Big night takes Shape for Canada at Oscars
LOS ANGELES • Toronto got a shout- out at the Oscars as three Canadians accepted the best production design Academy Award for their work on The Shape of Water.
“Thanks to all the Canadian crew who are partying right now at the Palais Royale in Toronto — this is for you,” said Paul Austerberry, who won for best production design alongside Jeffrey A. Melvin and Shane Vieau.
It was t he f i rst Oscar nomination for the trio, who also won in the same category at the recent British Academy Film Awards.
Austerberry is credited for production design while Melvin and Vieau did the set decoration.
The Shape of Water, about a woman who falls in love with a merman, was shot in Toronto and Hamilton but was set in 1960s- era Baltimore.
“Thank you to the academy, (director Guillermo del Toro) — may you keep dreaming up your monsters and their wonderful stories so people like us can help shape their worlds,” Austerberry said onstage as the three accepted the trophy.
“A big thank you to our amazing crew back in Toronto,” added Vieau. “Without you guys, we definitely wouldn’t be here today.”
Besides del Toro, t he cinematographer and some of the actors, every person who worked on the film was Canadian.
“It used to be in the business we would bring a lot more crew from the States,” Austerberry said in a recent interview.
“Now the business has evolved and the quality of the staff and quality of the crew that is available in Canada and Toronto ... is just equal to anywhere else.”
Melvin got the set materials he needed from places including an abandoned hospital in Toronto and online classified ads.
The Academy Awards brought the most tumultuous awards season in recent memory to a close Sunday with a ceremony that conf ronted the post- Harvey Weinstein era for Hollywood while honouring the year’s best filmmaking, including the sound design of Dunkirk and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri co-star Sam Rockwell.
Host Jimmy Kimmel got the Oscars underway Sunday at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with an opening monologue that mixed Weinstein punchlines with earnest comments about reforming gender equality in Hollywood. And of course, Kimmel — returning to the scene of the flub — dove straight into material about last year’s infamous best-picture mix-up.
“I do want to mention, this year, when you hear your name called, don’t get up right away,” said Kimmel. “Give us a minute.”
But while Kimmel spent a few moments on the fiasco known as Envelopegate, he expended far more minutes frankly and soberly discussing the parade of sexual harassment allegations that have coursed through the movie business in the wake of the revelations regarding Weinstein. He also spoke straightforwardly about the industry’s poor record for female directors and equal pay.
“We can’t let bad behaviour slide anymore,” said Kimmel. “The world is watching us.”
Gesturing to a giant statue on the stage, he praised Oscar, himself for keeping “his hands where you can see them” and for having “no penis at all.” But Kimmel introduced the broadcast as “a night for positivity.”
“I remember a time when the major studios didn’t believe a woman or a minority could open a super hero movie — and the reason I remember that time is because it was March of last year,” said Kimmel.
The night’s acting honours are considered fairly locked for nominees, and things began as expected. Two widely admired veterans won their first Oscars: Allison Janney (I, Tonya) took best supporting actress and Rockwell ( Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri) won best supporting actor.