Goon's Jay Baruchel, Michael Dowse honoured for hockey comedy
Co-writer Evan Goldberg shares in Canadian box office prize
Actor Jay Baruchel accepted kudos for his work behind the camera on his hockey comedy Goon on Tuesday, with the avid Montreal Canadiens fan awarded Telefilm's Golden Box Office prize at the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Montrealer Baruchel shared screenwriting honours for the film — about a bouncer-turned-minor league hockey enforcer — with Vancouver filmmaker Evan Goldberg. The pair will split the prize's $20,000 writing pot, while Goon director Michael Dowse receives a further $20,000.
"What we all wanted to do was to shine a light on this position and really show the sportsmanship and value that an enforcer brings to the game," Dowse told CBC Tuesday morning. "We also wanted to show the sense of humour behind the game."
In the interview above, Dowse talks to CBC about receiving the Telefilm prize and his crowning achievement: having NHL players quote lines from Goon back to him.
Also, the team will be reuniting to make a sequel, the filmmakers confirmed.
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Each year, film funding agency Telefilm awards the Golden Box Office prize to the Canadian English-language film of the past year that made the most money at the domestic box office.
Goon, which opened in February 2012 and stars Seann William Scott, earned more than $3 million.
The win is the second such honour this year for the film's producer, Canadian movie mogul Don Carmody. His production Resident Evil: Retribution won the Golden Reel Award for being the biggest made-in-Canada box office hit of 2012. However, that film didn't qualify for the Telefilm prize, which celebrates Canadian directors and screenwriters.
