"Monty" Big Winner At BAFTA Awards

by Mark Rabinowitz

Fox Searchlight's surprise Oscar nominee, "The Full Monty," continued to
turn heads at this weekend's British Academy of Film and Television Arts
(BAFTA) awards, picking up four awards including best film, while
mega-blockbuster "Titanic" was shut out. "Monty" also picked up wins for
best actor (Robert Carlyle), best supporting actor (Tom Wilkinson) and
the first ever BAFTA audience award. In a surprising turn, Australia's
Baz Luhrmann picked up the award for best director for "William
Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet," which took home three other trophies,
winning for best adapted screenplay (Craig Pearce and Baz Luhrmann),
production design (Catherine Martin) and film music (Nellee Hooper,
Marius De Vries and Craig Armstrong).

Gary Oldman's directorial debut, "Nil By Mouth," picked up two awards,
winning for original screenplay (Oldman) and the Alexander Korda Award
for outstanding British film. Oscar nominee Judi Dench took home the
award for best actress in "Mrs. Brown" and, in a role not nominated for
an Oscar this year, Sigourney Weaver took home the best supporting
actress prize for "The Ice Storm." Sean Connery was honored with an
Academy Fellowship, joining past winners such as Charlie Chaplin, Alec
Guiness, Billy Wilder and Alfred Hitchcock.