Denis Villeneuve, Luis Sequeira among Canadians to earn Oscar nominations

Writer, director and producer Denis Villeneuve's sprawling sci-fi epic "Dune'' is among the most recognized overall with 10 nods.

Quebec’s cinematic triple-threat Denis Villeneuve says he’s found the key to navigating the intensity of Oscar nomination day: “At the very last minute before announcements, make pancakes. It helps with the stress.”

It’s a particularly Canadian way to prepare, and perhaps it’s especially fitting since this year’s nominees hail everywhere from Saskatoon to Halifax.

READ MORE: 2022 Oscar nominations: Full list of Academy Awards nominees

The list begins with writer, director and producer Villeneuve, whose sprawling sci-fi epic “Dune” is among the most recognized overall with 10 nods, including nominations for the Montreal-based filmmaker in the best adapted screenplay and best picture categories, although he was omitted from the director race.

Then there’s Toronto costume designer Luis Sequeira of “Nightmare Alley” and Quebec producer Roger Frappier of “The Power of the Dog.”

Guillermo del Toro’s “Nightmare Alley” snagged four nominations including best picture, for a team that includes Toronto producer J. Miles Dale.

Sequeira and Dale are both longtime collaborators of del Toro’s, on projects including “The Shape of Water,” which earned Dale the best picture Oscar in 2018 for producing along with the Mexican director, and brought Sequeira an Oscar nomination.

It was a nerve-wracking morning for Sequeira, who said by phone from his home in Toronto that he had planned to sleep in until “my phone started buzzing away and I knew something was up.”