MANIFEST FAME & FORTUNE

“That’s the avenue we were going with; it was a fight to get seen or have these Canadian production companies see your tape,” says Matt. “We had a few meetings, but I couldn’t see a finish line of a big career coming out of it.”

But he kept grinding. He was waking up early to make appearances on CTV Morning Live in Ottawa for Oscar predictions that eventually led to him becoming their resident pop culture commentator and analyst. That opened the door to an international audience with CTV News Network’s Fame Factor entertainment panels.

Through the Bell Media umbrella, Matt found himself on Ottawa’s AM talk radio CFRA in 2016. Host Evan Solomon liked him so much that Matt kept getting invited back week after week until Mr. Hollywood became the station’s resident film critic, a position he still holds and which keeps him watching and reviewing three new release movies every week.

At the same time as all that was happening, Matt secured a position with Canadian media giant WatchMojo, where he’s now employed full-time as a Senior Content Editor and host of the weekly Pop Culture Now! podcast.

Matt also posts all of his latest movie reviews on his website, The Flaming Thumb, where he has implemented his own unique rating system. Each film receives a score out of ten flaming thumbs. A good movie is on fire, a great one is exploding, and a lackluster movie gets a fizzle.

Over the years, Mr. Hollywood and Matt Demers have found a kind of equilibrium in their public persona. “So the Mr. Hollywood character was very excited about celebrities and pop culture, but he was maybe a little too excited,” says Matt. “Now, when I go on TV or radio, it’s not a character; it’s me being genuinely excited about all the stuff I’m talking about.”