An Education
Can somebody please tell why all of a sudden the Bafta awards have gone all Hollywood? In just over a week the nominations for the awards will be announced but the long lists have already been revealed.
And of the fifteen movies that could be fighting out for the Best Picture gong just two, in the form of Moon and an Education are British movies.
It seems to me that the Bafta awards, since gaining more attention and high profile guest lists a few years ago want to keep it that way by shining the light on and celebrating mainly American movies.
So, once again, the British film industry, which is brimming with wonderful talent and movies, is being overshadowed and pushed aside by Hollywood.
So for the likes of Avatar, Inglourious Basterds and Star trek to find themselves amongst the nominations for Best Picture British films such Nowhere Boy, Sex Drugs and Rock & Roll and Fish Tank have all been overlooked.
Now I’m not saying that we should ignore the Hollywood movies the likes of The Hurt Locker and Up In The Air deserve all of the accolades and praise that have come their way in recent weeks but the Baftas really should be a celebration of British movies.
However what is nice to see is the number of British performances that could make the final short list next week. Michael Sheen, Andy Serkis, Aaron Johnson and Ben Whishaw are all in contention.
This awards season it’s Colin Firth’s performance that has been carrying the flag for British actors in American and he too could find himself with a nomination next week.
The British actresses however have been having much better luck in Hollywood over the last few weeks with Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt and Helen Mirren all bagging Golden Globe nods.
And once again they are leading the way with Fish Tank’s Kate Jarvis also potentially in the mix.
What’s also interesting is the only British films to get a nod in Best Director include An Education, Bright Star and Fish Tank and of those three film Fish Tank’s Andrea Arnold is the only Brit.
While it’s important to make the Baftas one of the most prestigious award ceremonies on the calendar the event must also remember that celebrating the best of British filmmaker must also be a key aspect.
Take a look at the long list of nominees in the major categories for the Bafta awards. These will be whittled down and the final nominations will be announced on 21st January.
- Best Film
Avatar
District 9
An Education
Gran Torino
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Moon
Precious
The Road
A Serious Man
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air
- Adapted Screenplay
Crazy Heart
The Damned United
District 9
An Education
Fantastic Mr Fox
In the Loop
Invictus
Let the Right One In
The Lovely Bones
Me and Orson Welles
Precious
The Road
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up in the Air
- Director
Avatar
Bright Star
District 9
An Education
Fish Tank
Gran Torino
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
- Cinematography
Avatar
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
District 9
An Education
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Lovely Bones
Moon
The Road
A Serious Man
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up in the Air
- Animated Film
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
Fantastic Mr Fox
Ice Age 3: Dawn of the Dinosaurs
Up
- Leading Actor
Aaron Johnson (John Lennon) – “Nowhere Boy”
Andy Serkis (Ian Dury) – “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll”
Ben Whishaw (John Keats) – “Bright Star”
Brad Pitt (Lt. Aldo Raine) – “Inglourious Basterds”
Clint Eastwood (Walt Kowalski) – “Gran Torino”
Colin Firth (George) – “A Single Man”
George Clooney (Ryan Bingham) – “Up in the Air”
Jeff Bridges (Bad Blake) – “Crazy Heart”
Jeremy Renner (William James) – “The Hurt Locker”
Michael Sheen (Brian Clough) – “The Damned United”
Morgan Freeman (Nelson Mandela) – “Invictus”
Peter Capaldi (Malcolm Tucker) – “In the Loop”
Peter Sarsgaard (David) – “An Education”
Sam Rockwell (Sam Bell) – “Moon”
Viggo Mortensen (Man) – “The Road”
-Leading Actress
Abbie Cornish (Fanny Brawne) – “Bright Star”
Amy Adams (Julie Powell) – “Julie and Julia”
Audrey Tautou (Gabrielle ‘Coco’ Chanel) – “Coco Before Chanel”
Carey Mulligan (Jenny) – “An Education”
Emily Blunt (Queen Victoria) – “The Young Victoria”
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) – “Precious”
Helen Mirren (Sofya Tolstoy) – “The Last Station”
Katie Jarvis (Mia) – “Fish Tank”
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Jean Craddock) – “Crazy Heart”
Marion Cotillard (Luisa Contini) – “Nine”
Melanie Laurent (Shosanna Dreyfus) – “Inglourious Basterds”
Meryl Streep (Jane) – “It’s Complicated”
Meryl Streep (Julia Child) – “Julie and Julia”
Penelope Cruz (Lena) – “Broken Embraces”
