BAFTA Rising Star Award in 2018

BAFTA will be handing out its annual film awards on Sunday 18th of February.  This year’s best film nominations consist of: Dunkirk, three films that were not released in the UK until after they were nominated (Darkest Hour, The Shape of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri), and a film that I hear is very good, but most mainstream cinema chains neglected to show (Call Me By your Name).  There is nothing you or I can do about the peculiarities of BAFTA nominations, or UK cinema scheduling, but there is one award we can impact upon:  The Rising Star Award.

As always, it is a strong list, each of the nominees would make a worthy winner, here are a list of the nominees along with their most significant recent movie:

DANIEL KALUUYA – Get Out

FLORENCE PUGH – Lady Macbeth

JOSH O’CONNOR – God’s Own Country

TESSA THOMPSON – Thor: Ragnarok 

TIMOTHÉE CHALAMET – Call Me By Your Name

My vote went to Florence Pugh but I could easily have gone for one of the other three that I have seen (Call Me By Your Name).  Florence Pugh has already won the Fandango Award (shared with the writer and director of Lady Macbeth), the rising star category of my awards.  Lady Macbeth was also my movie of the month back in May last year.

You can vote HERE

 

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Whatever happened to: BAFTA Rising Star Award Winners

Last week saw John Boyega receive the BAFTA Rising Star Award.  His future looks pretty bright thanks to a little sci-fi franchise that he has a part in.  The other nominees Taron Egerton, Dakota Johnson, Brie Larson (BAFTA winner and Oscar favourite) and Bel Powley all appear to have busy diaries for the next few years too.  But what happened to the previous rising stars?  Are the now shining stars or did they fade into obscurity? I think you will agree most of them are doing okay:

2006: James McAvoy: Jovial star of the hugely successful X-Men franchise.  Nominated for two further  BAFTA’s: Best Supporting Actor for  The Last King of Scotland and  Best Actor Atonement. (other 2006 nominees: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gael García Bernal, Rachel McAdams, Michelle Williams)

2007: Eva Green: She doesn’t appear in many films, her choices are always interesting and she is usually brilliant in them if not as high profile as her earlier films The Dreamers and Casino Royale.  Last year she appeared in The Salvation that made my top ten of the year.  Her best recent work has come on TV in Penny Dreadful. (other 2007 nominees: Emily Blunt, Naomie Harris, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw)

2008: Shia LaBeouf: Went from a promising actor to a bit of a joke.  He is beginning to show more promise in with strong performances in: Fury, Nymphomaniac and The Necessary Death of Charlie Countryman.  He is yet to revive any other significant nominations. (other 2008 nominees: Sienna Miller, Ellen Page, Sam Riley, Tang Wei)

2009: Noel Clarke: While he hasn’t had the hits some of the other actors have had, he has tuned into a one man British film industry working as an Actor, Producer, Writer and Director.  No other significant nominations to date, but he is currently working on Brotherhood, the final instalment in the “hood” trilogy. (other 2009 nominations: Michael Cera, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Hall, Toby Kebbell)

2010: Kristen Stewart: A hugely underrated actress who is struggling to shed the baggage of Twiglight with some audiences.  She was excellent in Still Alice.  She is yet to receive any other significant nominations and can consider herself extremely unlucky not to be nominated for supporting actress for Clouds of Sils Maria. (other nominees from 2010: Jesse Eisenberg, Nicholas Hoult, Carey Mulligan, Tahar Rahim)

2011: Tom Hardy: Versatile and likeable actor.  Star of my favourite movie of last yearMad Max: Fury Road.  Oscar Nominated for Best Supporting Actor for The Revenant this year. (other 2011 nominees: Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Emma Stone)

2012: Adam Deacon: Surprise winner, his most significant role since wining was in the TV series Babylon.  No other significant nominations. (other 2012 nominations: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Chris O’Dowd, Eddie Redmayne)

2013: Juno Temple: First came to attention in Atonement six years before the rising star award.  She has continued to dazzle in supporting roles in big films and larger roles in smaller films.  I have heard good reports but am yet to see her in the TV show Vinyl.  Yet to revive any other significant nominations. (other 2013 nominations: Elizabeth Olsen, Andrea Riseborough, Suraj Sharma, Alicia Vikander)

