16 BAFTA Moments. Helena Was Queen.
Monday, February 14, 2011 at 2:09PM Since we all saw the BAFTAs on tape-delay, live-blogging seemed pointless. So SAG will have to stand as the last live-blog of the season. But here are my ___ favorite moments from BAFTA in chronological order. What were yours?
01. Helena Bonham Carter on the red carpet, when the red carpet reporter describes her as Brit Movie Royalty (which she is).
In fact, this is the year of queens for me. I do big headed queen, then medium sized, maybe next year I'll do pinheaded queen. It's always fun to play queens because people do start treating you like royalty, it's a bit hilarious.
Helena is the only person alive that doesn't make me cringe when they're referencing Alice in Wonderland. She uses this joke again in her acceptance speech but it works both times.
02. Emma Stone on the red carpet joking that Andrew Garfield has been trying to kill her on the set of Spider-Man (2012). I still think it's pointless to reboot that movie but at least the principle cast is heaven.
03. Yay for Useless Trivia: Hailee Steinfeld reveals that the BAFTAs are one year to the day of her True Grit audition. And Darren Aronofsky reveals that Black Swan wrapped one year and one day before the BAFTAS.
04. Paul McCartney saying "I get to the pictures quite often". I love calling movies "the pictures." It feels so Old Hollywood Magical. The Social Network is McCartney's favorite.
05. Amy Adams LOLing heartily at a joke about Sex & the City 2. The joke went like so:
Two of my favorite movies of the year aren't even nominated. Sex and the City 2 and The Expendables. What's not to love there. A band of old mercenaries get back together taking no prisoners -- you know where I'm going with this don't you? -- laying waste to everyone standing in their way. And The Expendables was great, too.
06. Discovering that Alexandre Desplat is a winker. He winked at no less than three people on his way up to the stage to accept Best Score.
07. The hokey joke of playing Eurythmics "Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" instead of The Inception score when it won Best Visual Effects.
08. Helena's acceptance speech. Pretty great. I'd quote it but they let her talk for five minutes.
09. Jessica Alba's intro to Best Supporting Actor just because it's so illustrative of the "supporting" problem.
Robert DeNiro in the Godfather Part 2. Kevin Spacey in The Usual Suspect. Samuel L Jackson in Pulp Fiction. Time and again history remembers the supporting actor as much as the lead. Sometimes more so.
And then she goes on to list 5 nominees only one of whom, Pete Postlethwaite (The Town), is in a purely supporting role. The rest you can argue till the end of the day about whether they're leads in their films or not. OF COURSE THEY'RE REMEMBERED AS MUCH AS "LEADS" heh.
An Education reunion: Dominic Cooper and Rosamund Pike flubbing their lines.
10. Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper having MULTIPLE problems delivering the Original Screenplay. It just keeps getting worse. Pike almost reads the winners before the nominees . As it cuts to clips, Dominic mumbles "It's gone well"
11 Stephen Fry, a national treasure in Britain but basically an international treasure to those paying attention, introduces the Harry Potter tribute. He does a stunning job of balancing effusive praise with cutting wit so as not to make the tribute a total "HarryPotter!ZOMG!!!" gag-fest. And the plug for his audio readings of the same was pretty funny.
12 The intro to Aaron Sorkin's Adapted Screenplay acceptance speech.
Under more normal circumstances I would be very excited about this but sitting in the seat in front of me is one of the Beatles. Sitting in the seat in front of him is Julianne Moore and in the seat in front of her was Annette Bening so I'm maxed out.
Awwwww. Don't you love it when celebrities get all thunderstruck by otehr celebrities? I know I do. 'Stars! They're just like us!!!'
13 TILDA SWINTON.
...wait, you didn't need anything more specific than that did you? She's always a favorite moment.
14. The cognitive disconnect I felt when Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg accepted for David Fincher "He's busy making his next gift for all of us in another country." I experienced it as "He's busy making his next gift for all of us, Another Country" which would be quite quite something else entirely. Could you imagine a David Fincher remake of that homo-laced British Boarding School drama? But Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg... who gets to play Colin Firth and who would gets to play Rupert Everett? The other option would be an adaptation of James Baldwin's novel which would be something else, too! Especially since Jesse and Andrew would be all wrong for that one.
15 Gerard Butler introing Best Actress without commas
a lesbian couple with a dragon tattoo take up ballet to avenge their father's death.
Speaking of movies one could have fun inventing in one's head!
16. It was wonderful to see 88 year old Christopher Lee getting a tribute, and from one of his own directors too (Tim Burton, who he has worked with four times). He seemed genuinely touched and even moreso than many honorary winners of such things. Plus he was amusing: "I'm grateful that I don't follow in the steps of the great Stanley Kubrick whose award was posthumous."
That's it!
P.S. By the way Darren Aronofsky calling Natalie Portman the most focused committed actor he'd ever worked with kind of weirded me out. Not that I don't think it could be true but EVER? His films aren't exactly lacking for great performances or great actors.
P.P.S. How are YOU doing out there, quiet people in the dark? Speak. And by speak I mean type.
P.P.P.S. all the BAFTA posts in case you missed the nominees, fashions or winners.
Reader Comments (28)
I'm sad I missed the BAFTAs Supporting Actor category because I really want to know how to pronounce Postlethwaite.
Are there videos of HBC's speech? There should be. There always should be...
Andrew Garfield would play Rupert Everett's character, of course. We need that boy back to his Red Riding-self.
I know that there is no stopping the Portman winning streak but I would have loved for Annette Bening to win the BAFTA. Just one prize. That is all I ask. :)
HBC's speech was great and the Rosamund Pike's gaffe was a hoot! Nathaniel, i'd like to refer you to instyle magazine's oscar inspirations shoot/interview, there are brief snippets on the web, one of which I know will excite you!
