BAFTA Nominations

The British are coming!  The British are coming!

BEST FILM

• The Artist
• The Descendants
• Drive
• The Help
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST BRITISH FILM

• My Week With Marilyn
• Senna
• Shame
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• We Need to Talk About Kevin

BEST DIRECTOR

• Tomas Alfredson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
• Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin
• Nicholas Winding Refn, Drive
• Martin Scorsese, Hugo

BEST ACTOR

• George Clooney, The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin, The Artist
• Michael Fassbender, Shame
• Brad Pitt, Moneyball
• Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST ACTRESS

• Berenice Bejo, The Artist
• Viola Davis, The Help
• Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
• Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
• Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

• Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
• Jim Broadbent, The Iron Lady
• Jonah Hill, Moneyball
• Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Ides of March
• Christopher Plummer, Beginners

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

• Jessica Chastain, The Help
• Judi Dench, My Week With Marilyn
• Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
• Carey Mulligan, Drive
• Octavia Spencer, The Help

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY

• The Artist- Michel Hazanavicius
• Bridesmaids- Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
• The Guard- John Michael McDonagh
• The Iron Lady- Abi Morgan
• Midnight in Paris- Woody Allen

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY

• The Descendants- Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
• The Help- Tate Taylor
• The Ides of March- George Clooney, Grant Heslov & Beau Willimon
• Moneyball- Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Arthur Christmas
• Rango

BEST DOCUMENTARY

• George Harrison: Living in a Material World
• Project Nim
• Senna

BEST FOREIGN FILM

• Incendies
• Pinna
• Potiche
• A Separation
• The Skin I Live In

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY

• The Artist- Guillaume Schiffman
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Jeff Cronenweth
• Hugo- Robert Richardson
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Hoyte van Hoytema
• War Horse- Janusz Kaminski

BEST COSTUME DESIGN

• The Artist- Mark Bridges
• Hugo- Sandy Powell
• Jane Eyre- Michael O'Connor
• My Week With Marilyn- Jill Taylor
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Jacqueline Durran

BEST FILM EDITING

• The Artist- Anne-Sophie Bion & Michel Hazanavicius
• Drive- Mat Newman
• Hugo- Thelma Schoonmaker
• Senna- Gregers Sall & Chris King
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Dino Jonsater

BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN

• The Artist- Laurence Bennett & Robert Gould
• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2- Stuart Craig & Stephenie McMillian
• Hugo- Dante Ferretti & Francesca Lo Schiavo
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Maria Djurkovic & Tatiana MacDonald
• War Horse- Rick Carter & Lee Sandales

BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC

• The Artist- Ludovic Bource
• The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo- Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
• Hugo- Howard SHore
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy- Alberto Iglesieas
• War Horse- John Williams

BEST MAKE-UP AND HAIRSTYLING

• The Artist
• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• The Iron Lady
• My Week With Marilyn

BEST SOUND

• The Artist
• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• War Horse

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS

• The Adventures of Tintin
• Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
• Hugo
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes
• War Horse

BEST DEBUT OF A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

• Attack the Block- Joe Cornish (director\writer)
• Black Pond- Will Sharpe (director\writer), Tom Kingsley (director) Sarah Brocklehurst (producer)
• Coriolanus- Ralph Fiennes (director)
• Submarine- Richard Ayoade (director\writer)
• Tyrannosaur- Paddy Considine (director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (producer)

ORANGE WEDNESDAYS RISING STAR AWARD

• Adam Deacon
• Chris Hemsworth
• Tom Hiddleston
• Chris O'Dowd
• Eddie Redmayne

The Artist continues its awards domination with 12 nominations from the British Academy of Film & Television Awards, as homegrown espionage tale Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy follows with 11 nods.  There's both a telling difference and similarity between the British equivalent and the Oscar itself-- message pictures (like The Help) transcends geography, as does star power-- look at the overwhelming effects of both the Clooney and the Streep-factor-- The Descendants, almost an epitome of American domesticity (despite it's tropical setting) managed a Best Picture nomination, and The Iron Lady, despite being fairly horrible (outside of Her Majesty's greatness) managed a few extra nods of her coattails, despite portraying a woman widely denounced in Great Britain.  I'm sorry but that Screenplay nod is absolute nonsense.  The BAFTA also cherishes their own-- with hometown pride sewn up with Tinker Tailor, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Senna and My Week With Marilyn, a screenplay nod for The Guard all making strong impressions and earning lofty mentions for it's lofty British cast members.  Then again, they also are strong risk-takers than the AMPAS, given the Drive popularity-- way to cool for the stodgy American film Academy...also Pedro Almodovar films are considered for Best Foreign Film-- Spain hasn't submitted a feature of his for Oscar consideration since All About My Mother (1999.)

Best mentions worthy of applause include nominations for Arthur Christmas in the animated feature category (the best animated feature of 2011, in my opinion), which has been ignored erroneously stateside, Best Film Editing for Senna is absolutely deserved...it's a masterwork of woven storytelling presented all through archival footage, the costume nod for Jane Eyre (by Michael O'Connor, who won the Oscar for The Duchess in 2008) and of course the richly deserved across the board continued success of The Artist.

Questionable mentions include the abundant love for My Week With Marilyn (Branagh and Dench are terrific actors, but they're coasting here...come please), as is Jim Broadbent in The Iron Lady and the aforementioned screenplay.  And with all the honoring of prime British work, why is there not one mention for one of the strongest British debuts in recent years: Weekend, the subtly soulful queer romance.

Snubbed completely: The Tree of Life