‘Barney’s Version’ tops Genie noms

Feb 04, 2011 18:47

After being snubbed by Oscar, except for the single citation for best make-up, Barney’s Version is suddenly strutting proudly again as the nominations leader in Canada’s Genie Awards.

Richard J. Lewis’ drama scored 11 Genie noms on Wednesday, one more than Denis Villeneuve’s acclaimed and Oscar-nominated Incendies, which is competing in the Oscars for best foreign-language film.

The searing drama 10-1/2 by Quebec filmmaker Podz (also known as Daniel Grou) earned eight noms.

Barney’s Version, Incendies and 10-1/2 are all competing for best picture, along with Vincenzo Natali’s inventive horror movie Splice and Xavier Dolan’s intimate menage-a-trois drama Heartbeats (Les Amours Imaginaires).

The looming Canadian showdown between Barney’s Version and Incendies is perfect for Canada: The two solitudes are fighting it out on the same turf, each side with a quality production. And things are really culturally complex this time.

Barney’s Version, based on a novel by famed Montreal writer Mordecai Richler, was filmed mostly in Montreal and primarily in English by a Toronto-born filmmaker. Incendies, based on a play by Lebanese-Canadian Wajdi Mouawad, was filmed in the Middle East in both French and Arabic by a Montreal filmmaker.

Overall in the best picture race, there are two English-language productions and three French-language productions. Incendies is the critical darling. But the balance in the nominations may mean that Toronto-based movie mogul Robert Lantos, who produced Barney’s Version, has a good chance to triumph when the Genies are held in Ottawa on March 10. CBC-TV will broadcast the awards ceremony live from the National Arts Centre.

The biggest problem for the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television is visibility, as usual. Only one one of this year’s nominated films is a box-office hit.

There are big names in the acting categories, however. American veteran Paul Giamatti is nominated as best actor for playing the lead in Barney’s Version. He had missed out on a possible Oscar nom for the title role, although he did win a Golden Globe. Among others, Giamatti will be up against Jay Baruchel, nominated for The Trotsky. Baruchel is having a hot run over the past year. He is also the lead voice talent for the Oscar-nominated How to Train Your Dragon.

In the supporting-actor category, Hollywood legend Dustin Hoffman is nominated for playing Barney’s irascible father. Among others, he is up against Rossif Sutherland, Donald Sutherland’s other acting son.

The best-actress race features both Molly Parker and Tracy Wright, co-stars of Bruce McDonald’s extraordinarily intense drama Trigger. When Wright felt seriously ill, McDonald put the film into nearly instant production. Wright died before Trigger made its premiere at the 2010 Toronto filmfest. Included in Parker and Wright’s competition is Rosamund Pike, the refined English actress who plays Barney’s longest-suffering wife.

Singer-actress Minnie Driver is included in the supporting-actress category for Barney’s Version. Among others in that race is famed Newfoundland comic Mary Walsh, up for Crackie.

Absurdly perhaps, because the Canadian film industry works on such a small scale, 22 different feature films scored at least one nom. Among them is the gonzo action-horror movie Resident Evil: Afterlife. It got five noms, among them the citation for Denise Cronenberg (David Cronenberg’s sister) for best costume design. She also works on most of her brother’s films, most recently Eastern Promises.

Resident Evil: Afterlife, which scored mostly in craft categories, also gets the Golden Reel Award for generating the best box office of any Canadian production in a given year of release in Canada. Its tally was $7 million. The worldwide take is now $296.2 million, according to Box Office Mojo. That makes it the best-grossing Canadian-made movie of all time, although this status is misleading. Resident Evil: Afterlife, part of the popular sci-fi action franchise, is an international co-production, with German, French and British involvement.

Among the most obvious Genie snubs is William Phillips’ goofy and funny Gunless, starring Paul Gross. It is a camp western satire, but the humour must have been lost on the voting committees at the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television. Gunless generated only two noms, one for Callum Keith Rennie as best supporting actor. You know him as a ruthless cylon in Battlestar Galactica.

More complicated is the treatment of Heartbeats (Les Amours Imaginaires). It earned four noms, one for Xavier Dolan as best director. But the Quebec wunderkind was overlooked for his screenplay and his performance in the movie. In acting categories, the only one to make it from his film was Anne-Elizabeth Bosse as best supporting actress.

The Trotsky was also marginalized, despite the nom for Baruchel as best actor. Jacob Tierney got named in the best original screenplay race, but not as a director. The Trotsky, which earned four noms overall, obviously was also left out of the best picture sweepstakes. Ditto for Trigger, which had been considered a contender before Tuesday’s announcements. One kick-ass B-movie, Fubar II, did poorly with only two noms.

