Music: {allcanada} 2011 Genies to have sex appeal

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

{allcanada} 2011 Genies to have sex appeal

The 2011 Genie Awards are going where no man has gone before, at least not for more than a decade. With William Shatner as host and captain, Canada's film awards blast off Thursday with enough high octane rocket fuel to make the trip.

Shatner adds lustre and sly comedy. He is paired with Rachelle Lefevre, the striking Montreal redhead from Twilight. So there is sex appeal, too.

CBC-TV will broadcast the hour-long Genies show from Ottawa at 8 p.m. local time (8:30 in Newfoundland) -- and there have been years when the Genies were hard to find on television at all.

Melissa Etheridge, Serena Ryder, Johnny Reid, Karkwa and the Royal Winnipeg Ballet will perform. Guests include nominees such as Bruce Greenwood and Jay Baruchel.

Meanwhile -- most critically -- the main battle is between well-known films. The English-language Barney's Version leads in nominations with 11, one more than Denis Villeneuve's acclaimed French-language Incendies, which was nominated for an Oscar.