Sky News always reports from this as if it’s big and important. It isn’t really, is it? Is it a big deal in Britain?
The BAFTAs are the British equivalent of the Oscars for those not in the know.
Russell Crowe does.
I give as much of a fuck as I do about the Oscars.
I.e. I’m mildly interested.
Can non-Brits answer? Because I’m not a Brit, and I give a fuck. Why? Because I love movies, and it’s great when movies I particularly love get recognized, if not by a win, then by a nomination. Awards shows give a boost of recognition to movies. Some movies don’t need that, but others do. People who aren’t into movies won’t give a fuck, sure, but why complain when you don’t?? Some people will just tune in to see the stars and fashions, but so what? While they’re oogling Brad and Angelina, they’ll hear about In Bruge, and The Wrestler, and Milk, and Hunger, and Burn After Reading, and I’ve Loved You So Long, and Waltz With Bashir, and Man On Wire. That’s publicity that most of those movies and others simply cannot get otherwise.
I’ll never understand this whining (er, excuse me, whinging) that goes on regarding awards shows. They happen every year. They’ll continue to happen every year no matter how much whining (er, excuse me, whinging) goes on. Scorn, scream, roll your eyes and steam, there’s gonna be awards shows. Get over it.
Just ignore them. Geez.
All that aside, I love the BAFTAS because they often (not always) have far more interesting nominees and sometimes winners than the Oscars. Like today, In Bruge won the BAFTA for Best Original Screenplay. Now that’s cool. Milk will almost certainly win the Oscar, and that will make me happy, but In Bruge is nominated for an Oscar so I get the best of both worlds, one important nomination, and one important win. Plus they gave a special award to Terry Gilliam! Now THAT’S cool! He’ll never ever get one in the states.
It was fun to watch Mickey Rourke say “fuck” a couple of times (and the reactions of the audience to it), and make lewd comments about Marisa Tomei. It was fun to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen appear together. It was fun to see how overcome Kate Winslet’s parents were. It was fun to see how excited the people from Slumdog Millionaire were every time they won something. If there’s a downside, there are far too many American actors as presenters. Goldie Hawn shouldn’t be presenting an award at the BAFTAs! Plus, I don’t know who the host was, he was funny and I liked him, but I wish they’d bring back Stephen Fry. He’s classic.
And as long as the subject is the BAFTAs, rather than start a new thread, here are the results. It’s a copy and paste and the all caps are their fault.
Some of the show can be found on YouTube.
** denote winners
2009 BAFTAs
BEST FILM
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Kathleen Kennedy, Frank Marshall, Ceán Chaffin
* FROST/NIXON – Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Brian Grazer, Ron Howard
* MILK – Dan Jinks, Bruce Cohen
* THE READER – Anthony Minghella, Sydney Pollack, Donna Gigliotti, Redmond Morris
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson***
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
* HUNGER – Laura Hastings-Smith, Robin Gutch, Steve McQueen, Enda Walsh
* IN BRUGES – Graham Broadbent, Pete Czernin, Martin McDonagh
* MAMMA MIA! – Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman, Phyllida Lloyd, Catherine Johnson
***** MAN ON WIRE – Simon Chinn, James Marsh***
* SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Christian Colson, Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD
(for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film)
* SIMON CHINN (Producer) – Man On Wire
* JUDY CRAYMER (Producer) – Mamma Mia!
