I’ve got a spicy date tonight!

OK, maybe it’s not exactly a date, more an Indian takeaway in front of the TV, with the BAFTAs! Still, I do love films and this evening won’t end in heartache or tears… at least not from me, I’m not that invested in who wins or loses, though there may be some mild disappointment!

Funnily enough WordPress gives me information about who has subscribed for email updates of my blog posts, and on that list is an ex-girlfriend who I haven’t spoken to for years, who subscribed about a year ago! It makes me chuckle, at least she still cares about films, as do I!

You can see my predictions here and find out how badly I get the winners wrong!

Advertisement

BAFTA Predictions 2016

Often a good indicator of what’s to come at the Oscars, the BAFTAs take place about a fortnight before the Academy Awards, this year exactly a fortnight on Sunday the 14th of February.

I’ve seen about half of the nominees, links to my reviews are below. In the past few days I’ve also seen ‘Steve Jobs’, ‘Spotlight’, ‘The Big Short’ and ‘Room’. Reviews of these will be coming this week, I didn’t want to rush them just for the sake of publishing before the BAFTAs, these films deserve decently written reviews. In short, they are all very good, the writing and performances in ‘Steve Jobs’ are great, the ensemble cast of ‘Spotlight’ are superb especially when taken as a whole. Above all these, ‘Room’ is outstanding and deserves lots of praise and wins, I’ll elaborate in my review by the end of the week but if you have chance to see it do, it’s vanishing from cinemas all too rapidly so take the chance if you have it.

Here are my predictions, using my preferred scoring system of 1st choice (2 points if correct), 2nd choice (1 point if correct) and ‘P’ for personal preference of which film would get my vote (which carries no points but is there for interest and expression). There are also notes in italics for certain films and choices. There are 24 categories thus a maximum score of 48 points.

Please get involved and share your predictions and thoughts in the comments.

BEST FILM

THE BIG SHORT Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Brad Pitt
P. BRIDGE OF SPIES Kristie Macosko Krieger, Marc Platt, Steven Spielberg
CAROL Elizabeth Karlsen, Christine Vachon, Stephen Woolley
1. THE REVENANT Steve Golin, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Arnon Milchan, Mary Parent, Keith Redmon
2. SPOTLIGHT Steve Golin, Blye Pagon Faust, Nicole Rocklin, Michael Sugar

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM

45 YEARS Andrew Haigh, Tristan Goligher
AMY Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees
1. BROOKLYN John Crowley, Finola Dwyer, Amanda Posey, Nick Hornby
THE DANISH GIRL Tom Hooper, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Anne Harrison, Gail Mutrux, Lucinda Coxon
2 P. EX MACHINA Alex Garland, Andrew Macdonald, Allon Reich
THE LOBSTER Yorgos Lanthimos, Ceci Dempsey, Ed Guiney, Lee Magiday, Efthimis Filippou – I didn’t love this, it was absurdly funny in parts and the premise was original, but I had to close my eyes for the final scene which was literally my worst nightmare!

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER

1 P. ALEX GARLAND (Director) Ex Machina – I think this is outstanding, though Garland’s not being ‘new’ to the industry may go against him as it feels less like a début though it is for him as director.
DEBBIE TUCKER GREEN (Writer/Director) Second Coming
2. NAJI ABU NOWAR (Writer/Director) RUPERT LLOYD (Producer) Theeb
SEAN MCALLISTER (Director/Producer), ELHUM SHAKERIFAR (Producer) A Syrian Love Story
STEPHEN FINGLETON (Writer/Director) The Survivalist

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

1. THE ASSASSIN Hou Hsiao-Hsien
2. FORCE MAJEURE Ruben Östlund
P. THEEB Naji Abu Nowar, Rupert Lloyd
TIMBUKTU Abderrahmane Sissako
WILD TALES Damián Szifron

DOCUMENTARY

1 P. AMY Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees – Definitely the frontrunner.
CARTEL LAND Matthew Heineman, Tom Yellin
2. HE NAMED ME MALALA Davis Guggenheim, Walter Parkes, Laurie MacDonald
LISTEN TO ME MARLON Stevan Riley, John Battsek, George Chignell, R.J. Cutler
SHERPA Jennifer Peedom, Bridget Ikin, John Smithson

ANIMATED FILM

1 P. INSIDE OUT Pete Docter – Completely has this one with little doubt.
MINIONS Pierre Coffin, Kyle Balda
2. SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE Mark Burton, Richard Starzak

DIRECTOR

THE BIG SHORT Adam McKay
BRIDGE OF SPIES Steven Spielberg
CAROL Todd Haynes
2 P. THE MARTIAN Ridley Scott
1. THE REVENANT Alejandro G. Iñárritu

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – All the ones I’ve seen have been great screenplays, it’s a close call.

BRIDGE OF SPIES Matthew Charman, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
2 P. EX MACHINA Alex Garland
THE HATEFUL EIGHT Quentin Tarantino
INSIDE OUT Josh Cooley, Pete Docter, Meg LeFauve
1. SPOTLIGHT Tom McCarthy, Josh Singer

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – This is also a difficult one, I’m torn between 3 good options.

2. THE BIG SHORT Adam McKay, Charles Randolph
BROOKLYN Nick Hornby
CAROL Phyllis Nagy
1 P. ROOM Emma Donoghue – I’ve seen this now, my review is coming this week, it’s superbly written and of the 3 in this category that I’ve seen it’s my personal favourite for this award.
STEVE JOBS Aaron Sorkin – I’d usually pick anything by Sorkin to win but this year is so good.

