Post by Neverending on Jan 29, 2015 13:11:44 GMT -5
Since we are in the heart of awards season, and I love Canada, I thought it would be fun to look back at the Genie Awards. It was Canada's version of the Academy Awards from 1980 till 2012. Before that, Canada honored its cinema through the generic sounding Canadian Film Awards. And since 2013, they go by the equally generic sounding Canadian Screen Awards. Fuck that! The Genie was perfect and its memory should be preserved.
Let's start at the beginning. The first Genie Awards took place on March 20, 1980 in Toronto and was hosted by TV star Bruno Gerussi. It honored the best movies of 1979. The Best Picture nominees were... and I'm not making this up:
The Changeling
Cordelia
Klondike Fever
Meatballs
Running
OK. I know what you're thinking. I'm ahead of you. Klondike Fever is NOT a comedy about the ice cream. I know this is Canada, but give them more credit. It's actually an adventure film about author Jack London. Cordelia, of course, is a French Canadian movie. It's Canada. You gotta have something French. It's based on a book about a woman in the 1890's who is accused of being a whore and murderer. You know, that same old story. Running is a Michael Douglas movie about the Olympics. Now we get to the two movies that every American should know: Meatballs and The Changeling. Meatballs is a classic screwball comedy starring Bill Murray and directed by Ivan Reitman. They later on made GHOSTBUSTERS. Let me type that again for the Google Bots: GHOSTBUSTERS (1984). And, The Changeling, is a spooky haunted house movie starring George C. Scott. The Changeling WON Best Picture. Us, in America, gave Best Picture to Kramer vs Kramer. I love Kramer vs Kramer, but most people do not, so don't judge the Canadians too harshly for The Changeling.
In addition to The Changeling, which won numerous awards, the other big winner that year was Bob Clark's Murder by Decree. You know Bob Clark. He made Black Christmas, A Christmas Story and Porky's. Murder by Decree won Best Director, Best Actor (Christopher Plummer; he delivered a controversial political speech), Best Supporting Actress (Genevieve Bujold), Best Editing and Best Music. Murder by Decree is a British co-production about Sherlock Holmes investigating Jack the Ripper.
Canada must have been in a really dark place in 1979 because they really enjoyed horror movies and thrillers that year. Or... maybe they were in their usual happy-go-lucky mood and these movies were an escape from their mundane lives. Let us know PG Cooper Angel IanTheCool
Let's start at the beginning. The first Genie Awards took place on March 20, 1980 in Toronto and was hosted by TV star Bruno Gerussi. It honored the best movies of 1979. The Best Picture nominees were... and I'm not making this up:
The Changeling
Cordelia
Klondike Fever
Meatballs
Running
OK. I know what you're thinking. I'm ahead of you. Klondike Fever is NOT a comedy about the ice cream. I know this is Canada, but give them more credit. It's actually an adventure film about author Jack London. Cordelia, of course, is a French Canadian movie. It's Canada. You gotta have something French. It's based on a book about a woman in the 1890's who is accused of being a whore and murderer. You know, that same old story. Running is a Michael Douglas movie about the Olympics. Now we get to the two movies that every American should know: Meatballs and The Changeling. Meatballs is a classic screwball comedy starring Bill Murray and directed by Ivan Reitman. They later on made GHOSTBUSTERS. Let me type that again for the Google Bots: GHOSTBUSTERS (1984). And, The Changeling, is a spooky haunted house movie starring George C. Scott. The Changeling WON Best Picture. Us, in America, gave Best Picture to Kramer vs Kramer. I love Kramer vs Kramer, but most people do not, so don't judge the Canadians too harshly for The Changeling.
In addition to The Changeling, which won numerous awards, the other big winner that year was Bob Clark's Murder by Decree. You know Bob Clark. He made Black Christmas, A Christmas Story and Porky's. Murder by Decree won Best Director, Best Actor (Christopher Plummer; he delivered a controversial political speech), Best Supporting Actress (Genevieve Bujold), Best Editing and Best Music. Murder by Decree is a British co-production about Sherlock Holmes investigating Jack the Ripper.
Canada must have been in a really dark place in 1979 because they really enjoyed horror movies and thrillers that year. Or... maybe they were in their usual happy-go-lucky mood and these movies were an escape from their mundane lives. Let us know PG Cooper Angel IanTheCool
