The BAFTA Awards were also announced last night. Normally, I’d put up predictions for them, but, quite frankly… I didn’t care enough to. I had other stuff going on.
But anyway, here are the winners and nominees, and we’ll talk about how that affects the Oscars as we go along.
Best Film
American Hustle
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
Winner: 12 Years a Slave
This isn’t surprising. I think most of us figured this would be the case. It’s the reverential choice. Philomena was more likely to win Best British Film, and the American Hustle fervor has died down. It would have been telling if they went any other way than here. Plus… they had an out with the next category.
Best British Film
Gravity
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
Philomena
Rush
Saving Mr. Banks
The Selfish Giant
Winner: Gravity
Just looking at the category, there only were two choices. I’m surprised that Philomena didn’t flat out take it. It got a Best Picture nomination, so clearly it has support (if only by Harvey Weinstein), and I expected it to easily take this. Yet… there’s Gravity.
This feels like a cop out by them. They essentially tell us nothing, with Gravity and 12 Years both winning an award. Obviously one means a little more than the other, but the fact that they all voted for Gravity to give it something means they still really like it. So it illuminates absolutely nothing for us on the Best Picture front.
Best Director
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
David. O. Russell, American Hustle
Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
Winner: Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
I think the only response to this is, “Well fucking really.”
We all know he’s winning, no matter how Best Picture turns out.
Best 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
Winner: Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
With no McConaughey, I think we’d have been surprised if he didn’t win. He is a Brit, you know. I’d have been shocked if Leo pulled this one out. He was the choice.
Also, won’t affect the Oscar category one bit. It’s McConaughey in a big lead, with Leo campaigning like a motherfucker and trying to take it down.
Best Actress
Amy Adams, American Hustle
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Judi Dench, Philomena
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Winner: Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
…and she’s back to being a mortal lock.
The Woody Allen thing wasn’t gonna hurt her, and the only way people would have convinced themselves that it could have was if Amy Adams or Judi Dench beat her here. It didn’t happen, and she won’t lose. It’s all her.
Best Supporting Actor
Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
Daniel Brühl, Rush
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Matt Damon, Behind the Candelabra
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Winner: Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
No Leto here. I didn’t expect Fassbender to take it, since he’s not the showy part of the movie and doesn’t blow you away. Cooper doesn’t really either. Abdi makes some sense. And apparently he has some critics wins over there recently as well. Either way, doesn’t affect the Oscar category at all.
Best 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
Winner: Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
A lot of people are saying it’s because they didn’t give her Best Actress last year, so there’s not that sense of “We gave her one already.” Is it? I don’t know.
Certainly makes you think, though, doesn’t it? How SAG is a much larger voting body than the Academy is, acting-wise, and how the film is nominated so much that they might just give her another one anyway. And that pesky little statistic (that I might not have actually posted yet because those articles haven’t gone up) about how often a film with all four acting nominations wins at least one of them… this category might not be as settled as you think.
Best Original Screenplay
American Hustle
Blue Jasmine
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
Winner: American Hustle
Her wasn’t nominated anywhere, and this was really the only choice. They were giving it something, and this was the towering frontrunner in this particular category.
I still say it’s probably gonna take the Oscar, even though I’m pulling for Spike Jonze.
Best Adapted Screenplay
Behind the Candelabra
Captain Phillips
Philomena
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Winner: Philomena
You knew they were giving it something. This was the obvious place.
Though it’s fascinating that 12 Years wins nothing but Actor and Picture, huh? That could be how the Oscars turn out. Right now, it’s looking at a grand total of 2, maybe 3 wins (depending on how Supporting Actress shakes out). And that’s if it even wins Picture. You might be looking at another Argo scenario.
Best Original Music
The Book Thief, John Williams
Captain Phillips, Henry Jackman
Gravity, Steven Price
12 Years a Slave, Hans Zimmer
Saving Mr. Banks, Thomas Newman
Winner: Gravity, Steven Price
No surprise. This is 3/5 your Oscar category (BAFTA shut out Her and somehow Philomena didn’t make it on here), and Price is the clear favorite. This all but assures a win there as well.
Best Cinematography
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Nebraska
12 Years a Slave
Winner: Gravity
I’m not even pretending like anything else is gonna win the Oscar. I know how this works now. This will win.
(Though, if this is the Oscar contender it’s shaping up to be, Deakins might be solid to get one next year.)
Best Editing
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Rush
12 Years a Slave
The Wolf of Wall Street
Winner: Rush
Interesting. Makes sense, though.
This will be the category that remains pretty open, with Gravity the sight favorite, and Captain Phillips the flashy, “editing” choice that won the Eddie.
Gonna be interesting, this category.
Best Production Design
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
Gravity
The Great Gatsby
12 Years a Slave
Winner: The Great Gatsby
Its looking like this remains the favorite to take both. Still not 100% certain, but it’s looking quite probable that it might.
Best Costume Design
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
The Great Gatsby
The Invisible Woman
Saving Mr. Banks
Winner: The Great Gatsby
It always seemed like this had the Oscar category in the bag. The only question is whether it sweeps both or not.
Best Make Up & Hair
American Hustle
Behind the Candelabra
The Butler
The Great Gatsby
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Winner: American Hustle
That was the obvious choice. Some people thought Behind the Candelabra, but they had to give American Hustle something.
Best Sound
All Is Lost
Captain Phillips
Gravity
Inside Llewyn Davis
Rush
Winner: Gravity
Well… yeah.
Best Special Visual Effects
Gravity
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
Iron Man 3
Pacific Rim
Star Trek Into Darkness
Winner: Gravity
Did I even need to list the nominees here?
(Also.. they had Pacific Rim nominated.)
Best Film Not in the English Language
The Act of Killing
Blue Is the Warmest Color
The Great Beauty
Metro Manila
Wadjda
Winner: The Great Beauty
You mean the one Oscar contender on the list? Shocker.
Best Documentary
The Act of Killing
The Armstrong Lie
Blackfish
Tim’s Vermeer
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
Winner: The Act of Killing
You mean the one Oscar…
Best Animated Film
Despicable Me 2
Frozen
Monsters University
Winner: Frozen
Wow. Who saw that one coming?
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
Paul Wright (writer/director) and Polly Stokes (producer), For Those in Peril
Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson (writers), Good Vibrations
Kieran Evans (writer/director), Kelly + Victor
Kelly Marcel (writer), Saving Mr. Banks
Scott Graham (writer/director), Shell
Winner: Kieran Evans (writer/director), Kelly + Victor
Okay.
Best British Short Animation
Everything I Can See from Here
I am Tom Moody
Sleeping with the Fishes
Winner: Sleeping with the Fishes
Was it graphic or tasteful?
Best British Short Film
Island Queen
Keeping up with the Joneses
Orbit Ever After
Room 8
Sea View
Winner: Room 8
Yup.
The EE Rising Star Award
Dane DeHaan
George Mackay
Lupita Nyong’o
Will Poulter
Lea Seydoux
Winner: Will Poulter
Here’s how this category works — find the name you know the least, and vote for it. I feel like this happens every year.
Also, don’t care.
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So those are your BAFTA winners.
What have we learned?
Nothing, really. Nothing I already wouldn’t have figured without their help.
I’m glad I didn’t predict anything. Nothing exciting happened.
