Canadian Screen Awards have serious Oscar glow
The Canadian Screen Awards have some serious Oscar glow this year, but also have plenty of Canadian content to justify the title. Bob Thompson lists five things you should know about the homegrown film, TV and digital talent being honoured Sunday:
CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS
Sunday, CBC
1 The gala is hosted by comic Norm Macdonald, formerly remembered as the Weekend Update dude on Saturday Night Live, and now as the Colonel Sanders pitchman on TV commercials.
The Ottawa native is a favourite among his standup colleagues, mostly because of his oddball timing and his unpredictability, which he will likely flash at various intervals throughout the trophy giveaways (delay censors notwithstanding).
2 Canadian co-productions Brooklyn and Room, fresh from being showcased at the Academy Awards, should increase viewership by curiosity alone.
Certainly, Brie Larson’s careermaking portrayal in Room was one of the sure things at the Oscars and should be again in the best actress category Sunday. If you’re looking for a past Canuck connection, Larson co-starred in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was also filmed in Toronto. Meanwhile, Vancouver’s Jacob Tremblay, who plays Larson’s son in Room, should practise his acceptance speech.
3 It’s the SCTV reunion featuring Martin Short, Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara (and Dave Thomas as the Beaver). Short is showing up for a lifetime achievement salute while Levy and O’Hara will be honoured for starring in the Schitt’s Creek sitcom and will pick up Legacy tributes.
O’Hara, who lives in Los Angeles, says she still holds onto her Canadian spirit. That was espe- cially true when things weren’t great for her career-wise a while ago. “Like a good Canadian, I went, ‘Oh, well’ and went on with my life,” she says.
4 Regina’s Tatiana Maslany, who shows off her acting chops by taking on various personas in the award-winning Orphan Black, is on the verge of breaking out internationally (if she hasn’t already thanks to the series).
Woman in Gold director Simon Curtis says he was thrilled to land Maslany for his 2015 movie, playing a younger version of Helen Mirren. It worked, he says, because both actresses have a great deal in common. “And they have the same sort of poise,” Curtis says.
5 #CSAsnotsowhite? While diversity remains a hot topic in Hollywood long after the Oscars, Canada’s film and TV awards show boasts a more inclusive list of nominees. Among the nominated film actors are Beeba Boys stars Waris Ahluwalia and Balinder Johal and My Internship in Canada’s Irdens Exantus. For TV, there’s Al Mukadam (Spun Out), Adrian Holmes (192), Brittany LeBorgne (Mohawk Girls) and Lyriq Bent, Aunjanue Ellis and Shailyn Pierre-Dixon for Book of Negroes. As Helga Stephenson, the head of the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television, told The Canadian Press earlier this year, her group’s members are younger and include more women than the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences, which runs the Oscars. “Are we perfect? No. Is there more to do? Lots. But nonetheless I don’t think we face the same problems as the academy in the States,” she says.