‘Shape of Water’ producer, Christopher Plummer among Canadian Oscar nominees

By Victoria Ahearn, The Canadian Press

Christopher Plummer’s supporting role in “All The Money In The World,” the animated film “The Breadwinner,” and a producer behind the Toronto and Hamilton shot “The Shape of Water” are among this year’s Canadian Oscar nominees.

J. Miles Dale shares in the best picture nomination for Guillermo del Toro’s merman romance “The Shape of Water,” which has a leading 13 nominations. The film came just shy of tying the record of 14 Oscar nominations shared by “All About Eve,” “Titanic” and “La La Land.”

Dale called the film’s nominations a big win for Canada.

“Other than Guillermo and the cinematographer and some of the actors, every single person on this film was Canadian and really kind of from Toronto — so it absolutely is I think unprecedented, frankly, in terms of the type of recognition,” Dale said Tuesday.

Other Canadians nominated for the film include production designer Paul Austerberry, costume designer Luis M. Sequeira, and film editor Sidney Wolinsky.

“The Breadwinner,” based on the novel by Canadian author Deborah Ellis, is nominated for best animated film. The Canadian co-production has a superstar executive producer in Angelina Jolie and features Toronto actress Saara Chaudry as the voice of the lead character. The movie, written by Canadian filmmaker Anita Doron, also got a Golden Globe nomination for best animated film.

While Denis Villeneuve missed out on a best director nomination for “Blade Runner 2049,” the film did pick up a number of nods in other categories. Canadian Dennis Gassner is nominated for best production design.