* GARTH JENNINGS (Writer) – Son of Rambow
***** STEVE McQUEEN (Director/Writer) – Hunger***
* SOLON PAPADOPOULOS, ROY BOULTER (Producers) – Of Time And The City
DIRECTOR
* CHANGELING – Clint Eastwood
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – David Fincher
* FROST/NIXON – Ron Howard
* THE READER – Stephen Daldry
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Danny Boyle***
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
* BURN AFTER READING – Joel Coen, Ethan Coen
* CHANGELING – Joe Michael Straczynski
* I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Philippe Claudel
***** IN BRUGES – Martin McDonagh***
* MILK – Dustin Lance Black
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Roth
* FROST/NIXON – Peter Morgan
* THE READER – David Hare
* REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Justin Haythe
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Simon Beaufoy***
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
* THE BAADER MEINHOF COMPLEX – Bernd Eichinger, Uli Edel
* GOMORRAH – Domenico Procacci, Matteo Garrone
***** I’VE LOVED YOU SO LONG – Yves Marmion, Philippe Claudel***
* PERSEPOLIS – Marc-Antoine Robert, Xavier Rigault, Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
* WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Serge Lalou, Gerhard Meixner, Yael Nahlieli, Ari Folman
ANIMATED FILM
* PERSEPOLIS – Marjane Satrapi, Vincent Paronnaud
***** WALL•E – Andrew Stanton***
* WALTZ WITH BASHIR – Ari Folman
LEADING ACTOR
* FRANK LANGELLA – Frost/Nixon
* DEV PATEL – Slumdog Millionaire
* SEAN PENN – Milk
* BRAD PITT – The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
***** MICKEY ROURKE – The Wrestler***
LEADING ACTRESS
* ANGELINA JOLIE – Changeling
* KRISTIN SCOTT THOMAS – I’ve Loved You So Long
* MERYL STREEP – Doubt
***** KATE WINSLET – The Reader***
* KATE WINSLET – Revolutionary Road
SUPPORTING ACTOR
* ROBERT DOWNEY JR. – Tropic Thunder
* BRENDAN GLEESON – In Bruges
* PHILIP SEYMOUR HOFFMAN – Doubt
***** HEATH LEDGER – The Dark Knight***
* BRAD PITT – Burn After Reading
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
* AMY ADAMS – Doubt
***** PENÉLOPE CRUZ – Vicky Cristina Barcelona***
* FREIDA PINTO – Slumdog Millionaire
* TILDA SWINTON – Burn After Reading
* MARISA TOMEI – The Wrestler
MUSIC
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Alexandre Desplat
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Hans Zimmer, James Newton Howard
* MAMMA MIA! – Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – A. R. Rahman***
* WALL•E – Thomas Newman
CINEMATOGRAPHY
* CHANGELING – Tom Stern
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Claudio Miranda
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Wally Pfister
* THE READER – Chris Menges, Roger Deakins
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Anthony Dod Mantle***
** EDITING**
(As there was a tie in this category there are six nominations)
* CHANGELING – Joel Cox, Gary D. Roach
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Lee Smith
* FROST/NIXON – Mike Hill, Dan Hanley
* IN BRUGES – Jon Gregory
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Chris Dickens***
PRODUCTION DESIGN
* CHANGELING – James J. Murakami, Gary Fettis
***** THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Donald Graham Burt, Victor J. Zolfo***
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Nathan Crowley, Peter Lando
* REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Kristi Zea, Debra Schutt
* SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE – Mark Digby, Michelle Day
COSTUME DESIGN
* CHANGELING – Deborah Hopper
* THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Jacqueline West
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Lindy Hemming
***** THE DUCHESS – Michael O’Connor***
* REVOLUTIONARY ROAD – Albert Wolsky
SOUND
***** SLUMDOG MILLIONARE – Glenn Freemantle, Resul Pookutty, Richard Pryke, Tom Sayers, Ian Tapp***
* CHANGELING – Walt Martin, Alan Robert Murray, John Reitz, Gregg Rudloff
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Lora Hirschberg, Richard King, Ed Novick, Gary Rizzo
* QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Jimmy Boyle, Eddy Joseph, Chris Munro, Mike Prestwood Smith, Mark Taylor
* WALL•E – Ben Burtt, Tom Myers, Michael Semanick, Matthew Wood
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
***** THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Eric Barba, Craig Barron, – Nathan McGuinness, Edson Williams***
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Chris Corbould, Nick Davis, Paul Franklin, Tim Webber
* INDIANA JONES AND THE KINGDOM OF THE CRYSTAL SKULL – Pablo Helman, Marshall Krasser, Steve Rawlins
* IRON MAN – Hal Hickel, Shane Patrick Mahan, John Nelson, Ben Snow
* QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Chris Corbould, Kevin Tod Haug
MAKE UP & HAIR
***** THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON – Jean Black, Colleen Callaghan***
* THE DARK KNIGHT – Peter Robb-King
* THE DUCHESS – Daniel Phillips, Jan Archibald
* FROST/NIXON – Edouard Henriques, Kim Santantonio
* MILK – Steven E. Anderson, Michael White
SHORT ANIMATION
* CODSWALLOP – Greg McLeod, Myles McLeod
* VARMINTS – Sue Goffe, Marc Craste
***** WALLACE AND GROMIT: A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH – Steve Pegram, Nick Park, Bob Baker***
SHORT FILM
* KINGSLAND #1 THE DREAMER – Kate Ogborn, Tony Grisoni
* LOVE YOU MORE – Caroline Harvey, Anthony Minghella, Sam Taylor-Wood, Patrick Marber
* RALPH – Olivier Kaempfer, Alex Winckler
***** SEPTEMBER – Stewart le Maréchal, Esther May Campbell***
* VOYAGE D’AFFAIRES (THE BUSINESS TRIP) – Celine Quideau, Sean Ellis
ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD
(voted on by the British public)
* MICHAEL CERA
***** NOEL CLARKE***
* MICHAEL FASSBENDER
* REBECCA HALL
* TOBY KEBBELL
OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
PINEWOOD STUDIOS AND SHEPPERTON STUDIOS
ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
TERRY GILLIAM
===============================
I watched it online, and was glad I could.
