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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Thoughts on the Best Director Oscar Nominations

The Oscar for Cinematography is not a beauty contest, it isn’t about how pretty a film looks, it is about how well it is lit and photographed, in the same vein, the best director Oscar doesn’t go to the best film, that’s what the best film category is for! While, the Best picture Oscar is really the sum total of all the awards, the acting, the music, the photograph, the script, the direction and all the other elements that make up a film, the best director Oscar, is based purely on the process of directing. It is worth remembering that although the winners are selected by the Academy membership as a whole, the nominations are made by the academy’s directing branch. In other words, the nominations come from the directors and their contemporaries.

This years nominations are: Michael Haneke – Amour, Benh Zeitlin – Beasts of the Southern Wild, Ang Lee -Life of Pi, Steven Spielberg – Lincoln David O. Russell -Silver Linings Playbook. I am yet to see Lincoln and Amour so will reserve judgment on the strength of the category but have selected five directors I would have liked to have seen nominated:

Kathryn Bigelow – Zero Dark Thirty
Wes Anderson – Moonrise Kingdom
Ben Affleck – Argo
Sam Mendes – Skyfall
Christopher Nolan – The Dark Knight Rises

Each of them has crafted a fantastic movie that would have been run of the mill in lesser hands if they even existed. All would have been worthy winners.

Should Steven Spielberg win it will put him the elite company of : William Wyler and Frank Capra with three best director Oscars and just one behind John Ford with four. Ang Lee has picked up one win and one other nomination in the category previously (Brokeback Mountain and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon respectively), David O. Russell has been nominated before (The Fighter), it is Michael Haneke’s first nomination. Not only is it Benh Zeitlin’s first nomination, it is his first feature.

Whoever loses, or indeed those who weren’t nominated, it is worth remembering they are in good company, despite thirteen nominations between them Alfred Hitchcock (5), Federico Fellini (4) and Stanley Kubrick (4) didn’t win a single best director Oscar.

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The Relevance of the Best Foreign Language Oscar

Is the Best Foreign Language Oscar outdated in this era of multinational productions? The current setup is certainly a mess and needs redefining or revamping. As it stands for a film to be eligible it has to be predominately not in the English language, so far so good, but then it gets complicated. Rather than the academy picking the best five films of the year not in the English language, each country nominates one film as their selection. This is the broken down into a long list, then a shortlist before five nominations are selected. Unlike other categories, to be eligible a movie does not have to be screened in America during the prescribed dates. Instead it has to be screened in its own country. The downside to this is that if the film is subsequently screened in America it will not be eligible for Oscar contention (if it meets the criteria it is eligible in all categories in the year it is submitted as a foreign film). There is also a difference in the voting process. “Screeners” are not used, instead the four nominated films are screened in a cinema (with English subtitles, never dubbed) and any academy member wishing to vote must attend. This reduces the chances of the people voting without seeing the films as most likely happens in other categories.

Last years winner: Asghar FarhadI for A Separation

As of 2006 the films no longer have to be in the official language of the submitting country. This is goods thing in one respect as under the old system for example a Welsh film in the Welsh language or and Australian film in Aboriginal language would have been ineligible as they are both from countries where the official language is English. It does however create a loophole that became evident in 2010. The was a certain amount of disagreement and unrest as to if Michael Haneke’s The White Ribbon would be submitted as a German or and Austrian film. It was eventually decided it was German and received a nomination as the German entry. A look at the academy website would suggest this has been outlawed: Rule Thirteen (Special Rules for the Foreign Language Film Award), section II (eligibility), subsection E states: “The submitting country must certify that creative control of the motion picture was largely in the hands of citizens or residents of that country”. I’m not convinced all this years nominations are that clearly rooted in the submitting nations:

The Canadian movie (War Witch) is set is Sub-Saharan Africa and is in a mixture of French and Lingala.

The Austrian entry (Amour) is made by a German director (Michael Haneke again!) with French, German and Austrian money and has a French cast speaking French and English.

The Danish film (A Royal Affair) is a Danish, Swedish, Czech co production.

The Chilean (No) entry is a co production between Chile, France and the USA.

And the Norwegian entry (Kon-Tiki) is a British, Norwegian and Danish co production.

All this United nations of filmmaking doesn’t have any impact on if the film is any good and doesn’t detract from the fact that the movie is (mostly) not in the English language, but it seems a little silly that a film set in France, in the French language and with a German director is deemed to be Austrian.

There are a few ways around it including replacing the category with one simply for films not in the English language and taking the national ownership away from it. This in itself creates a different problem, without the support of the foreign comities (often the countries own Academy’s) will the Oscars get a suitably diverse spread of movies? There is also the possibility of dropping the category completely, there are films strong enough to make the crossover to the main categories such as Three Colours: Red, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon, Pan’s Labyrinth, Amelie and this years Amour. There is an argument that without the Best Foreign Language Oscar, more foreign language movies could break through and even win in the major categories.

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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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