GenieAwards Tagged Articles at Cinematical
Polley & Cronenberg Lead Genie Wins
Filed under: Awards »
The Sunny D-drinking Juno might not have gotten any Genie nomination love, but that left the door wide open for two other Canadian pictures, both of which swept the Genie Awards last night. Sarah Polley's Away From Her and David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises led the evening, with each picking up seven honors. But it was the young, new director who really stole the spotlight.I'm happy to say that while Sarah Polley didn't get any winning Oscar love, she did score the biggies last night -- Best Motion Picture, Achievement in Direction, and Adapted Screenplay, while star Gordon Pinsent won for best actor, Julie Christie for best actress, and Kristen Thomson for best supporting actress. With Polley's Claude Jutra Award, that's seven. So, while the number of wins might have been even for both Polley and Cronenberg, Sarah made an impressive impact on the ceremony.
Eastern Promises, meanwhile, picked up Genies for cinematography, editing, original score, supporting actor for Armin Mueller-Stahl, overall sound, sound editing, and original screenplay. There was also a little love for flicks like Fido and Silk in the few awards that remained once the other two cleaned house. Things might have been a bit different if Juno was in the running, but I'm thrilled to see Polley's film sweep all the big awards. How about you?
Juno Won't Be Dreaming of Genies
Filed under: Awards », Celebrities and Controversy »
It's sad, and it's unfortunate, but it all comes down to money, homeskillets.When the Canadian Genie Awards airs this Monday, March 3, it might be with the lovely Sandra Oh leading festivities, but it will be doing so without any sort of Juno love. This might seem strange since, well, Ellen Page and Michael Cera are Canadian, as is director Jason Reitman, the comedy was filmed in Canada (British Columbia, to be exact), it had an extended Canadian cast, and a Canadian crew. Topping that Canuck goodness off with all the nominations and wins the film has received, it would seem certain that Juno would be all over the Genies.
Not quite. As Yahoo/Reuters states: Genie rules say that some of the film's production budget must come from Canada for it to be deemed a Canadian film and be worthy of consideration. (Is there a certain, specific amount of "some," I wonder? Could some dudes just donate a $20 and make these sort of problems go away?) I see the rationale, but it sure makes for skewed selections. Ellen Page and her Diablo-led brethren have been snubbed, but Eastern Promises is in the running because approximately 20% of the film's budget came from Canada.
Reitman says: "how are we not eligible for a Genie when David Cronenberg's film about Russians living in London shot in England with a British crew and British cast is eligible? I'm sorry, but somebody is going to have to explain that to me; I don't get it." Well, I get it, but it's a massively flawed rationale -- as Etan Vlessing says: "Leave it to other awards shows to honor filmmaking excellence, whatever its origins. The Genies celebrate government support." Next time, Jason will have to get his film paid for with loonies and toonies.
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