Visit our sister site:
Follow us on
Front Page, Industry News
Stars align in Ottawa for Genie Awards
Thursday March 10th 2011Canada’s movie industry takes the spotlight in Ottawa on Thursday for the 31st Genie Awards, the country’s annual celebration of homegrown films.
A star-studded lineup is set to walk the red carpet into the National Arts Centre for Canada’s version of the Oscars, with veteran actor William Shatner to host.
“Ever since they offered me the job I’ve been going around saying, ‘What’s the secret [to hosting]?’ and nobody will tell me,” the 79-year-old stage, film and TV star quipped in an interview earlier this week.
“I’ve been in front of audiences for a long time, with varying levels of success. Never, to my mind, [have I been] an abject failure,” added the Montreal-born star best known for TV’s Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, Boston Legal and, most recently, S#*! My Dad Says.
Shatner himself is slated to be honoured in Ottawa in May, as one of the 2011 recipients of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Entering Thursday’s ceremony, the two front-runners are long-simmering literary adaptation Barney’s Version and intense drama Incendies.
Barney’s Version, which took movie mogul Robert Lantos more than a decade to make, is the star-studded film adaptation of CanLit icon Mordecai Richler’s final novel.
Directed by Richard J. Lewis, the film leads this year’s Genie contenders with 11 nominations, including for best picture. American stars Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman are also nominated for their performances.
Denis Villeneuve’s searing family mystery Incendies is right behind with 10 nominations.
The two high-profile titles were honoured with Oscar nominations earlier this year (Barney’s Version for makeup and Incendies for foreign-language film), though neither won.
“Both films have been doing well in terms of their release in English Canada, as well as in French Canada,” Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, told CBC News on Wednesday.
An Oscar nomination “tends to bring acclaim to the films and gets increased interest from audiences.”
Rounding out the Genie best picture nominees are sci-fi thriller Splice, dark social drama 10 1/2 and the comic romance Heartbeats.
Looking at the best picture nominees, “you have fairly large-budget films represented, you have younger directors represented [and] you have a variety of genres or approaches to filmmaking represented,” said Steve Gravestock, Canadian programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Traditionally when awards are given out, some genres are often slighted … It’s nice to see these films given their due.”
Other noteworthy titles vying for Genies on Thursday include teen comedy The Trotsky, headbanger sequel Fubar 2, zombie blockbuster Resident Evil: Afterlife and internationally acclaimed documentary Last Train Home.
“We’re making really great films these days. This year’s slate is impressive and has been attracting quite a good audience,” Morton said.
“We’re coming off a couple of strong years…so I view this as a continuation and a further improvement in terms of films that are reaching an audience not just in Canada, but also internationally.”
A pantheon of Canadian stars are expected to attend the Ottawa awards show, from younger faces such as Jessica Lucas and Jay Baruchel to established actors like Gordon Pinsent, Bruce Greenwood and Remy Girard.
The night will also see performances by rockers Melissa Etheridge and Karkwa, rapper Kardinal Offishall and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
The 31st annual Genie Awards air on CBC-TV Thursday at 8 p.m.
CBC News
Front Page, Industry News
Stars align in Ottawa for Genie Awards
Thursday March 10th 2011Canada’s movie industry takes the spotlight in Ottawa on Thursday for the 31st Genie Awards, the country’s annual celebration of homegrown films.
A star-studded lineup is set to walk the red carpet into the National Arts Centre for Canada’s version of the Oscars, with veteran actor William Shatner to host.
“Ever since they offered me the job I’ve been going around saying, ‘What’s the secret [to hosting]?’ and nobody will tell me,” the 79-year-old stage, film and TV star quipped in an interview earlier this week.
“I’ve been in front of audiences for a long time, with varying levels of success. Never, to my mind, [have I been] an abject failure,” added the Montreal-born star best known for TV’s Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, Boston Legal and, most recently, S#*! My Dad Says.
Shatner himself is slated to be honoured in Ottawa in May, as one of the 2011 recipients of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Entering Thursday’s ceremony, the two front-runners are long-simmering literary adaptation Barney’s Version and intense drama Incendies.
Barney’s Version, which took movie mogul Robert Lantos more than a decade to make, is the star-studded film adaptation of CanLit icon Mordecai Richler’s final novel.
Directed by Richard J. Lewis, the film leads this year’s Genie contenders with 11 nominations, including for best picture. American stars Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman are also nominated for their performances.
Denis Villeneuve’s searing family mystery Incendies is right behind with 10 nominations.
The two high-profile titles were honoured with Oscar nominations earlier this year (Barney’s Version for makeup and Incendies for foreign-language film), though neither won.
“Both films have been doing well in terms of their release in English Canada, as well as in French Canada,” Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, told CBC News on Wednesday.
