Good morning! David here, up bright (so to speak) and early (definitely) to bring you this year's nominations from the British Academy of Film and Television Awards. These are the last set of nominations before AMPAS weighs in next week, so these are the last hints you might get for any surprises and any big wave of British support that might be coming.
Your headlines: Gravity leads the pack, with 12 Years A Slave and a surprisingly strong American Hustle - scoring four acting nominations - just behind, while Dallas Buyers' Club misses out everywhere, and June Squibb is omitted for Sally Hawkins. Nat will be weighing in later today with what it all means for the Oscars, but please get discussing in the comments with your own thoughts. And if you'd like to save yourself some reading, watch Helen McCrory and Luke Evans reveal eleven of the categories:
BEST FILM
12 Years A Slave
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
Only Philomena sticks out here. Is this what the British pack will go to bat for?
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr. Banks
The Selfish Giant
Nice to see The Selfish Giant squeeze in here - a throwback to the halcyon days when this category was won by films like Fish Tank and wasn't quite so... expensive.
DIRECTOR
Steve McQueen, 12 Years A Slave
David O. Russell, American Hustle
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Eric Warren Singer & David O. Russell, American Hustle
Woody Allen, Blue Jasmine
Alfonso Cuarón & Jonás Cuarón, Gravity
Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, Inside Llewyn Davis
Bob Nelson, Nebraska
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
John Ridley, 12 Years A Slave
Richard LaGravenese, Behind the Candelabra
Billy Ray, Captain Phillips
Steve Coogan & Jeff Pope, Philomena
Terence Winter, The Wolf of Wall Street
Behind the Candelabra is back in theatrical form to throw your predictions out of whack.
LEAD ACTOR
Christian Bale, American Hustle
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Leonardo DiCaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years A Slave
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Bale! It was a very strong showing for American Hustle, with a full quartet of acting nominations.
LEAD ACTRESS
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Adams knocks Streep out! Dench and Thompson were never going to miss here. There's definitely some wiggle room in the accepted five, though if Adele Exarchopoulos was going to make a move, you sense this would have been the place.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years A Slave
Jared Leto misses out - and I believe Dallas Buyers' Club was eligible - but with Matt Damon his replacement, it's unlikely to threaten him at the Oscars.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years A Slave
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Oprah Winfrey, The Butler
Squibb misses out, but Nebraska did well for such an "American" film. But this could augur well for Sally.
WadjdaFILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Act of Killing - Joshua Oppenheimer, Signe Byrge Sørensen
Blue is the Warmest Colour - Abdellatif Kechiche, Brahim Chioua, Vincent Maraval
The Great Beauty - Paolo Sorrentino, Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima
Metro Manila - Sean Ellis, Mathilde Charpentier
Wadjda - Haifaa Al-Mansour, Gerhard Meixner, Roman Paul
DOCUMENTARY
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim's Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story of Wikileaks
These categories have completely different criteria to AMPAS' stricter selection, but you could still be spying pockets of support.
ANIMATED FILM
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Sean Bobbitt, 12 Years A Slave
Barry Ackroyd, Captain Phillips
Emmanuel Lubezki, Gravity
Bruno Delbonnel, Inside Llewyn Davis
Phedon Papamichael, Nebraska
EDITING
Joe Walker, 12 Years A Slave
Christopher Rouse, Captain Phillips
Alfonso Cuarón & Mark Sanger, Gravity
Dan Hanley & Mike Hill, Rush
Thelma Schoonmaker, The Wolf of Wall Street
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Adam Stockhausen & Alice Baker, 12 Years A Slave
Judy Becker & Heather Loeffler, American Hustle
Howard Cummings, Behind the Candelabra
Andy Nicholson, Rosie Goodwin & Joanne Woodlard, Gravity
Catherine Martin & Beverley Dunn, The Great Gatsby
COSTUME DESIGN
Michael Wilkinson, American Hustle
Ellen Mirojnick, Behind the Candelabra
Catherine Martin, The Great Gatsby
Michael O'Connor, The Invisible Woman
Daniel Orlandi, Saving Mr. Banks
MAKE-UP AND HAIR
Evelyne Noraz & Lori McCoy-Bell, American Hustle
Kate Biscoe & Marie Larkin, Behind the Candelabra
