Canadians will be in the mix at the Academy Awards
Oscar nominations are good and bad news for Canada’s Ryans, Bob Thompson writes.
There’s good news and bad news for the Canadian Ryans after invitations to the Oscar party were distributed on Tuesday.
The good for London, Ont.’s Ryan Gosling is that he picked up an expected nod for his light-as-air role in the showbiz musical La La Land. The movie led all hopefuls with 14 nominations, a record shared with 1997’s Titanic and the 1950 drama All About Eve.
“I’m very grateful to the academy for recognizing my work in La La Land,” Gosling said in a statement. “It was a true collaboration, so to see everyone else’s wonderful work on the film acknowledged so generously makes it even more special.”
The bad is clearly the dispiriting snub for Vancouver’s Ryan Reynolds, who brought new subversive meaning to the anti-superhero sub-genre in Deadpool.
As Deadpool would say, “OK, so let’s pro/con this superhero thing.”
After Deadpool’s impressive social media Oscar campaign, voters ignored the first-rate editing, special effects, script and Reynolds’ singular cinematic accomplishment shot in his hometown.
Not only that, but Montreal filmmaker Xavier Dolan didn’t make the final cut in the foreign language film section with his acclaimed It’s Only the End of the World.
In more positive Canadian content at the Oscars, joining Gosling is Montreal director Denis Villeneuve for his sci-fi film Arrival, which attracted multiple nods for Villeneuve’s Quebec colleagues: Patrice Vermette (production design), Paul Hotte (set decoration), Bernard Gariepy Strobl and Claude La Haye (sound mixing), and Sylvain Bellemare, (sound editing). As producer, Montreal-born Shawn Levy shares Arrival’s best picture nomination.
Montreal’s Theodore Ushev picked up a best animated short for his National Film Board of Canada production Blind Vaysha. Also nominated are Pear Cider and Cigarettes, directed by Vancouver’s Robert Valley and Piper by Alan Barillaro from Niagara Falls, Ont. Winnipeg native Howard Barish was also named in the documentary feature section for his producer effort on the Netflix crime doc 13th.
In diversity developments at the Academy Awards, the best picture, actors and actress lists includes Moonlight, Fences, Hidden Figures and Lion.
And speaking of redemption, Mel Gibson is back, after being previously shunned by the Hollywood mainstream for his erratic behaviour and his outbursts. Gibson’s war picture Hacksaw Ridge earned a him a best director nod, best picture nomination, some technical accolades and best actor recognition for its headliner Andrew Garfield.
Garfield, a former Spider-Man, should be thrilled just to be nominated and will have to leave it at that. As it is, Casey Affleck’s moody man in Manchester by the Sea looks like the clear front-runner in the best actor section unless Gosling or Denzel Washington (Fences) pull off an upset.
For actress, the Oscar race is close between Ruth Negga (Loving), Isabelle Huppert (Elle) and Natalie Portman (Jackie). Sorry Emma Stone (La La Land). As usual, Meryl Streep (Florence Foster Jenkins) was given the nod of approval.
In the supporting actor group, Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water), Michael Shannon (Nocturnal Animals) and Dev Patel (Lion) are familiar faces but Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) has the momentum.
Supporting actress should be the most competitive category. Only Naomie Harris (Moonlight) is an Oscar first-timer. Been there and done that before are Viola Davis (Fences), Nicole Kidman (Lion), Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures) and Michelle Williams (Manchester by the Sea). Maybe Davis and Spencer will be tied for first.
Hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, the Academy Awards will air Feb. 26 on CTV and ABC.