The Awards Blog #3: The 2014 BAFTA Nominations
Without a doubt the most important night of the British film calendar, the BAFTA Awards will be held on the 16th of February. While that is still a while to go, speculation has already begun on who is going to take home the theatre mask trophies, especially since the nominees were announced this past Wednesday.
Gravity led the list with 11 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role and Outstanding British Film. That last category is for films that are made with sufficient British funding or technical support, which meant that while the film had a Mexican director and American stars, it was still eligible for the category.
12 Years a Slave, despite its British director and leading actor, was not eligible and had to make do with 10 nominations, including for Best Film, Best Director and all the acting categories except for Best Actress in a Leading Role. American Hustle also picked up 10 nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture and in all four acting categories.
Captain Phillips was the other Best Film nominee that picked up a Best Director nod to count among its 9 nominations, but Philomena failed to pick up a directorial nod. The final slot in that category went to Martin Scorsese for The Wolf of Wall Street, keeping up BAFTA’s tradition of straying away from the nominations of other major awards like the Golden Globes.
The alleged British tilt of the awards was not enough to guarantee nominations for either Idris Elba or Kate Winslet, with the lead acting categories going largely to form. The one exception being Matthew McConaughey’s omission from Best Actor in a Leading Role, the slot taken by Leonardo Dicaprio, who has largely been ignored from the major awards. Liza Minelli promised to give McConaughey her Oscar if he was overlooked there. Hopefully, she has a spare BAFTA lying around.
In fact, McConaughey’s Dallas Buyers Club, a favourite at the critics’ awards, failed to notch up a single nomination, particularly surprising given the fact that Jared Leto seems to be a lock at all the other major awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Also completely shut out was Spike Jonze’s Her, another critics darling. Meanwhile, Inside Llewyn Davis picked up only three nominations, and only one in the “big” categories – Best Original Screenplay.
After being ignored during the critics’ awards and snubbed at the Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey picked up a nod to go with her SAG nomination, renewing interest in a possible slot at the Oscars. That was the only nomination for The Butler, however, with star Forest Whitaker being left out of the running.
Elba and Winslet might have been snubbed, but British stars still represent a significant portion of the nominees, with Chiwetel Ejiofor and Christian Bale vying for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Judi Dench and Emma Thompson competing in the Best Actress in a Leading Role category, and Sally Hawkins up for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.
Dame Dench is on her 15th nomination, making her the single most nominated actor in the history of the awards ahead of Meryl Streep with 14 – who missed out on another one for August: Osage County. Woody Allen holds the record for the most BAFTA nominations for any individual, scoring a total of 23 across multiple categories including one for Best Original Screenplay this year with Blue Jasmine.
A refreshing surprise is the five nominations picked up by Behind the Candelabra, including Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Best Adapted Screenplay. The production was released as a television film in the US, preventing it from being nominated at the American awards shows. However, it was given a cinematic release here and has justifiably been rewarded with multiple nods.
Also of note is the EE BAFTA Rising Star Award, which recognises young talent in the industry. This year’s nominees are Dane DeHaan, George Mackay, Will Poulter, Léa Seydoux and Lupita Nyong’o. Nyong’o, also nominated for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, is the only true newcomer in the group but is probably the strongest contender. Nonetheless, with the award based on audience voting, it really is anyone’s game.
Other categories, including Best Film Not in the English Language and the technical awards, have not thrown up any surprises but should still provide some good viewing on the night. All in all, the BAFTA nominations have reaffirmed the widely held view that the past year has been an extremely strong one for the film industry and the actual ceremony should be another corker of a night with Stephen Fry resuming hosting duties.
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