An Oscar nomination “tends to bring acclaim to the films and gets increased interest from audiences.”
Rounding out the Genie best picture nominees are sci-fi thriller Splice, dark social drama 10 1/2 and the comic romance Heartbeats.
Looking at the best picture nominees, “you have fairly large-budget films represented, you have younger directors represented [and] you have a variety of genres or approaches to filmmaking represented,” said Steve Gravestock, Canadian programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Traditionally when awards are given out, some genres are often slighted … It’s nice to see these films given their due.”
Other noteworthy titles vying for Genies on Thursday include teen comedy The Trotsky, headbanger sequel Fubar 2, zombie blockbuster Resident Evil: Afterlife and internationally acclaimed documentary Last Train Home.
“We’re making really great films these days. This year’s slate is impressive and has been attracting quite a good audience,” Morton said.
“We’re coming off a couple of strong years…so I view this as a continuation and a further improvement in terms of films that are reaching an audience not just in Canada, but also internationally.”
A pantheon of Canadian stars are expected to attend the Ottawa awards show, from younger faces such as Jessica Lucas and Jay Baruchel to established actors like Gordon Pinsent, Bruce Greenwood and Remy Girard.
The night will also see performances by rockers Melissa Etheridge and Karkwa, rapper Kardinal Offishall and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
The 31st annual Genie Awards air on CBC-TV Thursday at 8 p.m.
CBC News
Leave a Reply
Front Page, Industry News
Stars align in Ottawa for Genie Awards
Thursday March 10th 2011Canada’s movie industry takes the spotlight in Ottawa on Thursday for the 31st Genie Awards, the country’s annual celebration of homegrown films.
A star-studded lineup is set to walk the red carpet into the National Arts Centre for Canada’s version of the Oscars, with veteran actor William Shatner to host.
“Ever since they offered me the job I’ve been going around saying, ‘What’s the secret [to hosting]?’ and nobody will tell me,” the 79-year-old stage, film and TV star quipped in an interview earlier this week.
“I’ve been in front of audiences for a long time, with varying levels of success. Never, to my mind, [have I been] an abject failure,” added the Montreal-born star best known for TV’s Star Trek, T.J. Hooker, Boston Legal and, most recently, S#*! My Dad Says.
Shatner himself is slated to be honoured in Ottawa in May, as one of the 2011 recipients of the Governor General’s Performing Arts Award for Lifetime Artistic Achievement.
Entering Thursday’s ceremony, the two front-runners are long-simmering literary adaptation Barney’s Version and intense drama Incendies.
Barney’s Version, which took movie mogul Robert Lantos more than a decade to make, is the star-studded film adaptation of CanLit icon Mordecai Richler’s final novel.
Directed by Richard J. Lewis, the film leads this year’s Genie contenders with 11 nominations, including for best picture. American stars Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman are also nominated for their performances.
Denis Villeneuve’s searing family mystery Incendies is right behind with 10 nominations.
The two high-profile titles were honoured with Oscar nominations earlier this year (Barney’s Version for makeup and Incendies for foreign-language film), though neither won.
“Both films have been doing well in terms of their release in English Canada, as well as in French Canada,” Sara Morton, CEO of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, told CBC News on Wednesday.
An Oscar nomination “tends to bring acclaim to the films and gets increased interest from audiences.”
Rounding out the Genie best picture nominees are sci-fi thriller Splice, dark social drama 10 1/2 and the comic romance Heartbeats.
Looking at the best picture nominees, “you have fairly large-budget films represented, you have younger directors represented [and] you have a variety of genres or approaches to filmmaking represented,” said Steve Gravestock, Canadian programmer at the Toronto International Film Festival.
“Traditionally when awards are given out, some genres are often slighted … It’s nice to see these films given their due.”
Other noteworthy titles vying for Genies on Thursday include teen comedy The Trotsky, headbanger sequel Fubar 2, zombie blockbuster Resident Evil: Afterlife and internationally acclaimed documentary Last Train Home.
“We’re making really great films these days. This year’s slate is impressive and has been attracting quite a good audience,” Morton said.
“We’re coming off a couple of strong years…so I view this as a continuation and a further improvement in terms of films that are reaching an audience not just in Canada, but also internationally.”
A pantheon of Canadian stars are expected to attend the Ottawa awards show, from younger faces such as Jessica Lucas and Jay Baruchel to established actors like Gordon Pinsent, Bruce Greenwood and Remy Girard.
The night will also see performances by rockers Melissa Etheridge and Karkwa, rapper Kardinal Offishall and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet.
The 31st annual Genie Awards air on CBC-TV Thursday at 8 p.m.
CBC News
Leave a Reply
Advertisements