Debra Denson, Beverly Jo Pryor & Candace Neal, The Butler
Maurizio Silvi & Kerry Warn , The Great Gatsby
Peter Swords King, Richard Taylor & Rick Findlater, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Hans Zimmer, 12 Years A Slave
John Williams, The Book Thief
Henry Jackman, Captain Phillips
Steven Price, Gravity
Thomas Newman, Saving Mr. Banks
SOUND
All is Lost - Richard Hymns, Steve Boeddeker, Brandon Proctor, Micah Bloomberg, Gillian Arthur
Captain Phillips - Chris Burdon, Mark Taylor, Mike Prestwood Smith, Chris Munro, Oliver Tarney
Gravity - Glenn Freemantle, Skip Lievsay, Christopher Benstead, Niv Adiri, Chris Munro
Inside Llewyn Davis - Peter F. Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Greg Orloff
Rush - Danny Hambrook, Martin Steyer, Stefan Korte, Markus Stemler, Frank Kruse
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Gravity - Tim Webber, Chris Lawrence, David Shirk, Neil Corbould, Nikki Penny
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug - Joe Letteri, Eric Saindon, David Clayton, Eric Reynolds
Iron Man 3 - Bryan Grill, Christopher Townsend, Guy Williams, Dan Sudick
Pacific Rim - Hal Hickel, John Knoll, Lindy De Quattro, Nigel Sumner
Star Trek Into Darkness - Ben Grossmann, Burt Dalton, Patrick Tubach, Roger Guyett
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
Colin Carberry & Glenn Patterson (writers), Good Vibrations
Kelly Marcel (writer), Saving Mr. Banks
Kieran Evans (director/writer), Kelly + Victor
Paul Wright (director/writer) & Polly Stokes (producer), For Those in Peril
Scott Graham (director/writer), Shell
Particularly great nominations there for Scott Graham and Kieran Evans, whose films I lauded during my coverage of the London Film Festival for TFE back in 2012 - Shell and Kelly + Victor.
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
Everything I Can See From Here - Bjorn-Erik Aschim, Friederike Nicolaus, Sam Taylor
I Am Tom Moody - Ainslie Henderson
Sleeping With the Fishes - James Walker, Sarah Woolner, Yousif Al-Khalifa
BRITISH SHORT FILM
Island Queen - Ben Mallaby, Nat Luurtsema
Keeping Up With the Joneses - Megan Rubens, Michael Pearce, Selina Lim
Orbit Ever After - Chee-Lan Chan, Jamie Stone, Len Rowles
Room 8 - James W. Griffiths, Sophie Venner
Sea View - Anna Duffield, Jane Linfoot
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD
Dane DeHaan
George MacKay
Lupita Nyong'o
Will Poulter
Léa Seydoux
The BAFTA winners are announced on Sunday 16 February.
Wednesday, January 8, 2014 at 3:16AM 
;)
WadjdaFILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Reader Comments (51)
I think DiCaprio, Adams and Cooper are happening at the Oscars. Hawkins vs. Winfrey for that last Supporting Actress slot, but recognition from the Brits may mean it's Winfrey.
Dallas Buyers Club was on the list of entered films for Bafta. Perhaps there wasn't enough screenings for voters? Or they just didn't love it?
'poor' meryl... :( I still hope she makes in.
@ Chris UK: I edited that, sorry! I knew it had been screening so I'm not sure why I questioned it (tiredness, I think). I guess they just didn't go for it. Which might temper its stronger profile lately?
Ah shit, look at Behind the Candelabra!
(Though I'd like to know in what world Matt Damon falls under 'supporting' since the movie begins, middles and ends with him... but whatever.)
I have nothing else to add other than this could probably be a preview of American Hustle's domination of the acting categories on Oscar nom morning. And Philomena being a real BP nominee now -- throw it in the #6 - #10 pile along with Dallas Buyers Club, who's still totally in the race despite the no-show here. Also, can we talk about how sweet that Meryl snub is? Oh yes.
Philomena was going to do well at the BAFTAs. Not only is it a British film but it is award worthy. As for Christian Bale - well he is British.
Just surprised with the continued love for the overrated American Hustle. I've seen it and although it is well made and acted - it is nothing special.
Remember the last 'sting' film to win the Best Picture at the Oscars was 'The Sting' in 1973. How many Best of Lists has that appeared on in the past 30 or so years???
If AH wins Best Picture - it will be dumped in the same bin as other unworthy Best Pics like Rain Man, Shakespeare In Love, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Crash, No Country for old men and Million Dollar Baby.
"american hustle" seems very strong. the most bafta has nominated a russell movie I think?
btw, what happens with the reception to this movie? the critics and industry in general seem to love it, but online commentary is very harsh in some places.
