Gibson's 'Hacksaw Ridge' Gets 10 Minute Standing Ovation1:48
Mel Gibson's directorial comeback "Hacksaw Ridge" - about the first conscientious objector in U.S. history to be awarded the Medal of Honor - received a 10-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival on Sunday. Mark Kelly reports. Image: Venice Film Festival
Mel Gibson’s comeback project Hacksaw Ridge leads AACTA film nominations
MEL Gibson and Elizabeth Debicki are both celebrating this morning as the nominations for the annual AACTA Awards are announced.
Gibson’s hotly anticipated return to directing, Hacksaw Ridge leads the field in the peer-voted film and TV awards which will be presented in December.
Hacksaw Ridge received a whopping 13 nominations, including for Gibson as best director. It was closely followed by The Daughter, which brought in 10 nominations and especially dominated the performance categories with Ewan Leslie, Odessa Young, Sam Neil, Miranda Otto and Anna Torv all receiving nominations.
Meanwhile ABC’s The Beautiful Lie and Foxtel’s The Kettering Incident will prove the ones to beat in the TV categories, with nine and eight nominations a piece.
Debicki, who is nominated for Best Actress for her turn in supernatural thriller The Kettering Incident, told News Corp she is thrilled that the show — and her performance — has resonated so deeply with audiences.
“It’s been a really amazing year for female roles in television so I’m very happily surprised and flattered,” Debicki said from London, where she is currently starring in the National Theatre’s production of Red Door.
Debicki is up against The Beautiful Lie’s Sarah Snook and Wentworth’s Danielle Cormack and Pamela Rabe who she said will all prove formidable opponents in the category.
“I’m sad I’m going to miss it because I really love being there — it’s always such a lovely night,” she said.
”But I’m going to be on stage the night of the awards. I don’t think they’d be very happy with me if I sent my understudy on for a week!”
Given she has only spent two weeks in her own home in Sydney this year, Debicki said she’s looking forward to a chance to come home once the play is done.
And despite her growing international success with roles in hit series The Night Manager and upcoming films Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and God Particle, the 26-year old says she is hoping to receive more offers to work down under.
“They can flood me with work if they like,” she said.
“We have such an incredible pool of writers and directors in Australia, I’m always interested to see what people are making. I feel like people take more risks. We’re on an island and that breeds a certain courage in a way to make the work you want to make.”
Originally published as Gibson, Debicki lead AACTA nominations