TORONTO — A 12-year odyssey to wrestle Mordecai Richler’s beloved novel Barney’s Version into a star-packed film has culminated in a leading 11 Genie nominations for the sprawling romantic dramedy.
The movie scored nods Wednesday for best film, best adapted screenplay and best director, as well as acting kudos for Paul Giamatti and Dustin Hoffman. The Genie acclaim follows the Oscar nomination Barney received last week for best makeup.
“We have been with the film through most of the world and have received applause and prizes but nothing is really more meaningful than being recognized at home,” producer Robert Lantos said moments after the nominations were announced at simultaneous news conferences in Toronto and Montreal.
“Because this is not just a Canadian film but it’s a film about Canadians.”
Denis Villeneuve’s wrenching war-torn saga Incendies racked up 10 nominations, including best film, best director, and best adapted screenplay, making this the second year in a row that the Quebec filmmaker heads into the awards as a front-runner.
Villeneuve swept the Genies last year with Polytechnique, a haunting black-and-white account of the Montreal massacre.
His latest film is a searing family drama about Quebec twins who uncover dark secrets from their mother’s past.
Incendies is also up for an Academy Award for best foreign-language film. “It’s always a beautiful honour to have recognition from people at home,” Villeneuve said at the nomination ceremony in Montreal.
“It touched me deeply and especially for my team, too. They worked very hard, they were very innovative and I’m very proud of them.”
Other films in the running for best picture include the sci-fi horror Splice, Xavier Dolan’s romantic comedy, Heartbeats, and the gripping child welfare drama 10 1/2, which nabbed eight nominations overall.
Villeneuve battles for best director against Richard J. Lewis of Barney’s Version, Dolan for Heartbeats, Vincenzo Natali for Splice and Daniel Grou, a.k.a. Podz, for 10 1/2.
The acting categories feature several Hollywood stars, including Giamatti for his starring turn as Barney Panofsky in Barney’s Version.
He is up against Jay Baruchel for the The Trotsky, 14-year-old Robert Naylor for 10 1/2, Timothy Olyphant for High Life and Francois Papineau for Route 132.
“I am absolutely bowled over to be nominated like this,” Giamatti said in a release.
“As an American lucky enough to have been in such a great, distinctly Canadian film, it is a tremendous honour to be recognized.” Hoffman, who plays Barney’s foul-mouthed father in Barney’s Version, is up for best supporting actor, while co-stars Rosamund Pike and Minnie Driver scored acting nominations as well.
Molly Parker and Tracy Wright, the two stars of Bruce McDonald’s rock ’n’ roll buddy flick Trigger, each scored best actress nominations. Wright died last summer of cancer at age 50.
Other films with multiple Genie nominations include the crime comedy High Life, the role-playing drama The Wild Hunt, and the Montreal-set ode to high school rebellion The Trotsky.
Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D earned five nods and will be awarded the Golden Reel Award for grossing the most money at the Canadian box office. The sci-fi horror racked up $7 million in 2010, roughly $300 million worldwide and is considered the most successful production in Canadian feature film history.
“We did really well here, I guess Canadians like zombies,” quipped producer Don Carmody, who is working on a fifth instalment of “Resident Evil.”
Carmody credited 3D technology with helping push the film to record receipts. He says the movie made $50 million in Japan alone, and another $28 million in China, where it was the first horror film to officially be allowed into the country.
He noted that his slick project is one of several big budget co-productions that garnered substantial Genie attention Wednesday.
International partnerships are key to getting Canadian films made and seen by audiences, Carmody said.
“’Barney’s Version’ is an international co-production, ’Incendies’ is an international co-production, ’Splice’ is an international co-production — that’s how these pictures get made at the level of quality that they deserve and with the kind of marketing support behind them,” he says.
“That’s where Canada can punch above its weight.”
The Genie Awards will be handed out in Ottawa on March 10.