(I haven't seen the movie btw)
I'm pleased for Sally Hawkins and hope she gets in at Oscar, although I hope that June Squibb gets in also. Happy about Daniel Bruhl as well, category fraud be damned mwah ha ha!
When I saw Matt Damon's nomination, I was hoping Michael Douglas would get in. My mum will be disappointed as she absolutely loved Michael's performance.
I went and saw Nebraska last night, which I really enjoyed, and thought the cinematography was beautiful, so I'm glad Phedon Papamichael got in. Here's hoping for an Oscar nom.
I also saw a trailer for Dallas Buyer's Club which isn't actually out until February. I'm guessing Chris UK is correct and there wasn't enough screenings for members. Also, the trailer didn't actually make me want to see it anyway. Maybe it's just more of a film for American audiences.
Lastly, I'm hoping Meryl doesn't get in at Oscar. I do like her a lot, just not in this film.
was "her" ineligible?
Oprah recognition and McConaughey denial pleases me especially.
It's a shame that the BAFTAs have fallen for the category fraud so that they can 'mirror' the Oscars where in years past they correctly put lead actors in the correct categories.... Abdi, Bruhl,, Roberts all leads *sigh*.
I am not surprised at the Oprah nomination, she was in the UK promoting the film heavily and the film has been out for some time. Dallas Buyers Club is flying very much under the radar here at the moment and I guess if the BAFTA members didn't watch the screeners it was doomed.
Marcelo - 'Her' was eligible, but again that is not out til mid February here, so the members would have needed to watch their screeners
Just noticed they nominated 5 films that based on real events on adapted category (and they shut out Before Midnight completely).
The BAFTA best directors = DGA directors => done deal?
and Gravity for Best British Film? Really?
I'm so disappointed at their Best Animated Films, too safe
Gravity was co-produced by a Brit, a lot of it was shot at studios in the UK and most of the special effects (which make up a lot of the film) created by a company in the UK, it may not seem like a British film, but for the purposes of BAFTA it qualifies as most of it was created and produced in the UK.
People should ignore the 'oh, Christian Bale is British' arguments... BAFTA (especially in the last 10 years) have very little bias towards UK actors - The Fighter was his first nomination, this is Hawkins' first (she's NEVER been nominated here, can you believe it?)
On the other hand, BAFTA voters seem to adore Amy Adams (this, nominated for Doubt when Viola missed, nominated for The Fighter when Leo missed the longlist entirely!)
Adele missing here means there is ZERO chance for her at Oscar.
I'm surprised that Douglas missed Best Actor (meaning that support for American Hustle and Leo DiCaprio is very, very strong?)
If DiCaprio gets that (almost surprise) nomination at Oscar, I call him as a serious contender for the win... let's call him Marcia Gay Harden for 2014...
Oprah getting in means that Hawkins is probably destined for 6th place with Oscar...
Matt Damon and Julia Roberts getting away with blatant fraud makes me a bit sad.
Eesh these are boring. I mean, I'm happy The Selfish Giant got a nomination for Best British Film, but what is the point of even having British awards if you're just going to nominate the same five American movies that have been getting attention elsewhere? Even of the British films that got in, are those really all that representative of your national cinema? Even if they were, are they really the best films produced this year? Hell even the Globes have more of a unique identity than this.
Most of the comments I've seen this morning have had to do with people complaining about the Baftas nominating films that haven't been released in the UK yet (August, Wolf), I think people would be even more outraged if Dallas Buyers Club (which apart from the people into awards season, no one I know has ever heard of) and Her had been nominated. I get the point, it is really annoying. Her is over a month away from release!
I hope Michael Fassbender gets this one, since Leto is taking the rest...
TB -- You're right, but I just don't see the brits complaining about that. Actually they look pretty comfortable becoming a satellite and, so far, they're doing category fraud just fine!
American Hudtle has issues but is a great sctor's showcase. All four nominated deserve to go all the way
I saw AH last night and yes it owes debts to the greats of 70's cinema but it is uneven and only some of the actors hit the right notes,i didn't buy Bale & Lawrence as a couple infact i didn't buy Lawrence's character at all,the singing scene eveything was so ott she took me right out of the scene poor Amy trying to keep up with showboating like that,all those actorly tics with her hands plus she is way too young to have all that history behind her,sorry Jen,once i got the point ofwhat Adams was doing i thought she was clearly the female lead and the best actor in there,she's totally winning the globe and pushing out Meryl
3 films where Streep got the Golden Globe Nomination and not BAFTA:
Ironweed
A Cry in the Dark
Postcards from the Edge
3 films where Streep got Golden Globe Nomination and SAG nomination but not BAFTA nomination:
The Bridges of Madison County
One True Thing
Music of the Heart
Do not think not getting the BAFTA is a complete Adams knockdown... At least not yet
If anything this is good news: the BAFTA Best Actress line up rarely matches the Oscar Best Actress line up... Look at the history...