2014: Will Poulter: Like Juno Temple it took a long time for this nomination after his memorable debute in Son of Rambow seven years before.  Since then he has impressed in Wild Bill and particularly this years The Revenant.  The Maze Runner wasn’t great but he was the best thing in it.  Yet to revive any other significant nominations. (other 2014 nominations: Dane DeHaan, George MacKay, Lupita Nyong’o, Léa Seydoux)

2015: Jack O’Connell: After five films being released in the year leading up to his rising star award we haven’t seen much of him since.  He has three films in the can including Money Monster directed by Jodie Foster.  He is also set to appear in Terry Gilliam’s long awaited second attempt to film The Man Who Killed Don Quixote. Yet to revive any other significant nominations. (other 2015 nominations: Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Margot Robbie, Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley)

 

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BAFTA Rising Star Award – Previous Winners and Losers

After posting my choice for the BAFTA rising star award there have been a few comments suggesting other nominees  deserve to win.  While I stand by my choice of Jack O’Connell I actually believe all the nominees are deserving to demonstrate this I thought I would run through the winners and losers from previous years. 

2006

Winner: James McAvoy

Other Nominees: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Gael García Bernal, Rachel McAdams, Michelle Williams

2007

Winner: Eva Green

Other Nominees: Emily Blunt, Naomie Harris, Cillian Murphy, Ben Whishaw

2008

Winner: Shia LaBeouf

Other Nominees: Sienna Miller, Ellen Page, Sam Riley, Tang Wei

2009

Winner: Noel Clarke

Other Nominees: Michael Cera, Michael Fassbender, Rebecca Hall, Toby Kebbell

2010

Winner: Kristen Stewart

Other Nominees: Jesse Eisenberg, Nicholas Hoult, Carey Mulligan, Tahar Rahim

2011

Winner: Tom Hardy

Other Nominees: Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfield, Aaron Johnson, Emma Stone

2012

Winner: Adam Deacon

Other Nominees: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Chris O’Dowd, Eddie Redmayne

2013

Winner: Juno Temple

Other Nominees: Elizabeth Olsen, Andrea Riseborough, Suraj Sharma, Alicia Vikander

2014

Winner: Will Poulter

Other Nominees: Dane DeHaan, George MacKay, Lupita Nyong’o, Léa Seydoux

 

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BAFTA Rising Star Award

Every year since 2006 BAFTA nominates five rising stars, the winner is decided by a public vote.  previouse winners are: Will Poulter (2014), Juno Temple ( 2013),  Adam Deacon ( 2012), Tom Hardy (2011), Kristen Stewart (2010), Noel Clarke ( 2009), Shia Labeouf (2008), Eva Green (2007), James McAvoy (2006).  This years nominations are:

Gugu Mbatha-Raw:  has been kicking around on British TV for ten years she made a stunning breakthrough in the title role of Belle.

Jack O’Connell: Has appeared in many films including This Is England, Eden Lake and Harry Brown but I didn’t take any notice of him until 2014 where he gave fantastic performances in starring roles in:  Starred Up, ’71 and Unbroken as well as a supporting role in 300: Rise of an Empire.

Margot Robbie: graduating from Australian TV show neighbours to a significant supporting role in Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street.

Miles Teller: Has had a busy year, most notably the brilliant Whiplash.

Shailene Woodley:  First making an impression as George Clooney’s daughter in The Descendants, she became a superstar with starring roles in Divergent and The Fault in Our Stars.

