Everything about Awards, eh?

Just for Laughs honoured with Canadian Academy’s Icon Award

From a media release:

Just for Laughs, one of the world’s most acclaimed comedy brands, will receive this year’s prestigious Icon Award as announced by The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television today. The Icon Award will be presented by another comedy icon, seminal comedian Dave Chappelle on Sunday, March 12 at the Canadian Screen Awards, broadcast live on CBC from Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts at 8 pm (9 pm AT; 9:30 pm NT).

Founded in 1983 in Montreal, Just For Laughs has launched the careers of some of the biggest names in comedy including Russell Peters, Jimmy Fallon, Kevin Hart, Louis CK and Dave Chappelle himself. As of late, the festival has added events in Vancouver, Toronto, Sydney and London. The Just For Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival is the most prestigious comedy event in the world, welcoming over 300 artists a year, with an average of 1.7 million visitors to Montreal each summer.

One of television’s leading comedy producers with over 1,000 hours of television standup, scripted and variety programming, as well as the phenomenally successful Gags franchise, Just For Laughs specials and series have aired in over 130 countries, including on all major Canadian, U.S. and International broadcasters including CBC, Comedy, HBO, the CW, Showtime, Fox, BBC Channel 4 and ABC, to name a few.

A true trailblazer and a good friend of Just For Laughs, comedian Dave Chappelle will present this award to JFL founder, Gilbert Rozon and COO, Bruce Hills. Chappelle’s relationship with the festival dates back to 1992 when he did his first set, launching his extraordinary career.

Starting his standup career at the age of 18, Chappelle went on to become one of the most revered and successful comedians in the world. The wildly popular and groundbreaking Chappelle’s Show on Comedy Central became a smash hit in the early 2000s for which Chappelle, who created and starred in the sketch comedy series, received two Emmy Award nominations. He recently signed an unprecedented deal with Netflix for three new comedy specials.

Presented by the Academy Board of Directors, the Icon Award marks important achievements in Canada’s screen industry.

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Kim’s Convenience toplines ACTRA Toronto Award winners

From a media release:

ACTRA Toronto is proud to announce the winners of its 15th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto.

Outstanding Performance – Female
Jean Yoon (Umma) Kim’s Convenience, “Gay Discount” (Thunderbird Films)

Outstanding Performance – Male
Joey Klein (Bobby) We’re Still Together (Achromatic Media)

Outstanding Performance – Voice
Linda Kash (Gina Falcone) Fugget About It, “Vagina’s Got Talent” (9 Story Media Group)

The members’ choice Series Ensemble Award went to Kim’s Convenience.

Joel Keller presented ACTRA Toronto’s 2017 Award of Excellence to Yannick Bisson.

The ACTRA Toronto Stunt Award was presented posthumously to Joel Harris. His widow, stunt performer Alicia Turner, accepted.

The newly-elected President of ACTRA Toronto Theresa Tova said, “Canada has been reflected by ACTRA’s professional performers for fully half of Canada’s 150-year history. Linda Kash, Joey Klein, Jean Yoon, Yannick Bisson, Joel Harris and Kim’s Convenience, and all the nominees, personify the extraordinary talent of our professional acting community.”

The 15th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were presented at a live show and gala tonight at The Carlu. The show was hosted by Aurora Browne, Carolyn Taylor and Jennifer Whalen from the Baroness Von Sketch troupe with live music by the 11-piece Wintergarten Orchestra with singer and actor Ted Atherton. The evening sported a theme to honour Canada’s sesquicentennial celebrations.

