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« Happy 50th Jim Carrey! | Main | Curio: Dolly Days »
Tuesday
Jan172012

BAFTA Nominations: Driver, Marilyn, Soldier, Spy

The BAFTA nominations are out and though we've begun to lose interest in precursors -- 7 days until Oscar nominations are announced -- we should list them anyway! Precursors has two meanings for me. There's the calendar meaning which merely includes all awards that precede the Oscars. But there's a second meaning which is the awards that primarily exist to do just that, precede and thus predict the Oscar. We tend to never lose interest in the precursors that have their own personalities and quickly move on from the others.

BAFTA'S BEST PICTURE. Can you imagine how exciting this year would be if there were only five Oscar nominees again. What the hell would be nominated?

BAFTA's final shortlist is different enough than what we expect Oscar's to look like (Drive and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy both have devout fans but haven't captured that much awards heat in Hollywood) that we are forced into being slightly more interested than usual!

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST - Thomas Langmann
THE DESCENDANTS - Jim Burke, Alexander Payne, Jim Taylor
DRIVE - Marc Platt, Adam Siegel
THE HELP - Brunson Green, Chris Columbus, Michael Barnathan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo

Is Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, which has won some notice from the guilds and a fair amount of interest at the box office gaining ground towards major Oscar nominations next Tuesday or not? It's one of the big question marks right there along with is the abundant Dragon Tattoo guild love a case of perfect timing or 'crossover appeal and you'll see it at Oscar, too!'


OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN - Simon Curtis, David Parfitt, Harvey Weinstein, Adrian Hodges
SENNA - Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Manish Pandey
SHAME - Steve McQueen, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Abi Morgan
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O'Connor, Peter Straughan
WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN - Lynne Ramsay, Luc Roeg, Jennifer Fox, Robert Salerno, Rory Stewart Kinnear

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)

Given that there is no Oscar equivalent of this category and few clues in their nominations as to which of these they loved, we're interested to see who wins this one. I suspect it will be Tyrannosaur but I'll admit I'm personally rooting for Attack the Block. I'm not as crazy for it as Michael is but I do appreciate its energy and no budget invention.

Directors, Actors and everything else after the jump...

 

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

BAFTA. sniffle. Why must you give me hope that Nicolas Winding Refn will surprise on Oscar nomination morning. I've been hoping for it since I first saw the film, a hope which was only reinforced the second and third and fourth times I saw the movie. Please note that Martin Scorsese is their only director nominated without a best film or best british film nomination. It's that lifetime achievement tour we were talking about the other day.

LEADING ACTRESS
BÉRÉNICE BEJO - The Artist
MERYL STREEP - The Iron Lady
MICHELLE WILLIAMS - My Week with Marilyn
TILDA SWINTON - We Need to Talk About Kevin
VIOLA DAVIS - The Help

The same five women who were vote leaders in the "long list". Bejo campaigned supporting for Oscar

LEADING ACTOR
BRAD PITT - Moneyball
GARY OLDMAN - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
GEORGE CLOONEY - The Descendants
JEAN DUJARDIN - The Artist
MICHAEL FASSBENDER - Shame

These were the same five that were vote leaders in the "long list". Oldman is the only wildcard from the lists we've seen before elsewhere.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
CAREY MULLIGAN - Drive
JESSICA CHASTAIN - The Help
JUDI DENCH - My Week with Marilyn
MELISSA MCCARTHY - Bridesmaids
OCTAVIA SPENCER - The Help

I was reading the other day that Carey Mulligan's part in Drive was originally meant to be a Latina actress? I heard it on twitter and thus who knows. Curious then that they went with Mulligan. I like her a lot as an actress, but my feeling has always been that if a supporting role is a bit of a blank one and could be filled in by any capable actress, go with a hungry unknown who will tear into it, knowing what an opportunity it is.

God the Brits really loved that cable movie My Week With Marilyn... oh, you say it was a theatrical feature... my mistake!

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

One of the long list vote leaders was Eddie Marsan for Tyrannosaur, but they threw him over for Jim Broadbent's twinkly Ghost of Mr Thatcher in The Iron Lady. In the space of one week I heard one man call it "the worst performance Broadbent has ever given" and another say "oh, whatshisname was so delightful in that!". The former was a critic and the latter was an AMPAS member. Just saying.

DOCUMENTARY
GEORGE HARRISON: LIVING IN THE MATERIAL WORLD - Martin Scorsese
PROJECT NIM - James Marsh, Simon Chinn
SENNA - Asif Kapadia

Why only three nominees?