LEADING ACTOR

BRYAN CRANSTON Trumbo
EDDIE REDMAYNE The Danish Girl
1. LEONARDO DICAPRIO The Revenant
P. MATT DAMON The Martian
2. MICHAEL FASSBENDER Steve Jobs

LEADING ACTRESS

ALICIA VIKANDER The Danish Girl
1 P. BRIE LARSON Room
CATE BLANCHETT Carol
MAGGIE SMITH The Lady in the Van
2. SAOIRSE RONAN Brooklyn

SUPPORTING ACTOR

BENICIO DEL TORO Sicario
CHRISTIAN BALE The Big Short
2. IDRIS ELBA Beasts of No Nation – Interesting to see a nomination for Netflix and Idris.
MARK RUFFALO Spotlight
1 P. MARK RYLANCE Bridge of Spies – I loved this, a perfect supporting performance, probably the winner.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS

2 P. ALICIA VIKANDER Ex Machina – Nominated in two categories, this is her more likely win, but the votes may be too split for her over the two nominations. 
JENNIFER JASON LEIGH The Hateful Eight
JULIE WALTERS Brooklyn
KATE WINSLET Steve Jobs
1. ROONEY MARA Carol

ORIGINAL MUSIC

BRIDGE OF SPIES Thomas Newman
1. THE HATEFUL EIGHT Ennio Morricone – It’s a Morricone score, that counts for a lot.
THE REVENANT Ryuichi Sakamoto, Carsten Nicolai
2 P. SICARIO Jóhann Jóhannsson
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS John Williams

CINEMATOGRAPHY

BRIDGE OF SPIES Janusz Kamiński
CAROL Ed Lachman
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD John Seale – This could win but I don’t have a 3rd choice provision.
2. THE REVENANT Emmanuel Lubezki – Shooting in natural light outdoors is impressive.
1 P. SICARIO Roger Deakins – I was so impressed by how good this film looked, plus if AMPAS won’t give him an award, hopefully BAFTA will!

EDITING

THE BIG SHORT Hank Corwin
BRIDGE OF SPIES Michael Kahn
1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Margaret Sixel – The action scenes (a.k.a. the whole film) showed skilful editing.
THE MARTIAN Pietro Scalia
2 P. THE REVENANT Stephen Mirrione – I liked how it held some shots and avoided cuts in a way that drew us in, maybe more a strength of direction and cinematography but the editor must have been involved. 

PRODUCTION DESIGN

BRIDGE OF SPIES Adam Stockhausen, Rena DeAngelo
2. CAROL Judy Becker, Heather Loeffler
1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Colin Gibson, Lisa Thompson
P. THE MARTIAN Arthur Max, Celia Bobak
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Rick Carter, Darren Gilford, Lee Sandales

COSTUME DESIGN – It’s more than likely going to Sandy Powell but for which film?

BROOKLYN Odile Dicks-Mireaux
1. CAROL Sandy Powell
2 P. CINDERELLA Sandy Powell
THE DANISH GIRL Paco Delgado
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Jenny Beavan

MAKE UP & HAIR

BROOKLYN Morna Ferguson, Lorraine Glynn
CAROL Jerry DeCarlo, Patricia Regan
THE DANISH GIRL Jan Sewell
2. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Lesley Vanderwalt, Damian Martin
1 P. THE REVENANT Sian Grigg, Duncan Jarman, Robert Pandini – Good injury and hair work.

SOUND

BRIDGE OF SPIES Drew Kunin, Richard Hymns, Andy Nelson, Gary Rydstrom
1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Scott Hecker, Chris Jenkins, Mark Mangini, Ben Osmo, Gregg Rudloff, David White
THE MARTIAN Paul Massey, Mac Ruth, Oliver Tarney, Mark Taylor
THE REVENANT Lon Bender, Chris Duesterdiek, Martin Hernandez, Frank A. Montaño, Jon Taylor, Randy Thom
2 P. STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Matthew Wood, Stuart Wilson

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS

P. ANT-MAN Jake Morrison, Greg Steele, Dan Sudick, Alex Wuttke – Lovely to see this nominated.
EX MACHINA Mark Ardington, Sara Bennett, Paul Norris, Andrew Whitehurst
1. MAD MAX: FURY ROAD Andrew Jackson, Dan Oliver, Tom Wood, Andy Williams
2. THE MARTIAN Chris Lawrence, Tim Ledbury, Richard Stammers, Steven Warner
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS Chris Corbould, Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan

BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION – Sadly not seen any of these yet so wouldn’t be fair to pick blindly.

EDMOND Nina Gantz, Emilie Jouffroy
MANOMAN Simon Cartwright, Kamilla Kristiane Hodol
PROLOGUE Richard Williams, Imogen Sutton

BRITISH SHORT FILM – Sadly not seen any of these either so again not picking blindly.

ELEPHANT Nick Helm, Alex Moody, Esther Smith
MINING POEMS OR ODES Callum Rice, Jack Cocker
OPERATOR Caroline Bartleet, Rebecca Morgan
OVER Jörn Threlfall, Jeremy Bannister
SAMUEL-613 Billy Lumby, Cheyenne Conway

THE EE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)

BEL POWLEY
BRIE LARSON – Not likely to win as ‘Room’ may not have the widest appeal though she’s great.
DAKOTA JOHNSON
1. JOHN BOYEGA – Probably has it in the bag as EVERYONE has seen ‘The Force Awakens‘ and liked him in it (I’ve seen it 3 times now despite not being much of a Star Wars fan!).
2 P. TARON EGERTON – I’ll be supporting the local lad from my town!