Who did I vote for? Jack O’Connell

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Looking forward to the BAFTA’s

We are a few hours away from the BAFTA awards, in advance of that here are a few thoughts on who I think will and should win:
Best Film
Zero Dark Thirty is the best film and should win, I would also be happy to see Argo win but actually think it will go to: Les Misérables
Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year
Skyfall is by far the best film in the category and is unlucky not to be in the best film category. It stands a good chance of winning but if Les Misérables doesn’t get best film, it will be in with a chance too.
Best Actor
Hugh Jackman and Ben Affleck were both great and in any other year would be worthy winners, but there is really only one contender this year: Daniel Day-Lewis for Lincoln (2012)
Best Actress
A really strong category, I think it will go to Jessica Chastain for Zero Dark Thirty. Best Supporting Actor
I would be happy to see any of the nominees win this one, but think Tommy Lee Jones edges it for Lincoln.
Best Supporting Actress
The shoe in for the equivalent Oscar is Anne Hathaway for Les Misérables, she stands a good chance here too, the only competitor could be Judi Dench for Skyfall.
David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
I would chose Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty with Ben Affleck for Argo as a close second. However, I have a feeling Michael Haneke for Amour may sneak it.
Best Screenplay (Original)
Only one choice here, Wes Anderson and Roman Coppola for the magical Moonrise Kingdom
Best Screenplay (Adapted)
Another strong category, I would go for David Magee for Life of Pi and think it should win, as much for the complexity of adapting the screenplay as for the final result.
Best Cinematography
It easy to forget that cinematography is about hw well shot and lit and film is not how pretty the finished result is. With this in mind it has to be a straight fight between Janusz Kaminski for Lincoln and Roger Deakins for Skyfall. My vote goes to Deakins.
Best Editing
To clarify for the people who nominated Django Unchained, this catergry is for the best editing, not the movie most in need of editing. Again I think it’s a straight fight between Skyfall (Stuart Baird) and Zero Dark Thirty (Dylan Tichenor, Billy Goldenberg). I would lean towards Zero Dark Thirty.
Best Production Design
I would like to see Dennis Gassner and Anna Pinnock for Skyfall as they avoided all the usual lazy clichéd pitfalls usually associated with the franchise. However the design of Anna Karenina (Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer) is both clever and stunning so will probably win.
Best Costume Design
All the nominees tick all the relevant boxes Jacqueline Durran for Anna Karenina looks like a good bet. Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
None of the nominated scores was that memorable for me.
Best Make Up/Hair
Forgoing the flash and flair of the other nominated movies, Lincoln had a believable look of the era.
Best Sound
Skyfall had the most amazing sound design , especially noticeable when seen in Imax but Les Misérables will most likely win for the original way in which the songs were recorded.
Best Achievement in Special Visual Effects
All the nominated movies could put up a strong argument for this award, but Life of Pi edges it.
Best Film not in the English Language
I liked Untouchable and Headhunters but thought Rust and Bone was considerably better than both. However, I havent seen Amour (the favourite) or The Hunt so can’t accurately predict this one.
Best Animated Feature Film
I have seen two of the nominated movies. Frankenweenie was better than Brave.
Best Documentary
I have only seen two of the three nominated movies so will go with the favourite: The Imposter
EE Rising Star Award
Her Killer Joe performance is enough for me to give it to Juno Temple but wouldn’t mind seeing Andrea Riseborough or Elizabeth Olsen win as they are both brilliant in everything they do. I would like to see more of Suraj Sharma and Alicia Vikander before deciding on their future stardom
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
I would love to see Dexter Fletcher, Danny King win for the excellent but under seen Wild Bill.

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BAFTA Nominations 2013

A few thoughts on the nominations. Firstly I am always a little disappointed when films are nominated before they have been released in the UK (Lincoln, Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained). I am surprised and disappointed that Sam Mendes/Skyfall isn’t nominated in the best film/best director categories. I didn’t expect it to get anything at the Oscars but held out hope the British Academy would recognise it. Fantastic to Marion Cotillard’s monumental performance in Rust and Bone nominated despite not being in an English language movie. Also pleased to see actor turned director Dexter Fletcher (director/writer) nominated for the debut British writer/director/producer category. A strong year for documentaries and foreign language movies. The rising star award has a heavy female bias with woman in four of the five places. Its also a strong category presenting a problem. It is awarded via a public vote, at least three of the five might get my vote.

