The BAFTAS Are Here

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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).

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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).

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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).

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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