Jephte Bastien gets the Claude Jutra Award this year for directing Exit 67 (Sortie 67), a gritty crime drama which focuses on a Montreal gang member. Named for a legendary Quebec filmmaker, the Jutra recognizes outstanding achievement by a first-time feature filmmaker.

GENIE NOMINEES:

Nominees announced Wednesday for the 31st Genie Awards (Canadain film), to be handed out March 10 in Ottawa:

BEST MOTION PICTURE / MEILLEUR FILM

10 1/2 - Pierre Gendron

LES AMOURS IMAGINAIRES / HEARTBEATS - Xavier Dolan, Carole Mondello, Daniel Morin

BARNEY’S VERSION - Robert Lantos

INCENDIES - Luc Déry, Kim McCraw

SPLICE - Steven Hoban

ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION / MEILLEURE RÉALISATION

XAVIER DOLAN - Les amours imaginaires / Heartbeats

RICHARD J. LEWIS - Barney’s Version

VINCENZO NATALI - Splice

PODZ - 10 1/2

DENIS VILLENEUVE - Incendies

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE

JAY BARUCHEL - The Trotsky

PAUL GIAMATTI - Barney’s Version

ROBERT NAYLOR - 10 1/2

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT - High Life

FRANÇOIS PAPINEAU - Route 132

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION MASCULINE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN

MARTIN DUBREUIL - 10 1/2

DUSTIN HOFFMAN - Barney’s Version

ALEXIS MARTIN - Route 132

CALLUM KEITH RENNIE - Gunless

ROSSIF SUTHERLAND - High Life

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN PREMIER RÔLE

LUBNA AZABAL - Incendies

TATIANA MASLANY - Grown Up Movie Star

MOLLY PARKER - Trigger

ROSAMUND PIKE - Barney’s Version

TRACY WRIGHT - Trigger

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE / INTERPRÉTATION FÉMININE DANS UN RÔLE DE SOUTIEN

SONJA BENNETT - Cole

ANNE-ELIZABETH BOSSÉ - Les amours imaginaires / Heartbeats

MINNIE DRIVER - Barney’s Version

TERRA HAZELTON - FUBAR II

MARY WALSH - Crackie

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY / MEILLEURE ADAPTATION

MICHAEL KONYVES - Barney’s Version

LEE MACDOUGALL - High Life

VIC SARIN, DENNIS FOON, CATHERINE SPEAR - A Shine of Rainbows

PATRICK SENÉCAL - Les sept jours du Talion / 7 Days

DENIS VILLENEUVE - Incendies

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY / MEILLEUR SCÉNARIO

LOUIS BÉLANGER, ALEXIS MARTIN - Route 132

CLAUDE LALONDE - 10 1/2

ADRIANA MAGGS - Grown Up Movie Star

PETER STEBBINGS - Defendor

JACOB TIERNEY - The Trotsky

ACHIEVEMENT IN ART DIRECTION / PRODUCTION DESIGN / MEILLEURE DIRECTION ARTISTIQUE

GILLES AIRD - 10 ½

ANDRÉ LINE BEAUPARLANT - Incendies

ARV GREYWAL - Resident Evil: Afterlife

MYRON HYRAK - FUBAR II

CLAUDE PARÉ, ÉLISE DE BLOIS - Barney’s Version

ACHIEVEMENT IN CINEMATOGRAPHY / MEILLEURES IMAGES

BERNARD COUTURE - 10 ½

RONALD PLANTE - Piché: entre ciel et terre / Piché: The Landing of a Man

CLAUDINE SAUVÉ - The Wild Hunt

ANDRÉ TURPIN - Incendies

STÉPHANIE WEBER-BIRON - Les amours imaginaires / Heartbeats

ACHIEVEMENT IN EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE

MICHELE CONROY - Splice

MONIQUE DARTONNE - Incendies

MATTHEW HANNAM - Trigger

VALÉRIE HÉROUX - 10 1/2

YVANN THIBAUDEAU - Piché: entre ciel et terre / Piché: The Landing of a Man

ACHIEVEMENT IN COSTUME DESIGN / MEILLEURS COSTUMES

DENISE CRONENBERG - Resident Evil: Afterlife

MARIO DAVIGNON - The Trotsky

NICOLETTA MASSONE - Barney’s Version

PATRICIA MCNEIL - The Wild Hunt

BEVERLEY WOWCHUK - Gunless

ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKE-UP / MEILLEURS MAQUILLAGES

