Its not just because is up for 18 that Robin Dunne and Amanda Tapping are excited about next weeks awards ceremonies.
And its not because they have been personally nominated for their roles in the sci-fi drama that they think other actors should be at the Fairmont Hotel to cheer them on.
No, theyre too humble for that.
Instead, theyve been working on a few jokes and want to find out if theyll ever be asked again to host the May 26 Leo Awards, the annual pat-on-the-back celebration of BCs film and television industry.
For instance, Dunne, a Toronto born and raised actor, might take a few potshots at the Canucks. I like the Leafs approach to hockey, he said in a telephone interview somewhere along the streets of Vancouver. There arent those messy playoffs. You know when the season ends so you can plan your summer.
And he might be the only Vancouverite who says that one of the best things about being back in Canada after 10 years in LA is being able to go to Swiss Chalet. (Its an Ontario thing.)
But perhaps he shouldnt mention Toronto too many times. Toronto and Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»have a tug-o-war battle to see who gets to film the most movies and while Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»has had its place in the sun well, the rain right now Toronto seems to be pulling in a few more.
Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»will always be a viable place to shoot, Dunne says. While the local film industry lost the battle to keep the HST (and make Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»more attractive financially), Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»is still only a two-and-half-hour flight from LA, without the time-zone changes of a trip to Toronto.
But as good as it is to have Hollywood move its operations north, what would really strengthen the Â鶹´«Ã½Ó³»TV and film industry would be to have more made-in-Canada productions such as Sanctuary. If you have indigenous productions you can always balance the ebbs and flows of American shows being cancelled [such as Alcatraz, which was filmed here] or going somewhere else.
The list of nominees for this years awards is also a reminder of how important the industry is, both as a provider of terrific entertainment, as an economic contributor to our economy.
Leading the nominations for feature-length drama are Sisters&Brothers with 12, Hamlet and Marilyn with eight each, Sunflower Hour with seven, Donovans Echo with six, Daydream Nation and Doppleganger Paul with five each, The Odds with four, and Magic Beyond Words: The JK Rowling Story with three.
Leading the nominations for dramatic series are Sanctuary with 18, Arctic Air with nine; Blackstone with six, Smallville with four and Alphas, Bomb Girls, Endgame, Flashpoint, RL Stines The Haunting Hour and True Justice with two each.
Dunne encourages everyone to attend one or both of the galas the Celebration Awards on May 25 or the Gala Awards on May 26 not just because its a chance to schmooze with and applaud some of the industrys leading lights, but also because the more people there are in the audience, the more chance someone will find his jokes funny...
For a full list of the nominations, and information about buying tickets, go to .
