovery Channel’s Accident Investigator, and in the 2008 Oscar-nominated film Frozen River, starring Melissa Leo and the late Misty Upham. Brittany now plays a lead role on Mohawk Girls, as the the uptight, secretly sexy Zoe. Mohawk Girls will be filming its fifth season this summer. When she’s not in front of the camera, Brittany is behind it as a director, for APTN’s documentary series’ Dream Big and Working It Out Together III, as well as the CBC digital documentary series, Thunderblanket. Rachid Badouri Quebec-born Moroccan comedian Rachid Badouri is a Just for Laughs Festival veteran. He has received rave reviews for his performances on the Ethnic Show and other stand-up shows. He cemented his place as a pillar of the Quebec comedy scene before taking his comedy to the International stage. In 2014, Rachid performed his show Badouri Reloaded 126 times, garnering over 101,300 spectators and making it the most lucrative and popular comedy show in Quebec in 2014. He’s a two-time Karv anti-gala Comedian of the Year winner. His success in France landed him a role in the remake of De père en flic directed by Emile Gaudrault, among his many other screen credits. Caroline Rhea Caroline Rhea, stand-up comedian and actress, brings a fresh, smart and spontaneous approach to all of her work. In 1989, Caroline ventured to New York to start her career in stand-up comedy. She studied in the stand-up program at the New School of Social Research and trained at the comedy club, Catch a Rising Star. With nightly gigs at New York’s venerable clubs, Caroline’s status quickly grew and she became an integral part of the city’s comedy scene. Her career was further boosted by appearances on MTV’s Half-Hour Comedy Hour, Comic Strip Live and Caroline’s Comedy Hour. For the last seventeen years, she has continued to perform sold-out shows at top comedy clubs across North America. Caroline’s television career has taken off since she first starred as Aunt Hilda on The WB’s sitcom Sabrina, The Teenage Witch. She starred in Lifetime’s made for television movie Fat Like Me, and was the host of NBC’s The Biggest Loser. In 2006, she was part of Bravo’s one hour stand up special, Funny Girls, with her set being titled Rhea’s Anatomy. Her feature credits include, The Perfect Man, Man on the Moon, Christmas With the Kranks and Ready to Rumble. Other credits include: host of The Caroline Rhea Show, Whoopi Goldberg’s Hollywood Squares, The Drew Carey Show, Mom’s Got a Date with a Vampire, Pride and Joy on NBC, Comedy Central’s Pulp Comic, Comic Relief 8 and One Night Stand 2005. She also appeared in the pilot of HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm. A Montreal native, Caroline lives in New York and Los Angeles. Jimmy Carr Jimmy Carr is a long time Just For Laughs festival favorite and an award-winning comedian, writer and television host. Among the most-respected and best-loved comedians working in Britain today, Jimmy is one of the biggest selling live acts in UK comedy, consistently performing to sell-out crowds across the country and around the world. His last tour, Funny Business, saw him perform to over 300,000 people and featured dates at some of the most iconic venues in the UK and across the world. Jimmy is currently taking his Best Of, Ultimate Gold, Greatest Hits Tour around the UK. His television credits include 20 seasons as host of panel show 8 Out Of 10 Cats, over 10 years as host of Channel 4’s Big Fat Quiz Of The Year and three appearances on The Royal Variety Performance. Jimmy has eight live DVD releases to his name: Live, Stand Up, Comedian, In Concert, Telling Jokes, Making People Laugh, Being Funny and Laughing & Joking. He has sold over 1.2 million copies to date. In 2015 Jimmy signed a stand-up special deal with US streaming behemoth Netflix, the first UK comedian to do so, it was released in March 2016. Alonzo Bodden Alonzo’s material is “cynically good natured.” Well, the older he gets, the less good natured it’s gonna be. “‘What can I say? The stupid out there is wearing the man down.” Bodden, who won Season 3 on NBC’s Last Comic Standing, is a regular on NPR’s Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me! and Comedy Congress, as well as being a panelist on the Game Show Network’s Mind of a Man. In 2011, he starred in the comedy special Who’s Paying Attention on Showtime, released a DVD, and hosts a podcast of the same name. That same year, he was a panelist on the syndicated show Inside the Vault, and voiced the character of Thunderon in the Power Rangers movie. Bodden has also hosted Speed Channel’s 101 Cars You Must Drive and America’s Worst Driver on Travel Channel. Alonzo’s first big comedy break came when he was part of our Just For Laughs New Faces of Comedy showcase. Among his late night television appearances are The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Night with Conan O’Brien, The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn, and The Keenen Ivory Wayans Show. His film credits include Scary Movie 4, The Girl Next Door, and Bringing Down the House starring Steve Martin and Queen Latifah. Alonzo has travelled around the world entertaining USO troops from Iraq to Greenland. Mark Critch Mark Critch returned to CBC TV last fall as co-star of the 25th season