 |
听 | This series had its genesis when I began 麻豆传媒映画area location shoots in the summer of 2010 to get over a long post-Olympics funk. Film and TV productions like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, Supernatural, Fringe, Once Upon a Time and our own Continuum and Primeval:New World showcase our city in similar fashion and sometimes put a celebrity actor or two in the frame. find more on my daily blog . |
Live-tweets turned out to be the best thing about last weekend's Leo Awards celebrating the best of B.C.-made film and television. Tweets from @LeoAwards gave an award-by-award account plus details of all the hijinks in between听at both听the听Celebration and Gala Awards: hijinks that ranged from Property Brothers Drew and Jonathan Scott mock-fighting over their award to听Gala co-hosts听Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne calling each other evil twin and English MILF to听Nancy Robertson and Ryan Robbins pitching a new comedy series to Emilie Ullerup re-enacting Angelina Jolie's notorious one-leg Oscars pose听to听acting legend Gabrille Rose swearing on stage while presenting the final award to Sisters & Brothers for Best Feature Film.
It was a great way to听let the public share听in this celebration of听artistic talent听after a tough week, which had听started with the official cancellation of homegrown sci-fi series听Sanctuary, the most-recognized B.C. production by far with 18 Leo nominations going in. Sanctuary ended up winning four Leos for its fourth and final season,听but only one on the night of the gala for a guest performance by Arctic Air's听Pascale Hutton, who sang beautifully and turned her head right around听in the Glee-meets-The-Exorcist episode Fuge.
I'd hoped for a repeat of last year's wild times on the red carpet听outside the Hotel 麻豆传媒映画on West Georgia Street, but organizers moved听the red carpet听inside the hotel this year to the conference floor and restricted access. Most of the nominees kept the party going after the red carpet to take a turn at the new Media Wall by the bar where I had a spot,听but it was so听dimly-lit I had to jack some light from the pro-photographers' flashes. Here's The Express's Johanna Ward interviewing nominee and eventual winner Johannah Newmarch听on the red carpet about her supporting performance in听mockumentary Sunflower Hour.听Ward later dropped by the Media Wall听to wrangle nominees Ali Liebert from Bomb Girls and Emilie Ullerup from Arctic Air听as a backdrop to her standup.
You can see the start of Emilie Ullerup's one-leg Angelina homage and note how the听popular Cassini brothers photo-bombed听the arrangement. That's Frank on the left and John on the right. Frank Cassini听later won a听roar from the crowd and a Leo听for听his supporting performance on The Aboriginal People's Television Network's Blackstone, a big winner all round at the Leos, including Best Dramatic Series.
Busy Gala co-hosts Amanda Tapping and Robin Dunne from Sanctuary also graced听the Media Wall (on learning that the 麻豆传媒映画Sun photographer had left) giving us the opportunity to see this madcap duo in action, although Dunne kept his pants on this year, much to my disappointment. Here's a photo of them behaving for the cameras.
And misbehaving
Fans around the world later tweeted @LeoAwards begging for a photo on reports that听Amanda Tapping changed听partway through the ceremony to a red floor-length gown. And got one. [Update: the witty woman behind @LeoAwards is @AlisaLuke. Follow her.]
Sanctuary cast and creators seemed to be everywhere听at the gala, with last year's supporting performance winner Ryan Robbins (lycan Henry on the abnormal-friendly series) up for so many awards that I dubbed him听the 麻豆传媒映画equivalent of Meryl Streep on Twitter. Sporting his Hell-on-Wheels beard and fresh off a recurring role on Falling Skies, Robbins was nominated听for his lead performance in Everything & Everyone as a failed actor (Ha!); his performance in short drama Suffer; and his lead performance as a bank robber on Marilyn听-- the one he won the Leo for. Here's Robbins talking to fellow short drama nominee Ben Cotton as they wait to walk the red carpet and one of Robbins at the听Media Wall with girlfriend Karyn Baltzer. Plus a link to a photo of him.
