BAFTA Wins & Open Thread
Sunday, February 8, 2015 at 1:30PM 
2:00 PM For those of you who have access to a live feed - I'm settling in for Dianne Wiest's new play - feel free to discuss. I'll chime in soon.
5:25 PM Here are the winners with some quick thoughts on what this means for Oscar.
THE WINNERS
BEST FILM BOYHOOD
BEST BRITISH FILM THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
LEADING ACTRESS JULIANNE MOORE Still Alice
LEADING ACTOR EDDIE REDMAYNE The Theory of Everything
SUPPORTING ACTRESS PATRICIA ARQUETTE Boyhood
SUPPORTING ACTOR J.K. SIMMONS Whiplash
DIRECTOR RICHARD LINKLATER, Boyhood
Same as it ever was. Despite the internet's total freak out earlier this weekend when Birdman added to its trophy haul with the prestigious DGA prize, the frontrunners remain the frontrunners. Best Picture, Best Director and Best Actor are still competitive mind you, but I don't think they're as competitive as people think and I suspect these are all repeat wins at the Oscar.
EE RISING STAR Jack O’Connell
COSTUME DESIGN THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Milena Canonero
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING Anthony McCarten
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE IDA Pawel Pawlikowski, Eric Abraham, Piotr Dzieciol, Ewa Puszczynska
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Wes Anderson
Jack O'Connell didn't explode quite the way I expected him to in the US this year but I think that's because foreign films (yes even British ones) are given such flimsy releases in the States so Starred Up barely made a dent and '71 hasn't even come out yet. But at least Unbroken was big for him. One suspects his dance card is filling up until about December 2017 any second now (if it hasn't already)
While most pundits are shifting their predictions in the technical categories to Grand Budapest Hotel I remain terrified that Into the Woods might still take Best Costumes. Terrified because, as talented as Colleen Atwood is, her pieces there felt like inferior variations on things she'd already done.
Adapted and Original Screenplays might well be the most confusing categories right now as we move towards Oscar night. The Globes went for Birdman, The USC Scripter went to Imitation Game, and BAFTA split between Theory of Everything and Grand Budapest Hotel. Both categories don't seem to have a frontrunner and I don't think you can rule out Whiplash either. The WGA announces their prizes on Valentine's Day and that's our last clue.
I'd love to see who you think SHOULD win these categories -- vote on the charts.
OUTSTANDING BRITISH DEBUT STEPHEN BERESFORD (Writer), DAVID LIVINGSTONE (Producer)
Pride
CINEMATOGRAPHY BIRDMAN Emmanuel Lubezki
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS INTERSTELLAR Paul Franklin, Scott Fisher, Andrew Lockley, Ian Hunter
ANIMATED FILM THE LEGO MOVIE Phil Lord, Christopher Miller
SOUND WHIPLASH Thomas Curley, Ben Wilkins, Craig Mann
EDITING WHIPLASH Tom Cross
Though I predicted Whiplash's editing victory here I'm curious if it can really follow suit at the Oscars. Whiplash's editing is very strong -- maintaining the illusions of suspense in scenes that risk redundancy constantly. But will they really bypass 12 years of Boyhood in that category?
I had thought that the Sound Oscars were either going to Birdman or American Sniper but now that I see Whiplash as a winner it makes a lot of sense, ballotwise. Perhaps AMPAS members will also nod their heads to the percussive beat
Can Interstellar repeat this win at the Oscars or will Dawn of the Planet of the Apes find a way to remind voters that they didn't even get the Oscar the last time they deserved it in 2011 when the prize inexplicably went to Hugo instead.
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION THE BIGGER PICTURE Chris Hees, Daisy Jacobs, Jennifer Majka
BRITISH SHORT FILM BOOGALOO AND GRAHAM Brian J. Falconer, Michael Lennox, Ronan Blaney
PRODUCTION DESIGN THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Adam Stockhausen, Anna Pinnock
MAKE UP & HAIR THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Frances Hannon
DOCUMENTARY CITIZENFOUR Laura Poitras
ORIGINAL MUSIC THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL Alexandre Desplat
I'm pleased that I predicted both Shorts winners. They're both up for Oscars too. Elsewhere, Original Score is not remotely a done deal, Oscar-wise. It's just as easy to picture Theory of Everything or The Imitation Game winning.
Reader Comments (68)
Keaton still has time to shoot himself and make it happen! Right?
