Sam Wiebe Journalist Profile

Articles

In 1982, B.C. Played Host to a Bizarre, Daring Gun Heist on the Set of First Blood

Dec 30, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

An arsenal “large enough to start a small-scale war.” These words from The Province could have just as easily referred to the variety of genuine firearms used by John Rambo in First Blood. The film launched a blockbuster franchise for its star Sylvester Stallone and put the B.C. town of Hope on theatre screens across the world. But on Tuesday, January 26, 1982, First Blood was making news for the shocking robbery of restricted firearms from the film’s North Shore set.
Fancy Seeing You Here

Nov 18, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe |Francesco Zorzi

Call it research. I went down to the riot because I wanted to know what tear gas smelled like. A writer should know such things, I thought. Be familiar with humanity in extremes. They say write what you know, but who knows anything, really? In 2011, I was still at community college, part of a cohort of wannabe writers. I was failing screenwriting, despite the many Richard Price scripts I read and plagiarized.
How Two Stephen King Adaptations Brought the King of Horror to B.C.

Oct 30, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

Author Stephen King has long been associated with his home state of Maine. The fictional Maine towns of Derry and Castle Rock recur throughout the horror icon’s work. It may then surprise some to learn how vital B.C. has been in establishing the geography of early King adaptations, namely TV projects from the 1990s. In It, six adults return to Derry to face the nameless monster that tormented them in childhood.
How SFU Became Hollywood’s Face of the Future

Oct 16, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

Antigen. Genecore. Groundstar. Bartok Industries. More nefarious and twisted science experiments have been conducted on the grounds of Simon Fraser University’s Burnaby campus than any other place in the country—at least on film. Since its construction in 1965, SFU has been a frequent location for movie and television productions.
How Donald Sutherland Helped Put Hollywood North on the Map

Sep 25, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

In the late 1970s, during a run of critical and commercial successes including M*A*S*H, Kelly’s Heroes, Klute, Don’t Look Now, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, and Animal House, Donald Sutherland made a pair of films in British Columbia in quick succession. The espionage thriller Bear Island and the romantic crime caper A Man, a Woman and a Bank (both 1979) allowed the actor to play traditional leading roles rather than the offbeat character parts he was known for.
A Centrefold Model, a Shocking Murder, and the Vancouver Film It Inspired

Aug 29, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

In 1980, the murder-suicide of a Vancouver couple shocked and horrified Hollywood. Model and actress Dorothy Stratten and her husband Paul Snider were found in their West Los Angeles home, both dead of gunshot wounds. At a point when Stratten’s career was about to reach new heights, the jealous and desperate Snider killed his wife and then himself.
The British Columbia Roots of Television’s Greatest Defense Attorney

Jun 21, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

When Raymond Burr died in 1993, The New York Times reported that the Perry Mason star had been married three times; that his first wife had died “when the plane in which she was traveling was shot down by the Germans,” and that his only son Michael had died of leukemia. In fact Burr had only been married once, had no children, and had been in a relationship with his producing partner Robert Benevides since 1960. Burr’s life and career are full of such contradictions.
The Highlander TV Series’ Swashbuckling Path Through Vancouver

Apr 24, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

“I am Duncan MacLeod, born four hundred years ago in the Highlands of Scotland. I am Immortal and I am not alone. For centuries we’ve waited for the time of the Gathering, when the stroke of a sword and a fall of a head will release the power of the Quickening. In the end, there can be only one.”Highlander is one of the most enduring and popular franchises of all time, an ambitious blend of fantasy, history, romance, swordplay, mythology, and special effects, all set to a soundtrack by Queen.
The Highlander TV Series’ Swashbuckling Path Through Vancouver

Apr 24, 2024 | flipboard.com | Sam Wiebe

6 hours agoAuthorities believe the three sons who were fatally shot by their father in their Oklahoma home this week in an apparent murder-suicide were “hunted” by him. According to Oklahoma City police, Jonathon Candy, 42, killed his wife, Lindsay Candy, 39, after the two "became involved in an altercation" …
How Veterans Took Over the Hotel Vancouver and Helped Solve a Housing Crisis

Mar 6, 2024 | montecristomagazine.com | Sam Wiebe

“We’re taking over the Hotel Vancouver—sit tight.”On Saturday, January 26, 1946, sergeant-at-arms Bob McEwen led 35 former servicemen and women from the Legion Hall to the old Hotel Vancouver. After announcing his intentions to the hotel security guard, McEwen and the other veterans swarmed inside and occupied the building. By 10 p.m., 100 veterans with their spouses and children were lodged within the hotel.