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

As previously discussed the WGA's choices in this category were extremely limited since many high profile contenders weren't eligible. So the only holdovers are Bridesmaids and Midnight. I'm excited to see how well all the pundits do predicting Original Screenplay this year because it's still fairly volatile.

 

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

This might well be the Oscar shortlist too. BAFTA skipped Writers Guild favorites Hugo and Dragon Tattoo in favor of Tinker Tailor and Ides of March

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
INCENDIES - Denis Villeneuve, Luc Déry, Kim McGraw
PINA - Wim Wenders, Gian-Piero Ringel
POTICHE - François Ozon, Eric Altmayer, Nicolas Altmayer
A SEPARATION - Asghar Farhadi
THE SKIN I LIVE IN - Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

Different films are eligible for this category than in Oscar's own. So the only repeats you MIGHT see on Oscar's list are Iran's A Separation and Germany's Pina.

ANIMATED FILM
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN - Steven Spielberg
ARTHUR CHRISTMAS - Sarah Smith
RANGO - Gore Verbinski

Only three here and they're all looking good for Oscar nominations. Unless Oscar's animation branch continues to reject the mocap technique in which case Tintin will get the boot.

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST - Ludovic Bource
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross
HUGO - Howard Shore
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Alberto Iglesias
WAR HORSE - John Williams

This is nearly the same list as the Globes with Tinker Tailor replacing W.E. Alberto Iglesias really had a marvelous year since his work in The Skin I Live In was also gold worthy.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST - Guillaume Schiffman
THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO - Jeff Cronenweth
HUGO - Robert Richardson
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Hoyte van Hoytema
WAR HORSE - Janusz Kaminski

War Horse: It's practically an FYC advertisement for itself.

This is the same as the American guild list but for the inexcusable omission of Emmanuel Lubezki's The Tree of Life. The British Academy preferred War Horse. Nevertheless I don't think Lubezki is any danger of losing an Oscar nomination. He's one of the rare craftsmen in the world who has a healthy nomination tallly without ever having lensed a Best Picture nominee. In other words, he doesn't need his film to have traction for his colleagues to value his work. That is more rare than it should be and thus very very impressive.

EDITING
THE ARTIST - Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius
DRIVE - Mat Newman
HUGO - Thelma Schoonmaker
SENNA - Gregers Sall, Chris King
TINKER TAILOR SOLIDER SPY - Dino Jonsater

Only two of these films made the ACE Eddie list (The Artist and Hugo). Can Drive squeeze into Oscar's list I think it can... but I'm having trouble believing it fully.

PRODUCTION DESIGN
THE ARTIST - Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 - Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan
HUGO - Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana MacDonald
WAR HORSE - Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

This could well be Oscar's list. War Horse might be the weakest contender since it was skipped by the American guild. If the Horse falls, expect The Help to rise.


COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST - Mark Bridges
HUGO - Sandy Powell
JANE EYRE - Michael O'Connor
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN - Jill Taylor
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - Jacqueline Durran

SOUND
THE ARTIST - Nadine Muse, Gérard Lamps, Michael Krikorian
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 - James Mather, Stuart Wilson, Stuart Hilliker, Mike Dowson, Adam Scrivener
HUGO - Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY - John Casali, Howard Bargroff, Doug Cooper, Stephen Griffiths, Andy Shelley
WAR HORSE - Stuart Wilson, Gary Rydstrom, Andy Nelson, Tom Johnson, Richard Hymns

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
THE ADVENTURES OF TINTIN: THE SECRET OF THE UNICORN - Joe Letteri
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery
HUGO - Rob Legato, Ben Grossman, Joss Williams
RISE OF THE PLANET OF THE APES - Joe Letteri, Dan Lemmon, R. Christopher White
WAR HORSE - Ben Morris, Neil Corbould

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE ARTIST - Julie Hewett, Cydney Cornell
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 - Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
HUGO Morag - Ross, Jan Archibald
THE IRON LADY - Marese Langan
MY WEEK WITH MARILYN - Jenny Shircore

This is one and maybe the only area where I prefer BAFTA to Oscar. Their Makeup & Hair category is less about visual effects than about, well, makeup & hair. Oscar's technically  has a bit of room for wigs and makeup decisions that don't involve heavy prosthetics but their focus even within their rules is clearly on the transformative "makeup effects"

SHORT ANIMATION
ABUELAS - Afarin Eghbal, Kasia Malipan, Francesca Gardiner
BOBBY YEAH - Robert Morgan
A MORNING STROLL - Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
CHALK - Martina Amati, Gavin Emerson, James Bolton, Ilaria Bernardini
MWANSA THE GREAT - Rungano Nyoni, Gabriel Gauchet
ONLY SOUND REMAINS - Arash Ashtiani, Anshu Poddar
PITCH BLACK HEIST - John Maclean, Gerardine O'Flynn
TWO AND TWO - Babak Anvari, Kit Fraser, Gavin Cullen

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD

ADAM DEACON
CHRIS HEMSWORTH
TOM HIDDLESTON
CHRIS O’DOWD
EDDIE REDMAYNE

We discussed this one already.

