Friday, January 12----The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) has announced its nominees in fifteen seperate categories for the Orange British Academy Film Awards, affectionately knowns as the BAFTAs. By and large, they read like a re-do of the Golden Globes, with some prominent exceptions. Which film dominated the proceedings? THE QUEEN, of course. The acclaimed behind-the-scenes look at the Royal Family received the most BAFTA nods, with 10 nominations in all, in the categories of Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Supporting Actor, Best Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Musical Score, Best Costume Design, Best Makeup and Hair (turning the glamorous Helen Mirren into an old frump deserves recognition….) and Best British Film of the Year.

Any surprises? THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND, which has not made the cut on any of the film critics lists or awards lists, with the prominent exception of frontrunner Forest Whitaker as Best Actor, received five nominations, including Best Film, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and for Best British Film of the Year.

And how nice to see CASINO ROYALE, certainly the most profitable British film of the year, being acknowledged for its resuscitation of the James Bond franchise. The spy thriller received six nominations, for Best Screenplay, Best Actor (Daniel Craig….finally), Best Film Score, Best Sound, Best Special Effects and Best British Film of the Year.

In the major acting categories, the usual suspects appear (see full list below), with some prominent additions.
James McAvoy as the Scottish doctor in THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND and Leslie Phillips as an octogenarian actor in VENUS were surprise nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category.THE HISTORY BOYS, the filmed adaptation of the West End and Broadway theatrical hit by Alan Bennett, was also nicely rewarded with two prominent nominations, for Best Actor (the outstanding Richard Griffiths) and Best Supporting Actress (the always reliable Frances de la Tour).

BAFTA also makes a point of bringing attention to its own, with an award to a first-time British director or producer. Dubbed the Carl Foreman Award, in honor of the great film producer, this year’s nominees include Andrea Arnold (director, RED ROAD), Julian Gilbey (director, ROLLIN’ WITH THE NINES), Christine Langan (producer, PIERREPOINT), Gary Tarn (director, BLACK SUN) and Paul Andrew Williams (director, LONDON TO BRIGHTON).

Another nod to emerging young talents is the Orange Rising Star Award, with nominees this year: Emily Brunt (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA), Eva Green (CASINO ROYALE), Naomie Harris (PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN’S CHEST), Cillian Murphy (BREAKFAST ON PLUTO, THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY) and Ben Whishaw (PERFUME: STORY OF A MURDERER).

Awards will be handed out at a gala ceremony on Sunday, February 11, two weeks before the Oscars, and will be broadcast on BBC One. For the tenth year running, the Awards are sponsored by telephone giant Orange.

A partial list of BAFTA Awards Nominees follows. For the full list, and a history of the organization and the Awards, visit their official website: BAFTA Awards.

Best Film
BABEL
THE DEPARTED
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
THE QUEEN

The Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film
CASINO ROYALE
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
NOTES ON A SCANDAL
THE QUEEN
UNITED 93

The David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, BABEL
Martin Scorsese, THE DEPARTED
Jonathan Dayton/Valerie Faris, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Stephen Frears, THE QUEEN
Paul Greengrass, UNITED 93

Best Actor
Daniel Craig, CASINO ROYALE
Leonardo DiCaprio, THE DEPARTED
Richard Griffiths, THE HISTORY BOYS
Peter O'Toole, VENUS
Forest Whitaker, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND

Best Actress
Penelope Cruz, VOLVER
Judi Dench, NOTES ON A SCANDAL
Helen Mirren, THE QUEEN
Meryl Streep, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Kate Winslet, LITTLE CHILDREN

Best Supporting Actor
Alan Arkin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
James MacAvoy, THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND
Jack Nicholson, THE DEPARTED
Leslie Phillips, VENUS
Michael Sheen, THE QUEEN

Best Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt, THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA
Abigail Breslin, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Toni Colette, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE
Frances de la Tour, THE HISTORY BOYS
Jennier Hudson, DREAMGIRLS

Best Cinematography
Rodrigo, Prieto, BABEL
Phil Meheux, CASINO ROYALE
Emmanuel Lubezki, CHILDREN OF MEN
Guillermo Navarro, PAN’S LABYRINTH
Barry Ackroyd, UNITED 93

Best Foreign Language Film
APOCALYPTO (US)
BLACK BOOK (The Netherlands)
PAN’S LABYRINTH (Spain/Mexico)
PAINT IT YELLOW (India)
VOLVER (Spain)

Sandy Mandelberger
Awards Watch Editor