BAFTA Nominations: "Grand Budapest" is "...Everything"
Friday, January 9, 2015 at 1:11PM 
Despite having an industry filled to the brim with talent, the British Academy of Film and Television Awards regularly prefers American films these days and this year would be no exception but for the two behemoth Brit biopics that have been doing spectacularly well all season on the other side of the Atlantic: The Imitation Game (suspiciously deemed "American" for AFI) and The Theory of Everything. Unsurprisingly they're nominated for both of BAFTA's top prizes, "Film" and "British Film," the latter of which amounts to the kiddie table I suppose even though it shouldn't -- this being the British Academy -- since those films rarely score as many nominations at home as their American counterparts do. It's actually amusing in a perverse way when you consider the theory that AMPAS here at home is obsessed with British actors and considers anything they do "prestige."
BAFTA was notably stingy to Mike Leigh's Mr. Turner in all but the below line categories (no actor nomination for Spall or British film citation), but found room for our beloved Pride in a few places as well as the thrilling '71. The latter, starring Jack O'Connell who is dropped directly into the center of The Troubles for one violent night (that is not a spoiler -- that's just the very minimalist plot), hasn't opened in the States yet but it's an armrest gripper so be prepared.
In the final tallies the two nomination leaders were The Grand Budapest Hotel (11) and The Theory of Everything and Birdman tied for second (10). Titles that did pretty well considering how quiet their buzz is at home were Interstellar (4) and Big Eyes (2). Completely shut-out: Unbroken. What happened to: A Most Violent Year and Selma? They also received zero nominations but unless they received qualifying releases -- some believe Selma did and they got screeners but that's hard for me to believe until I see official BAFTA.ORG proof since Selma didn't even send screener to American guilds -- they would not have been eligible as they haven't yet opened in the UK.
A full list of nominations with comments is after the jump. You can check out if, in the words of Unbroken's Jack O'Connell, you fancy it.
Check them out if you fancy it.
FILM
Birdman
Boyhood
The Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
The Theory of Everything
Which would possibly be our Oscar Best Picture list if there were only five. Seems crazy right? I don't dislike either of the pictures but I'm still baffled that Imitation Game and Theory have such devout fans.
BRITISH FILM
'71
The Imitation Game
Paddington
Pride
The Theory of Everything
Under the Skin
Despite a soul-crushing teaser trailer and some recasting trouble that hinted at problems, Paddington appears to be well liked. And not just by BAFTA. It opens next week here in the US. Happy for Under the Skin of course, given our fascination with it. And most thrilled about Pride which is one of my Best Picture nominees.
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Ida
Leviathan
The Lunchbox
Trash
Two Days One Night
Interesting that this is so different than what Oscar is considering since only two of these (Ida & Leviathan) are eligible this year for the corresponding Oscar prize. For what it's worth, Stephen Daldry (Trash) was at that Selma event I was telling you about and seems to be a popular person.
DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Damian Chazelle, Whiplash
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, Birdman
Richard Linklater, Boyhood
James Marsh, The Theory of Everything
I told you nobody would do as well as the Globes in their Director nominations this year! I wonder if Marsh, who we just interviewed, is a threat for DGA or Oscar?
LEADING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Big Eyes
Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
Reese Witherspoon, Wild
"When in doubt, go with Amy Adams" - the mantra of all mainstream awards groups. But it's ridiculous that Two Days One Night is eligible for them (given its other nomination) and that they didn't find Cotillard's work worthy. It towards over half of these!
LEADING ACTOR
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
Jake Gyllenhall, Nightcrawler
Michael Keaton, Birdman
Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
No Spall, eh? Remember when I started predicting Jake Gyllenhaal for the Oscar nod and you thought it was all wishful thinking on my part? I can't quite bear to predict Ralph Fiennes because I don't expect he'll be nominated but it will be so disappointing when he's not.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
Imelda Staunton, Pride
Emma Stone, Birdman
Rene Russo, Nightcrawler
Streep stans will surely object but it's nice to see her step aside briefly -- she always gets so much media time -- since we haven't seen much of Imelda Staunton or Rene Russo yet this season. It'll be cool to see them on at least one more red carpet.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
Steve Carell, Foxcatcher
Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
Edward Norton, Birdman
Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Carell as supporting, eh? That's one way to avoid The Judge in this category that nobody ever seems to be enthused about.