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Reader Comments (34)

//One of the long list vote leaders was Eddie Marsan for Tyrannosaur, but they threw him over for Jim Broadbent's twinkly Ghost of Mr Thatcher in The Iron Lady. In the space of one week I heard one man call it "the worst performance Broadbent has ever given" and another say "oh, whatshisname was so delightful in that!". The former was a critic and the latter was an AMPAS member. Just saying.//

It is to weep, no? Something to keep in mind whenever we kid ourselves about Oscars actually representing "best" anything. It makes it all the more frustrating that the critics groups - who theoretically should have some knowledge and taste in terms of cinema because that's their JOB - just try to "predict" Oscar, instead of standing up for and representing the really good and great films of the year, or reminding us of difficult and uncomfortable options that we might not have seen otherwise. (Such is life...)

BTW - War Horse for cinematography feels obvious, yes, and completely lazy. That film is very nearly a collage of "let's take this shot from this film and add it here, then key up the sunset saturation to 20..." I will however agree with the nomination for Sound for that film, as it is the aural component that has stayed with me long after every else (except Tom Hiddleston's face) has mercifully faded.

And what is it with the Descendants love?

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJanice

BTW, I'm thinking that unless AMPAS really surprises, the only way for PItt to win an Oscar at this point is to go the Robert Redford route and direct.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJanice

How was it possible for Brooks to miss given their general appreciation for the film and the lackluster roster of the BSA field? And was Gosling's character in Drive that un-awards-friendly that nobody is willing to throw him a bone somewhere? And if they'd like to nominate their own at least get Colman in there. sigh.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterred

The Descendants love irritates me! I love Alexander Payne - Sideways, ELECTION and About Schmidt are wonderful films with a nice human touch, but this one - I felt not only disappointed, but betrayed. And they still come up with it everywhere - even the BAFTA's. This year's BAFTA nominees are absolutely idiotic. You wanna honor Abi Morgan? Nominate her for SHAME that's actually a much better script than The Iron Lady! You wanna Judi Dench to know how much you love her? Write her a damn letter! (And I still feel like if I'm the only one in the world who believes Kathy Burke deserved something for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. What a wonderful, underrated actress! She needed two more scenes in the film and she would have been an Oscar contender, but she created a character that felt like somebody you know, in just a few minutes.) Actually Broadbent has a shot at an Oscar nod. There is nobody to actually nominate. Plummer, Branagh and Brooks will be there. From then on it's up in the air. Nolte, Mortensen, Oswalt etc all have a shot and Broadbent could surprise.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterzooey

I am surprised Mulligan was on the long list as Lead for Shame as to me that film is the story of Fassbender's character and she is definitely a supporting character in it. She is gone for huge chunks of the film, and of the two performances this year that's the one where she deserves the recognition. Her work in Drive is serviceable sure, but nothing brilliant.

The Broadbent and Dench nominations are so lazy!

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterramification

You may not like War Horse, but the cinematography is astonishing. Come on, people. There's nothing lazy about it, neither in concept, nor in execution. The movie is just beautiful.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commentercal roth

L O V E the editing nom for Senna. That would be the best surprise ever if it happened in Oscars too. This movie is so brilliant.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commentercal roth

Ummm, I feel a bit silly - but I don't get how Scorsese as a lone director means it's a lifetime achievement. Doesn't it just mean that the Picture category was tight for them? Hugo does get more a few citations.

I feel sort of bad for Carey since everyone else (not you, but others) seem so incensed that they cast her. I thought it made the film more interesting having her opposite Oscar Isaac, and at the risk of eliciting ire she gives my favourite performance in Drive.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAndrew K.

I am yet to read anyone review Mulligan's performance in Drive warmly. I can't get my head around this. I found her French-actress-level incandescent, every bit as nuanced and transfixing as Gosling (who is himself by habit French-actress-level incandescent).

