Two B.C.ers nominated for Oscars in special effects

Groot, the treelike character voiced by Vin Diesel in Guardians of the Galaxy.
Groot, the treelike character voiced by Vin Diesel in Guardians of the Galaxy.

THE#BCBIZDAILY
Need-to-know news and insight for Monday, Jan. 19

Root for Groot
An Oscar statuette may be coming to B.C. next month. Two local residents have been nominated for Academy Awards, both in the visual effects category. Yaletown resident Nicolas Aithadi, who works for MPC Vancouver, has been nominated with three others for their work on Guardians of the Galaxy. Aithadi created the loyal, treelike Groot character voiced by Vin Diesel. Aithadi was previously nominated in the visual effects category for Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 (2010). Pitt Meadows resident Cameron Waldbauer, who works at Objects Inc. in Coquitlam, has been nominated, also with three others, for X-Men: Days of Future Past. This is Waldbauer’s first Academy Award nomination, but his work on X-Men has also been nominated for a British Academy Film Award, the result of which will be announced February 8.

The coming dawn
It has been a difficult time for junior mining companies in B.C., but the theme of this year’s Vancouver Resource Investment Conference—The Coming Dawn—is optimistic. The two-day event, the world’s largest resource investment conference dedicated to resource exploration, runs Sunday and Monday at the Vancouver Convention Centre. Bill Bennett, B.C.’s minister of energy and mines, is among the speakers.

Resourcefulness in Prince George
It’s a resourceful week for B.C. conventions. Bennett, along with Premier Christy Clark and much of the cabinet, will be in Prince George for the premier’s BC Natural Resource Forum on Tuesday and Wednesday. A lineup of top resource industry executives will talk about forestry, mining, skills training, transportation, First Nations and energy issues from renewables to LNG. The forum is taking place two weeks before the Canada Winter Games in Prince George and coincides with Prince George’s 100th anniversary.