RISING STAR
Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Jack O'Connell
Margot Robbie
Miles Teller
Shailene Woodley
You can vote on this one. The public decides.
OUTSTANDING DEBUT, BRITISH WRITER or DIRECTOR or PRODUCER
Gregory Burke (writer) & Yann Demange (director), '71
Stephen Beresford (writer) & David Livingstone (producer), Pride
Elaine Constantine (writer/director), North Soul
Paula Katis (director) & Andrew De Lotbiniere (producer), Kajaki: The True Story
Hong Khaou (writer/director), Lilting
We interviewed Hong Khaou this year and that movie really sticks in the memory. Have any of you seen it yet? It was always like crickets when we brought it up. For what it's worth the director of Pride Matthew Warchus was not eligible for this award. He made one film prior to this many moon ago, as we discussed in our interview with him.
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
American Sniper, Jason Hall
Gone Girl, Gillian Flynn
The Imitation Game, Graham Moore
Paddington, Paul King
The Theory of Everything, Anthony McCarten
Surprise: Paddington. I feel bad for Wild.
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Birdman, Alejandor Gonzalez Inarritu, Nicolas, Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris Jr, and Armando Bo
Boyhood, Richard Linklater
Grand Budapest Hotel, Wes Anderson
Nightcrawler, Dan Gilroy
Whiplash, Damien Chazelle
I was going to say that this will be your Oscar list but haha I keep forgetting that Whiplash has gone Adapted. So what will take its spot: Selma, Foxcatcher, Ida, Mr Turner, A Most Violent Year? I'd like to dream of Pride but it seems that very few people in the US have seen it else more people would be shouting about how good it is.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
Birdman, Emmanuel Lubezki
Grand Budapest Hotel, Robert Yeoman
Ida, Lukasz Zal, Ryzsard Lenczewski
Interstellar, Hoyte Van Hoytema
Mr Turner, Dick Pope
I would not be at all surprised if this was the Oscar list. Though the ASC thought differently and preferred Imitation Game and Unbroken to Ida & Interstellar
COSTUME DESIGN
Grand Budapest Hotel, Milena Canonero
The Imitation Game, Sammy Sheldon Differ
Into the Woods, Colleen Atwood
Mr Turner, Jacqueline Durran
The Theory of Everything, Steven Noble
Solid list. Nice to see Jacqueline Durran show up since she wasn't on the CDG list.
MAKEUP AND HAIR
Grand Budapest Hotel, Frances Hannon
Guardians of the Galaxy, Elizabeth Yianni-Georgiu, David White
Into the Woods, Peter Swords King, J. Roy Helland
Mr Turner, Christine Blundell, Lesa Warrener
The Theory of Everything, Jan Sewell
Different rules than Oscar obviously BUT again I repeat: why is the Oscar list only 3 wide? That's just wrong and punitive on the makeup artists and hair stylists since every film uses them.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
Big Eyes, Rick Heinrichs, Shane Vieau
Grand Budapest Hotel, Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
The Imitation Game, Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana McDonald
Interstellar, Nathan Crowley, Gary Fettis
Mr Turner, Suzie Davis, Charlotte Watts
I will say this about Big Eyes production design. I loved that crazy diagonal house and its weird colors during the period of the Keane's new money grandeur. Here are the choices from the American guild as well as my own ballot.
