“Slumdog,” “Button” Each Score 11 BAFTA Nods

by Peter Knegt (January 15, 2009)
“Slumdog,” “Button” Each Score 11 BAFTA Nods
A scene from Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire." Photo courtesy Fox Searchlight.

Danny Boyle’s “Slumdog Millionaire” and David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” led the 62nd Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs), with 11 nominations each.  Both films received nominations for best picture, best director, best actor (Dev Patel for “Slumdog,” Brad Pitt for “Button), and best adapted screenplay (Simon Beaufoy for “Slumdog,” Eric Roth for “Button”).  The three films that will compete for BAFTA’s best picture prize with “Slumdog” and “Button” are Stephen Daldry’s “The Reader,” Gus Van Sant’s “Milk,” and Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon.”

Other top nominees included Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight,” which garnered 8 nominations.  However, none of those included best picture or best director, which was considered one of the more noteworthy omissions of the announcement.  Other surprise snubs included actresses Anne Hathaway for “Rachel Getting Married,” Viola Davis for “Doubt,” as well as Mike Leigh’s “Happy-Go-Lucky” altogether.  The film did not take an expected nod for actress Sally Hawkins or Leigh’s original screenplay.  Worse was the film was left out of the best British film category in favor of “Mamma Mia!” 

Double nominees included Brad Pitt for both “Button” and “Burn After Reading,” and Kate Winslet, who was nominated twice in the lead actress category for “The Reader” and “Revolutionary Road.”

The winners will be announced Sunday, February 8th in London, England.


The 62nd Annual Orange British Academy Film Award Nominations

Best Film
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”
“The Reader”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best British Film
“Hunger”
“In Bruges”
“Mamma Mia!”
“Man on Wire”
“Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Director
Clint Eastwood, “Changeling”
David Fincher, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Ron Howard, “Frost/Nixon”
Stephen Daldry, “The Reader”
Danny Boyle, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Actor
Frank Langella, “Frost/Nixon”
Dev Patel, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Sean Penn, “Milk”
Brad Pitt, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Mickey Rourke, “The Wrestler”

Best Actress
Angelina Jolie, “Changeling”
Kristin Scott Thomas, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Meryl Streep, “Doubt”
Kate Winslet, “The Reader”
Kate Winslet, “Revolutionary Road”

Best 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”

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, “Doubt”
Penelope Cruz, “Vicky Cristina Barcelona”
Freida Pinto, “Slumdog Millionaire”
Tilda Swinton, “Burn After Reading”
Marisa Tomei, “The Wrestler”

Best Original Screenplay
Joel and Ethan Coen, “Burn After Reading”
J. Michael Straczynski, “Changeling”
Martin McDonagh, “In Bruges”
Philippe Claudel, “I’ve Loved You So Long”
Dustin Lance Black, “Milk”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Eric Roth, “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
Peter Morgan, “Frost/Nixon”
David Hare, “The Reader”
Justin Haythe, “Revolutionary Road”
Simon Beaufoy, “Slumdog Millionaire”

Best Foreign Language Film (announced earlier)
“The Baader Meinhof Complex”
“Gomorrah”
“I’ve Loved You So Long”
“Persepolis”
“Waltz With Bashir”

Best Animated Feature
“Persepolis”
“WALL-E”
“Waltz With Bashir”

Best Production Design
“Changeling” (James Murakami; Gary Fettis)
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Donald Graham Burt; Victor Zolfo)
“The Dark Knight” (Nathan Crowley; Peter Lando)
“Revolutionary Road” (Kristi Zea; Debra Schutt)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (Mark Digby; Michelle Day)

Best 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)

Best 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)

Best Film Editing
“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)

Best Makeup & Hair
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“The Duchess”
“Frost/Nixon”
“Milk”

Best Music
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button” (Alexandre Desplat)
“The Dark Knight” (Hans Zimmer; James Newton Howard)
“Mamma Mia!” (Benny Andersson; Bjorn Ulvaeus)
“Slumdog Millionaire” (A.R. Rahman)
“WALL-E” (Thomas Newman)

Best Sound
“Changeling”
“The Dark Knight”
“Quantum of Solace”
“Slumdog Millionaire”
“WALL-E”

Best Visual Effects
“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button”
“The Dark Knight”
“Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crustal Skull”
“Iron Man”
“Quantum of Solace”

Carl Foreman Award (for debut British writers, directors and producers)
Simon Chinn (producer), “Man on Wire”
Judy Craymer (producer), “Mamma Mia!”
Garth Jennings (writer), “Son of Rambow”
Steve McQueen, (writer/director), “Hunger”
Solon Papadopoulos and Roy Boulter (producers), “Of Time and the City”

Orange Rising Star Award (announced earlier; voted by the public)
Michael Cera
Noel Clarke
Michael Fassbender
Rebecca Hall
Toby Kebbell

posted on January 15, 2009
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