The Genie Awards

Tweet Like a Shatner Contest!

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 17:00:06 -0400

Happy to report William Shatner Sings for a Canadian Genie Award video has gone viral and is just shy of +5,000 views! Propelled, no doubt, by our incessant tweeting and Facebooking (though @WilliamShatner’s own tweet with its +77 retweets might have played a small role in its success).

It’s a great time to announce the Making A Scene Tweet Like A Shatner contest! Go to the CBC.CA site and post your best tweets from a William Shatner character - anyone from Denny Crane to James T. Kirk to T.J. Hooker to The Big Giant Head.

The winner will receive a full year’s membership to the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television! A Membership to ACCT entitles you to a full year of FREE Canadian Movies at the following theatres:

* AMC Theatres
* Cinema Beaubien (Montréal)
* Cinemark/Tinseltown Theatre (Vancouver)
* Cineplex Entertainment (including Cineplex Odeon, Famous Players and Galaxy Theatres)
* Empire Theatres
* Festival Cinemas in Vancouver (Fifth Avenue, The Park and The Ridge Theatres)
* Landmark Cinemas

So get your entry in before the contest closes on September 29th, 2010 at 11:59 PM ET!

The “Genies Song” by William Shatner! Love the pic...

Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:18:17 -0400

The “Genies Song” by William Shatner! Love the pic of David Cronenberg eyeing Shatner suspiciously in the background.

Baseball Girls

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 16:08:00 -0400

The NFB’s blog on their interview with Genie-award-winning filmmaker Lois Siegel about her feature documentary about women and baseball. In 1990 Siegel’s film Stunt People won a Genie Award for Best Short and her films have been presented internationally.

On viewing the film today, I can’t help but smiling throughout. It has a certain innocence that is heart-warming. I spent my childhood playing baseball and I can sympathize with Siegel who just wanted to play. The historical material is fascinating (I especially enjoyed learning about the game in the 19th century) and the Spaceman, Bill Lee, makes an appearance. You can’t help but be carried away with Siegel’s enthusiasm.

ACCT @30: Ticket To Heaven (1982)

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 02:21:23 -0400

Next up in the series on the The Academy’s 30th Anniversary Top 10 Lists is the film Ticket To Heaven (1982), a film (starring Sex and the City’s Kim Cattrall) about a man recruited into a cult. Here’s the trailer: Said one review about the film: “…its images are burned into my mind. This is such a powerful movie that I would offer a caution to potential viewers — the material is both gripping and frightening, and you’ll never view certain ‘organizations’ as harmless ever again.”

Making A Scene: 30 Years Of Genies

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 01:53:00 -0400

Making A Scene: 30 Years Of Genies:

Check out the new page for the big one-hour special Making A Scene: 30 Years Of Genies hosted by none other than William Shatner! This anniversary special will air Friday, Sept 24th at 7pm!

The Guardian on Maury Chaykin: Actor who was at his best in shadowy roles

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 12:44:23 -0400

The Guardian on Maury Chaykin: Actor who was at his best in shadowy roles

How a Canadian indie movie found its time has come

Mon, 16 Aug 2010 16:20:24 -0400

How a Canadian indie movie found its time has come:

110pages:

By Peter Howell Movie Critic Expressions of adoration by US movie critics towards a certain small Canadian film have been so intense, it makes you wonder if …
See all stories on this topic »

Dorfman's 'How To Be Alone' An Online Hit

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 14:26:00 -0400

Canadian filmmaker Andrea Dorfman’s (Parsley Days, Love That Boy) short film “How To Be Alone” has become a viral hit with over 350,000 views on Youtube. Word spread fast online about this mediation on loneliness based on a poem by Halifax poet Tanya Davis. Along with Facebook, the film has recieved link love from reddit, twitter (including the grand Poo-Bah of Twitter Roger Ebert), metafilter and popular blogs like Andrew Sullivan’s at The Atlantic.

Today the NFB posted their interview with Dorfman asking the director about the project’s origins, where it was shown before she uploaded it online and why she thinks it’s become so popular:

“It goes back to our need to belong. I think, as social primates, we want to feel a strong sense of belonging either in a relationship or to a community - or both. But also intrinsic to our humanity is a feeling that we are truly alone.”

UPDATE: CBC talks to Tanya Davis about the popularity of the short:

Davis said she doesn’t get any money from YouTube, but she thinks the worldwide exposure will help her career.

“I’m getting all these emails from people expressing their interest and how much they like the video. And some of them are brand new to my work,” she said.

Genie Award-winning Actor Maury Chaykin dies at 61

Tue, 27 Jul 2010 15:34:00 -0400

Very sad to hear that actor Maury Chaykin has died.

Our deepest condolences to Maury Chaykin’s family and friends.

lasttumblrstanding: The Trotsky I just caught this flick in...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 16:00:00 -0400

lasttumblrstanding:

The Trotsky

I just caught this flick in cinemas, it’s a Canadian film about this seventeen year old who believes he is the reincarnation of Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky, and becomes a little red pill for his high school’s ‘fascist’ faculty. The wit and production value definitely exceeded my expectations, and it’s always relieving to know Canadian cinema produces quality films now and then.