My problem with the BAFTAs is that if there is a semi decent British film or acting performance then they will win. I don’t think Slumdog Millionaire was a worthy winner. Nor do I think that Noel Clark in a million years should have beaten Michael Fassbender in the newcomer category.
I’m British and I think the BAFTA awards ceremony is a very strange phenomenon.
I don’t know anyone in real life who cares much about the BAFTAs, or who sees them as anything than a poor and rather tatty local substitute for the Oscars. Yet the event wins lots of press and the event is televised.
Why all the media attention to something that most real people just aren’t that bothered about? I think part of it is just nationalistic pride welded to media luvvie-dom and self-interest. There is a sense among the media glitterati that if the US can have its big lavish Oscars night, we Brits can have our own version, and that it would be somehow unpatriotic not to support it, plaster it across the media and wave a few flags.
The fact that very few actual stars can be bothered to attend is politely overlooked. This gives rise to the despicable suspicion that in many cases the choice of ‘winner’ is skewed in favour of whoever can be persuaded/bribed to attend, rather than have countless repetitions of, ‘Sadly, WINNER can’t be with us this evening, but he taped this message from his paradise island in the Caribbean…’.
Also, it’s the British Film And Television Awards, so of course the TV people are going to give it air time… it’s a chance to have a party, drink your own weight in champagne and stand around in a circle (effectively) congratulating one another on being so brilliant.
Another factor is that the BAFTAs as such may not be all that interesting to the average man and woman in the street, but celebra-drivel is an extremely healthy industry here in Brit-land, capable of supporting a staggering number of magazines and ‘reality’ TV shows. The BAFTAs are an excuse to publish lots of photos of a few stars getting the red carpet treatment on a cold Sunday evening in early February - what else is going to be worth pointing a lens at?
I remember about a year after Quentin Tarantino won a BAFTA for Pulp Fiction, he was interviewed by the British film magazine Empire. He was asked where he kept his BAFTA. His response? “What’s a BAFTA?”
Things have changed somewhat since they moved the ceremony to take place during the run-up to the Oscars. You see far more of the big stars actually turning up to the ceremony, even if they haven’t won. But it’s still a third-tier award, below the Oscars and the Golden Globes, probably about on a par with an award from Cannes or the New York Film Critics Circle.
I don’t care about the BAFTAs at all.
Replace “the BAFTAs” in the title with “any award ceremony” and my answer would still be no.
Dude! One of the advantages of declaring independance/getting chucked out is that you don’t have to immerse yourself in those things anymore. Switch the channel and watch some Galiec Football. 
The only time I will make it a point to watch is if Stephen Fry is hosting. J. Ross hosted it last night and it was very boring and flat.
Just give Fry the gig every year.
Agreed.
I can’t stand all the and tears and ego trips.
I’m not big into award ceremoies but I think that the BAFTAs have as much merit as any other.
I agree with Hrududu, the BAFTAs are deeply biased towards British movies and performers, although they do toss the occasional bone to the Yanks.
I’m a Brit and I find the BAFTAs boring as hell, also self-important and pompous in equal measure. The Oscars, on the other hand, matter and I always watch the annual show, although I do think it’s been on a downward curve in entertainment value over the last few years.
This is true but I think this year they’ll get blamed for it for no good reason.
Slumdog ruled the roost at this years show but it has done at most of the awards so far. The only awards I would question is the adapted screenplay and possibly the Cinematography nod. All others are consistant with non-UK(SAG, Gloden Globes) awards.
Slumdog looks like it will be the big one at the Oscars unless there’s a big backlash against it wihich I don’t see happening yet.
I don’t actually watch it but flicking over to the news channels, Sky in particular you’d think it was the Second Coming or something like that. I don’t care much for the Oscars either but millions do. I’m not really sure you can say the same for the BAFTAs. It’s sort of pathetic.
You’ve got to fill 24hr news with something and Brangellina will do.
You want really pathetic? Wait till the 14th Feb http://www.ifta.ie/ 
Question: This was the first time I was able to watch the BAFTA’s on American television, and I’ve always thought BAFTA stood for British Academy of Film & Television Awards, so why were there no TV related awards given out last night?
I had thought the whole point was to celebrate British film and was surprised to see so many American films and actors
I think I have an IFTA lying around somewhere.