Here is a Full list of nominees:

BEST FILM
Argo
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Zero Dark Thirty

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Anna Karenina
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Les Miserables
Seven Psychopaths
Skyfall

LEADING ACTOR 
Ben Affleck – Argo
Bradley Cooper – Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis – Lincoln
Hugh Jackman – Les Miserables
Joaquin Phoenix – The Master

LEADING ACTRESS 
Jessica Chastain – Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard – Rust and Bone
Jennifer Lawrence – Silver Linings Playbook
Dame Helen Mirren – Hitchcock
Emmanuelle Riva – Amour

SUPPORTING ACTOR 
Alan Arkin – Argo
Javier Bardem – Skyfall
Philip Seymour Hoffman – The Master
Tommy Lee Jones – Lincoln
Christoph Waltz – Django Unchained

SUPPORTING ACTRESS 
Amy Adams – The Master
Dame Judi Dench – Skyfall
Sally Field – Lincoln
Anne Hathaway – Les Miserables
Helen Hunt – The Sessions

DIRECTOR 
Ben Affleck – Argo
Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Michael Haneke – Amour
Ang Lee – Life of Pi
Quentin Tarantino – Django Unchained

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Amour – Michael Haneke
Django Unchained – Quentin Tarantino
The Master – Paul Thomas Anderson
Moonrise Kingdom – Wes Anderson, Roman Coppola
Zero Dark Thirty – Mark Boal

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY 
Argo – Chris Terrio
Beasts of the Southern Wild – Lucy Alibar, Benh Zeitlin
Life of Pi – David Magee
Lincoln – Tony Kushner
Silver Linings Playbook – David O Russell

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
James Bobin (director) – The Muppets
Dexter Fletcher (director/writer) and Danny King (writer) – Wild Bill
Tina Gharavi (director/writer) – I Am Nasrine
Bart Layton (director) and Dmitri Doganis (producer) – The Imposter
David Morris (director) and Jaqui Morris (director/producer) – McCullin

ANIMATED FILM
Brave
Frankenweenie
Paranorman
DOCUMENTARY
The Imposter
Marley
McCullin
Searching for Sugarman
West of Memphis

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Amour
Headhunters
The Hunt
Rust and Bone
Untouchable

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

COSTUME DESIGN 
Anna Karenina
Great Expectations
Les Miserables
Lincoln
Snow White and the Huntsman

EDITING
Argo
Django Unchained
Life of Pi
Skyfall
Zero Dark Thirty

MAKE UP AND HAIR
Anna Karenina
Hitchcock
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Lincoln

ORIGINAL MUSIC
Anna Karenina
Argo
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Anna Karenina
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Lincoln
Skyfall

SOUND
Django Unchained
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Les Miserables
Life of Pi
Skyfall

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
The Dark Knight Rises
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Life of Pi
Marvel Avengers Assemble
Prometheus

SHORT ANIMATION
Here to Fall
I’m Fine Thanks
The Making of Longbird

SHORT FILM
The Curse
Good Night
Swimmer
Tumult
The Voorman Problem

RISING STAR (public vote)
Elizabeth Olsen
Andrea Riseborough
Suraj Sharma
Juno Temple
Alicia Vikander

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1st Annual Groovers Movie Awards

Three years to the day after my first ever post (incidentally about the upcoming Oscars) I am here to announce the 1st Annual Groovers Movie Awards. No nominations, just winners. Ten categories, most of which are the same or similar to those in other awards. The award itself named the “Dom” is modelled after a Dom Pérignon bottle (you need to watch Fandango to understand the relevance) and will remain virtual unless Moët want to step in as a sponsor me.

Best Movie:

The Artist: A virtually silent black and white movie with a 1.37:1 aspect ratio about the end of the silent movie era doesn’t sound very exciting. The result is totally stunning, charming and funny. The overwhelming favourite for the pest picture Oscar. 

Best Director:

Martin Scorsese for Hugo: Martin Scorsese’s love letter to cinema is a stunning film beautifully made and even achieving the seemingly impossible task of making 3D work. 

Best Actress:

Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin: Missing out to Meryl Streep at the BAFTAs and completely overlooked by the Oscars, Tilda Swinton was my only contender for best actress.

Best Actor:

Brendan Gleeson for The Guard: Missing out to Jean Dujardin for The Artist in Golden Globes and pretty much overlooked by other awards, Brendan Gleeson reminded us what a great actor he is.