I really want to see that Stephen Fry speech. Love him.
Ripley - You can see it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rf263SY3MIg
One of the best speeches of the season...
I think it is still possible for Annette Bening to win the Oscar over Natalie Portman... Jessica Tandy won after Michelle Pffeifer had won every freaking award that year...
Helena is hilarious. I wish she'd win more prizes 'cause she's great on the red carpet as well as in delivering her acceptance speeches.
Tilda had an interesting dress, at least the back of it if anybody noticed, but she didn't say much, she just announced the winner in "English language with an English accent".
It was funny when Christopher Lee said " I can't wait to hear what I have to say ". Gotta love these Brits.
Nathaniel, what did you make of Miranda Richardson's reaction?
Ben -- i think they know Miranda will react so they're merciless with the camera. she can be quite outspoken that one. I still remember her vague air of MY TURN in 1994. ;)
adelutza --I know. british people are so much wittier than Americans. how do they raise them to be so? also: did you get that very late package i sent you from a contest?
Billy -- i felt the same way. but at least she got another Globe out of it.
Dylan ;) -- it's actually pronounced just like it looks
Am I the only one who immediately thinks of "The Last Unicorn" whenever they see Christopher Lee? That voice... (Btw, I'm German, so I grew up watching the German version of the film and Christopher Lee voiced King Haggard in that one, too. I've always thought that was kind of amazing). Great, now I can't get that title song out of my head... ;)
When I saw Miranda Richardson I had forgotten she was nominated (she was, right?) and for some reason thought "Oh, right, they were both in Merlin".
Weird, except I loved that tv-movie when i was young!
hmm, nathaniel, i'm pretty sure mccartney said that the king's speech was his favorite movie of the year. he did mention that he "liked" the social network, though with his song in there and everything.
Um, yeah, Harry Potter, too. There are so many famous British actors in that that i don't bother recalling. I just assume everyone is in it :p
caroline -- that was hist first anwer on the red carpet when they asked him what his favorite was. Did i miss some other interview where he answered differentlY?
I was expecting Annette to win here, just because I've been under the delusion that this was going to end up being a Marion vs Julie year (two Globe winnners, one young one old, one takes SAG one takes BAFTA). But, alas no. Sigh.
At the risk of angering thousands, I want HBC to win everything just because I love her and because I still pretend that she won a write-in Supporting Actress Oscar in 1992.
Not really surprised Aronofsky says she is the most committed, due to all the months of dance training she went through.
I generally agree with you on the Spider Man reboot but all the names involved seems so reliably talented that I can't help but look forward to it.
I want Helena to win the Oscar just so I can hear her make a speech again...
...in fact, I would be totally fine with her onstage doing a Q&A rather than sit through the other 4+ hours.
aaron -- or better yet. how about if everyone who wins actually wins but Helena gives ALL of their speeches?
I'm thinking that that Gerard Butler summary concept should be applied everywhere. Like Best Actor: "A stammering Western marshal invents Facebook and cuts his arm off after learning he has cancer."
And maybe back through Oscar history as well: "A deaf-mute Swedish mother overhears a murder plot and is put into a mental institution after saying she received visions from God."
(Can you figure out those movies/performances on your own?)
ref. #1.
i think she stole the joke from Craig Ferguson.
she was on craig's show and he told her she should play pinheaded queen next.
:)
I see no reason why anyone else in that category needs to win but Helena. Amy Adams will win in the Best Actress category for Janis – or she will be nominated again in this category and just take it from the fresh crop of transient nominees. The little girl is a little girl and that ruins the potential for future career success. Jackie doesn’t need it – she’s getting offers now. Melissa Leo you’re a mess.
Make it up to Helena Academy – you gave her Best Actress statuette to Helen Hunt! Helen Hunt – a transient – she should be a Best Actress: Curios – instead of a Champ.
J.P. i got the first one but i'll have to admit i'm stumped on the second. I keep thinking i know the year based on the deafmute but i can't ever connect the others those years ;) or are you mixing years?
I thought Pike and Cooper totally stole the show. They were 10x funnier than any scripted gag that night. I actually thought that had been largely scripted, cause it was too fun to really just be screwups. But that's just how awesome they are.
Amir- Nah, Helena was the one who said the pinheaded thing when she was on craig's show
Adam- That was awesome
Not mixing years—that would be wrong. I picked the one vintage year where I was familiar with all five Best Actress roles, having seen four of their movies, with the fifth being a well-known historical figure. (The one who saw visions from God, hint, hint.)
Also it turns out the Swedish mother is Norwegian. My bad. (Don't think foreign film, think midcentury middlebrow theater.) But I'm sure you got the deaf-mute right. There's pretty much only one, as even Marlee Matlin can make a sound.
Paul Mccartney said his fave film was the Social Network, and then changed his answer to The Kings Speech as if it is a crime for a Brit to say anything else. I'ld assume his first answer was the correct one lol.
Fave moment was definatly Rosamond Pike. I though the original part might have been scripted but I guess not, but she's one of the only people that can make such a huge flub seem endearing and cute. Everyone knew who was going to win anyway lol.
Helena's speech was awesome, I loved seeing Amy Adams laugh along to it, with what looked like 100% sincerety. Richardson didn't look that cold, maybe she was just pissed off that she didn't get the role of Queens Mother. On a side note, she looked beautiful.
Tilda was pretty sweet, I actually really liked what she was wearing, and i'm usually pretty on the fence about it, despite my appreciation of her mixing it up.
Glad to see Noomi Rapace there was well. I wish she making more of a splash on the circuit, not so kuch in noms, but in appearances.