The buzz is big in Hollywood after quirky teen comedy Juno captured three Independent Spirit Awards the day before Sunday's Oscars, in which it has nominations in four major categories: best film, actress, original screenplay and directing for Jason Reitman.
The Hollywood press has already dubbed Juno the "little film that could" — made for roughly $25 million US, it has grabbed more than $100 million at the box office worldwide.
That makes Juno the highest-grossing film in its Oscar category, topping the likes of other best-film contenders No Country for Old Men, legal thriller Michael Clayton, wartime romance Atonement and the oil epic There Will Be Blood.
While Halifax's Ellen Page captured a best actress Spirit Award on Saturday, she is up against formidable competition for the Oscar: Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages) and Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age ).
Thirty-year-old Juno director Reitman, while happy with the Oscar nods, said he's frustrated that his film isn't eligible for a Genie in Canada. Canada's premier English-language cinema prizes will be handed out March 3.
"Everything about my movie is Canadian," Reitman said at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday. "It's a Canadian director, Canadian stars, Canadian cast, Canadian crew, shot in Canada — how are we not eligible for a Genie?"
Juno wasn't considered Canadian enough for the Genies, but awards officials have never explained how they determine which films qualify.
Other Canadian nominees for Sunday night's Academy Awards include animated-short competitors I Met the Walrus (Josh Raskin and Jerry Levitan) and Madame Tutli-Putli (Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski), as well as a trio of sound engineers: Paul Massey and David Giammarco, who worked on the western 3:10 to Yuma, and Craig Berkey, who worked on No Country for Old Men.
Bets are on for No Country for Old Men to take major prizes, especially best film and best directing for Joel and Ethan Coen. Bookmakers have the film as a 1-3 favourite, while the Coens are backed at 1-4 to scoop the best director prize.
"It's going to be the second year in a row that a best picture winner has won where all guns have been blazing," said Tom O'Neil, an awards season pundit with the Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com, recalling Martin Scorsese's win in 2007 for gangster movie The Departed. O'Neil has his money on the Coen brothers movie.
"It's really filled with great performances, and I think that it's going to help it. No Country for Old Men is a movie that people like. It really has everything going for it," agreed Lew Harris of Movies.com.
No Country for Old Men, featuring a diabolical killer played by Javier Bardem, has eight nominations going into Sunday night's gala, as does the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day Lewis as a sadistic oil man at the turn of the century.
The 80th annual Academy Awards, hosted by comedian Jon Stewart, will be broadcast live from Hollywood's Kodak Theater.
The Hollywood press has already dubbed Juno the "little film that could" — made for roughly $25 million US, it has grabbed more than $100 million at the box office worldwide.
That makes Juno the highest-grossing film in its Oscar category, topping the likes of other best-film contenders No Country for Old Men, legal thriller Michael Clayton, wartime romance Atonement and the oil epic There Will Be Blood.
While Halifax's Ellen Page captured a best actress Spirit Award on Saturday, she is up against formidable competition for the Oscar: Julie Christie (Away From Her), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Laura Linney (The Savages) and Cate Blanchett (Elizabeth: The Golden Age ).
Thirty-year-old Juno director Reitman, while happy with the Oscar nods, said he's frustrated that his film isn't eligible for a Genie in Canada. Canada's premier English-language cinema prizes will be handed out March 3.
"Everything about my movie is Canadian," Reitman said at the Independent Spirit Awards on Saturday. "It's a Canadian director, Canadian stars, Canadian cast, Canadian crew, shot in Canada — how are we not eligible for a Genie?"
Juno wasn't considered Canadian enough for the Genies, but awards officials have never explained how they determine which films qualify.
Other Canadian nominees for Sunday night's Academy Awards include animated-short competitors I Met the Walrus (Josh Raskin and Jerry Levitan) and Madame Tutli-Putli (Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski), as well as a trio of sound engineers: Paul Massey and David Giammarco, who worked on the western 3:10 to Yuma, and Craig Berkey, who worked on No Country for Old Men.
Bets are on for No Country for Old Men to take major prizes, especially best film and best directing for Joel and Ethan Coen. Bookmakers have the film as a 1-3 favourite, while the Coens are backed at 1-4 to scoop the best director prize.
"It's going to be the second year in a row that a best picture winner has won where all guns have been blazing," said Tom O'Neil, an awards season pundit with the Los Angeles Times' theenvelope.com, recalling Martin Scorsese's win in 2007 for gangster movie The Departed. O'Neil has his money on the Coen brothers movie.
"It's really filled with great performances, and I think that it's going to help it. No Country for Old Men is a movie that people like. It really has everything going for it," agreed Lew Harris of Movies.com.
No Country for Old Men, featuring a diabolical killer played by Javier Bardem, has eight nominations going into Sunday night's gala, as does the Paul Thomas Anderson-directed There Will Be Blood, starring Daniel Day Lewis as a sadistic oil man at the turn of the century.
The 80th annual Academy Awards, hosted by comedian Jon Stewart, will be broadcast live from Hollywood's Kodak Theater.
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