BAFTA Nominations

Yesterday was the BAFTA nominations and in an interesting twist to this awards season neither Birdman nor Boyhood nor the two British biopics came out with the most nods. That honor went to Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel with 11 nominations and this without the benefit of being a British film.

Best Film

• Birdman
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• The Theory of Everything

Best British Film

• ’71
• The Imitation Game
• Paddington
• Pride
• The Theory of Everything
• Under the Skin

The other usual Oscar front-runners did well here still with Birdman and Theory of Everything garnering 10 nods each and The Imitation Game right behind with 9. The latter two films expectantly got British film nominations alongside refreshing picks such as Pride and Under the Skin. Many thought Mr. Turner would be a shoo-in here, but its low turnout (only four nods and without a Best Actor) is telling especially since the Brits picked Paddington in its place. I wished Pride had showed up more below, but at least its tally was better than Into the Woods (2), Unbroken (0), and Selma (0) combined even with lots of British actors in those aforementioned films.

Best Director

• Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Birdman
• Richard Linklater, Boyhood
• Wes Anderson, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• James Marsh, The Theory of Everything
• Damien Chazelle, Whiplash

Marsh inclusion here over Imitation Game's Morten Tyldum gave his film the edge, but regardless the race is most likely between Linklater and Iñárritu. Chazelle sneaking into this category also bodes good support for his film which tied Boyhood with 5 nominations. The upcoming DGA nominations in the next few days will clarify the Oscar picture a bit more.

Best Actor

• Benedict Cumberbatch, The Imitation Game
• Ralph Fiennes, The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Jake Gyllenhaal, Nightcrawler
• Michael Keaton, Birdman
• Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything

Best Actress

• Amy Adams, Big Eyes
• Felicity Jones, The Theory of Everything
• Julianne Moore, Still Alice
• Rosamund Pike, Gone Girl
• Reese Witherspoon, Wild

Save for Amy Adams, all of the nominees here have also been nominated by the Broadcast Film Critics and at the Golden Globes so these lineup could pretty much be set for the Oscars give or take Jennifer Aniston (film ineligible) and David Oyelowo (film not seen?). The latter, along with Timothy Spall, Emily Blunt, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Jack O'Connell, Tilda Swinton, and Marion Cotillard were expected to have more support here due to their British/European-ness, but alas.

Best Supporting Actor

• Steve Carrell, Foxcatcher
• Edward Norton, Birdman
• Ethan Hawke, Boyhood
• Mark Ruffalo, Foxcatcher
• J.K. Simmons, Whiplash

Best Supporting Actress

• Emma Stone, Birdman
• Imelda Staunton, Pride
• Keira Knightley, The Imitation Game
• Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
• Rene Russo, Nightcrawler

A few interesting nominations in the supporting categories. First, the British thought Carrell was supporting even though he's been campaigning in lead this whole season. As for the ladies, Russo and Staunton get their first major citing this awards season and I think I'm okay with them replacing Meryl Streep, Jessica Chastain, and/or Tilda Swinton (even though I was betting on the latter to get in) since they're very unlikely for Oscars. I do wish they had nominated more people from Pride (great ensemble)!

Best Original Screenplay

• Birdman
• Boyhood
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Nightcrawler
• Whiplash

Best Adapted Screenplay

• American Sniper
• Gone Girl
• The Imitation Game
• Paddington
• The Theory of Everything

Apart from Whiplash (which was deemed adapted by the Academy), I fully expect all of the films in original to repeat their nominations at the Oscars. Selma is probably the one to take advantage of Whiplash's re-categorization. As for Adapted, I am bemused by Paddington's inclusion but apparently the Brits really like that film (and it's also good to boot!). I have a sick feeling that American Sniper will be Oscar nominated here (and elsewhere) and I'll be forced to have that film. Too bad they couldn't have just nominated Wild, Inherent Vice, or even Guardians of the Galaxy!

Best Foreign Language Film

• Ida
• Leviathan
• The Lunchbox
• Trash
• Two Days, One Night

Best Documentary

• 20 Feet from Stardom
• 20,000 Days on Earth
• CITIZENFOUR
• Finding Vivian Maier
• Virunga

Best Animated Film

• Big Hero 6
• The Boxtrolls
• The LEGO Movie

Based on precursors, look for Ida, CITIZENFOUR, and The LEGO Movie to win here especially since the first two films' major competition Force Majeure and Life Itself respectively weren't nominated.

Best Cinematography

• Birdman
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Ida
• Interstellar
• Mr. Turner

Best Editing

• Birdman
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Nightcrawler
• The Theory of Everything
• Whiplash

Best Production Design

• Big Eyes
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Interstellar
• Mr. Turner

Best Costume Design

• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Into the Woods
• Mr. Turner
• The Theory of Everything

Best Makeup and Hair

• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• Into the Woods
• Mr. Turner
• The Theory of Everything

Best Original Music

• Birdman
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• Interstellar
• The Theory of Everything
• Under the Skin

Best Sound

• American Sniper
• Birdman
• The Grand Budapest Hotel
• The Imitation Game
• Whiplash

Best Visual Effects

• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
• Guardians of the Galaxy
• The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
• Interstellar
• X-Men: Days of Future Past

The Grand Budapest Hotel received 7 nods in 8 technical categories clearly coming out on top missing only Visual Effects. A handful of films received four nods including Birdman, Interstellar, Imitation Game, and Theory of Everything. Boyhood surprisingly came up empty more tellingly in Best Editing which even had 6 films in contention.

Best Debut by British Writer, Director or Producer

• Elaine Constantine, Northern Soul
• Gregory Burke and Yann Demange, ’71
• Hong Khaou, Lilting
• Paul Katis and Andrew de Lotbinere, Kajaki: The True Story
• Stephen Beresford and David Livingstone, Pride

Rising Star Award

• Gugu Mbatha-Raw
• Jack O'Connell
• Margot Robbie
• Miles Teller
• Shailene Woodley

Unfortunately, I don't know any of the names in Best Debut, but I do know all of those in contention for the Rising Start Award and have seen a good chunk of their filmographies as well (this year). The public will be voting for this particular award so I think it'll be between Woodley (YA fans) or O'Connell (Skins actor).