After two years on the road, the Gemini Awards returned to Toronto Friday for a live broadcast from the John Bassett Theatre at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. Jason Priestley’s participation as host of the 23rd annual event—which recognizes the best in Canadian television—generated a lot of buzz about this year’s show, according to producer Lynn Harvey of Enter the Picture Productions. “The deliciousness of having a celebrity host adds to it,” said Harvey. “Suddenly things we couldn’t get before Jason Priestley came to town, we’re suddenly getting.”
Although Harvey declined to elaborate on what those things might be, she did say Priestley’s involvement provided a boost for the awards, presented by the Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television History. “Obviously there’s a lot more attention being paid because we have a high-profile host. He’s a guy people have great feelings about, and he’s just lovely, warm, sweet, fun, accommodating, and charming,” said Harvey, who has produced about 30 live shows throughout her career, including the Geminis, Junos, and Genies.
Harvey said the John Bassett Theatre is an ideal location for the award show—held in Regina, Saskatchewan, in 2007 and Richmond, British Columbia, in 2006. “We’ve used the M.T.C.C. many times. There are only a few venues in the city that can accommodate a show of this nature, as well as a dinner afterwards,” said Harvey, who supervised a crew of 60 during the three-day load in. “There are always challenges. There’s never enough time and never enough money … but we sort them out,” she said. “Our biggest challenge this year is that normally we have until 6 p.m. or midnight the next day to get out. This year we have to be out by 6 a.m.”
The one-hour show began at 7:30 p.m. with the broadcast airing on E! Entertainment Network and Showcase at 8 p.m. “We’re treating it as if we’re live-to-air,” Harvey said. Friday’s show marked the fourth gala for the 2008 awards. Three additional industry events took place in October at the Liberty Grand Entertainment Complex. “My company did all four of them this year. We’ll be raising a glass on Friday night,” Harvey said in an interview prior to the event.
The gala began with a cocktail party—produced by Barbara Hershenhorn of Party Barbara Co.—in Azure Restaurant & Bar at the Intercontinental Toronto Centre and ended with a dinner for 900 guests, sponsored by Technicolour, in the M.T.C.C.’s Constitution Hall. “It’s all about illumination. It’s all about the lighting,” Hershenhorn said of the decor in the dining area. She used damask linens in rich colours to top the tables. Mirror balls hung over the dance floor and walls were washed in pink light.
Event sponsors included Telefilm Canada, the Canadian Television Fund, Canwest, CTV, Citytv, Zip.ca, the Independent Production Fund, and Pricewaterhouse Coopers.
