Category Archives: Leo Awards
YVRSHOOTS Series: Best of BC-Made TV & Film at LEO AWARDS from CONTINUUM to CAMERA SHY
Published June 13, 2013 on Vancouver is Awesome
The fifteenth anniversary of the Leo Awards, celebrating the best of B.C.-made television and film, couldn’t have been more homegrown from start to finish. Vancouver-cop-from-the-future television series Continuum and darkly comedic film Camera Shy, about a corrupt Vancouver city politician,won the big awards. Both sprung from the creative minds of University of British Columbia film grads –Continuum creator and showruuner Simon Barry and Camera Shy director and writer Mark Sawers.
Inside the Westin Bayshore Hotel gala, hometown comedy couple Brent Butt and Nancy Robertson entertained the BC Film crowd with non-stop jokes, as well as pitching projects and making mild jabs about the BC election and resulting loss of promised tax incentives. Jackson Davies took the stage at around 11 p.m. for the 40th anniversary tribute to The Beachcombers, which filmed 19 seasons of 357 episodes in Gibsons on the Sunshine Coast. Remember Molly’s Reach? It’s still there. Then at 11:30 p.m., three hours-plus into the gala, Robertson changed from her pink frock and announced she was heading out because the show was just too effin’ long. Funny.
Ahead of the gala, Victoria’s Meghan Ory owned the almost block-long red carpet dotted with cameras and media outside the hotel. Ory is BC Film’s breakout star this past year, going from a supporting role on American fairy tale series Once Upon a Time filmed here, to main cast on upcoming American series Intelligence, shooting in Los Angeles. She attended the Leos to support her husband John Reardon, nominated for his supporting performance on filmed-in-Vancouver-and-Yellowknife CBC adventure series Arctic Air, which came into the Leos with a whopping 14 nominations.
LEO AWARDS: THE KILLING Season 3 Suspects Walk the Red Carpet
Each season of The Killing brings a whole new set of Vancouver actor suspects on the rain-soaked Seattle-set series. Season three introduced Ben Cotton as “Pastor” Mike who runs a shelter for street kids called Beacon Home (actually a building in Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside). On screen Pastor Mike rejects the characterization of himself as a “light at the end of the tunnel” for these kids. He says he’s more like the guy trying to pull them off the tracks of a speeding train heading towards them in the tunnel. And what’s with the tattoo “Ephesians 1:7,” on his arm. He does seem too good to be true, doesn’t he? When I suggested to Cotton on the red carpet that he might have done it — killed 17 female street kids so far — he muhuhaw-ed and stroked his chin. Don’t take that as a sign of guilt. He’s kidding. Showrunner Veena Sud doesn’t show her hand this early on.
Also in the mix, Leo favourite Ryan Robbins (with girlfriend Karyn Baltzer) who told me Saturday we’d see him on The Killing in last Sunday’s episode. And there he was. A “john”. Robbins is Joe the Seattle cab driver whom missing girl Kallie wanted to avoid in the premiere. “Did he do something to you?” demanded her friend Bullet. There was no answer and we didn’t meet Joe until an early scene in 3×03 of Lyric on “a date” in his cab. He seems OK as far as “johns” go but definitely a suspect.
LEO AWARDS: Jennifer Copping Wins Leo For BECOMING REDWOOD – Revised
Becoming Redwood which came in with 14 nominations for its popular 1970s-era coming-of-age story won a Leo for Jennifer Copping’s lead performance as young golf-obssessed Redwood (Ryan Grantham)’s mother. Vancouver-born-and-bred writer and director Jesse James Miller, Copping (Miller’s wife) and Grantham (shorn of his long hair) walked the red carpet together.
LEO AWARDS: Agam Darshi & Gabrielle Rose of Bruce Sweeney Film CRIMES OF MIKE RECKET
Crimes of Mike Recket is about failed real estate agent Mike Recket (Nicholas Lea) whose beautiful, pampered wife Jasleen (Agam Darshi) has dumped him and barred access to their daughter. In a bid to solve his money woes, he tries to scam widow Leslie Kemper (Gabrielle Rose) so that when she goes missing, Recket becomes the lead detective (Paul Skrudland)’s prime suspect in her disappearance.