The 15th Annual ACTRA Awards in Toronto were sponsored by: DIAMOND: Actra Fraternal Benefit Society, ACTRA National, ACTRA Performers’ Rights Society, ACTRA Recording Artists’ Collecting Society. PLATINUM: Bell Media, SAG-AFTRA. GOLD: CBC, CMPA, Deluxe, IATSE 873, Rhombus Media, Shaftesbury, United Steelworkers. POST-SHOW RECEPTION: eOne. SILVER: Cavalluzzo, Directors Guild of Canada (Ontario), RBC Royal Bank. BRONZE: Addenda Capital, Creative Arts Savings & Credit Union, Canada Film Capital and Entertainment Partners Canada, Don Carmody Productions, Frantic Films, Grant Thornton, HUB International, New Real Films, Serendipity Point Films, Take 5 Productions, Thunderbird Entertainment, TriBro Studios, Universal Promotions, Writers Guild of Canada.

ACTRA Toronto is the largest organization within ACTRA, representing more than 15,000 of Canada’s 23,000 professional performers working in recorded media in Canada. As an advocate for Canadian culture since 1943, ACTRA is a member-driven union that continues to secure rights and respect for the work of professional performers.

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Poll: Which television series should win a Canadian Screen Award?

The Canadian Screen Awards for homegrown television and feature films is just weeks away—the gala broadcast hosted by Howie Mandel is Sunday, March 12, on CBC—and we want you to weigh in on some of the biggest categories!

Should Blood & Water take out 19-2 and Orphan Black? Think Kim’s Convenience deserves to grab the hardware from Mr. D‘s hands? We want you to hear who you’d vote for in this year’s Canadian Screen Awards. So get clicking … and start sharing with your friends! This poll is all about TV series categories; we’ll cover personal performances in another poll next week.

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Murdoch, Motive, Saving Hope, Heartland and Private Eyes battle for Golden Screen Award

From a media release:

The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announces the finalists for the Golden Screen Award for the most-watched Canadian drama or comedy program and one for the country’s highest-rated reality program.

The Golden Screen Award for TV Drama or Comedy and the Golden Screen Award for TV Reality Show are Academy Special Awards, which will be presented during the Canadian Screen Awards on Sunday, March 12, 2017 at 8 pm (9 pm AT; 9:30 pm NT) live on CBC from Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts.

Based on data provided by Numeris, these are the five Top-Rated programs in each category for the 2015-2016 broadcast year. *

Golden Screen Award for TV Drama / Comedy Finalists

(in alpha order):

HEARTLAND | CBC (CBC) (Seven24 Films)
Season nine of Heartland finds the Bartlett-Fleming clan navigating the new normal as each family member starts an exciting chapter, leaving past hurt and hardships behind. With the idyllic Alberta foothills as their backdrop, this tightknit family knows that any challenge can be met and every struggle can be overcome as long as they have each other.

MOTIVE | CTV (Bell Media) (Motive Productions IV Inc.)
Starring Kristin Lehman, Louis Ferreira, Brendan Penny, and Lauren Holly, Motive’s fourth and final season brought the story of the series’ dynamic homicide team to a powerful conclusion as they continued to explore what drives the motive behind the murder. This season saw each member of the team face pivotal choices about their future, as they set on a course of deciding what they wanted their legacies to be.

MURDOCH MYSTERIES | CBC (CBC) (Shaftesbury)
Set in Toronto at the dawn of the 20th century during the age of invention, Murdoch Mysteries is a one-hour drama centred on Detective William Murdoch (Yannick Bisson), the methodical and dashing detective who pioneers innovative forensic techniques to solve gruesome murders.

PRIVATE EYES | Global (Corus Entertainment) (Entertainment One)
Starring Jason Priestley and Cindy Sampson, Private Eyes is an engaging drama featuring two strong and forever-competing characters investigating, high-stakes cases of the week, taking them to many diverse worlds and testing their new partnership.

SAVING HOPE | CTV (Bell Media) (Entertainment One and ICF Films)
Set 11 months after its explosive third season finale, Season 4 of Saving Hope followed Dr. Alex Reid as she returned from maternity leave to confront new changes and challenges. The special two-hour finale saw Dr. Charlie Harris (Michael Shanks) undergo brain surgery to remove an aggressive tumour, only to be faced with a vengeful former patient with a gun at the Hope Zion Hospital Fellowship Awards, leaving Alex and Charlie’s fate in question. Starring Erica Durance and Michael Shanks.