You have to go back to 1997 (when they only nominated 4) to find a year when the Best Actor winner was not nominated by BAFTA. Still, it does happen, albeit rarely.
Streep getting snubbed is so rare that I feel we should be lighting candles and doing a minute of silence or something.
Really happy for Sally Hawkins!
Nominating Michael Douglas in supporting would have been less fraudulent than putting Matt Damon there.
I've always thought that Adams will be Oscar nominated for 'American Hustle.' I think she'll knock out Thompson over Streep, though.
Mike M - Thompson appearing here makes me think she's solid. If she was going to miss anywhere, it would be BAFTA in my opinion (yes, she's British, but the film was not especially well received in comparison to the USA).
Likewise Winfrey - she's solid if she made it in here (even without her film).
With so much support for the acting in AH throughout the season, I think one of the actors will win the Oscar. Maybe this is a sign that Leto is a critics darling but doesn't carry over to the award shows and Bradley Cooper might be stronger than we think? He's well-loved, has a showy and hilarious part, and got over the hump last year of how weird it would be for him to be an Oscar actor. If he gots the nomination next week, and then wins either Globe or BAFTA, he is winning in March.
I think Cooper fills out the Supporting Actor category. I think critics just took him for granted. I think his rapport with Louis CK is one of the film's great strengths. Him, Adams, and Lawrence I still think are getting nominated. I'm not so much surprised Bale made it here but that Damon (sound the alarms for that Category Fraud- even the Emmys didn't stoop to that level) got pushed to supporting which meant Candelabra was eligible and therefore Bale pushed out Michael Douglas. Kinda shocking.
Still think Gravity and 12YAS are both being underestimated as the favorites. American Hustle is a contender but I just see it as potential spoiler than the preemptive favorite that is resulting in such harsh pieces on it.
God, the Original Score category is going to be so depressing. Price's Gravity score is really the only score I can live with winning. An electronic score getting recognition would've been better category filler than John Williams' 99th nod. Or is only Trent Reznor allowed to get nods for those?
I think Adele's chances are kind of dead after this, which is a shame. She would be #1 on my contenders still in the race ballot but for her to pull a Riva, she really could've used a BAFTA nod.
CMG - agreed regarding Adele - BAFTA have the largest overlap in voters with The Academy (still small, but the largest regardless) and are renowned for noticing foreign language performances even when there are English language alternatives...
In short, if Adele was getting in with Oscar she would DEFINITELY be on the BAFTA list... I'm pretty surprised that Thompson beat Streep too...
Speaking of Thompson and Streep---I'm dying to see video of their antics at the NBR gala! Gawd---what will they do at the GGs? Probably give Fey and Pohler a run for their money.
The love for Hustle in Director and Screenplay (did it have one?) is a travesty, but everything else seems pretty sound. Wondering what happened to Her and DBC...
Pam- it's things like that that make me love Streep... Being so gracious to Thompson and calling spades a spade during awards season...
May not have been a wise idea to slam Disney with Into the Woods coming out.. But whatever. it's STREEP!!
Bullock & Thompson better than Adele Exarchopoulos, I don't think so. BAFTA have played it safe with the popular options which is very boring.
I fear Adele's chance of an Oscar nomination has slipped away.
Jamie, I don't think that Meryl Streep's behavior qualifies as gracious. She had the following to say about her most famous detractor, Pauline Kael:
"I’m incapable of not thinking about what Pauline wrote. And you know what I think? That Pauline was a poor Jewish girl who was at Berkeley with all these rich Pasadena Wasps with long blonde hair, and the heartlessness of them got her. And then, years later, she sees me."
Apparently, it's not possible to simply dislike her acting style.
Bette Streep--Whoa, whoa, whoa...I agree that if American Hustle wins Best Picture there will be a backlash and it will be lumped into the category of ostensibly undeserving winners, but you think No Country for Old Men is in that category too?! In what universe is that considered one of Oscar's embarrassing choices?