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commentergoran

Carey Mulligan in Drive, really? That performance was such a blip.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBia

Quibble all you want about the other categories (and trust me, I definitely will), but that Best Actor line up is wonderful. If Brad, George, Jean, Fassy, and Gary all repeat for the Oscars next week I will be a very happy camper. Just as long as Leo doesn't sneak in.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJonny

I will not be surprised at all if Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy seemingly pops up out of nowhere at the Oscars. It's a very good film that demands attention. Gary Oldman especially could be a nice surprise next Tuesday. The scene with him describing what happened to his lighter is some of the finest acting I've seen in years. I almost want to go back to the theater and sit through the whole film again for that one scene.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterRobert G

The more I pay attention to the precursors, the more bored I get. I also don't get the Descendants love, and I really liked Election, Sideways and About Schmidt. Clooney was fine, but have none of these critics or awards members seen Michael Shannon in Take Shelter? Or Woody Harrelson in Rampart? Or Ewan McGregor in Beginners? Isn't it their JOB to see as many films as possible? It's like they all saw the same 10 movies and just nominated whatever actors were in those movies.

And dear God, why is Jonah Hill becoming a lock while hardly anyone has nominated or rewarded Pitt for "The Tree of Life"? If ever there was a year for him to be double-nominated...

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDJDeeJay

On the whole, BAFTA probably > Oscar this year: a lot of Tinker Tailor and Drive, two big nominations for Bridesmaids and Kevin, only three for The Descendants, and almost nothing for Midnight in Paris. The director lineup is especially awesome, except for Scorsese, and even he is at least more deserving than Allen/Payne/Spielberg would be.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJan

In regards to Carey Mulligan's role in Drive being meant for a slightly older latina:
In the original novel and even in the script the role was written for a latina. Nicholas Winding Refn said in regards to that casting:

from Huffington Post interview:
Carey Mulligan's character, Irene, was originally written as a young Latina woman in her twenties. How did you end up casting her instead?
I couldn't find any actress that would click with me personally. I couldn't make a decision for some reason. I had all this talent in front of me and out of the blue I get a call from Carey because she wanted to meet me about doing a movie. She came by the house and she walked in and I realized, 'Oh my God, this is what I was looking for. I wanted to protect her ... And I knew that was the Driver's motivation.

and

"In the novel, ‘Irene’ is a Latina. Director Refn confirms, “Originally I was looking for a Latina actress. I met a lot of great actresses—famous and not famous—but there was just always something wrong.”
He continues, “I hadn’t seen Carey’s films, but the minute she walked in the door, I knew we had our ‘Irene’. It just cemented the love story in a much more interesting way. It made it more of a “ROMEO & JULIET” kind of love story without the politics that would in this day and age be brought into it if you had different nationalities or different religions.”"

and

Carey told The Los Angeles Times: "My agent said, 'It's a Latina woman in her late 20s, and you should just read it.' So I went and met [Refn], trying to persuade him that he should let me do it."

I wasn't a fan of the film for a variety of reasons including the lack of chemistry between Gosling and Mulligan. But I was very pissed off with the change from latina to white. How are actors of color supposed to do anything if even the roles written for them are given to white actors? I'm not exactly surprised this isn't being talked about even though it has been referenced in interviews that they had been casting for a latina and only changed when Mulligan expressed interest. Hurm.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAngelica Jade

Nathaniel,

What are your thoughts on a Melissa McCarthy Oscar nom at this point? She's missed some key precursors, but still seems to have a ton of traction. Also, am I the only one who is pleased by her buzz, but very surprised? Not that she shouldn't get nominated because of her type or her character, I just wasn't as blown away by that particular performance as others were.

Same goes for Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig - do you expect to see Target Lady get a nomination a week from now?

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterjlp

I'm a big fan on Carey Mulligan, generally, but I thought she was miscast in Drive.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterRJ

Loved the love for TTSS and Drive! who does Ryan Gosling has to sleep with to get his second oscar nom though, or BAFTA for that matter.

Still hoping he'll pop us as a surprise next week.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterNic

I'm glad that I'm not the only one to love Kathy Burke in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy. She's in it briefly, but she's so good in just that one big scene. I'm glad to see that others noticed her, too.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterErik

The Tree of Life gets shutout yet again; this is just getting ridiculous now, it doesn't bode well for Oscar.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMDA

Aren't Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes dating? I think they are. All this "latina actress"talk reminded me of it.