Two ways of looking at the Redmayne win:
1) He can't lose; he's got the Brit vote; he's got momentum; he's playing Hawking.
2) Anyone on the fence but leaning Keaton will realize that Redmayne's about to walk away with this, so they'll throw their support to the veteran instead.
The folks at Fox Searchlight must be bouncing off the walls right about now, with Budapest surging, Birdman going down to the wire with Boyhood, and Wild dead in the water.
Paul Outlaw: I don't know that I would say Boyhood is dead in the water. It took two prizes tonight that many thought would/could go another direction. I think it is very much in play. On the other hand, GBH surging is music to my ears.
Arg! Paul, I misread your post 3 times so agree with you, although I think Boyhood might be picking up some of Birdman's steam. I'm a bit surprised Birdman didn't do better tonight and I don't think cinematography is it's strongest category.
This is just going to be an off-the-wall year.
Right now I'm predicting :
Birdman for picture (the industry/about Hollywood/preferential ballot puts it over the top)
Boyhood for director (the achievement of it all - 3rd split in a row)
Grand Budapest for original screenplay (have to give it a big prize)
Redmayne for actor (not Keaton corresponding with Best Picture) - the physicality too hard to ignore
A weird spread the wealth year.
I would be delighted with that kind of outcome for "The Grand Budapest Hotel" at the Oscars. Crossing my fingers.
Julianne Moore wins for a film that has not yet been released in the UK. Not even a 2-theater limited release, not even a festival one night stand.
I'm excited that the Oscars will really be suspenseful until the envelopes are opened but I do think Boyhood is still going to win director and picture. Guess we'll see.
Nat, if Linklater had won the DGA I would agree with you, but given that Birdman took the PGA/DGA/SAG trifecta, I think it's a closer race than you think. Yes, Boyhood has support but if you think about it, BAFTA is the only place it has won so far where there is crossover with the Academy membership, while the Guilds, the other place where there is crossover, went with Birdman. So, those races are so close, I could even see a Picture/Director split between the two (and if Wes Anderson wins Screenplay, we'll be living in an awesome world where all three of these fine directors have an Academy Award). We'll see though. I do, however, agree that Redmayne will repeat at the Oscars. Frankly, as much as I love Michael Keaton's performance in Birdman, I never bought that he was the frontrunner. He has too much going against him (starting with the fact that he's the only actor playing a fictional character, and AMPAS loves actors who mimmick real people, though reducing Redmayne's performance to that is highly unfair)...
Re: possible Atwood win: by your own rule, Nathaniel, Atwood and Powell only win Oscars when they're nominated against each other, and Powell's not nominated this year. I don't think she gets a 4th this time out.
I think the recent director/picture split streak comes down to social and online media. Pundits and tastemakers have the space and freedom to establish separate director and picture narratives. It shows in the way people are selecting nominees AND winners. And it's why the dreamy Globe director lineup seemed almost plausible at the time.
In the past, those weren't really two separate races, but today they totally are. And that's a very, very good thing, even if we don't see a split this year.
@Yavor: well, it has been actually. The film was shown (might have been only for one night? not sure) at a cinema in Chelsea this weekend, including a Q&A with Julianne Moore.
Erm...how can you possibly think Boyhood is still the frontrunner after Birdman won the SAG, PGA, and DGA?
@Carlos - oh wow, Carlos, you mean a complete full-bodied showcase of the film right before the awards ceremony? Neat, neat stuff :D
oh f**k you for saying that Pike's turn is robotic! you try to act your ass off, Bruno.
and of course, Julianne has the Oscar locked up since the very beginning of the race.
Second time in a few weeks I notice people outright telling fellow posters to f*ck themselves. I'm obviously not Nathaniel, but I have been following this blog since 2006, and will step up to ask my fellow readers and commentators to keep it civil. Disagreement is not grounds for disrespect.
I still think Keaton has a great chance at winning. Redmayne is a Brit in a biopic on a famous Brit, so the BAFTA win is not a shock. Oscar doesn't like young dudes for Best Actor. And I don't think Eddie has the overwhelming charisma to put him over. But AMPAS does love their physical transformations. It's gonna be a squeaker.
Nathaniel, don't worry about Colleen Atwood winning the Oscar. Remember, she can't win without Sandy Powell also being nominated beside her. They need each other. Just like Hilary Swank needs Annette Bening. And Oliver Stone needs Woody Allen. Oh wait...