The Stargate Atlantis sci-fi series, which completed its five-year run in January, received 17 nominations for the B.C. film and TV industry’s 11th annual Leo Awards. In addition, the franchise’s DVD movie Stargate: Continuum boasts 11 nominations and Stargate creators/coproducers Robert C.Cooper and Brad Wright are being honored with outstanding achievement awards at the May 9 gala (craft awards are being handed out on May 8).

‘We are thrilled,’ says Cooper. ‘We are in the midst of producing our 16th season and 14th year of this franchise [Stargate Universe is currently in production] and have employed a lot of people over the years. The B.C. craftspeople on Stargate do world-class work and deserve to be recognized. And we are grateful to the Leos for doing this. We have always wished West Coast shows got a little more attention at the Geminis. We will keep our fingers crossed for that.’

While Stargate is produced by U.S. studio MGM, programs are eligible for Leo Awards so long as creative control rests with B.C. individuals, in this case Cooper and Wright.

‘We have been perceived in the Canadian industry as an American show, which hurts our feelings because we are all Canadians working on Stargate,’ points out Cooper. ‘It is predominantly written, directed and acted by Canadians. We think of it as a Canadian show that brings American money up here and spends it locally.’

Vancouverite Brent Butt’s hit sitcom Corner Gas leads the comedy categories with seven nominations, and Omni Film Productions’ The Dolphin Dealer, about the shadowy world of wild dolphin trading, dominates the documentary categories, also with seven. YTV series Jibber Jabber, produced by Vancouver’s David Bowes, the series’ co-creator, and Jim Corbett, picked up five nods in the animation categories.

‘It is great to see more and more West Coast films getting made,’ says Stone of Destiny director Charles Martin Smith, whose U.K./Canada copro Stone of Destiny is vying for best feature-length drama against Fifty Dead Men Walking, Helen, Iron Road and When Life Was Good.

‘There is a diverse range of films nominated this year, including other films made with international partners and with international themes. Vancouver producers are world-class and it is great to see them making movies for a world audience,’ says Smith.

The Leo Awards will be presented in 70 categories over two nights from a total of 750 entries. The hosts of the May 9 gala are twin brothers/local comedic performers Drew and Jonathan Scott. Jonathan is an illusionist who works the Las Vegas circuit and will perform several grand illusions for the crowd of 700 expected to attend the gala.

‘This is the first time we are including entertainment from outside of our own industry,’ says Leo Awards president Walter Daroshin, also noting that instead of the traditional orchestra, a DJ will provide the show’s music.

‘We are shooting for an edgier feel,’ he explains. ‘Sometimes we take ourselves too seriously, and although it is an important thing we do, giving out awards, I think we can keep that importance but couch it in more fun.’

The full list of nominees is available at www.leoawards.com.