The big story here, I guess, is the unusual fact that four out of five of the half-hour nominations went to the same series, LESS THAN KIND.
This is the news that I was trying to allude to on Friday without breaking the embargo. That's just a tremendous achievement. It's also nice to see CORNER GAS get a nomination for its final season.
I find the noms for the 1 hour category equally interesting. A bit of genre, some western, cop drama, and a couple of superior entries from the criminally underrated ZoS series. It's an eclectic group, to be sure, but all the scripts are extremely high-quality and should make for a competitive category.
In the Feature Film category, too, there's some new blood, not the old same-olds, and that signals to me that no matter how dire the state of Canadian English Language film is said to be, there are fresh voices plying the trade. Stasis is not the problem.
People have written in the last little while that the WGA Awards in the USA are often a better barometer of the "best pictures of the year" than the Oscars. If you look at the ten scripts honored for Best Original and Adapted Screenplay this year, that's certainly true. They're a great group of movies and really do reflect an intelligent mix of the well-crafted & the popular.
I think the WGC also embraces this tradition. Last few years, the Geminis have had some wobbly and out-there nominations & oversights - and I'm not just talking about the complete lack of nominations for Corner Gas in its final season. Having done both in the past, I think there is a flaw in the Gemini process where the juries & especially the jury chair has an inordinate amount of power in choosing the nominees. This reduces the chance of their being any consistency in the yardstick from year to year, which undermines the legitimacy of the process. I'm not against nominating or recognizing little-seen shows that nobody has heard of -- in fact, I'm way in favour of it. But the last few years there's been an unfortunate tendency to play to a very small tent; the opposite problem of the Emmys.
By seeking out a wider peer review, the WGC process actually winds up being more fair.
What's nice, and what gives me a little bit of hope -- is that in the one-hour category, which I'm most famliar with, since that's mostly what I've written -- I know of very moving, funny, or just plain great scripts that didn't make the cut. That's the true test of talent ... there's actually a bit of bench strength.
Anyway, those are my thoughts. YMMV.
Animation
Grossology "New Recruits." Written by Richard Clark
Total Drama Action "Crouching Courtney, Hidden Owen." Written by Alex Ganetakos
League of Super Evil “Glory Hog." Written by Philippe Ivanusic-Vallee and Davila LeBlanc
Total Drama Action "The Sand Witch Project." Written by Shelley Scarrow
Preschool and Childrens
Max and Ruby "Max Says Goodbye." Written by Kate Barris
Max and Ruby "Ruby's Good Neighbor Report." Written by Shelley Hoffman & Robert Pincombe
Zigby "Zigby's Collection." Written by Louise Moon
Documentary
Malls R Us (Feature Version). Written by Helene Klodawsky
The Royal Winnipeg Ballet - 40 Years of One Night Stands. Narration Written by Robert Lower
A Time There Was: Stories from the Last Days of Kenya Colony. Narration Written by Donald McWilliams
Episodic half-hour
Less Than Kind "The Daters." Written by Garry Campbell
Less Than Kind "Fun." Written by Jenn Engels
Less Than Kind "Happy Birthday Sheldon." Written by Marvin Kaye & Chris Sheasgreen
Less Than Kind "Careers Day." Written by Mark McKinney
Corner Gas "Shirt Disturber." Written by Kevin White & Norm Hiscock
MOW & Mini-Series
The Summit. Written by John Krizanc
Paradise City: Degrassi Goes Hollywood. Story by Vera Santamaria, Matt Huether, Sara Snow / Teleplay by Vera Santamaria, Matt Huether, Sarah Glinski, Sara Snow
Guns (part 1 and 2). Written by Sudz Sutherland & Jennifer Holness
Feature Film
High Life. Written by Lee MacDougall
A Shine of Rainbows. Written by Vic Sarin & Catherine Spear and Dennis Foon
The Trotsky. Written by Jacob Tierney
Love and Savagery. Written by Des Walsh
Crackie. Written by Sherry White
Episodic one hour
Stargate Universe "Time." Written by Robert C. Cooper
Flashpoint "One Wrong Move." Written by Mark Ellis & Stephanie Morgenstern & James Hurst
ZOS: Zone of Separation "Bred in the Bone." Written by John Krizanc
Cra$h & Burn "Trust." Written by Jackie May
Murdoch Mysteries "Mild Mild West." Written by Derek Schreyer
ZOS: Zone of Separation "Shallow Graves." Written by Jason Sherman
Radio Drama
Afghanada "Episode 65." Written by Alex Levine
Afghanada "Episode 61." Written by Barbara Samuels
Short Subject
Being Erica I "Webisodes." Written by Jessie Gabe
My Pal Satan "Cheaters Never Perspire." Written by Dennis Heaton
How People Got Fire. Written by Daniel Janke
Variety
This Hour Has 22 Minutes XVII “Episode 6.” Head Writer: Ed Macdonald / Written by Mark Critch, Gavin Crawford, Kyle Tingley, Albert Howell, Dean Jenkinson, Joanne O'Sullivan, Tara Doyle, Erik Van Wyck, Mike Allison, Joey Case
This Hour Has 22 Minutes XVII “Episode 8.” Head Writer: Ed Macdonald / Written by Mark Critch, Kyle Tingley, Albert Howell, Shaun Majumder, Dean Jenkinson, Geri Hall, Joanne O'Sullivan, Tara Doyle, Erik Van Wyck, Mike Allison, Stephen Patterson
The Ron James Show “Episode 7.” Written by Ron James, Garry Campbell, Brian Hartt, Mark De Angelis, Chris Finn, David MacKenzie, Paul Pogue, Gary Pearson, Jennifer Whalen
Rick Mercer Report VI “Episode 17.” Written by Rick Mercer, Irwin Barker, Greg Eckler, Chris Finn, Paul Mather, Tim Steeves
Youth
How to Be Indie "How to Be a Mehta." Written by Anita Kapila
The Latest Buzz "The Wonderful World of Buzz Issue." Written by Brent Piaskoski
Family Biz "Breakaway." Written by Sheila Prescott
The Latest Buzz "The Comeback Issue." Written by Darrin Rose
How to Be Indie "How to Strike a Balance." Written by Vera Santamaria
Winners of the 2010 WGC Screenwriting Awards will be announced on Monday, April 19, 2010, at Maro in Liberty Village, Toronto. Ticket information coming soon.
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