Agam Darshi, (below) won a Leo for her supporting performance in the film. Her next project: a co-starring role as tech expert Khali Bhatt in upcoming Toronto crime drama Played. Darshi was on stage at the CTV Upfront last week in Toronto, where the thirteen-episode series is filming from early May through September.
LEO AWARDS: Meghan Ory of ONCE UPON A TIME & INTELLIGENCE
It’s no surprise that Meghan Ory (Once Upon a Time & Intelligence) was the most photographed woman on the red carpet at Saturday’s Leo Awards, celebrating the best of B.C.-made film and television. While she came to support her nominated husband John Reardon, Ory is BC Film’s breakout star, vaulting from a supporting role as Ruby/Little Red on ABC’s Once Upon a Time to main cast on CBS’s upcoming series Intelligence. And trading Josh Dallas for Josh Holloway and a Vancouver production location for a Los Angeles one.
So there will be long-distance commuting in this couple’s future (who met 8 years ago on an independent film). Reardon, who’s supporting cast on Arctic Air, will start filming the aerial adventure series this August in Vancouver and Yellowknife. Ory says she hasn’t had a chance to visit him when he’s shooting above the Arctic Circle but wants to experience the beauty of the Northwest Territories. Still, that’s a very long way from L.A. When production starts, they’ll have to make do with odd weekends in either Vancouver or L.A. Luckily, Ory will return as Ruby/Little Red on Once Upon a Time here but says she doesn’t know when. Later rather than sooner?
LEO AWARDS: ARCTIC AIR Contingent Owns Red Carpet – Updated
Arctic Air star Adam Beach missed the red carpet coming from the airport and went straight into the Westin Bayhore Hotel but he may have been the only one. The Vancouver-and-Yellowknife filmed CBC aerial adventure series owned the long media gauntlet for a good half-hour or more with nominated leads Pascale Hutton and Kevin McNulty, nominated supporting actor John Reardon and his American-network-star wife Meghan Ory (Once Upon a Time and Intelligence), nominated supporting actress Emilie Ullerup, supporting actress Carmen Moore, nominated guest actress Chelah Horsdal and nominated guest actor Aleks “the Griz” Paunovic. Lexa Doig, nominated for performances on both Arctic Air and Continuum chose to enter with the futuristic Continuum gang. With so much crossover the two dramas are one seamless show for Vancouver actors, with Continuum starting filming as Arctic Air wraps or vice-versa. Lexa Doig, John Reardon, Stephen Lobo and Brian Markinson are four cast who have roles on both and Pascale Hutton even guest-starred on Continuum in season one as a Carlos hookup and Liber8 murder victim. I convinced Arctic Air showrunner Gary Harvey (below) to come over to the media wall to be photographed by mentioning that Continuum showrunner Simon Barry would be walking the red carpet later.
Pascale Hutton (Krista Ivarson)
Pascale Hutton & Kevin McNulty (TV father-and-daughter Krista and Mel Ivarson).
LEO AWARDS: CONTINUUM Wins Best Dramatic Series & Six Other Leos
Vancouver-cop-from-the-future series Continuum came away the big winner at the Leo Awards last night. Creator and showrunner Simon Barry was scheduled to do red carpet interviews but by the time he began the media gauntlet the event had dissolved into happy chaos and was cut short so that the gala ceremony could wrap before midnight. As it was, Continuum won its Leo for Best Dramatic Series at around 11:30 p.m., the last award of the evening.
Performance nominees Richard Harmon, Lexa Doig, Brian Markinson and Ian Tracey all ditched the red carpet too and hurried into the Westin Bayshore Hotel.
Only performance nominee Jennifer Spence, with husband Benjamin Ratner, made it to the end with time to spare.
