BAFTA nominations: Hustle, Wolf soar. Her and Dallas biggest losers
We are still trying to let these sink in, but the BAFTA nominations have sure shaken things up a bit. Just some short observations right now (expect much more discussion about these in an upcoming podcast): American Hustle and The Wolf Of Wall Street did excellent here, especially the former, which grabbed nominations in all four acting categories. Meanwhile, DiCaprio and Scorsese got in again for Wolf. That bodes wll for their chances, although Best Actor remains tight.
Speaking of that category, the snub for All Is Lost star Robert Redford is hurting him a lot. Looks like he is out of the Top 5 for now, but who will make it in at Oscar? Bale or DiCaprio? Or both (but who will miss of the perceived four ‘sure things’?). This is one of the most exciting categories this year.
Elsewhere, and also closely related to the acting categories, are the complete snubs for Her and Dallas Buyers Club. Both of these have a release date close to the BAFTA cut-off (February 14th), but that can’t be the sole reason. The snubs for McConaughey and Leto probably mean nothing for their chances with AMPAS (Leto still looks the hot favorite for the win), but this really hurts Her and its helmer Spike Jonze. What’s throwing a wrench in the Supporting Actor category a bit is the fact they nominated Matt Damon for Behind the Candelabra (but not Michael Douglas?), a film of course not eligible next week.
On the female side, we see an Amy Adams nod in lieu of Meryl Streep. Streep is surely in a fight for the fifth spot now, having to fend off Adams. Emma Thompson and Judi Dench look much safer by both scoring with the British, though it surely helps that they’re both ‘one of their own’. In the Supporting category, Sally Hawkins pushed June Squibb out of the perceived Top 5, something that probably has little consequence for Squibb when it comes to AMPAS, but shows that Hawkins is still in it, albeit form the outside looking in.
First conclusions so far: 12 Years A Slave and American Hustle still are the top favorites, with Gravity right behind them (could it be the proverbial third dog?), and The Wolf Of Wall Street is coming on strong in the final stretch.
BEST FILM
12 YEARS A SLAVE
AMERICAN HUSTLE
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
GRAVITY
PHILOMENA
DIRECTOR
12 YEARS A SLAVE, Steve McQueen
AMERICAN HUSTLE, David O. Russell
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS, Paul Greengrass
GRAVITY, Alfonso Cuarón
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET, Martin Scorsese
LEADING ACTOR
BRUCE DERN, Nebraska
CHIWETEL EJIOFOR, 12 Years a Slave
CHRISTIAN BALE, American Hustle
LEONARDO DICAPRIO, The Wolf of Wall Street
TOM HANKS, Captain Phillips
LEADING ACTRESS
AMY ADAMS, American Hustle
CATE BLANCHETT, Blue Jasmine
EMMA THOMPSON, Saving Mr. Banks
JUDI DENCH, Philomena
SANDRA BULLOCK, Gravity
SUPPORTING ACTOR
BARKHAD ABDI, Captain Phillips
BRADLEY COOPER, American Hustle
DANIEL BRÜHL, Rush
MATT DAMON, Behind the Candelabra
MICHAEL FASSBENDER, 12 Years a Slave
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
JENNIFER LAWRENCE,, American Hustle
JULIA ROBERTS, August: Osage County
LUPITA NYONG’O, 12 Years a Slave
OPRAH WINFREY, The Butler
SALLY HAWKINS, Blue Jasmine
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
GRAVITY
MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM
PHILOMENA
RUSH
SAVING MR. BANKS
THE SELFISH GIANT
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
COLIN CARBERRY (Writer), GLENN PATTERSON (Writer), 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
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ACT OF KILLING
BLUE IS THE WARMEST COLOUR
THE GREAT BEAUTY
METRO MANILA
WADJDA
DOCUMENTARY
THE ACT OF KILLING
THE ARMSTRONG LIE
BLACKFISH
TIM’S VERMEER
WE STEAL SECRETS: THE STORY OF WIKILEAKS
ANIMATED FILM
DESPICABLE ME 2
FROZEN
MONSTERS UNIVERSITY
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
AMERICAN HUSTLE
BLUE JASMINE
GRAVITY
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
NEBRASKA
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
12 YEARS A SLAVE
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
PHILOMENA
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
ORIGINAL MUSIC
12 YEARS A SLAVE
THE BOOK THIEF
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
GRAVITY
SAVING MR. BANKS
CINEMATOGRAPHY
12 YEARS A SLAVE
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
GRAVITY
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
NEBRASKA
EDITING
12 YEARS A SLAVE
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
GRAVITY
RUSH
THE WOLF OF WALL STREET
PRODUCTION DESIGN
12 YEARS A SLAVE
AMERICAN HUSTLE
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
GRAVITY
THE GREAT GATSBY
COSTUME DESIGN
AMERICAN HUSTLE
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
THE GREAT GATSBY
THE INVISIBLE WOMAN
SAVING MR. BANKS
MAKE UP & HAIR
AMERICAN HUSTLE
BEHIND THE CANDELABRA
THE BUTLER
THE GREAT GATSBY
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
SOUND
ALL IS LOST
CAPTAIN PHILLIPS
GRAVITY
INSIDE LLEWYN DAVIS
RUSH
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
GRAVITY
THE HOBBIT: THE DESOLATION OF SMAUG
IRON MAN 3
PACIFIC RIM
STAR TREK INTO DARKNESS
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EVERYTHING I CAN SEE FROM HERE
I AM TOM MOODY
SLEEPING WITH THE FISHES
BRITISH SHORT FILM
ISLAND QUEEN
KEEPING UP WITH THE JONESES
ORBIT EVER AFTER
ROOM 8
SEA VIEW
THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
DANE DEHAAN
GEORGE MACKAY
LUPITA NYONG’O
WILL POULTER
LÉA SEYDOUX
He is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic, accredited by the Cannes Film Festival, Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival and more, is a member of the International Cinephile Society (ICS), The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA), Hollywood Critics Association (HCA) and the International Press Academy. Among his many achieved goals with AwardsWatch, he has given a platform to underrepresented writers and critics and supplied them with access to film festivals and the industry and calls the Bay Area his home where he lives with his husband and son.
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Lets hope AMPAS is paying attention. Finally someone who recognizes the exceptional performances of the brilliant fun comedy/drama “American Hustle”. Jeremy Renner should have being in for Supporting Actor as well.