UNITED KINGDOM: Some of the world's biggest movie stars turn out for the Orange British Academy Film Awards two weeks ahead of the Oscars

Record ID: 812208

  • Title: UNITED KINGDOM: Some of the world's biggest movie stars turn out for the Orange British Academy Film Awards two weeks ahead of the Oscars
  • Date: 23rd February 2006
  • Summary: LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM (FEBRUARY 19, 2006) (REUTERS) CLOSE UP SHOT OF CHILD IN CROWD
  • Embargoed: 10th March 2006 12:00
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  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Reuters ID: LVA3O1R7M2GZ5EQMLBR8GRHIUDA
  • Story Text: For George Clooney, it was the ultimate Oscar -- his father loved "Good Night, and Good Luck".
    he tale of CBS newsman Edward R.Murrow's battle against Senator Joe McCarthy's anti-Communist witch-hunt could not have been closer to both their hearts; hence the actor's nerves when he showed the film to his father, newscaster Nick Clooney.
    "He was the first person I showed it to," Clooney told Reuters Television on a trip to London for the Orange British Film Academy Awards.
    "Believe me, of all the people you show it to, at all the film festivals and all the places you go, the harshest critic is your old man. The fact that he liked it -- I was very excited about that."
    Clooney said: "I wrote the film coming back from the Berlin Film Festival. It was in the lead-up to the (Iraq) War. I said we should be asking a few questions before we go in and send 150,000 kids to be shot at.
    "I came home and was called a traitor to my country on the cover of magazines."
    Clooney came away empty-handed from the London awards ceremony -- he was up for four BAFTAs for his acting, directing and writing skills -- but this has been a dream year for the Hollywood heavyweight on both sides of the camera. He has three Oscar nominations under his belt, for Best Supporting Actor in the Middle East oil thriller "Syriana" and for directing and co-writing the screenplay for "Good Night, and Good Luck".
    It is the first time someone has made the cut for acting and directing in two different films in the same year.
    "Brokeback Mountain," already a hot favourite for next month's Hollywood Oscars, was the big star of the night at the Orange British Film Academy awards on Sunday, scooping four BAFTAs.
    The gay cowboy love story won the coveted Best Film Award, Ang Lee was picked as Best Director, Jake Gyllenhaal was chosen as Best Supporting Actor and it also won the Best Adapted Screenplay statuette.
    "I didn't have a specific message. I wasn't trying to push any political issues. We are dealing here with love," Lee told Reuters Television before accepting his award. Gyllenhaal, flabbergasted by his triumph, shook his head in astonishment and said: "Who would have thought this would happen."
    "It moved me like no other love story I have ever seen," he said of the film for which he is also Oscar-nominated.
    The film, which had taken Lee seven years to bring to the screen, faced tough competition in a strong year from "Capote," "The Constant Gardener," "Crash" and "Good Night, and Good Luck" to be picked as Best Film.
    Philip Seymour Hoffman took home the Best Actor BAFTA for his mesmerising portrayal of writer Truman Capote in "Capote" and Reese Witherspoon was selected as Best Actress for her role in the Johnny Cash biopic "Walk The Line".
    The Best Supporting Actress award went to British star Thandie Newton for her role in the low-budget racial drama "Crash."
    he British film industry had great hopes for the stylish political thriller "The Constant Gardener" which garnered 10 nominations but its stars Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz went home empty-handed.
    Another disappointed star was George Clooney who had been nominated four times in recognition of his directing, acting and writing skills in the McCarthy era drama "Goodnight, and Good Luck" and the Middle East thriller "Syriana."
    Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit," another in line for Oscar glory in Hollywood next month, was chosen as The Best British Film of the Year, much to the delight of Nick Park, creator of the two plasticine pals.
    The BAFTAs were shifted in 2001 from April to February to fall between the Golden Globes and the Oscars with organisers hoping to capture some Hollywood glitter in the packed awards calendar.
    But winning a top UK film industry award is certainly no guarantee of Oscar success.
    Last year, Clint Eastwood's boxing drama "Million Dollar Baby" swept the board at the Oscars but failed to score at the BAFTAs after distributors refused to send out copies of the film to voters amid fears of piracy.
    ENDS
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