No sooner have the Golden Globes belly-flopped onto televisions as a "news conference", sans celebrities (because they all support the Writers' Guild strike), we have the announcement of this year's BAFTA nominees.
Hey, it might even be the only star-studded awards ceremony this year!
Best Film
American Gangster
Atonement
The Lives of Others
No Country Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Prediction: Atonement. They love a good, old-fashioned British drama with period costumes and maybe a bit of war thrown in -- plus it has a literary basis.
Best British Film
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Scott
Control
Eastern Promises
This Is England
Prediction: This Is England. I hope. Is Bourne really British just because the director's a Brit and it was filmed partly in London? Eastern Promises is similarly British mainly because it was filmed in the capital -- Cronenberg's Canadian! At least This Is England is a 100% a UK product. Clue's in the title.
Leading Actor
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy - Atonement
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Ulrich Muehe - The Lives of Others
Prediction: Daniel Day-Lewis. A great performance in There Will Be Blood and he's British. But, if he's not on the red carpet, expect James McAvoy.
Leading Actress
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie En Rose
Keira Knightley - Atonement
Ellen Page - Juno
Prediction: Maybe Cate Blanchett 'cos we love our Queens. That's a very patriotic choice. It would be amazing to see Ellen Page nab it, though.
Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilson's War
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
Prediction: Philip Seymour Hoffman, surely.
Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - I'm Not There
Kelly Macdonald - No Country for Old Men
Samantha Morton - Control
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Prediction: I can't really judge this one, but... my gut feeling goes with Samantha Morton.
Director
Atonement - Joe Wright
The Bourne Ultimatum - Paul Greengrass
The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
No Country For Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson
Prediction: P.T Anderson deserves it, closely followed by the Coens. But will Greengrass steal it because Bourne is apparently British now, too? I actually think Joe Wright will get it, if only to inspire him onto real greatness.
Original Screenplay
American Gangster - Steven Zaillian
Juno - Diablo Cody
The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy
This is England - Shane Meadows
Prediction: Juno would be great for newcomer Diablo Cody, but I suspect Tony Gilroy for Michael Clayton actually.
Adapted Screenplay
Atonement - Christopher Hampton
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Ronald Harwood
The Kite Runner - David Benioff
No Country for Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson
Prediction: Oh, There Will Be Blood must win that.
Film not in the English language
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
The Kite Runner
The Lives of Others
Lust, Caution
La Vie En Rose
Prediction: I can't comment. My gut says The Lives Of Others.
Animated Film
Ratatouille
Shrek the Third
The Simpsons Movie
Prediction: Ratatouille unless they're all insane.
The Carl Foreman award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their first feature film
Chris Atkins (director/writer) - Taking Liberties
Mia Bays (producer) - Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Sarah Gavron (director) - Brick Lane
Matt Greenhalgh (writer) - Control
Andrew Piddington (director/writer) - The Killing of John Lennon
Prediction: I think Matt Greenhalgh has this one sewn up for the well-regarded Control.
Music
American Gangster - Marc Streitenfeld
Atonement - Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias
There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood
La Vie En Rose - Christopher Gunning
Prediction: I'm no authority here, but I fancy American Gangster.
Cinematography
American gangster - Harris Savides
Atonement - Seamus McGarvey
The Bourne Ultimatum - Oliver Wood
No Country For Old Men - Roger Deakins
There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit
Prediction: It has to be No Country For Old Men, I feel.
Editing
American Gangster - Pietro Scalia
Atonement - Paul Tothill
The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse
Michael Clayton - John Gilroy
No Country For Old Men - Roderick Jaynes
Prediction: Hmmm, I don't pay close enough attention to editing when watching a film (it tends to ruin films, I find!) so I have no idea. Bourne looked pretty slick and difficult to edit, though.
Production Design
Atonement - Sarah Greenwood, Katie Spencer
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Guy Hendrix Dyas, Richard Roberts
Harry Potter And The Order Of The Phoenix - Stuart Craig, Stephanie McMillan
There Will Be Blood - Jack Fisk, Jim Erickson
La Vie En Rose - Olivier Raoux
Prediction: Oh, they'll be boring and go for Atonement. BAFTA love costume drama. I think There Will Be Blood deserves it more, though.
Costume Design
Atonement - Jacqueline Durran
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne
Lust, Caution - Pan Lai
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Colleen Atwood
La Vie En Rose - Marit Allen
Prediction: Elizabeth, surely.
Sound
Atonement - Danny Hambrook, Paul Hamblin, Catherine Hodgson
The Bourne Ultimatum - Kirk Francis, Scott Millan, Dave Parke, Karen Baker Landers, Per Hallberg
No Country For Old Men - Peter Kurland, Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff
There Will Be Blood - Christopher Scarabosio, Matthew Wood, John Pritchett, Michael Semanick, Tom Johnson
La Vie En Rose - Laurent Zeilig, Pascal Villard, Jean-Paul Hurier, Marc Doisne
Prediction: Again, I'm no authority here, but I have a feeling No Country For Old Men will take it.
Special Visual Effects
The Bourne Ultimatum - Peter Chiang, Charlie Noble, Mattias Lindahl, Joss Williams
The Golden Compass - Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris, Trevor Woods
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Tim Burke, John Richardson, Emma Norton, Chris Shaw
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End - John Knoll, Charles Gibson, Hal Hickel, John Frazier
Spider-Man 3 - Scott Stokdyk, Peter Nofz, Kee-Suk Ken Hahn, Spencer Cook
Prediction: Pirates 3 is clearly the most impressive technical achievement here.
Make-up & Hair
Atonement - Ivana Primorac
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Jenny Shircore
Hairspray - nominees to be confirmed
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Ivana Primorac
La Vie En Rose - Jan Archibald, Didier Lavergne
Prediction: Most likely a toss-up between Atonement and Elizabeth. I'll go for the latter, but it would be great if Sweeney picked one up.
Short Animation
The Pearce Sisters - Jo Allen, Luis Cook
Head Over Heels - Osbert Parker, Fiona Pitkin, Ian Gouldstone
The Crumblegiant - Pearse Moore, John McCloskey
Prediction: I have no idea, sorry.
Short Film
Dog Altogether - Diarmid Scrimshaw, Paddy Considine
Hesitation - Julien Berlan, Michelle Eastwood, Virginia Gilbert
The One And Only Herb McGwyer Plays Wallis Island - Charlie Henderson, James Griffiths, Tim Key, Tom Basden
Soft - Jane Hooks, Simon Ellis
The Stronger - Dan McCulloch, Lia Williams, Frank McGuinness
Prediction: Again, not a clue.
The Orange Rising Star Award (voted for by the public)
Shia LaBeouf
Sienna Miller
Ellen Page
Sam Riley
Tang Wei
Prediction: Oh come on! Ellen Page! Ellen Page! Pleeeease! Is Sienna Miller still rising? Hurry up, love! Shia might steal it, so please get voting all you Ellen fans!
