BAFTA Preview and Predictions

The BAFTA, British Academy of Film and Television Arts, will be announced via livestream on January 8th. You’ll have to figure out what that time will be in your own time zone as I can’t even figure out my own (it’s my tragic flaw).  The BAFTA have become much more like Oscar over the years since they changed their date from after to before the Oscars (around the year 2000).  They really do seem to mirror the Oscars some years, especially last – when Ben Affleck and Argo took their top awards.  Emmanuelle Riva won Best Actress.

This year, the BAFTA, I expect, will go ass over elbow for American Hustle, as the American critics apparently have.  The Brits seem to get Martin Scorsese’s Wolf of Wall Street more than the American critics. Reception here has been mixed.

You have to go back to 2007 to find a year when the Academy did not match Best Picture when they chose Atonement over No Country for Old Men.  Since then, the two groups have agreed.

The voting procedure changed last year so that certain branches do the nominating and the entire body does the voting for winners, just like the Oscars.  You can read the voting rules at the end of this article.

I do expect one or two surprises in the lineup this year.  That’s mainly due to this being such a competitive year all around that it’s been a bit difficult to find a clear consensus.  Although with BAFTA there are only five Best Picture nominees.  That makes it a little easier.  To which, my predictions.

Best Film
Gravity
Captain Phillips
12 Years  a Slave
American Hustle
The Wolf of Wall Street
Alt. Philomena (which I think will get in but…)Her, Inside Llewyn Davis

Best Actor
Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
Bruce Dern, Nebraska
Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Matthew McConaughey, Dallas Buyers Club
Robert Redford, All is Lost
Alt. Leonardo DiCaprio, Wolf of Wall Street, Christian Bale, American Hustle

Best Actress
Sandra Bullock, Gravity
Meryl Streep, August: Osage County
Emma Thompson, Saving Mr. Banks
Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
Judi Dench, Philomena
alt. Adele Exarchopoulis, Blue is the Warmest Colour

Supporting Actor
Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Barkhad Abdi Captain Phillips
Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
Bradley Cooper, American Hustle
Jonah Hill, The Wolf of Wall Street
Alt. Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks

Supporting Actress
Lupita Nyong’o, 12 Years a Slave
Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
June Squibb, Nebraska
Julia Roberts, August: Osage County
Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
Alt. Scarlett Johansson, Her

Director
Steve McQueen, 12 Years
Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
Martin Scorsese, Wolf of Wall Street
David O. Russell, American Hustle

That is about all I can muster. But I’d love to hear what you readers think will be nominated.

BAFTA rules
Round One voting – nominations

•   All voters vote for the nominations for Best Film, Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress;
•   The relevant chapter votes for the nominations for Director, Original Music, Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Sound, Special Visual Effects, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair, Adapted Screenplay and Original Screenplay;
•   In Animated Film, Documentary, Film Not in the English Language and Outstanding British Film only members of the relevant opt-in chapter vote for the nominations;
•   Voters may vote for up to five films/individuals per category (three for Animated Film and Documentary *). They should abstain in any category where they feel unqualified to vote or where they have not seen a considerable number of films;
•   The five films (three in Animated Film and Documentary *) in each category with the highest number of votes will be the nominations;
•   Voters are asked to rank their votes from one to five. These rankings will be applied in the event of a tie. If, following ranking being applied, there remains a tie, more than five nominations may be listed (three in Animated Film and Documentary *);
•   The results are scrutinised by BAFTA and its scrutineers to ensure there are no anomalies prior to the activation of Round Two voting. This includes the placement of individuals within the correct performance categories (see page 12).* Unless BAFTA’s Film Committee has determined that five nominations will be given, in which case voters will have up to five votes for the Documentary category and five nominations will be listed – see page 14.Round Two voting – winners

•   All voters vote for the winner of Best Film, Leading Actor, Leading Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress, Director, Original Music, Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Sound, Special Visual Effects, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair, Adapted Screenplay and Original Screenplay;
•   Members of the relevant opt-in chapter vote for the winners of Documentary, Film Not in the English Language, Outstanding British Film, Animated Film, British Short Film and British Short Animation;
•   Voters must abstain in a category if they have not seen all of the nominated films in that category, or if their knowledge of advancements in that craft is not up-to-date;
•   Voters cast one vote each; the film/individual receiving the most votes is the award winner.