HALIFAX — For the second time in a week, an American celebrity has offered welcome insights into Newfoundland from afar.
Actor Mindy Kaling told her 6.2 million Twitter followers on Jan. 26, "You pronounce Newfoundland like 'understand,' according to my friend who just shot a movie there," delighting residents long frustrated at outsiders who get it wrong.
Now Robert Redford has emerged with a paen to the province in a message contained in the Sundance Catalog, which sells clothes and other items in association with Redford's Sundance film festival in Utah.
His message reads, in full: "Newfoundland: a landscape not commonly found, where green roofs are abundant and roads less travelled. A special place, with a feeling of new discovery. I've often heard it said by some, that the meaningful connection to a sense of place is lost, so 'I'm heading for Newfoundland.'"
Redford has a message in each edition of the catalogue, which Calvin Reeder, vice-president of retail for Sundance Holdings, said Tuesday are written by Redford himself.
The site sells a "Newfoundland sweater coat," and Reeder said the Sundance Catalog did a photo shoot in Newfoundland for the edition.
While Redford would not have attended the shoot, "I'm sure he's been" to the province, Reeder said, adding the 79-year-old Academy Award winner likes places without crowds.