The Aviator and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind came away with the most awards at the British Academy Awards last night. The Avaitor was named Best Film but it was Eternal Sunshine that ran away with the Best Director (Michael Condry) and Best Original Screenplay (Charlie Kaufman). It was quite a dismal performance for The Aviator, and one can only assume that Scorsese and company were disappointed, considering that their biopic of Howard Hughes only garnered 3 wins out of 13 nominations.
Other than Cate Blanchett's deserved win in the Best Supporting Actress category, for her stunning performance as Katherine Hepburn, Scorsese's film was recognized for Best Production Design and Make-Up & Hair.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind also came away with three wins. Besides Best Director and Original Screenplay, the films editor Valdís Óskarsdóttir beat out the editors of some highly impressive films (The Aviator, Collateral, House of Flying Daggers, and Vera Drake) for Best Editing.
Finding Neverland , the feel-good film of the year, had the worst of luck. After showing great promise after receiving an impressive 11 BAFTA nominations, it came away empty handed. Nada. Zilch.
Another surprise was the win for Best Cinematography. In a field with such impressive films such as The Aviator, Collateral, Finding Neverland, House of Flying Daggers, and The Motorcycle Diaries, it was Dion Beebe / Paul Cameron for Collateral who walked away with the honor.
In other main awards:
Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor won Best Adapted Screenplay (Sideways).
Ray won the award for Best Sound.
The Day After Tomorrow won the award for Best Visual Effects.
There were no surprises in the acting categories. Other than Cate Blanchett's win, Jamie Foxx received the Best Actor award (Ray), Imelda Staunton won the Best Actress award (Vera Drake), and Clive Owen won another Best Supporting actor award for his role in Closer.
The Brits have three unique awards that the Oscars do not-- they hand out an award for best British Film, Best British Director/Producer or Writer in their First Feature Film, and Orange Award for Film of the Year (which is voted on by the public). This year, the films running in these categories were Dead Man's Shoes, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, My Summer of Love, Shaun of the Dead, Vera Drake, A Way of Life, Afterlife, Layer Cake, and Dear Frankie.
Best British Film was awarded to My Summer of Love.
Best Director/Producer or Writer in their First Feature Film went to writer and director Amma Asante (A Way of Life).
And the Orange Award for Film of the Year went to Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
I have to say that the BAFTA's are not an indicator for the upcoming Oscars. However, the results do seem to highlight a trend this year-- that no one film is sweeping the major awards. In all, the BAFTA's honored some great films and achievements in film.
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