I like Carey Mulligan as an actress, but I dont like the fact that she is being cast in every single role available for actresses in their mid-twenties to early-thirties. I dont like it not only because there are other interesting actresses around, who also deserve the chance to play interesting parts, and because she is not right for every single role there is. Nobody is.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterAmanda

You have to admire Mulligan for moving away from that whole 'next Audrey Hepburn' persona that she could have very easily adopted after An Education and for taking on different and challenging roles at least but yes I agree with Amanda she can't be right for EVERY part.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered Commenterramification

Big fan of Kathy Burke too. I would definitely watch an entire movie about that character.

Broadbent ghostly appearances cracked me up so I don't get the nomination and I usually love that man.

Where on Earth is Olivia Colman? There was a time when Bafta didn't care much about Oscars and awarded Anne Bancroft in 84 Charing Cross Road or Maggie Smith as Judith Hearne. I want those times back!

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterPeggy Sue

Other than Jane Eyre and The Artist, the costume nominees are a total let down they select the boring and drab costumes of Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy and My Week With Marilyn and Hugo, a movie I found excruciatlngly dull, by Miss Two of These herself Sandy Powell. The other movies that should have been nominated for costumes are The Help, A Dangerous Method and Midnight In Paris they are for more deserving.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJohnny Hintergardt

So the British really hates the Tree of Life? I don't think it's even nominated in anything....wow....

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMarshall1

Yeh, the DRIVE Best Pic nom is cool and I’m thrilled for Ramsay but the snub for TREE OF LIFE’s Lubezki is disturbing on so many levels...

To stay sane, consider these 12 redeeming qualities of BAFTA:

- Almodovar won Best Director for ALL ABOUT MY MOTHER
- MULHOLLAND DR. won Best Editing
- FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING won Best Film
- Clive Owen won Best Supp Actor for CLOSER
- ETERNAL SUNSHINE snagged a Best Film nomination
- BROKEBACK won 4 major awards (including Best Film)
- Daniel Craig was nomed for Best Actor in CASINO ROYALE
- Emmanuel Lubezki won Best Cinematography for CHILDREN OF MEN
- Tilda Swinton won Best Supp Actress for MICHAEL CLAYTON
- Colin Firth won Best Actor for A SINGLE MAN
- David Fincher won Best Director for SOCIAL NETWORK

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterRyanSt

I think this is *really* good news for Melissa McCarthy. If even the uber-stuffy, uptight Brits are comfortable with including her on their list I think it’s safe to say enough AMPAS voters will too

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterMARK W.E.

Olivia Colman?
This is worse than when they snubbed Sally Hawkins.
I'm expecting The Artist and My Week With Marilyn to take everything, Film, British Film, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor (Branagh as Oliver, a BAFTA dream), Screenplay and a load of techs!

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKeegan

Cal - you're talking to me, and we have to agree to disagree on this one. The "prettier" War Horse got, the more irritated it made m in the theater. Yes it's "pretty" but I want something more than pretty set-pieces in a film that scream "Tah-dah! Oscar, here we come!"

there were some choices I really admired, but were they due to the cinematography as much as the directing, the editing, the script?

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJanice

they select the boring and drab costumes of Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy and My Week With Marilyn

Johnny, really? The leading man's wardrobe in Marilyn was exquisite and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy relies on subtle wardrobe changes--the glasses in particular--to guide the timeline of the narrative. I find both inclusions quite thrilling. Menswear rarely goes noticed and the BAFTAs highlighted to excellent uses of menswear for recognition.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterRobert G

You know, as much as Drive did very well here, the absence of Albert Brooks could actually be death to the film at Oscar if his snubs here and with SAG follow suit. It's the only category most people are predicting it to be nominated for at the Oscars, so if he gets the shaft again with the Academy, we could potentially see a complete shut-out for Drive. Ouch.

January 17, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterJohn-Paul

The Help over Hugo and Midnight in Paris? No Woody Allen in director? Carey Mulligan for Shame? No Albert Brooks? The Iron Lady in screenplay? Jim Broadbent? BAFTAs, you aren’t worth a damn this year. Ready for the Oscar nods now.

January 18, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterKyle J

Scorsese deserves director as much as anyone. “Hugo” was amazing. And he’s getting the BAFTA fellowship this year, so they didn’t have to honor him unless they really liked his work. “Hugo” not making best feature is crap, but that’s for another time.

January 18, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterDSSS

While I'm very pleased that Drive got a best pic and director nominations here (it was far and away my favorite film of 2011), --the inclusion of Carey Mulligan for best supporting actress in Drive, while omitting Albert Brooks for best supporting actor, is completely incomprehensible. If anything, Mulligan should have been nominated for Shame, and Brooks is such an obvious choice for Drive, you have to question what went on here. Astounding.

January 18, 2012 | Unregistered CommenterBrian
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