"… I want to start first with the Telluride Film Festival, the Toronto Film Festival who gave us a chance, who gave us a platform first. … Emma Donoghue, who created this world, Jacob Tremblay, my partner through this in every way possible. …"
Brie Larson had the only chance to step up for "Room" and she was very thorough in a relatively short acceptance speech at the 88th Oscars.
"Room" received 4 nominations but only won Best Actress.
The momentum for "Room" started when the film won the People's Choice Award at the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival.
2015 TIFF Canadian film wrapup
Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy won the Oscar for Best Documentary Short for "A Girl in the River: The Price of Forgiveness" about honor killings in her native Pakistan. Obaid-Chinoy moved to Canada in 2004. So when she mentioned the prime minister, that was for Pakistan, not Canada.
Otherwise, the night was filled mostly with almost, but not quite.
'The Danish Girl' success should open doors for 'Laurence Anyways'
Jacob Tremblay shows off cuteness in award acceptance speech
'Room' gets 4 Oscar nominations; Rachel McAdams up for an Oscar
Best Foreign Language Film Oscars category gateway to great Canadian film
Film review: Room
CanadianCrossing.com film coverage
CanadianCrossing.com film reviews
Larson has had quite a run in the role of Ma. She won Best Female Lead at the 2016 Spirit Awards from the Independent Film Channel Saturday night, and of course, won the Golden Globe.
Donoghue did win Best First Screenplay at the 2016 Spirit Awards, though she lost out for Best Adapted Screenplay at the Oscars.
Rachel McAdams was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for "Spotlight." You might not think that is a big deal, but Canadians have won only 2 competitive acting awards since 1950. Christopher Plummer won for "Beginners" in 2012 and Winnipeg-born Anna Paquin for "The Piano," though she is considered to be from New Zealand.
Other Canadian and related nominees who fell short:
- Adam Benzine was nominated for Best Documentary Short for "Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah."
- Richard Williams was nominated for "Prologue" in the animated short category.
- "The Martian" had a pair of Canadian nominees: Paul Massey (sound mixing) and Anders Langlands (visual effects).
- The Weeknd lost out for Best Original Song for Earned It from "50 Shades of Grey."
- "Brooklyn" didn't win an award with 3 nominations. "Sicario" from Quebec director Denis Villeneuve also had 3 nominations but was shut out.
- "Room" lost out on Best Picture and Lenny Abrahamson for Best Director.
---
We could have seen a true Canadian moment if Donoghue had won Best Adapted Screenplay since fellow Canadian Ryan Gosling was one of the presenters. Rachel McAdams, after her loss, presented the Achievement in Cinematography award.
Jacob Tremblay was one of the presenters for Best Live Action Short, seemingly because he is short (he's 9). Even in the moment, Tremblay was impressed with meeting host Chris Rock.
"Thanks Chris. Loved you in "Madagascar"! He's the zebra, he's hilarious!"
The film "Stutterer" won in that category. Tremblay read off the list of nominees, but managed to pronounce the name of the film as "STUtterer." He likely didn't know what a stutter was. Can't imagine that's a Canadian pronunciation.
---
We noted this possibility in our Oscars preview, but the children within the film for Best Actor and Best Actress were Canadian, though their film parents are both American. Tremblay played the son of Brie Larson in "Room" and Isaiah Tootoosis played Leonardo DiCaprio's son in "The Revenant." DiCaprio did thank the native people in his acceptance speech, though not Tootoosis by name.
If they make films for another 100 years, the chances of that happening again are virtually nil.
---
photo credit: Vanity Fair
Comments