- Title: UNITED KINGDOM: "Gravity" leads field at BAFTA film awards
- Date: 8th January 2014
- Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UK (JANUARY 8, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) BAFTA DEPUTY CHAIR OF THE FILM COMMITTEE, PIPPA HARRIS, SAYING: "We're an international award ceremony but we want to focus particularly on British film, British talent, and you know this year we've added an extra nomination for British Film. So now we've got six in that category, which is great. And as
- Embargoed: 23rd January 2014 12:00
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- Location: United Kingdom
- Country: United Kingdom
- Reuters ID: LVAC8K64OE4O329HGFKERMEGKD5E
- Story Text: Space thriller "Gravity" won 11 BAFTA nominations on Wednesday (January 8), putting it just ahead of the pack at Britain's top film honours, while "12 Years a Slave" and "American Hustle" were in the running in 10 categories.
"Gravity", starring Oscar winners Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, was shortlisted in categories including best film, best actress, best director for Alfonso Cuaron, best sound and visual effects, and outstanding British film.
"As far as 'Gravity' is concerned, interesting to note that it's nominated both for Best Film and Best British Film," film critic Mark Kermode told Reuters Television following the announcement at the BAFTA headquarters in London.
"I think some people don't necessarily think of it as a British film. You know it has Hollywood stars, Alfonso Cuaron is the director, but of course shot here at Pinewood in Shepperton, all those extraordinary special effects, those visual effects were all created here at Framestore by British technicians who remain the very very best in the world," he said.
The nomination for top British film gave "Gravity" the edge over U.S. rivals in a highly competitive year in which the unflinching slavery drama, "12 Years a Slave", from British director Steve McQueen, is topping many U.S. award lists.
McQueen's biopic is heading the nominations across the Atlantic for the Jan. 12 Golden Globe awards and is a favourite for the Oscars on March 2.
"As far as the bookies are concerned '12 Years a Slave' kind of has the momentum," Kermode said.
"It's an extraordinary piece, obviously nominated for Best Film, also for Best Director. Very, very strong leading performance by actor Chiwetel Ejiofor who I think is absolutely on top of his game. Great also to see a Supporting Actress nomination for newcomer Lupita Nyong'o who just a couple of days ago was nominated for the EE BAFTA Rising Star award. So she now goes into the BAFTAs with two nominations to her name," Kermode said.
The film's lead actor, Britain's Chiwetel Ejiofor, is also nominated for the BAFTA best actor prize.
Ejiofor, 36, gained recognition as the lead in the 2002 dark crime thriller "Dirty Pretty Things" but his role in "12 Years a Slave" as a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery has thrust him into the limelight, winning him a list of award nominations.
Other films competing for the BAFTA best film award are 1970s con-men caper "American Hustle", Somali pirate thriller "Captain Phillips", and the heart-tugging adoption drama "Philomena".
Of these five films vying for the top prize, all but "Philomena" are also competing for the best director award with Cuaron running alongside McQueen, David O. Russell for "American Hustle" and Paul Greengrass for "Captain Phillips".
The fifth in this field was Hollywood veteran Martin Scorsese for his tale of American greed "The Wolf of Wall Street".
British actors Helen McCrory and Luke Evans, who currently stars in the second Hobbit instalment, announced Wednesday's nominations.
Both said they were impressed by this year's list of films and performances.
"Sometimes you know films will come through that might not in another year because it's not a particularly good year but this year each category is really hard fought for. It's a fantastic year for film," McCrory said.
"And some really great films and fantastic performances. There's a few that stuck out for me, which were in the categories. So that was nice to see," Evans said, revealing that he particularly enjoyed Julia Roberts' performance in "August: Osage County".
Vying for the best actor prize are Christian Bale in "American Hustle", Bruce Dern in "Nebraska", Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Wolf of Wall Street" and Tom Hanks in "Captain Phillips".
Veteran British star Judi Dench was one of five women competing for the best actress award.
The biggest surprise in that category was the nomination of Amy Adams for "American Hustle", while Meryl Streep was overlooked for "August: Osage County".
The two others vying for best actress are Emma Thompson in "Saving Mr. Banks" and Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's tragic comedy "Blue Jasmine".
The BAFTAs have had a patchy record in predicting which films go on to scoop the biggest movie honours, the Oscars, although the main winners in London in the past two years, "The Artist" and "Argo", stormed to best picture victory at the Academy Awards.
BAFTA Deputy Chair of the Film Committee Pippa Harris noted that the award intends to reflect a British flavor as well as take into account other productions around the world.
"We're an international award ceremony but we want to focus particularly on British film, British talent, and you know this year we've added an extra nomination for British Film. So now we've got six in that category, which is great. And as Nik [Powel, BAFTA Chair of the Film Committee] said it just shows the range and diversity of British filmmaking at the moment," Harris said.
The awards ceremony for the BAFTAs, formally called the EE British Academy Film Awards, takes place in London on Feb. 16. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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