Saoirse Ronan (Susie Salmon) – “The Lovely Bones”
-Supporting Actor
Aaron Wolff (Danny Gopnik) – “A Serious Man”
Alan Rickman (Professor Severus Snape) – “Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince”
Alec Baldwin (Jake) – “It’s Complicated”
Alfred Molina (Jack) – “An Education”
Anthony Mackie (J.T. Sanborn) – “The Hurt Locker”
Brian Geraghty (Owen Eldridge) – “The Hurt Locker”
Christian McKay (Orson Welles) – “Me and Orson Welles”
Christoph Waltz (Col. Landa) – “Inglourious Basterds”
Christopher Plummer (Leo Tolstoy) – “The Last Station”
Dominic Cooper (Danny) – “An Education”
Matt Damon (Francois Pienaar) – “Invictus”
Stanley Tucci (Mr Harvey) – “The Lovely Bones”
Stanley Tucci (Paul Child) – “Julie & Julia”
Timothy Spall (Peter Taylor) – “The Damned United”
Zachary Quinto (Spock) – “Star Trek”
- Supporting Actress
nna Kendrick (Natalie Keener) – “Up in the Air”
Anne-Marie Duff (Julia) – “Nowhere Boy”
Claire Danes (Sonja Jones) – “Me and Orson Welles”
Diane Kruger (Bridget von Hammersmark) – “Inglourious Basterds”
Emma Thompson (Headmistress) – “An Education”
Julianne Moore (Charley) – “A Single Man”
Kristin Scott Thomas (Mimi) – “Nowhere Boy”
Mariah Carey (Mrs Weiss) – “Precious”
Mo’Nique (Mary) – “Precious”
Olivia Williams (Miss Stubbs) – “An Education”
Penelope Cruz (Carla) – “Nine”
Rachel Weisz (Abigail Salmon) – “The Lovely Bones”
Rosamund Pike (Helen) – “An Education”
Susan Sarandon (Grandma Lynn) – “The Lovely Bones”
Vera Farmiga (Alex Goran) – “Up in the Air
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Can somebody please tell why all of a sudden the Bafta awards have gone all Hollywood? In just over a week the nominations for the awards will be announced but the long lists have already been revealed.
And of the fifteen movies that could be fighting out for the Best Picture gong just two, in the form of Moon and an Education are British movies.
It seems to me that the Bafta awards, since gaining more attention and high profile guest lists a few years ago want to keep it that way by shining the light on and celebrating mainly American movies.
So, once again, the British film industry, which is brimming with wonderful talent and movies, is being overshadowed and pushed aside by Hollywood.
So for the likes of Avatar, Inglourious Basterds and Star trek to find themselves amongst the nominations for Best Picture British films such Nowhere Boy, Sex Drugs and Rock & Roll and Fish Tank have all been overlooked.
Now I’m not saying that we should ignore the Hollywood movies the likes of The Hurt Locker and Up In The Air deserve all of the accolades and praise that have come their way in recent weeks but the Baftas really should be a celebration of British movies.
However what is nice to see is the number of British performances that could make the final short list next week. Michael Sheen, Andy Serkis, Aaron Johnson and Ben Whishaw are all in contention.
This awards season it’s Colin Firth’s performance that has been carrying the flag for British actors in American and he too could find himself with a nomination next week.
The British actresses however have been having much better luck in Hollywood over the last few weeks with Carey Mulligan, Emily Blunt and Helen Mirren all bagging Golden Globe nods.
And once again they are leading the way with Fish Tank’s Kate Jarvis also potentially in the mix.
What’s also interesting is the only British films to get a nod in Best Director include An Education, Bright Star and Fish Tank and of those three film Fish Tank’s Andrea Arnold is the only Brit.
While it’s important to make the Baftas one of the most prestigious award ceremonies on the calendar the event must also remember that celebrating the best of British filmmaker must also be a key aspect.
Take a look at the long list of nominees in the major categories for the Bafta awards. These will be whittled down and the final nominations will be announced on 21st January.
- Best Film
Avatar
District 9
An Education
Gran Torino
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
Moon
Precious
The Road
A Serious Man
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up
Up in the Air
- Adapted Screenplay
Crazy Heart
The Damned United
District 9
An Education
Fantastic Mr Fox
In the Loop
Invictus
Let the Right One In
The Lovely Bones
Me and Orson Welles
Precious
The Road
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up in the Air
- Director
Avatar
Bright Star
District 9
An Education
Fish Tank
Gran Torino
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Invictus
- Cinematography
Avatar
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
District 9
An Education
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Lovely Bones
Moon
The Road
A Serious Man
A Single Man
Star Trek
Up in the Air
- Animated Film
Coraline
Disney’s A Christmas Carol
Tagged in Carey Mulligan