ACCT @30: The Changeling (1980)

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 15:43:00 -0400

The year 2009 marked the 30th anniversary of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, so to celebrate the occasion ACCT complied The Academy’s 30th Anniversary Top 10 Lists. As it’s a great resource for those looking for the best in Canadian film we’re going to highlight a few of these over the next little while here on the blog. Starting with the first on the list…

If you enjoy horror films but you haven’t yet seen The Changeling do yourself a favour and see it soon. Martin Scorcese included it as one of his Top 11 Scariest Horror Movies Of All Time.

If you’re still not convinced, here’s the haunting trailer:

Here’s a small clip from the film featuring a very pissed off wheelchair:

technicolor-yawn: “‘Les Amours Imaginaires’ tells the story of...

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 11:55:19 -0400

technicolor-yawn:

“‘Les Amours Imaginaires’ tells the story of two friends besotted with the same person. As they go from one meeting to another, unsettled by countless signs – some palpable, some imaginary – the two protagonists become obsessed with their fantasy and this soon begins to threaten their friendship.”

Xavier Dolan writes, directs and performs in the film. The French-Canadian director, at age 21, is the youngest filmmaker of the Cannes Official Selection.

Out in Canada June 11th!

(via festival-cannes.com)

Sandra Oh: Genie Awards are right up there with my Golden Globe Award

Fri, 21 May 2010 15:16:14 -0400

Two time Genie Award winner and host of the 2008 Genie Awards Sandra Oh has been named one of Canada’s Most Beautiful Canadians by Hello! magazine. In a Q+A with the actor she was asked for her Beautiful Moment: “Winning the Golden Globe Award was one of the best moments of my life. Right up there with my Genie Awards”.

AGE: 38

HOMETOWN: Ottawa
WHY WE LOVE HER: As the surly yet lovable Cristina Yang on Grey’s Anatomy, she never behaves - but is always delicious to watch.
LANGUAGE OF BEAUTY: Sandra speaks four languages - English, Korean, French and Spanish.
FAVOURITE BODY PART: “Everyone says I’m famous for my eyes!”
BODY SECRET: “I’m a vegan!”
BEAUTIFUL MOMENT: “Winning the Golden Globe Award was one of the best moments of my life. Right up there with my Genie Awards”.

(via Sandra Oh News)

Interview with Gary Burns

Thu, 20 May 2010 15:54:49 -0400

Interview with Gary Burns:

An interview with Genie Award winning director Gary Burns who is finishing up his new film called “The Future is Now!” with co-director Jim Brown. Brown and Burns both won Genie Awards for Best Documentary for their film “Radiant City.”

"Petropolis" Documentary Provides Bird's-Eye View of Tar Sands

Mon, 17 May 2010 15:03:29 -0400

"Petropolis" Documentary Provides Bird's-Eye View of Tar Sands:

“Petropolis” was nominated for a 2010 Genie Award.

Goodbye, Babz (by Mark Leiren-Young)

Thu, 13 May 2010 17:07:09 -0400

Goodbye, Babz (by Mark Leiren-Young):

Wonderful tribute to Babz Chula, Genie Award winner and much loved actor, who passed away last week after an eight-year battle with cancer.

Animator Mag: The Cat Came Back

Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:46:09 -0400

Animator Mag: The Cat Came Back:

Looks like we’re not the only blog getting our Cordell Barker on!

Cordell Barker runs away with 2010 Genie Award

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 15:53:00 -0400

Cordell Barker, a winner at the 2010 Genie Awards, is one of Canadia’s premier animation directors. This year, along with Derek Mazur and Michael Scott, he took him the coveted Best Animated Short Genie for RUNAWAY (Train en folie). His previous two shorts, THE CAT CAME BACK and STRANGE INVADERS, have both been nominated for Oscars.

Here’s an interview with Barker that took place at Sundance in January of this year where he talks about his style, the music of Benoit Charest (THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE) and the challenge of making RUNAWAY:

For me, on RUNAWAY, the metaphor was really the driving factor. I didn’t want to do anything that violated the metaphor, and I just kept on slaving to that. I think that’s why this last film - which is less of a lark and more driven by this metaphor - was the toughest thing I’ve ever done in my life. It was potentially a career-ender. It was so tough and difficult to get through, I was thinking, “If this thing bombs, that’s the end of my animation career.”

Watch the RUNAWAY trailer:

Watch Barker’s STRANGE INVADERS:

If you’ve ever walked around Toronto you’ve probably...

Thu, 22 Apr 2010 13:40:00 -0400

77 Davisville

77 Davisville

University + King

UofT, Northrop Frye Hall

UofT, Hart House

77 Davisville

If you’ve ever walked around Toronto you’ve probably stopped to ponder a Sorel Etrog sculpture. The designer of our Genie Award, Etrog’s work is scattered across the city. Take a look at the gallery above and spot the ones you recognize. Take a look at more here.

POPSUGAR: Joshua Jackson Wins Best Actor Genie and Shares Sweetest Kiss Backstage With Diane Kruger!

Wed, 21 Apr 2010 15:01:12 -0400

POPSUGAR: Joshua Jackson Wins Best Actor Genie and Shares Sweetest Kiss Backstage With Diane Kruger!:

Missed this! TONS of pics!