Continuum took home seven Leos this weekend for its first season: Best Dramatic Series, Best Supporting Performance for Richard Harmon’s Liber8 apprentice, Best Guest Performance for Ian Tracey’s wacky time traveller, Best Direction for William Waring, Best Screenwriting for Simon Barry’s season one finale script End Times; Best Picture Editing for Alison Grace and Best Costume Design for Maya Mani for the suit and other Vancouver 2077 designs.
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LEO AWARDS: Director Katrin Bowen & Star Amanda Tapping of RANDOM ACTS OF ROMANCE
Random Acts of Romance director Katrin Bowen and her star Amanda Tapping walked the red carpet together at the Leo Awards. The tall pair became fast friends years ago when Bowen worked as Tapping’s photo double/standin on the first Stargate TV series, Stargate SG-1.
Bowen was nominated for a Leo for directing her “Sex, Abduction, Stalking and You Thought Romance Was Dead” movie, set in Vancouver in all of its “rain, sex and awkwardness.” Sonja Bennett (not photographed) was nominated for her performance in the feature as a wacko stalker. And the film was one of six nominees for Best Motion Picture.
Amanda Tapping’s suit.
LEO AWARDS: Hosts Brent Butt & Nancy Robertson Plus Jackson Davies
Catherine Barr (Vancouver Events Gal) photographs pals Brent Butt and Nancy Robertson on their way in to co-host the Leo Awards tonight. As expected the pair kept the crowd in fits of laughter. @LeoAwards just tweeted: “Nancy has gotten changed and is heading out because the show is just too #%^&* long!”
And here’s Jackson Davies ahead of taking the stage to present the 40th Anniversary Tribute to The Beachcombers. Apparently, the Leo Awards lost sound and so Jackson started quoting lines he remembered from the 19 seasons of 357 episodes in Gibson’s Landing. He told me Molly’s Reach is still a big tourist attraction there, so many decades after the series wrapped.
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YVRSHOOTS Series: Brent Butt & Nancy Robertson Host Leo Awards on June 8th
Published May 29, 2013 on Vancouver is Awesome
Hometown comedy couple Brent Butt and Nancy Robertson are set to co-host the 15th anniversary of the Leo Awards, celebrating the best of B.C.-made film and television, at the Westin Bayshore Hotel on Saturday, June 8th. Expect more than the usual hijinks with professional comedians as hosts and and a crowd of outstanding homegrown nominees led by Vancouver born-and-bred Jessie James Miller’s feature film Becoming Redwood with 14 nominations, Vancouver-cop-from-the-future series Continuum with 16 nominations and filmed-in-Vancouver-and-Yellowknife aerial adventure series Arctic Air with 14 nominations.. For tickets, click here.
The 1970s era coming-of-age film Becoming Redwood‘s 14 nominations include well-deserved director and writing nods for Jesse James Miller and performance nods for Ryan Grantham as the young golf-obsessed long-haired title character Redwood; Jennifer Copping (Miller’s wife) as Redwood’s mother; Chad Willett (producer) as Redwood’s draft-dodging, pot-dealing father; Derek Hamilton as Redwood’s red-neck stepfather Arnold and Scott Hylands as Arnold’s basement-dwelling elderly father Earl. Miller shot the Vancouver International Film Festival’s most popular Canadian feature in rural Langley for 24 days in the late spring of 2011. By contrast, Random Acts of Romance, the only other motion picture nominee I’ve seen on screen, filmed in several downtown and East Van locations like the Waldorf Hotel, as befits a movie whose tagline is “Sex, Abduction, Stalking and You Thought Romance Was Dead” about interconnected Vancouverites. Director Katrin Bowen is nominated for the twisted romcom, as is Sonja Bennett for her performance as a wacky stalker.
- Becoming Redwood production still – courtesy of Jesse James Miller
In the television category, Continuum dominates with 16 nominations for its first hit season, including nods for creator and UBC grad Simon Barry for his season finale script End Times about time traveller Kiera Cameron’s failure to stop “terrorist” group Liber8 from blowing up a downtown tower, a definitive moment in her corporations-rule-the-world future. Continuum digitally-imploded an Arthur Erickson-designed tower on West Georgia on screen and then filmed the aftermath on a blast-and-rubble set at CBC Vancouver.
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