FILM EDITING
Birdman, Douglas Crise, Stephen Mirrione
Grand Budapest Hotel, Barney Pilling
The Imitation Game, William Goldenberg
Nightcrawler, John Gilroy
The Theory of Everything, Jinx Godfrey
Whiplash, Tom Cross
Six nominations so they obviously have no tie-breaker system (why is Oscar the only group that can figure those things out for consistency's sake from year to year?). The editing guild here in the US loved all of these films but for Theory of Everything.
VISUAL EFFECTS
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
Interstellar
Guardians of the Galaxy
The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
X-Men: Days of Future Past
Unlikely to be your Oscar list since the X-Men films are never chosen in this category.
ORIGINAL MUSIC
Birdman, Antonio Sanchez
Grand Budapest Hotel, Alexandre Desplat
Interstellar, Hans Zimmer
The Theory of Everything, Johann Johannson
Under the Skin, Mica Levi
MICA LEVI !!! That is all. Well also: nice to see Birdman continue to score recognition despite Oscar's ineligibility decision
SOUND
American Sniper
Birdman
Grand Budapest Hotel
The Imitation Game
Whiplash
If you missed it Teo Bugbee had a very astute piece about Grand Budapest Hotel's sound right here at The Film Experience - check it out.
ANIMATED FILM
Big Hero 6
The Boxtrolls
The LEGO Movie
This is more like it. Animated features should not get 5 nominees. There just aren't enough of them made. If the Best Picture category had the same percentages we'd have like 80 to 90 Best Picture nominees a year.
DOCUMENTARY
20 Feet From Stardom
20,000 Days on Earth
Citizenfour
Finding Vivian Maier
Virunga
Last year's Oscar winner competing with some hopefuls this year. Plus: 20,000 Days on Earth.
BRITISH ANIMATED SHORT
The Bigger Picture
Monkey Love Experiments
My Dad
The Bigger Picture is the only one of these in the running for an Oscar nomination.
BRITISH SHORT
Emotional Fusebox
Boogaloo & Graham
The Karman Line
Slap
Three Brothers
Weird not to see that buzzy Sally Hawkins short The Phone Call miss here. Boogaloo and Graham is the only one of these in the running for an Oscar nomination.
Reader Comments (64)
There's always an awful British snub by the BAFTAs.
Hawkins in Happy Go Lucky, Colman in Tyrannosuar and now Spall in Mr Turner. Spall is better than Redmayne and Cumberbatch and the film better than their films. Awful.
Also had faith in BAFTA going for Marion. Alas!
Happy for Pride, Nightcrawler and Under The Skin, though a nomination for Scarlett would've made my life.
'71...starring Jack O'Connell who is dropped directly into the center of The Troubles for one violent night, hasn't opened in the States yet but it's a armrest gripper...
if only someone hadn't blabbed the ending
They should change the best film category to "the best Oscar Contender Film"
Does this mean that Paddington might actually be a good family film? That's a surprise.
Good lord Amy Adams have you no shame?!
*I recognize that BAFTA is to blame.
Fingers crossed for Rene Russo because that would be AWESOME!
A friend who follows eligibility way closer than I do has told me Jennifer Aniston was not eligible for Cake because the movie opens late in February, which is past the Bafta deadline, even with qualifying runs. So there was an empty spot that Amy filled, it will very likely not have an impact on Oscar noms.
I was so giddy with anticipation for the dear Lord, Amy Adams AGAIN x at least we didn't get Aniston flame wars that would break out Oscar morning if she pulled off a nomination. Now I feel robbed.
BAFTA's are weird with Streep... Usually has little impact her at home...I mean she was not nominated last year for A:OC, was nominated for The Manchurian Candidate, and was nominated and lost for Sophie's Choice...
RALPH FIENNES! I know BAFTA has treated him better than AMPAS in the past, but I so wish he could make Oscar's final five....
Loving the cinematography nomination for Ida!
Was Selma ineligible? I sure hope so. Because if it actually was eligible... yikes.
Amy Adams? Yawn. I'm so fatigued by her. She desperately needs to take a break.
