Although it hasn't necessarily been winning copious amounts of awards on this side of the pond, it sure looks like the British Academy of Film And Television Arts is ready to reward Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy in a major way for being one of the best films of the year, as it came in second only to The Artist in total nominations. The Artist continues what looks like it could be some major cleaning-up in the awards this season, as it earned 12 total nominations, but Tinker Tailor was close on its heels with 11. What's more, it looks as though some wins are basically guaranteed; if Tinker Tailor is the only nominee for Outstanding British Film to also be nominated for Best Film, doesn't that mean that it automatically wins the former category? The same goes for Senna, which is nominated in Best British Film and Best Documentary.
The BAFTAs don't get as much attention here in the states as something like the Golden Globes do, unfortunately, but they've always seemed to be one of the classier groups of awards. They like their homegrown stuff (considering that they've got British right there in the name), but that doesn't prevent them from recognizing great filmmaking. Heck, they gave Drive a Best Film nomination, which is going to be an exceedingly unlikely outcome for the Oscars, which seems much more likely to go with something like Moneyball or War Horse. Good show, old chap, etc.
Apart from that, it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if many of these categories (especially for acting) wind up looking virtually identical when the Oscar nominations are announced. But does anything down below surprise anyone greatly? Or are all these nominations basically bleeding together for you at this point?
Best Film
Outstanding British Film
Leading Actress
- Meryl Streep - The Iron lady
- Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn
- Viola Davis - The Help
- Tilda Swinton - We Need To Talk About Kevin
- Bérénice Bejo - The Artist
Leading Actor
- George Clooney - The Descendents
- Brad Pitt - Moneyball
- Jean Dujardin - The Artist
- Michael Fassbender - Shame
- Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Supporting Actress
- Carey Mulligan - Shame
- Jessica Chastain - The Help
- Judi Dench - My Week With Marilyn
- Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
- Octavia Spencer - The Help
Supporting Actor
- Christopher Plummer - Beginners
- Jim Broadbent - The Iron Lady
- Jonah Hill - Moneyball
- Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
- Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Ides Of March
Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
- Attack The Block - Joe Cornish (director/writer)
- Black Pond - Will Sharpe (director/writer), Tom Kingsley (director), Sarah Brocklehurst (producer)
- Coriolanus - Ralph Fiennes (director)
- Submarine - Richard Ayoade (director/writer)
- Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine (director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (producer)
Foreign language film
Director
- The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
- Drive - Nicolas Winding Refn
- Hugo - Martin Scorsese
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Tomas Alfredson
- We Need To Talk About Kevin - Lynne Ramsay
Documentary
Animated film
Original screenplay
- The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
- Bridesmaids - Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig
- The Guard - John Michael McDonagh
- The Iron Lady - Abi Morgan
- Midnight In Paris - Woody Allen
Adapted screenplay
- The Descendants - Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash
- The Help - Tate Taylor
- The Ides Of March - George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon
- Moneyball - Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
Original music
- The Artist
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Hugo
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- War Horse
Cinematography
- The Artist
- The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo
- Hugo
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- War Horse
Editing
- The Artist
- Drive
- Hugo
- Senna
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Production design
- The Artist
- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Hugo
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- War Horse
Costume design
- The Artist
- Hugo
- Jane Eyre
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Make up and hair
- The Artist
- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Hugo
- The Iron Lady
- My Week With Marilyn
Sound
- The Artist
- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Hugo
- Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
- War Horse
Special visual effects
- The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
- Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2
- Hugo
- Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes
- War Horse
Short animation
- Abuelas
- Bobby Yeah
- A Morning Stroll
Short film
- Chalk
- Mwansa The Great
- Only Sound Remains
- Pitch Black Heist
- Two And Two
The Orange Wednesdays Rising Star Award
I hope I remember to actually watch it this year.
Sure, I'll stay up till 4am to watch the Golden Globes but something that starts at about 8pm goes straight over my head.
The Help? Really?!
What? They nominated The Iron Lady for Best Original Screenplay? I thought the British hated that movie.
@CrimsonAvenger: I guess they felt they couldn't not do it. Thatcher is such a big presence in the UK that they likely felt they had to give it some kind of a nod even if they didn't give it a best picture nomination.
Comedy option: A script that can make Thatcher seem anything other than a monster is a noteworthy piece of fiction indeed.
@Mr_skeleton said:
@CrimsonAvenger: I think some people hate it because of the politics and the person but subjectively I think the British critics have been fair and not been too harsh with it.
I was surprised Tinker, Tailor got so many noms and I thought maybe it was just so they could up the British representation, but looking at the categories it's up for I don't think I would argue against it belonging.
@MjHealy said:
There's clearly a conspiracy to get Spike Lee to kill himself.
I haven't seen the other movies in the category, but it would be awesome if Joe Cornish won Best Debut for Attack the Block. Really loved that movie.
I dislike how Hollywood releases most of the best films in December as I know I'm not going to be able to see them all
For as much as they've got right here, seriously no Tree of Life for cinematography?
I have a Yes or No question to anyone who've seen The Artist. Is the Best Sound nomination for this movie deserved? Is it logical to nominate for both this AND Best Original Music?
I haven't seen The Artist so I can't say, it just seemed a bit weird to me.
The Help. THE HELP!?!?
Word on twitter is that Olivia Colman (Sophie from Peep Show, Mitchell&Webb stuffs) got snubbed this year.
They should have at least mentioned 'Kill List', one of the most interesting british films of the year https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aqkqF--v1tg
Strong list, though I'm a little surprised (perhaps wrongly) that Gosling didn't manage to sneak a nomination in there. Still, Carey Mulligan's got a nod, so that's definitely a plus.