issue 09 / volume 41

Dear diary, who was I?

» Go back to high school with anew comedy web series

Cheryl Minns
Arts Editor
Marts
@theotherpress.ca

 

H2 school can be an

exciting and confusing
time for many young people,
especially if you're 28 years old
and reliving the experience
through your eighth-grade
diary.

In the premiere episode of
Alannah Turner’s new comedy
web series, My Grade 8 Diary,

gets hit by a bagel truck and
loses her memories from

age 13 to 17—the high school
years. The “fancy brain doctor”
informs her that she should be
all right since she didn’t lose
anything significant.

“Nothing significant? High
school is a mind-shaping,
auspicious event in your
history!” Wilcox narrates as her
character receives the diagnosis.

In the show, Wilcox’s work
friends suggest she check out
her old diaries to help fill in the
missing memories. In real life,
Turner and her friend Gregory
Brown, director of the pilot

diaries and found them to be
hilarious.

“He and I were sitting
around, laughing at my high
school diaries that I found

: when I was moving,” Turner
: said. “They’re so dramatic. I
: thought, ‘Somehow this has to
: beashow.

m9

As Wilcox reads her first

: eighth-grade diary entry, she

: begins to recall her high school
: days, which are shown through

: flashbacks featuring the adult

: cast portraying teenage versions
: of their characters. Wilcox

: appears as an awkward 13-year-

: old wearing dental braces and

: her self-proclaimed “coolest

: outfit” on the first day of school,
: optimistically hoping to make
Greer Wilcox (played by Turner) :

friends and have a great high

: school experience.

“In that first episode, I

: didn’t spend too long being

: her, but I remember it was like
: a reawakening. It was like re-

: living that moment,” Turner

: said. “It’s not really based on my :
: actual high school experience, :
: but parts of it are inspired by.”

For the next episode,

: Turner plans to continue with

: flashbacks to Wilcox’s first day
: of school where the character

: meets her new high school

: friends, the Gaggle of Girls.

: Searching for answers about

: her past, Wilcox consults these
! women in present day about her :

episode, started reading her old : high school history.

“This show kind of lives

: in the idea that there are three

: sides to every story. There's

: your side, my side, and then

: the truth,” Turner said. “There's

: this interweaving of them

: going back and rediscovering
: what happened in her history
: compared to what she wrote

: down.”

The pilot episode also

: introduces a mystery for the

: series when Wilcox discovers

: an unsigned letter from a close
: friend in her old diary.

“There is a bit of a How

: I Met Your Mother kind of

: mystery looming over, but it

: isn’t the centre point for the

: whole story,’ Turner said. “We
: will eventually know what

: happened with that.”

The letter acts as part of

her past.
My Grade 8 Diary is

: part of the Telus StoryHive

: competition, which invited

: filmmakers in BC and Alberta
: to submit web series pitches

: for a chance to win $10,000 to

: produce a pilot episode. The

: pilot episodes are currently

: competing for viewers’ votes

: on StoryHive.com until March

26 in order to win the ultimate

: $50,000 prize to produce more
: episodes of the winning series.
: “I make shows in hopes that :
: people will laugh. [hope that — :
: there are people watching My
: Grade 8 Diary who find it funny. :

 

: Wilcox’s motivation to continue : And if they do, they should vote

: reading her diary entries

: and recalling her memories,
: even when she encounters

: unpleasant experiences from

: for it,’ Turner said, adding that

: she has enjoyed her time so far

: inthe competition and hopes to
: continue.

Turner is also offering

: voters a digital copy of the

: series’ theme song, “I Lost My
: Mind” by Jasmin Parkin and

: Ryan Guldemond of the band
: Mother, Mother.

“Originally, I was going to

: put it on iTunes and sell it and
: then have all of the proceeds

: go to the brain injury/trauma

: centre at George Pearson

: Centre,” said Turner, who will be :
: starting her master’sdegree in :
: speech and language pathology
: this fall.

“lm becoming a speech

: pathologist and work with a lot

arts // 9

Image from facebook.com/mygr8diary

: brain injuries. The show kind

: of pokes fun at memory deficit

: and I know that’s nota joke. I

: know that’s a serious thing. So I
: wanted to give something back,”
: she said.

As a special promotion for

the show, Turner decided to

: offer the song as a free reward

: for viewers who vote for My

: Grade 8 Diary on StoryHive.

: Those who want the song can

: take a screen capture of their

: voting confirmation, submit the
image to the My Grade 8 Diary

: Facebook page, and receive the

song in an email.
To learn more about My

: Grade 8 Diary, check out the
: first episode on StoryHive.

: comand follow the series on
: Facebook.com/MyGr8Diary
: of people with brain trauma and :

 

A surge of pure excitement

» ‘Insurgent’ movie review

Megan West
Columnist

OOOOS

Veronica Roth’s Insurgent,
the second instalment of
the wildly successful Divergent
trilogy, has hit the big screen
in full force. When we last saw
lead heroine Tris (Shailene

Four (Theo James), they were
fighting to save the factions
from government corruption
and take down the tyrannical
leader of it all, Jeanine (Kate
Winslet).

In the newest film, Tris and
Four continue on their mission
alongside a new group of allies,
a few of whom viewers might
not expect, to preserve peace,
order, and the Divergent race.
With flawless skill and pure
dauntlessness, Tris faces not

: only her real-life enemies but

: also her inner demons, all while
doing everything in her power

; to protect the people she loves.

Aside from all the action,

perhaps the best part of this

; entire movie is Tris’ haircut.

; Although it makes Woodley

: look absolutely stunning, the
: significance of the haircut is

: that it represents a shedding
Woodley) and her lover-in-arms : of her old self and an adoption
: of her reality. In the second

: film, where she is almost the

: sole focus, Tris is much more

: vulnerable and moviegoers are
: better able to connect with her.
: It is refreshing to see a female

: protagonist who isn’t perfect

: and can admit to being flawed.

In terms of acting, James

and Woodley absolutely dazzle
: me. Ina scene where the

: two are administered a truth

: serum, Woodley has one of the
: most believable breakdowns

: I’ve ever seen on screen. Not

; accustomed to seeing such

; araw performance ina teen

: blockbuster, I was floored by

: her ability to transcend the

: script and pull right at my

: emotions. Likewise, James does
: a wonderful job portraying his

: many sides, which convinced

: me whole-heartedly of his

: love for Tris. The rest of the

: cast, although their parts are

: small, also give wonderful

: performances, particularly

: Miles Teller in his role as Peter.
: All in all, this film is well-acted.

Asa huge fan of dystopian

films, Insurgent certainly does

: not disappoint: the plot is

: dynamic, the acting is stellar,

: and the cinematography is

: definitely worth recognition.

: For those of you considering

: skipping it, I say give it a

: chance—you won't want to miss
: this one.

Photo by Andrew Cooper via Lionsgate 2014