Steve Carrell supporting? Haven't seen the movie so idk, but that would make that fifth slot interesting and free up a space in the crowded lead category. But I;m sure it's category fraud.
The supporting actress lineup is great tho. Nice that they haven't nominated Meryl the past two years and decided to spread the wealth. I'm so happy for Rene Russo. Even if this is all she gets, I'm so glad she got some major recognition. Hopefully this does mean something for Oscar morning, though... I would be thrilled if she took the fifth slot. She's the only person I'd want taking Jessica Chastain's spot.
Go Ralph Go!!!!
Bafta Awards or the total submission to the American industry. Shame!
And I don't know about others but I'd much rather see Jennifer Aniston get nominated than Amy Adams become a six-time nominee. At least not for this film. It seems way too easy. And I'm sure she'll have success with the Janis Joplin biopic, so I pray the Academy doesn't fall for the Harvey Weinstein bait this time.
Jennifer or Marion or Hilary would be great.
Selma is not being released in the UK until next month, meaning it was ineligible this year.
Also, BAFTA's Supporting Actress picks are often totally inspired. Sigourney Weaver for The Ice Storm is one of my favorite wins ever, period.
Speaking of which, Patricia could be the second Arquette sister to win in this category. Remember Rosanna's (fraudulent, but excellent) win for Desperately Seeking Susan?
Yay for Sanchez getting in for Birdman original music! Boo for makeup/hair for Into the Woods.
Actually, Selma was eligible for the BAFTA. Member of the organisation confirmed on twitter that they had screenings and receiving screeners as well.
It seems they just didn't take to it.
par -- i didn't blab the ending. That's like the plot of the entire movie (or at least its final 60 minutes). one night amidst the violence of the troubles.
arun -- that would be SO WEIRD if they received them since the screeners weren't sent to the american guilds in time. I'll just assume unless i hear officially that these were BAFTA members who were also academy members and thus would get those screeners. Selma has been very slow about screeners. The BFCA is just getting them now (we vote for winners any minute)
Jamie - that's a good point.
YAY for Pride, but sad that it missed on Screenplay. Which... is Paddington REALLY that good? Because I LOVED Paddington as a kid (my grandparents are British) but nothing about that film inspires any kind of confidence.
Interesting that Tyldum was left off the Director list for Chazelle.
The Lunchbox! I completely forgot about that one. And it's so good, too.
Ralph Fiennes is by far the nomination that would make me happiest at the Oscars (that actually has a chance in hell of happening. Channing Tatum would actually make me happier but that buzz has long since died, if it ever existed to begin with), which means I will be so incredibly bummed when it doesn't happen. He makes it look too easy. Which, for that part, is the whole point!
Absolutely astonished that Timothy Spall and Marion Cotillard weren't nominated -terrible oversight, but will be cheering on Ralph Fiennes, and Imelda Staunton (Pride).
I love the line up for best supporting actress...
They didn't take to Selma or Into the Woods very much.
So many nominations for Grand Budapest Hotel, seems like the Bafta's love Eau d'Panache. It's clearly the scent of the year.
I admired Selma but didn't love it. Except for a few scenes it never hit emotional liftoff for me. Only Coretta and the Jackson family successfully mixed personal with political for me. I understand it underperforming with awards bodies, probably not enough passion votes.
And I'm a huge fan of DuVernay and Middle of Nowhere is a beautiful film and still her best. I'm looking forward to her next now that she proved she can play on a grander scale.
So was Starred Up with Jack O'Connell a UK release in 2013? I haven't seen it yet (now on Amazon Prime) but those who have say he's quite remarkable in it and the film is excellent. I think Tasha Robinson listed it on her top 10 of the year.
Streep getting snubbed is pure karma after backing Crowe.
With the strong Nightcrawler showing I feel more confident many will tick Russo in supporting,I really hope so,you know that coatail nomination coming from a Best Actor play.
Nat would you be happy or frustrated with Carell comitting cat/fraud over Duvall at Oscar.
