HOLLYWOOD—Another day, another list of nominees for awards season. This time it is for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts which released its contenders for the 2024 awards season. Yes, the BAFTAs are putting another ripple in what an interesting Tuesday could be next week, as the Oscar nominees are announced. Why does BAFTA matter? There are some members of BAFTA on international waters who happen to be members of AMPAS.
There were indeed some surprises which we will talk about. First off, leading the pack of all contenders is the film “Oppenheimer” which earned 13 nominations including Best Picture. Followed closed behind is the quirky comedy “Poor Things” with 11 nominations. Also picking up multiple nominees included “Killers of the Flower Moon” with nine nominations. Not seeing that much love was “Barbie” that only earned five nominations.
Now, let’s talk about the surprises because there were a few, notably the Best Director race because Martin Scorsese, Greta Gerwig and Yorgos Lanthimos did not make the cut. The odd thing is that Yorgos and Marty’s flicks both were nominated for Best Film. How can you land a Best Film nomination, but not Best Director? I mean that echoed my sentiment for the contenders for Best Director. Why? Bradley Cooper earned a nod for “Maestro” and so did Jonathan Glazer for “The Zone of Interest,” but their flicks failed to earn a Best Film nomination.
When it came to the acting races, there were some shakeups. Fantasia Barrino earned her first Lead Actress nomination since picking up a nod at the Golden Globes for “The Color Purple,” same for Barry Keoghan for “Saltburn” in the Best Actor category. Who was missing? Jeffrey Wright didn’t make the cut for “American Fiction,” neither did Natalie Portman for “May December,” Annette Bening “Nyad” and Lily Gladstone for “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Loved seeing Jacob Elordi “Saltburn” and Dominic Sessa” The Holdovers” make the cut in the Supporting Actor category. Both actors were solid in their films.
I admit I do like the shakeups because it proves that Oscar could deliver some shocking snubs or omissions as we near the Academy Award nominations next week. I’m starting to think more and more that Leonardo DiCaprio is NOT going to make the Best Actor cut. A partial list of this year’s nominees can be viewed below:
Best Film
-“Anatomy of a Fall”
-“The Holdovers”
-“Killers of the Flower Moon”
-“Oppenheimer”
-“Poor Things”
Outstanding British Film
-“All of Us Strangers”
-“How to Have Sex”
-“Napoleon”
-“The Old Oak”
-“Poor Things”
-“Rye Lane”
-“Saltburn”
-“Scrapper”
-“Wonka”
-“The Zone of Interest”
Best Director
-Andrew Haigh “All of Us Strangers”
-Justine Triet “Anatomy of a Fall”
-Alexander Payne “The Holdovers”
-Bradley Cooper “Maestro”
-Christopher Nolan “Oppenheimer”
-Jonathan Glazer “The Zone of Interest”
Lead Actor
-Bradley Cooper “Maestro”
-Colman Domingo “Rustin”
-Paul Giamatti “The Holdovers”
-Barry Keoghan “Saltburn”
-Cillian Murphy “Oppenheimer”
-Teo Yoo “Past Lives”
Lead Actress
-Fantasia Barrino “The Color Purple”
-Sandra Huller “Anatomy of a Fall”
-Carey Mulligan “Maestro”
-Vivian Oparah “Rye Lane”
-Margot Robbie “Barbie”
-Emma Stone “Poor Things”
Supporting Actress
-Emily Blunt “Oppenheimer”
-Danielle Brooks “The Color Purple”
-Claire Foy “All of Us Strangers”
-Sandra Huller “The Zone of Interest”
-Rosamund Pike “Saltburn”
-Da’Vine Joy Randolph “The Holdovers”
Supporting Actor
-Robert De Niro “Killers of the Flower Moon”
-Robert Downey Jr. “Oppenheimer”
-Jacob Elordi “Saltburn”
-Ryan Gosling “Barbie”
-Paul Mescal “All of Us Strangers”
-Dominic Sessa “The Holdovers”
Original Screenplay
-Justine Triet, Arthur Harari “Anatomy of a Fall”
-Greta Gerwig, Noah Baumbach “Barbie”
-David Hemingson “The Holdovers”
-Bradley Cooper, Josh Singer “Maestro”
-Celine Song “Past Lives”
Adapted Screenplay
-Andrew Haigh “All of Us Strangers”
-Cord Jefferson “American Fiction”
-Christopher Nolan “Oppenheimer”
-Tony McNamara “Poor Things”
-Jonathan Glazer “The Zone of Interest”
Animated Film
-“The Boy and the Heron”
-“Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget”
-“Elemental”
-“Spider-Man: Across The Spider-Verse”
Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer
-“Blue Bag Life”
-“Bobi Wine: The People’s President”
-“Earth Mama”
-“How to Have Sex”
-“Is There Anybody Out There?”
Film Not In The English Language
-“20 Days in Mariupol”
-“Anatomy of a Fall”
-“Past Lives”
-“Society of the Snow”
-“The Zone of Interest”
Documentary
-“20 Days In Mariupol”
-“American Symphony”
-“Beyond Utopia”
-“Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie”
-“Wham!”
Cinematography
-Rodrigo Prieto “Killers of the Flower Moon”
-Matthew Libatique “Maestro”
-Hoyte van Hoytema “Oppenheimer”
-Robbie Ryan “Poor Things”
-Lukasz Zal “The Zone of Interest”
Editing
-Laurent Senechal “Anatomy of a Fall”
-Thelma Schoonmaker “Killers of the Flower Moon”
-Jennifer Lame “Oppenheimer”
-Yorgos Mavropsaridis “Poor Things”
-Paul Watts “The Zone of Interest”
EE Rising Star Award
-Phoebe Dynevor
-Ayo Edebiri
-Jacob Elordi
-Mia McKenna-Bruce
-Sophie Wilde
The 2024 BAFTA Awards will be handed out on Sunday, February 18 from London’s Royal Festival Hall. The ceremony is being hosted by actor David Tennant.
