In year number 11, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television is confident that the recipe for the Gemini Awards works. Like they say at Chevrolet, the formula is ‘Tried, Tested and True.’

‘We’re not going to reinvent the wheel this year,’ says Maria Topalovich, executive director of the Academy, referring to earlier years when tinkering with the previous format was par for the course. ‘We’re at a point where the shows reflect the industry, and the industry enjoys them.’

What seems to have buoyed the evening in recent years, according to Topalovich and David Kitching, producer for the 1997 broadcast gala, is securing known personalities within the industry and moving them beyond their boundaries. Case in point, last year’s show featured Peter Mansbridge counting down a Letterman-esque top 10 list and Lloyd Robertson putting in his two cents from Speaker’s Corner. Apparently, the producers have more of the same in mind for 1997.

‘We’ve been successful in getting people to let their hair down, laughing at ourselves and each other. We don’t want to forget that it’s a night for celebration,’ says Kitching.

One thing both the Academy and the producers can celebrate this year is the fact that the Gemini budget, while suffering some cuts, has remained workable thanks to sponsorship from the likes of Chrysler Canada, Kodak and Canadian Airlines International. Topalovich says the event, including six months of prep and the entire jury process, costs $1 million to $1.1 million. ‘That’s an incredible bargain for the industry,’ she says.

‘We had cuts from all agencies this year, but our main cut was from the Genies. We lost some from the Gemini budget last year in terms of Telefilm money, but we’ve been able to absorb what we’ve been cut through corporate sponsorship. It is a massive undertaking.’

There were more than 2,200 entries to be considered this year, and all eligible programs aired in Canada between Oct. 2, 1995 and Aug. 31, 1996. The judging process utilized 64 nomination juries (made up of five to seven members each) who convened in six Canadian cities plus Los Angeles to sift through and select the nominees.

In efforts to properly reflect what Topalovich calls ‘an increasingly sophisticated industry,’ the acct has been continually refining the rules and regulations, and this year the tweaking has meant the adoption of a new category – Best Live Sporting Event.

‘Because there’s more production in certain areas – the specialties, for example – we’re having to break down some of the categories to make them more clear and get rid of some of the combined categories.’

A look back at the 11-year history of the event shows a number of categories which fell by the wayside. Gone are Best Entertainment Special (The Canadian Conspiracy was the first and only winner in 1986), Best Music Video (remember Platinum Blonde?) and the most convoluted award, Best Writing in a Comedy/Variety/ Entertainment/Performing Arts Program or Series. Whew. Gone, too, is Outstanding Achievement in Make-Up and Hair Design.

Instead, recent years have seen additions like Best Sports Program or Series, Best Writing in a Children’s or Youth Program or Series, and Best Visual Effects (perhaps to replace the hair and makeup?).

Also new this year is the venue for nights one and two (known as Opening Night and the Industry Gala, respectively). Producers Susan Edwards and Steve Sloan will be staging the events at the Royal York Hotel’s Canadian Room in Toronto. The writing team for nights one and two is Greg Eckler, Stewart Francis and Alex Ganetakos.

Sloan and Edwards (who work under the name High SEaSS! Entertainment) are relative newcomers. ‘This is a great opportunity for them,’ says Topalovich.

‘We’ve been trying to cultivate, over the last two or three years, new talent in terms of producing live tv. We’d like to have a stable of experienced people and nights one and two will be a good stepping stone for them. The first two nights are always a creative challenge because there are so many awards involved.’

Edwards has coordinated for a long list of Canadian awards programs, and most recently was an associate producer for Sue Warden’s Craftscapes on the Life Network. Sloan has worked on the Geminis since 1993 and also has credits on Comics!, Howie Mandel’s Sunny Skies and the NHL Awards.

Kitching, who’s running the broadcast gala this year, produced the first two Gemini nights in 1996 and helped write the show in ’94 and ’95. He has also produced the Genies since 1995. The writing team for the broadcast gala (which airs live on cbc March 2 from the John Bassett Theatre in Toronto) is Lawrence Morgenstern, The Newsroom’s Mark Farrell and Harry Doupe. Michael Watt is directing.

‘We’re pretty much dedicated to making it a solid two-hour variety show featuring as much talent as possible,’ says Kitching. He adds that the visuals for the evening ‘will return to the idea of television in a very abstract way.’

And as for hosting duties, the effervescent Albert Schultz will grace the broadcast night while comedian Mike Bullard and actor Patrick McKenna handle nights one and two respectively.

So all that’s left to ponder in the short, cold days leading up to Megaweekend (Feb. 28 to March 1) is who’ll be bringing home the hardware. cbc will no doubt dominate the winner’s lists for news and information, but product to watch includes Road to Avonlea: The Final Season (which, with 11 nods this year, has never managed to take home Best Dramatic Series), the cbc tv movie Little Criminals (with 10 nominations), North of 60 (also with 10) and Traders (yep, 10).