I hope Streep sits this one out,seems like she went full witch and notin a good way finally after prepping us the last few years with Doubt and AOC..
I'm still baffled that Imitation Game and Theory have such devout fans.
Would you want to be the awards organization who didn't honor Alan Turing or Stephen Hawking? I mean of course that's a silly mindset, but I'm sure that's the pervasive thought.
Also, after all these years of wondering "WHO keeps voting for Amy Adams?" we have our answer. Big Eyes turned out to be a really good litmus test for *where* Adams gets the support each year.
You remove actual merit from the equation and BOOM! Turns out the Brits love her.
I'm really happy that "The Grand Budapest Hotel" is the most nominated film of the year. It's great that Ralph Fiennes got recognised.
I didn't have faith in "Paddington" when I saw the trailer, but the movie is really well done. It's charming and funny. Nicole Kidman is really good as the villain.
Everyone was paying attention at the trailers of Paddington the moment they were realease and how awful they were, yet the scores it got in Metacritic, Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb are very high.
Well, after all these years, I've had this respect for the BAFTAs because of quality generally getting its due, but it appears that the BAFTAs have become just a popularity contest on trying to copy what they think that Oscar might do. Shame on both of them because it should be mandatory for voters to see all of the films and actors should vote on craft and not just because you want to see a friend nominated or that you think that someone might be nominated for the Oscar and you want to be in the "winner's circle".
How on earth, does Timothy Spall not make the Best Actor's list? He gave a better performance than all of the nominees, hands down. There is absolutely no way, if acting had been voted on, that Mr. Turner should miss any acting category but Best Actress, and that's because there was not a lead actress in the film, but certainly Dorothy Atkinson, and Marion Bailey for Supporting Actress, and Paul Jessen for Supporting Actor, and certainly Best Film and Mike Leigh for Best Direction. It's sad, that it's come to this. One of the great things about a Mike Leigh film is that you generally get real performances. The actors in Mr. Turner are so good, you never even feel you are watching an acting performance, and that's what great acting is all about. All of the actors they nominated for Best Actor, you never feel it's a real life. Yeah, they're good, but it feels like acting.
Streep getting snubbed is pure karma after backing Crowe.
Deep down Streep is secretly a Gwyneth.
Hell yeah Grand Budapest! Didn't see that coming.
Aside from GBH, right now I'm suffering from awards season malaise, where even the likely nominees that I really liked - i.e, Boyhood and Birdman - are getting dragged down by, well, just the general state of things, and the fact that mediocre crap like Imitation Game and Theory of Everything have worked their way so firmly into the conversation. I should probably try to rewatch them both soonish to refresh my memory as to why they're actually good movies.
This is the first time I'm not "outraged" by a Selma snub, or even chalking it up to a lack of screeners or screenings. If you look at the list (and number of nods per category) of nominees and consider that there are going to be a relatively high percentage of Brits occupying slots, there's not a lot to complain about quality-wise...unless you want to make the default complaints about The Theory of Everything, The Imitation Game and Amy Adams.
Fans of Mr. Turner, Foxcatcher, How to Train Your Dragon 2, Unbroken, A Most Violent Year, Tom Hardy and Marion Cotillard have just as much reason (if not more) to be upset than Selma lovers, I think.
Do not get your hopes up folks! Streep is still getting the Oscar nomination next week. She has the GG, SAG, and BFCA nominations in a critically praised performance this year.
BAFTA did not nominate her for :
Ironweed
A cry in the Dark
Postcards from the Edge
The Bridges of Madison County
One True Thing
Music of the Heart
August:Osage County
All of these she still landed the Oscar nomination because AMPAS love Streep...
Where is Jessica Chastain?
I have seen Paddington here in the UK, and it is a wonderful film. I also had initial misgivings after the trailer, but it is actually everything one could hope for. And Ben Whishaw as Paddington's voice works so well, I can't even imagine how Colin Firth could have done it...
So, don't be surprised, Paddington is great!
