TORONTO - Hollywood heavyweights Michael Fassbender, Michelle Williams, Viggo Mortensen and Rachel Weisz have scored Genie Award nominations for their roles in Canadian films.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television announced the Genie finalists Tuesday at simultaneous news conferences in Toronto and Montreal, giving Jean-Marc Vallee's sweeping romance "Cafe de Flore" a leading 13 nods and 11 to David Cronenberg's psychoanalysis drama "A Dangerous Method."

Many of the country's most acclaimed films are international co-productions with the budget and clout to lure top-tier talent, notes "A Dangerous Method" producer Martin Katz, whose film involves partners in the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland and Canada.

"These are not your grandmother's Genies," Katz said of a wave of homegrown nominees studded with blockbuster celebrities.

"It's a great thing for the academy and for the Genies and for the Canadian film industry that so many brilliant actors from around the world have chosen to participate in films that are written and directed by Canadians."

Fassbender is a best actor candidate for his turn as Carl Jung in "A Dangerous Method" while co-star Mortensen, who played Sigmund Freud, is up for best supporting actor.

Fassbender's rivals include "Raising Hope" star Garret Dillahunt, who plays a disillusioned war vet in "Oliver Sherman"; Scott Speedman, as the notorious Canadian bank robber in "Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster"; Montreal's Patrick Huard, who plays a frequent sperm donor in "Starbuck"; and Algeria's Mohamed Fellag, who stars as a sensitive school teacher in "Monsieur Lazhar."

Mortensen is up against "Friday Night Lights" star Taylor Kitsch, who plays a troubled photojournalist in "The Bang Bang Club"; Antoine Bertrand from "Starbuck"; "Lost" actor Kevin Durand for "Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster"; and the young Marin Gerrier, who charms as a jazz-obsessed Parisian boy in "Cafe de Flore."

Durand, from Thunder Bay, Ont., said he was in a particularly tough category and feigned despair over having already lost.

"I'm up against Viggo! Let's get down Viggo, come on!" Durand said in a mock challenge directed at the star. "I'm so honoured. He's such a wonderful actor and I'm flabbergasted."

"But that makes it so much more exciting to be included with such an elite group of artists."

The best actress race pits Vanessa Paradis, who plays a devoted mother in "Cafe de Flore," against Williams, as a young wife with a wandering eye in "Take This Waltz" and Weisz, who portrays a crusading peacekeeper in "The Whistleblower."

Catherine de Lean of "Nuit .1" and Pascale Montpetit from "The Girl in the White Coat" round out the nominees.

Vallee and Cronenberg will face off in the best picture and best director categories, where they also compete with Philippe Falardeau and his tender school tale "Monsieur Lazhar," which nabbed nine nods.

Rounding out the best picture race is "The Whistleblower" and the francophone comedy "Starbuck." They earned six nominations apiece.

The best director category also includes Kondracki for "The Whistleblower" and Steven Silver for "The Bang Bang Club," which collected seven nominations.

The academy's interim CEO, Helga Stephenson, said she's on a mission to lure as many of the big names as possible to the Genie Awards bash, set for March 8 in Toronto.

"Last year we had a very successful year and I'm expecting that this year we'll have another very successful year," Stephenson said of the show, which will be broadcast on CBC-TV.

The best supporting actress category features Roxana Condurache of "The Whistleblower"; Helene Florent of "Cafe de Flore"; Julie Lebreton of "Starbuck"; Sophie Nelisse of "Monsieur Lazhar" and Charlotte Sullivan of "Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster."

Falardeau said he's particularly proud of Nelisse, who was just 10 when she delivered her moving performance of an elementary student grappling with the sudden death of a teacher.

"When I heard her name come up, I think I was more happy than when I heard my name come up for best adaptation or best director," Falardeau said in Montreal.

"Cafe de Flore" producers Pierre Even and Marie-Claude Poulin predicted a tough battle for the big prizes.

"I don't think that any one film is going to sweep the Genies this year," Poulin said in Montreal.

"It's probably going to be a split. It's going to be a tough vote for the academy members as well because it's definitely a great calibre of films to be against. It's quite flattering, actually."

Notable omissions among the nominees include Keira Knightley of "A Dangerous Method," whose take on the Russian psychoanalyst Sabina Spielrein is a rage of fits and furious outbursts that critics have singled out -- for good or for bad -- for its intensity.

Also missing is writer/director Polley, whose sophomore feature "Take This Waltz" scored just two nods overall (including best makeup). Polley's first feature, "Away From Her," dominated the Genies in 2008 when it took seven of the top prizes. Polley also scored an Oscar nomination for best adapted screenplay.

This year's Oscar hopeful is "Monsieur Lazhar," a francophone film about an Algerian immigrant who takes over a class of Montreal elementary students reeling from the sudden death of their teacher.

It comes from the same Quebec producers as last year's Genie darling, "Incendies."

This year, the academy added a new category for visual effects. The inaugural nominees are "A Dangerous Method," "Snow & Ashes," "Cafe de Flore," "BumRush" and "Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster."

Stephenson said the academy also relaxed an eligibility rule that required a film to be in a theatre for three weeks before Dec. 31 to qualify. Now, films require just one week in a theatre, or must appear in a major Canadian film festival.