I think the Supporting Actor category is probably settled now, with Cooper getting the fifth slot. I have my fingers crossed for Sally Hawkins getting in, but I fear there's another snub in store for her. I do think Amy Adams will make it in, but I'm not sure who she'll replace. BAFTA seems to indicate Streep is the weak link, but I honestly think Thompson could be the one left out. And as for Best Actor, I really think Redford is in trouble. I haven't settled on removing him from my predictions just yet, but I think I might before I finalize them. DiCaprio seems like the most likely "surprise" nominee, but if there is really a huge showing for American Hustle, I think Bale might actually be a threat.
And I'll say this: if American Hustle gets nominated in all four acting categories, it's probably winning Best Picture.
"If AH wins Best Picture - it will be dumped in the same bin as other unworthy Best Pics like Rain Man, Shakespeare In Love, Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind, Crash, No Country for old men and Million Dollar Baby."
One of these things is not like the other. Mainly, one of the best Best Picture winners of the last 25 years. No Country for Old Men is like an ideal Best Picture winner in that it was made by auteurs who did not compromise a single inch of their style for their end product and got a long overdue award by a body that never quite understood them with one of their bests. I'm with Edwin on that one.
And JFC, Meryl made that observation about Kael? Come on, PK wrote pretty well of the privileged, WASP-y actors sect like Jane Fonda and given that she liked DePalma and he had nothing but WASPs in his films, that seems like plain projection. It could just simply be that Meryl's track record of making actual quality films sometimes meant critics were not calling her the thespian of the millennium.
Mike M- do not really understand the point you are making.. Never called Streep a saint. I just thought it was really nice to accept Thompson's request to introduce her when it was a reward that Streep was also probably up for... That they were friends..
And may I add that Thompson's Saving Mr Banks role was one that Streep turned down...
That's all
Streep "turned down" the PL Travers role? I thought she was just considered for it.
Most reports say turned down...
I think Streep more of less conceded that she is fine with not being nominated when she called the awards season "really ridiculous." Didn't she say in her Iron Lady acceptance speech that she would never be up there again? I think BAFTA is showing the Oscar lineup for best actress with either Blancett or Dench winning. I honestly think Streep would like to just be a working actress and not have to worry about awards season.
There is a difference between an actor seriously considering a role and then deciding against playing it to a producer calling her agent, asking if she is interested and being told no for any number of reasons. I can't see her going for Travers. She rarely repeats and Travers is close to so many characters she has already played in many ways. So, technically she turned it down, but that doesn't mean it was ever a serious proposition. Plus, Streep is linked to every project for a lady of a certain age when a film is looking for backing.......and sometimes those she is totally unfit for. Its a rare position to be in.
It is so dispiriting to see all these nominations for AH. What movie were these voters watching? The acting was good but obviously could not overcome a sloppy, incoherent, ridiculous script.
Okay.
Original Screenplay:
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Nebraska
Inside Llewyn Davis
Her (it's just too much of a "writer's would be HOOKED" concept to be left behind in this category.)
Adapted Screenplay:
Philomena
Captain Phillips
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
AND...Before Midnight, Short Term 12, Blue is the Warmest Colour or August: Osage County, in that order of likelihood, for the final slot.
Maybe Oprah is going to get in after all...therefore I'm hoping Squibb is the one snubbed (a la Shailene Woodley a couple of years ago). I WANT my Sally Hawkins nominated!
brookesboy -- i loved AH... i'm kinda mystified that so many readers are angry with it.
Nathan, I always respect your opinion. AH just really rubbed me the wrong way. I couldn't wait for it to be over.
Henry -- if that is true than she should stop campaigning.( I don't buy for a second that Meryl doesn't care about awards... and if she doesn't it makes her relentless bid for #3 which cost Viola the gold forever even more uneccesarily tragic...) anyway, i think it's annoying when actors don't care about awards so maybe i'm impossible to please ;) .
AH doesn't just have a sloppy script, its sloppy film making from start to finish. Its almost as if Russell was working against his actors.
Adams should be spoken of with the same potential as Blancett in regards to BA. The role/idea had all those possibilities but her director worked against her from story line (Really? A stripper who manages to get herself into Cosmo then goes back down the ladder to become a small time con?), to camera shots (not one decent shot of her in any of those incredible costumes, especially the blue disco dress or the bikini), to not directing her to have a little fun with the role (she rarely showed any spark). If I seem angry about the film, its because I wanted Prada and got a Canal St knock-off.
Nat--I see your point. But with Harvey behind the film, she may feel pressure to campaign.