I re-watched Imitation Game last night. I still don't get the argument that it isn't gay enough. I felt Turing's sexuality was hanging over every scene and influenced every interaction he had. I'm not sure I see it as a great film, it's better than Theory by a mile (both feel a little too close to a very special episode of Masterpiece Classic) but it's a very good film and much easier to watch than the material would make you think. I credit the score which keeps the mood light without trivializing, especially the first two acts. I thought the acting was top notch across the board so the acting noms for this film don't bother me (I feel the acting noms for Theory are also merited).
I"m really surprised by the Spall snub. Or that no one got into supporting actor from Pride.
Typical but worth pointing out that the five nominees for Best Film are all about men with primarily male protagonists. Oscar will echo this sentiment and then some.
Yeah-the biggest surprise here is that Paddington, which has a trailer so bad I take that as a point to refill my popcorn at theaters, might actually be a worthwhile catch.
I'm not surprised that A Most Violent Year is getting no love. It opened at the wrong time for the subject matter.
It's another gangster film (or it looks to be). It even has the Scarface haircut. Over the holiday weekend, if you are looking at seeing something new (Birdman, Boyhood), something with huge stars you like (ITW,), something important with must see performances (Theory, TIG, Selma), or you are looking at a stack of screeners---another gangster film gets pushed aside.
It needed to open on a quieter weekend where it could be the new film because the impression is that it is not a new story. Gangster is easy to find, the stars/names attached don't have the draw, it doesn't have a promotion campaign on TV......it should have waited until February and blown everyone's socks off like GBH.
Typical but worth pointing out that the five nominees for Best Film are all about men with primarily male protagonists. Oscar will echo this sentiment and then some.
Film will remain patriarchal for the foreseeable.
Very happy with the Under the Skin British Film nod (it's *something* for a great film that will probably go empty-handed on Oscar nominations morning). Russo in supporting is very nice as well.
I know that Big Eyes isn't supposed to be very good, but the one thing I keep reading is Adams is the best thing about it. Hopefully will get around to seeing it this weekend, but is Adams really not worthy of the nomination? It's probably true she received a few nominations for target non earth shattering performances in the past (Doubt, The Master), but it seemed like a lot of people were moved by this one.
The main reason Amy Adams got nominated? Harvey Weinstein! I heard she had a good BAFTA campaign. If Big Eyes was not released by Weinstein, Amy would not stand a chance.
'A Most Violent Year' was BAFTA-eligible, so says a member on Twitter. It's just that the film has no buzz outside of Chastain and awards voters are busy catching up with films that are contenders in multiple big categories.
Had A24 given the film a summer/ early fall release and got the screeners out early (like SPC did for Animal Kingdom) 'AMVY' would be in a much better position.
zig -- it makes me so sad to know they like UNDER THE SKIN and still thought Amy Adams was more worthy than Scarlett Johansson. yikes.
bruno -- she's good in the film but i haven't heard that much passion. I don't really like her performance in The Master but i heard a lot more people who passionatedly defended that. About the only thing that really stands out about her performance in Big Eyes is that she's a lot better than the movie she's in. But one of the five best? Nah. not even close.
henry -- i do think it opened too late and it's too low profile to correct misconceptions. I think it's different than people expect (it's not really a gangster movie -- even though i know it gives off that vibe)
Jamie - Thanks for that list of all Streep's BAFTA snubs. It's because of her history with them that the lack of a nomination this morning was absolutely no surprise to me. To think that she wasn't nominated by them between "Out of Africa" and "The Hours" is bananas!
Nat--I agree with you totally about AMVY. I think the haircut was the big mistake. That cut belongs to Scarface and MP and screams gangster moll and it's the only image most people have seen of the film. Issac even looks a little like Pacino, especially the height difference. Bad timing and bad marketing.
I completely agree with you about The Theory of Everything and The Imitation Game; they're both handsomely-made and well-acted, but I wouldn't wholly recommend them as "must see" films.