A-List Ryan Gosling and Denis Villeneuve Lead List of Canada’s Oscar Nominees

Canadian Oscar nominees Denis Villeneuve and Ryan Gosling pulled away from their jam-packed schedules Tuesday morning to marvel over their Academy Award kudos.

They chatted by phone soon after Villeneuve learned he’d snagged his first directing nomination for the aliens-have-landed thriller Arrival, and Gosling picked up a best acting nod, one of a leading 14 nominations for La La Land.

“We are both proud of each other and happy for each other. It’s quite a nice ride for both of us and I’m very, very happy for what he did,” Villeneuve said from Los Angeles.

“Ryan is a kind of comical genius. He has that sense. He’s a very, very strong actor and I’m very proud of what he did in La La Land.”

Arrival is also up for best picture and six other awards, with several Canadian nominees in categories including production design and sound.
Canadians are also well-represented in the best animated short category. Three of the five titles nominated have Canadian ties, including Theodore Ushev’s Blind Vaysha from the National Film Board of Canada. Also nominated are Pear Cider and Cigarettes, directed by Robert Valley of Vancouver, and Piper, helmed by Alan Barillaro of Niagara Falls, Ont.

And Winnipeg-born producer Howard Barish is named in the documentary feature category for his work on 13th, directed by Ava DuVernay.

Villeneuve’s honour comes as he cements his place among Hollywood’s elite with a series of increasingly high-profile films, including the upcoming sci-fi noir Blade Runner 2049, starring Gosling.

This isn’t the first time Villeneuve has been recognized by the Academy Awards. His dark family drama Incendies was nominated in the best foreign-language film category in 2011.

The 14 nominations for Gosling’s La La Land match the Oscars record originally set by All About Eve and tied by Titanic.

THE STAR