Best Screenplay:

Lynne Ramsay & Rory Kinnear for We Need to Talk About Kevin: Notable not only for how well written it is, but for what a tough job it must have been given the unusual structure of the source novel.

Best Foreign Language Film:

The Skin I live in: Winner of the BAFTA for Best Film Not in the English Language but not submitted for the equivalent Oscar (Spain chose to submit the as yet not released in the UK, Black Bread) sees Auteur Pedro Almodóvar at his bizarre best.

Best Documentary:

Senna: Not only the best documentary of the year, but the best documentary I have seen in many years.

Best Looking Movie:

Melancholia: An amalgam of many awards including Cinematography, Production Design and Art Direction. Melancholia wins the award for being the most beautiful looking movie of the year.

Movie Stars of the year:

Best actor and actress awards age given for the for individual outstanding performances but the movie star of the year award is given for an outstanding performances in multiple films in a year:

Jessica Chastain (The Help, The Tree of Life, The Debt, Take Shelter)

Michael Fassbender (Shame, X-Men: First Class, A Dangerous Method, Jane Eyre)

Fandango Award:

Fandango was writer/director Kevin Reynolds debut (and best) feature, and the first notable movie for star Kevin Costner. It gives its name to this award for the best breakout filmmakers of the year. The award is shared between two movies that interestingly were both co-written by their director and star:

Nick Damici and Jim Mickle for Stake Land

Mike Cahill and Brit Marling for Another Earth

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2012 BAFTA Awards

With just a couple of days to go until BAFTA Awards here are my thoughts on who I think will win and who I would choose.

• Best Film
• Who I think will win: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• My Choice: The Artist
• Other nominees: The Descendants, Drive, The Help

• Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film of the Year
• Who I think will win: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• My Choice: We Need to Talk About Kevin
• Other nominees: My Week with Marilyn, Senna, Shame

• Best Actor
• Who I think will win: Gary Oldman for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• My Choice: George Clooney for The Descendants
• Other nominees: Jean Dujardin for The Artist, Michael Fassbender for Shame, Brad Pitt for Moneyball

• Best Actress
• Who I think will win: Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (2011)
• My Choice: Tilda Swinton for We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
• Other nominees: Bérénice Bejo for The Artist, Viola Davis for The Help, Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn

• Best Supporting Actor
• Who I think will win: Kenneth Branagh for My Week with Marilyn
• My Choice: Christopher Plummer for Beginners
• Other nominees: Jim Broadbent for The Iron Lady, Jonah Hill for Moneyball, Philip Seymour Hoffman for The Ides of March

• Best Supporting Actress
• Who I think will win: Octavia Spencer for The Help
• My Choice: Jessica Chastain for The Help
• Other nominees: Judi Dench for My Week with Marilyn, Melissa McCarthy for Bridesmaids, Carey Mulligan for Drive

• David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
• Who I think will win: Tomas Alfredson for Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• My Choice:Lynne Ramsay for We Need to Talk
• Other nominees: Michel Hazanavicius for The Artist, About Kevin, Nicolas Winding Refn for Drive, Martin Scorsese for Hugo

• Best Screenplay (Original)
• Who I think will win: The Artist (2011): Michel Hazanavicius
• My Choice: The Guard: John Michael McDonagh
• Other nominees: Bridesmaids: Annie Mumolo, Kristen Wiig, The Iron Lady: Abi Morgan, Midnight in Paris: Woody Allen

• Best Screenplay (Adapted)
• Who I think will win: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
• My Choice: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan
• Other nominees: The Descendants: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon, Jim Rash – The Help: Tate Taylor – The Ides of March: George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon – Moneyball: Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin

• Best Cinematography
• Who I think will win: War Horse: Janusz Kaminski
• My Choice: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Jeff Cronenweth
• Other nominees: The Artist: Guillaume Schiffman – Hugo: Robert Richardson – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Hoyte Van Hoytema

• Best Editing
• Who I think will win: Senna: Gregers Sall, Chris King
• My Choice: Senna: Gregers Sall, Chris King
• Other nominees: The Artist: Anne-Sophie Bion, Michel Hazanavicius – Drive: Matthew Newman – Hugo: Thelma Schoonmaker – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Dino Jonsäter