Golden Screen Award for TV Reality Show Finalists

(in alpha order):

THE AMAZING RACE CANADA | CTV (Bell Media) (Insight Production Company Ltd.)
Hosted by Canadian Screen Award-winner and Olympic Gold Medalist Jon Montgomery, Season 4 of The Amazing Race Canada featured 10 all-Canadian teams, each compromised of two members with a pre-existing relationship, in the biggest race this country has ever seen. The Racers traveled across Canada and beyond, tackling non-stop challenges and adventures, with dating couple Steph and Kristen crossing the final pit stop first, to win the grand prize.

BIG BROTHER CANADA | GLOBAL (Corus Entertainment) (Insight Production Company Ltd.)
In the ultimate social experiment, a group of strangers live together in a house monitored 24-7 by dozens of cameras and microphones. Each week the houseguests compete in a variety of challenges and one by one, the houseguests vote each other out of the house. At the end of the series the last seven evicted houseguests remaining make up ‘the jury’ and they ultimately decide which of the two final houseguests wins the grand prize!

CANADA’S WORST DRIVER | DISCOVERY CHANNEL (Bell Media) (Proper Television Inc.)
Lead by returning host and Discovery mainstay Andrew Younghusband, the hilarious-meets-educational Canadian original automotive series follows eight drivers, each nominated by a friend or family member, as they attempt to prove they possess the necessary skills to graduate from rehab and escape the unfortunate title of “Canada’s Worst Driver”.

DRAGONS’ DEN | CBC (CBC)
Dragons’ Den features five multi-millionaires who have the expertise and the know-how to turn great ideas into incredible fortunes. Each week, fortunate entrepreneurs have the opportunity of a lifetime to pitch their business idea to financiers with the funds and experience to propel their company to commercial success.

MASTERCHEF CANADA | CTV (Bell Media) (Proper Television Inc.)
MASTERCHEF CANADA features esteemed judges Michael Bonacini (O&B restaurant empire), Alvin Leung (Bo Innovation in Hong Kong), and Claudio Aprile (Origin Restaurants), as they guide and mentor a group of competing home cooks through a grueling series of culinary challenges for the chance to win $100,000 and the title of Canada’s next MasterChef.

* Audience estimates provided by Numeris based on a list of top Canadian television programming (series, limited series and TV movies) provided by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television and their broadcast partners. Analysis based on Total Canada, P2+, Average Minute Audience during the period of September 1, 2015 – August 30, 2016, original airings (“live plus 7 days”) with 50% or more of the airings occurring during the 2015-16 broadcast season.

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Orphan Black, Schitt’s Creek, Kim’s Convenience among top TV nominations for 2017 Canadian Screen Awards

From a media release:
ACADEMY ANNOUNCES NOMINEES FOR 2017 CANADIAN SCREEN AWARDS

The nominees for the 2017 Canadian Screen Awards were announced today by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television.

CSA nominations in 134 categories (24 film, 100 in television and 10 in digital media) were announced today at simultaneous press conferences in Toronto and Montreal and via Facebook Live on the Academy’s Canadian Screen Awards Facebook page here.

For a list of this year’s nominees in film, television and digital media, please click the below links:

The Canadian Screen Awards will be broadcast LIVE on CBC March 12, at 8 pm (9 pm AT; 9:30 pm NT) from Toronto’s Sony Centre for the Performing Arts. They will cap off the Academy’s Canadian Screen Week featuring seven events in seven days (March 6-12).

2017 Canadian Screen Awards presenters, additional Academy Special Awards and details of Canadian Screen Week events will also be announced in the coming weeks. Please check regularly for updates:www.academy.ca.

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