KATRYN CASAULT - Incendies

PAUL JONES, LESLIE SEBERT, VINCENT SULLIVAN - Resident Evil: Afterlife

ADRIEN MOROT, MICHELINE TRÉPANIER - Barney’s Version

HÉLÈNE-MANON POUDRETTE - The Wild Hunt

MARLÈNE ROULEAU, CJ GOLDMAN - Les sept jours du Talion / 7 Days

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SCORE / MEILLEURE MUSIQUE ORIGINALE

BRENDAN CANNING - Trigger

PASQUALE CATALANO - Barney’s Version

JONATHAN GOLDSMITH - High Life

KEEGAN JESSAMY, BRYCE MITCHELL - At Home, By Myself... With You

SOOK-YIN LEE, BUCK 65, ADAM LITOVITZ - Year of the Carnivore

ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC - ORIGINAL SONG / MEILLEURE CHANSON ORIGINALE

BUCK 65 - Year of the Carnivore - What’s Wrong With That?

MARY MILNE - The Trotsky - Already Gone

CHERIE PYNE - Crackie - Tender Steps

MARK SASSO, CASEY LAFORET, STEPHEN PITKIN - Grown Up Movie Star - West End Sky

PAUL J. SPENCE - FUBAR II - There’s No Place Like Christmas

ACHIEVEMENT IN OVERALL SOUND / MEILLEUR SON D’ENSEMBLE

CHRISTIAN COOKE, STEVE MOORE - Defendor

LEON JOHNSON, STEPHAN CARRIER, KIRK LYNDS - High Life

MICHEL LECOUFLE, DANIEL BISSON, LUC BOUDRIAS, JEAN-CHARLES DESJARDINS - Les sept jours du Talion / 7 Days

JOHN THOMSON, ANDREW STIRK, ANDREW TAY, MARK ZSIFKOVITS - Resident Evil: Afterlife

JEAN UMANSKY, JEAN-PIERRE LAFORCE - Incendies

ACHIEVEMENT IN SOUND EDITING / MEILLEUR MONTAGE SONORE

PIERRE-JULES AUDET, MICHELLE CLOUTIER, NATALIE FLEURANT, NICOLAS GAGNON - Les sept jours du Talion / 7 Days

STEPHEN BARDEN, STEVE BAINE, KEVIN BANKS, ALEX BULLICK, JILL PURDY - Resident Evil: Afterlife

SYLVAIN BELLEMARE, SIMON MEILLEUR, CLAIRE POCHON - Incendies

MARK GINGRAS, TOM BJELIC, KATRIJN HALLIDAY, DALE LENNON, JOHN SMITH - Defendor

DAVE ROSE, DAVID MCCALLUM - Splice

BEST DOCUMENTARY / MEILLEUR DOCUMENTAIRE

LA BELLE VISITE / JOURNEY’S END - Jean-François Caissy

IN THE NAME OF THE FAMILY - Shelley Saywell, Deborah Parks

LAST TRAIN HOME - Lixin Fan, Mila Aung-Thwin, Daniel Cross

LEAVE THEM LAUGHING - John Zaritsky, Montana Berg

YOU DON’T LIKE THE TRUTH, 4 DAYS INSIDE GUANTÁNAMO - Luc Côté, Patricio Henriquez

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT DRAMA / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE DRAMATIQUE

FILE UNDER MISCELLANEOUS - Jeff Barnaby, John Christou

MARIUS BORODINE - Emanuel Hoss-Desmarais, Vincent Hoss-Desmarais

OUT IN THAT DEEP BLUE SEA - Kazik Radwanski, Dan Montgomery

SAVAGE - Lisa Jackson, Lauren Grant, Lori Lozinski

VAPOR - Kaveh Nabatian, Stéphane Tanguay, Cédric Bourdeau

BEST ANIMATED SHORT / MEILLEUR COURT MÉTRAGE D’ANIMATION

LIPSETT DIARIES / LES JOURNAUX DE LIPSETT - Theodore Ushev, Marc Bertrand

LA TRANCHÉE / THE TRENCHES - Claude Cloutier, Marc Bertrand

CLAUDE JUTRA AWARD / PRIX CLAUDE-JUTRA

JEPHTÉ BASTIEN - Sortie 67

*Honourable mention / Mention d’honneur - PETER STEBBINGS - Defendor

GOLDEN REEL AWARD / PRIX BOBINE D’OR

RESIDENT EVIL: AFTERLIFE

Producers / Producteurs : Don Carmody, Jeremy Bolt, Robert Kulzer,

Distributor / Distributeur : Alliance Films

Total Canadian box office in 2010 / Recettes totales au guichet canadien en 2010 - $7,026,559

award

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