• Best Production Design
• Who I think will win: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Maria Djurkovic, Tatiana Macdonald
• My Choice: The Artist: Laurence Bennett, Robert Gould
• Other nominees: Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2: Stuart Craig, Stephenie McMillan – Hugo: Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo – War Horse: Rick Carter, Lee Sandales

• Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music
• Who I think will win: The Artist: Ludovic Bource
• My Choice: The Artist: Ludovic Bource
• Other nominees: The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo: Trent Reznor, Atticus Ross – Hugo: Howard Shore – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy: Alberto Iglesias – War Horse: John Williams

• Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
• Who I think will win: Tyrannosaur: Paddy Considine, Diarmid Scrimshaw
• My Choice: Tyrannosaur: Paddy Considine, Diarmid Scrimshaw
• Other nominees: Attack the Block: Joe Cornish – Black Pond: Will Sharpe, Tom Kingsley, Sarah Brocklehurst – Coriolanus: Ralph Fiennes – Submarine: Richard Ayoade

A note on my selection. I have seen all the nominations mentioned above. The categories I haven’t mentioned are either because I haven’t seen the enough of the nominated movies or else I’m not that bother red about who wins. A could of categories I would like to mention are Best Film not in the English Language and Best Documentary, I have only seen one movie in each (The Skin I Live In and Senna) but as they both made it to my top ten movies list of last year, I would love to see them win.

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BAFTA Longlists

The BAFTA long-list has been announced today. The list is made up of between five and fifteen nominations in each category, it will be whittled down to five to create the actual nominations announced on the 17th of this month. As the British equivalent to the Oscars often has a strong home-grown leaning it is no surprise that My Week With Marilyn and Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy lead the way with sixteen inclusions each.

The thing I find surprising is some of films that have been included: The Artist, The Descendants, The Iron Lady, War Horse, J. Edgar, Shame, Young Adult and Carnage. The problem isn’t that they are bad or undeserving films, it is that it haven’t seen them. Or to be more precise, that I haven’t been given the opportunity to see them yet. Two of the films I refer to went on general release today, the rest are yet to be released. This is a bizarre state of affairs for an award ceremony that is supposed to represent the best films seen in UK cinemas during 2011. A quick look at the BAFTA website explains the loophole in eligibility:

“Films must be released theatrically in the UK, within the Academy awards year: 1 January to 31 December 2011. Films that open between 1 January and 10 February 2012 inclusive may be ‘qualified’ by Distributors by being screened to Academy Film Voting Members by Tuesday 20 December 2011”.

I can only speculate the reason for BAFTA’s desire to include otherwise ineligible movies. If asked they would probably tell you that they want to be inline with the original release date of the movies and other award ceremonies. My opinion, they relish their new importance as the forerunner to the Oscars. While I don’t have a particular problem with either possibility I cant help thinking that if distributors want their movies to be eligible for awards they should show them during the “awards year” so ordinary cinemagoers like me can see them.

I also have another fear for the strange practice; providing they don’t screen utter crap, the voters could be unduly influenced by a film being put forward in this way. This already happens to a small degree by the time of year that a film is released. In last years best picture category (nominations: The Kings Speech, Black Swan and True Grit, Inception and The Social Network) three of the five nominated films were released after 31st December 2010 and none of the movies were released in the first half of the year. It isn’t just about the BAFTA’s, along with other early award ceremonies like The Golden Globe (awarded by the Starfuckers of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association) the awards help influence the nominations and ultimately the winners of the Oscars.

Aside from the complaining, I would like to express my delight at a some of the included films: Drive (isn’t a typical award film), Senna (I didn’t know documentaries were eligible in the best picture category). And in the acting categories: Antonio Banderas – The Skin I Live In (none English performances are often overlooked), Brendan Gleeson – The Guard (line foreign language, comedy are often overlooked), Christopher Plummer – Beginners (released back in July – the academy have short memories).

As mentioned the nominations will be announced on 17th January and the awards will take place on Sunday 12th February.

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