LOS ANGELES - Jason Reitman, the Montreal-born director of "Juno,'' lamented Friday that his Oscar-nominated film wasn't considered Canadian enough for Genie recognition as he basked in the glow of well-wishers at a luncheon at the Canadian Consulate in Los Angeles.
Reitman wondered why his film, up for a best picture Academy Award on Sunday night, didn't make the cut despite being shot in Canada by a Canadian crew and with a Canadian lead actress, while David Cronenberg's "Eastern Promises'' did get a nod for a best picture Genie.
"I still don't understand why,'' Reitman said at the star-studded luncheon attended by his father, Ivan, legendary Canadian filmmaker Norman Jewison, multiple Grammy winner David Foster and best actress nominee Julie Christie, among others.
"It's a Canadian director, Canadian stars, Canadian cast, Canadian crew, shot in Canada -- how are we not eligible for a Genie when David Cronenberg's film about Russians living in London shot in England with a British crew and British cast is eligible? I'm sorry, but somebody is going to have to explain that to me; I don't get it.''
Genie officials have said there is a point system used to determine whether a film is Canadian enough to make the cut, though won't detail how it works. The Genies will be handed out March 3 in Toronto.
Reitman wasn't the only one raising questions about the oddities of awards season at the luncheon Friday under rainy skies that forced consulate officials to erect tents and tarps to keep the party-goers dry.
The luminous Christie, 66, expressed dismay that her co-star in "Away From Her,'' beloved Newfoundland actor Gordon Pinsent, didn't garner the same kind of awards recognition as she has.
"I am terribly, terribly sorry,'' said Christie.
"I've tried to work it out; I don't understand it. Maybe it has to do with not being so well-known; I really don't know. Everybody is surprised , everybody comes up to me from all different nations and says: `Why isn't Gordon being nominated? He was so fantastic.' ''
Christie said she attended the luncheon due in large part to her longtime affection for Canada, but said that her ardour has been tarnished thanks to Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
"I love Canada, I've always loved Canada, I feel proud of Canada -- it's only just now that I am starting to lose my pride in Canada because of this guy who is your prime minister,'' said Christie.
The British actress, a longtime peace activist, accused Harper of refusing to welcome traumatized American soldiers to Canada who are deserting the army amid the prolonged and bloody war in Iraq.
"I was in Canada in the 1960s and 1970s . . . the place was full of war resisters and they were accepted by Canada and I've loved Canada ever since then. The fact that he's turned that around, and the cruelty of that and the meanness of it, it's put a little edge on my love of Canada.''
But aside from Christie's disappointment in Harper, Friday's luncheon was by and large a Canada love-in.
Wayne Clarkson, head of Telefilm Canada, said this was Canada's best year ever at the Oscars in terms of prestige nominations like best actress and best director.
"I think it's going to be one of those Academy Award evenings back in Canada and certainly here in Los Angeles where everybody's going to be anticipating more than usual who wins what,'' Clarkson said.
"Canadians have always had a bigger reputation outside of their own country than they often do within the country. When we look at the riches of talented filmmakers, whether it's Atom Egoyan or David Cronenberg or Denys Arcand . . . it's now as if North America and Canadians in particular are catching up to that wave of Canadian talent.''
Reitman, however, said he doesn't have much hope he'll walk away with the best director statue on Sunday night.
"The great joy of knowing you're not going to win is that you don't really have to be nervous,'' he said. "As a director, I feel very lucky to be in that group; I am definitely the fifth man in and it's a thrill to be nominated and it allows me to just enjoy the evening.''
Other Canadian Oscar nominees include Reitman's "Juno'' star, Halifax actress Ellen Page, who's up for best actress, and Toronto's Sarah Polley, who's nominated for best adapted screenplay for her work in turning an Alice Munro short story into the powerful "Away From Her.''
Neither Page nor Polley were at the luncheon on Friday, but almost all the other nominees were in attendance, including Craig Berkey, nominated for best sound mixing of "No Country for Old Men,'' and set designer Jim Erickson, who lives on B.C.'s Saltspring Island and got the Oscar nod for his work on "There Will Be Blood.''
The blood-soaked "No Country,'' from Joel and Ethan Coen, has eight Oscar nominations, tied with the Paul Thomas Anderson oil boom tale "There Will Be Blood.''
The two films will battle for best picture against the wartime romance "Atonement,'' the legal thriller "Michael Clayton'' and "Juno,'' in which Page plays a quirky teen dealing with an unexpected pregnancy.
"Atonement'' and "Michael Clayton'' have seven nominations apiece while "Juno'' has four.
The 80th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, will be handed out Sunday beginning at 8 p.m. on ABC and CTV.