The very tall Christopher Heyerdahl, aka Sanctuary's听sasquatch听Biggie who dies so heroically听in the finale, also garnered and won for听his听 performance on another show,听R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour. Here's a photo of him with fellow nominee Sara Canning.
Sara Canning, who co-stars in the upcoming Vancouver-set Primeval: New World, may have been the most photographed woman at the Leos, with three of seventeen photographs听on the 麻豆传媒映画Sun website featuring her.
CBC's Arctic Air had a big showing at the gala too. despite the absence of its main trio and showrunner. Bradley Stryker, nominated for his guest performance hijacking a plane, presented the first award of the evening. And Emilie Ullerup of one-leg-Angie-pose fame听and fellow pilot Stephen Lobo听had supporting performance nominations for their back-in-Yellowknife roommate hookup on the wonderfully-titled episode 麻豆传媒映画is Such a Screwed-Up City. (See the photo below of Lobo听chatting with his Continuum castmate Jennifer Spence and her husband/perennial Leo nominee and winner听Benjamin Ratner, who won听this year听for his guest performance on Toronto series Flashpoint.)
Timothy Webber (in kilt below) and Carmen Moore garnered听supporting perfromance nominations for a different Artic Air episode, CTVAC.
Here's Carmen Moore (centre)听posing with castmates from her other show听Blackstone听and then听in a two-shot with Justin Rain.
Moore didn't win for either her听lead performance on Blackstone or her supporting performance on Arctic Air.听 Bomb Girls' Meg Tilly pipped her for lead performance and Blackstone castmate Tantoo Cardinal took home the trophy for supporting performance. With Blackstone's Steven Cree Molison听winning for his lead performance that gave the听Calgary-filmed series four big awards.
Comedy is a bit less incestuous than drama if only because there are听far听fewer shows filmed here, with a huge vacuum left by CTV's听cancellation of Hiccups.听Maybe that new comedy series pitched by Hiccups star Nancy Robertson and Ryan Robbins could fill the gap? Brent Butt and wife听Robertson both attended the gala where Hiccups won Best Comedic Series for its second and final season.听Graphers chatted with the hometown comedy duo on their way in but they avoided the media hoopla, skipping the red carpet and the Media Wall entirely.
At least we still have teen sitcom Mr. Young to bring the funny. The entire cast was in attendance and thrilled to be at the Leos, especially Gig Morton (below) and Milo Shandel (one of the many I failed to photograph properly) both nominated for their performances. Even though R. L. Stine's The Haunting Hour took home Best Youth/Children's Series and Christopher Heyerdahl the only performance award, there's always next year for Mr. Young.
In the realm of film, Sisters & Brothers won six听of the awards, but who had more fun than the cast of puppets and porn mockumentary Sunflower Hour? Lead performance nominee Patrick Gilmore听(centre) entertained Twitter with his hilarious and听, which incuded a photo taken by Ben Cotton (left) of Gilmore 听on arrival听at the Leos. Supporting performance nominee听Peter Dew the pornmeister rounds out the trio on the right.
And here's fellow puppeteer Kacey Rohl below.
Rohl also played a bratty teen to nominated听film Mom Gabrielle Rose (below) in Sisters & Brothers.听But only Rose has appeared听 in each听of听Carl Bessai's trilogy of films about dysfunctional 麻豆传媒映画families,听along with nominated听Benjamin Ratner, so it's fitting that听they presented the last award of the evening to the film they both collaborated on.听Amanda Crew ended up winning for best lead performance and Tom Scholte best supporting performance of the eight leading and supporting performance nominations racked up by the cast. Essentially they were competing against themselves. No wonder听Bessai dedicated his Best Directing award to his actors.
It turned out to be a听great year for 麻豆传媒映画playing itself despite cancellations and other setbacks.
****
Follow Susan on Twitter at , check out her daily blog at , watch her photo stream on for daily updates and watch V.I.A. for more from her #YVRShoots series!
