The public has not joined the non-gender “movement” at all, nor has the television sector. Result ? The mixed performance categories are disappearing from the Gemini Awards gala, which is going backwards, beep, beep, and returning to the classic formula, that of the Emmys and Golden Globes that separates men from women.
Posted at 5:43 p.m
The academy overseeing this ceremony finally comes to its senses. No one in Quebec actively pushed for the introduction of these unisex categories, which thankfully only took a year. A good decision that corrects a bad one.
The president of the academy's board of directors, Caroline Gaudette, acknowledged Thursday that the public wanted to see a similar gala from the association. “The public likes their stars and likes to see their stars. The public recognized itself much less in this election,” she explains.
PHOTO ALAIN ROBERGE, THE PRESS
Meeting with Ms. Chantal Côté, Director General of the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television – Quebec Section, and Ms. Caroline Gaudette, President of the Board, to discuss the Academy and the upcoming Gémeaux Awards following the revision of the regulations.
In fact, the academy unilaterally imposed the mixed awards last year without even warning its partner Radio-Canada, which still broadcasts the Quebec TV Festival. The public broadcaster's bosses learned at the same time as journalists that their gala was following the same “degenerate” path as the Canadian Screen Awards in Toronto, which aroused no interest, what a boring event. Let's say the pill was difficult to administer.
In retrospect, the academy recognizes gaps in explaining the changes and communicating its intentions. In short, it happened too fast, everything was wrong.
Internally, the majority of the 1,000 members of the Quebec academy, which brings together producers, actors, directors, screenwriters and other audiovisual artists, pushed for a return to the future, that is, for the restoration of the interpretive categories feminine and masculine.
Since the controversial gala in September where Indefensible defeated STAT, no one has yet understood how and why. Several major producers have denounced the exorbitant costs the academy charges To and participate in Gemini. In 2023, Louis Morissette of KOTV (Zénith, L'oeil du Cyclone) paid $60,000 to attend the televised festivities. That's a lot, a lot of money, especially in these less prosperous times for the small screen.
Speaking of big bucks, the academy is offering a 15% discount on all registrations made before February 2nd. It feels like Black Friday, hurry up! The Academy's general director, Chantal Côté, recalls that membership fees have been frozen for four years and that they will be compared with those charged at similar galas in the United States and Europe.
PHOTO MARTIN CHAMBERLAND, LA PRESSE ARCHIVE
Visit to the set of STAT, the daily series of ICI Télé with Suzanne Clément, Patrick Labbé, Geneviève Schmidt, Normand D'Amour. Producers Fabienne Larouche and Michel Trudeau as well as author Marie-Andrée Labbé will be present.
Unfortunately, the announcement of these changes did not convince Gemini dissidents to return to the community. No, Fabienne Larouche will not submit STAT in the next trophy race, eliminating the daily series category, which will be merged with the soap opera category.
“The academy did not consult us, but after reading their press release we understand that their priority is funding. Give a 15% discount on, say, a ski pass, then add categories to finance it. The problem will always be the same, it is systemic. Gemini is earned through membership cards. The fact remains that the formula needs to be reconsidered in its foundations, in its relevance and, above all, in the way it is financed,” says Fabienne Larouche from Aetios (STAT, Reasonable Doubt, À Coeur Beating).
Alexis Durand-Brault and Sophie Lorain, co-director of ALSO (Mégantic, Projet innocence), will also boycott the next presentation of the golden statuettes. “It is a good decision to bring back the gender categories. However, it doesn't entice us to come back. I don't have $60,000 to spend on this. If an actor wants to sign up, call me, I have no intention of harming anyone,” says Alexis Durand-Brault.
Producer Guillaume Lspérance of A Média (Discussions with My Parents, Dog Time) said he was disappointed that the number of categories had increased from 91 to 109. In 2022 there were 144 categories, which is far too many. “I thought the academy would help with the cleanup better. It's ridiculous that there are so many prizes. I had decided to stay and not leave completely. I’ll think about it,” reveals Guillaume Lspérance.
The boss of Attraction (Les chefs!, L'amour est dans le pré), Richard Speer, is still hesitant about the idea of withdrawing (or not) from the Gémeaux competition.
Among other things, the weight of viewer ratings, which accounted for up to 20% in awarding a show a twin, was revised downwards. It now only counts 10%, but only for soap operas and daily series. In the case of drama series and reality shows, for example, their popularity in the Numeris viewership will no longer play a role at all in the final balance.
The night Laurier Gaudreault and Mégantic woke up, two Club Illico titles that suffered from that 20 percent rule last year. Since these series were not broadcast on traditional television, their ratings were not measured and they automatically lost the 20 points based on Numeris polls.
According to KOTV's Louis Morissette, these changes are in the right direction, “but I'm going to cut registrations, that's for sure. “Business is difficult and I have to make decisions,” he says.
And Louis Morissette, like many other influential people in show business, regrets a certain snobbery in granting twins. “Certain programs like “The Master of the Game” will never be among the Academy’s favorites,” he notes, not angrily but rather resignedly. The slogan of 2024, it seems.