Sure, the Oscars are
the Oscars but the Canadian Screen Awards are when we can really let loose and celebrate our epic home-grown talent. The Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television announced the nominees for the 2020 awards Tuesday and they are stacked
. First of all, there will be 156 CSA trophies (including special awards) given out this year so there’s more than enough to go around. That being said, the big nom-pullers of the day were mega-hit comedy series
Schitt’s Creek with a whopping 26 nominations total, and the Crave Original World War II film
The Song of Names which banked nine, and premiered at TIFF this past September.Other notable TV contenders are
Anne with an E and
Cardinal, which were honoured with 17 and 14 nominations, respectively.
Cardinal, starring Billy Campbell and Karine Vanasse, is ending its four-season run this year and has already earned over a dozen CSAs during its time, including trophies for both its leads.[video_embed id='1873175']'The Song of Names' cast says the music is its own character in the film[/video_embed]In the film categories,
Song of Names, starring Tim Roth, Clive Owen and soon-to-be
Prince Eric Jonah Hauer-King, was followed closely by the William Lyon Mackenzie King dramedy
The Twentieth Century with eight noms and modernized Greek play
Antigone with seven.And we’d be remiss if we didn’t do a little bit of back-patting, since
etalk scored eight overall nominations from Best Live Entertainment Special for
etalk Live at the Oscars, Best Variety or Entertainment Special for
etalk Presents: The Big Bang Theory, Best Entertainment News Program or Series for the show itself, Best Host, Web Program or Series for Danielle Graham and Lainey Lui’s work on
etalk Live From the Oscars Balcony, and Best Host, Live Entertainment Special for Ben Mulroney, Danielle Graham and Lainey Lui for
etalk Live at the Oscars.Individually,
the undeniable success of
Schitt’s Creek translated into noms for almost the entirety of
the Levy family in several categories. Dan Levy is nominated for writing, directing, acting and producing; Eugene Levy is killing it in producing and acting; and Sarah Levy scored a nom for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy for her role as Twyla. Catherine O’Hara, Annie Murphy, Noah Reid and Emily Hampshire are all nominated for acting, too.[video_embed id='1903365']Is Jerry O'Connell beefing with fellow CSA nominee Billy Campbell?[/video_embed]
Song of Names went heavy on the movie-making excellence, scoring nominations in art direction, visual effects and costume design as well as for its musical achievements by Oscar- and Grammy-winning composer, Howard Shore. For the uninitiated, Shore is best known for his work on the
Lord of the Rings trilogy, so even if you haven’t heard his latest offering, you’ve been exposed in one way or another to his accomplished work.It looks like the Canadian Academy did some course-correcting with its nominations, too. The Oscars were
heavily criticized again this year for its male-dominated Best Director category; the Canadian Academy, on the other hand, have women representing 40 per cent of its nominated directors and 45 per cent of nominated writers. That’s pretty darn close to gender parity in an industry notorious for not being equal.For the full list of nominees, head
here. The Awards will be presented in Toronto over five days during Canadian Screen Week, including the Canadian Screen Awards Broadcast Gala, which airs live on Sunday, March 29.[video_embed id='1892356']RELATED: Cameron Bailey reveals how he picks films for the Toronto International Film Festival[/video_embed]