of This Hour Has 22 Minutes. He can also be seen as host of CBC TV’s Ha!ifax Comedy Festival. He starred alongside Brendan Gleeson and Taylor Kitsch in the much loved film The Grand Seduction and appeared as Ned Bishop in the Canadian TV staple Republic of Doyle. Mark recently signed a two book deal with Penguin Canada, look for the first book to hit shelves in the fall of 2018. He is a multiple Canadian Screen Award, Gemini award, Writer’s Guild Award and Canadian Comedy Award winner. Deanne Smith A Canadian Comedy Award winner, DeAnne Smith is a regular here at Just for Laughs, and has performed at JFL 42, The Melbourne International Comedy Festival, The Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the Iceland Comedy Festival among others. Her TV appearances include NBC’s Last Comic Standing, CBS’s The Late Late Show, Canada’s The Comedy Network and CBC, Australia’s Channel 10 and ABC, and UK’s Sky TV. A recent review from Chortle calls her “the stand-out of the stand-outs,” and The UK Telegraph says: “Smart. Very funny. Effortless charm lets her get away with murder.” She’s never actually murdered anyone. Pacioretty / Drouin The list of men who have been captain of the Montreal Canadiens is filled with legends. In Pacioretty, hockey’s oldest and most famous franchise installed a new kind of leader, an American kid who is quiet yet commanding and was no instant superstar. Born in New Canaan, Conn., Pacioretty was a first-round pick (No. 22) in the 2007 NHL Draft who would spend time in the American Hockey League before making his mark in the NHL. Following his one season at the University of Michigan, where he had 15 goals and 38 points in 36 game, the Canadiens signed him to a three-year, entry-level contract. In storybook fashion, Pacioretty scored on his first official NHL shot on goal, against the New Jersey Devils in 2009, but in his first two pro seasons he split time between Montreal and Hamilton of the AHL. Rebounding with great success from the effects of a frightening hit in 2011 during a game against the Boston Bruins, Pacioretty was awarded the Bill Masterton Trophy for his perseverance, presented to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication” to the game. Pacioretty’s influence on the ice and in the locker room was growing. The Canadiens had built a strong leadership core that also included goaltender Carey Price, effervescent defenseman P.K. Subban, gritty young forward Brendan Gallagher and veteran defenseman Andrei Markov. With the Canadiens without a captain after free agent Brian Gionta signed with the Buffalo Sabres, General manager Marc Bergevin and coach Michel Therrien left it to the players to decide. According to Bergevin, the vote wasn’t close. Pacioretty was named the 29th captain of the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 18, 2015. —- Jonathan Drouin is a 22 year old NHL player who recently signed a 6 year contract with the Montreal Canadiens. The Quebec native had an incredible junior career starring for the Halifax Mooseheads of the QMJHL. In 2012–13, Jonathan was named Canadian Hockey League Player of the Year and went on to win the Memorial Cup with Halifax. Jonathan was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round, third overall, of the 2013 NHL Entry Draft. After entering the NHL among a group of highly touted elite young players, Jonathan enjoyed a remarkable 2015-16 playoffs where he registered 5 goals, 9 assists, 14 points in 17 games. Jonathan had a stellar 2016-17 campaign where he registered 21 goals, 32 assists for 53 points. On June 15, 2017 Jonathan was traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Tampa Bay Lightning for defenseman Mikhail Sergachev. Jonathan’s game breaking speed and unique skill set him apart as one of the NHL’s brightest young stars. Vanessa Grimaldi Vanessa Grimaldi, 29 was born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. She was a special education teacher at Galileo Adult Centre and comes from a large Italian family and is fluent in both French and Italian. Vanessa is largely known for being a contestant on Season 21 of ABC’s The Bachelor, and ultimately winning the final rose and becoming engaged to Nick Viall in 2017. Being a special education teacher and bringing awareness to students with learning disabilities is something Vanessa is extremely passionate about. She wanted to use her platform to give back to the community that is so dear to her heart and so she launched her charity organization No Better You – with its first fundraiser taking place in Montreal. Proceeds raised from ‘No Better You’ will help to advance education by providing specialized tools and programs such as sensory rooms for exceptional learners across Canada. For tickets and information: www.placedesarts.com 514-842-2112 or 1-866-842-2112 Just For Laughs The 35th edition of the Just For Laughs Festival promises to be the most star-studded lineup ever with TV and cinema’s biggest comedy names, top touring comedians, cult-favourites and up-and-comers all converging on Montreal this summer. Galas, street performers, theatrical productions and stand-up shows in indoor venues and in the streets. Guaranteed to keep audiences in stitches. Check out the full festival line-up at www.hahaha.com