“Avatar,” “Education” and “Locker” Lead BAFTA Nominations

James Cameron’s “Avatar,” Lone Scherfig’s “An Education” and Kathryn Bigelow’s “The Hurt Locker” led the Orange British Academy Film Awards, each taking eight nominations. All three were nominated for best picture, alongside Lee Daniels’ “Precious: Based on the novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire” and Jason Reitman’s “Up In The Air.”

The most notable snub in the best picture category was Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds,” which had been mentioned 15 times on BAFTA’s previously announced longlist. Though Tarantino did receive a best director nomination, as did Neill Blomkamp, whose “District 9” received 7 nominations overall (their nominations came at the expense of Daniels and Reitman, both of whom were not nominated in that category).

BAFTA’s separate category for Best British Film also was marked with a surprise omission, as Jane Campion’s “Bright Star” was left out of the race. Sam Taylor-Wood’s “Nowhere Boy” did make the cut, making it one of four nominees in that category to screen at the Sundance Film Festival. “Boy” screens at this year’s fest (it had already opened in the UK this past fall), while fellow nominees “In The Loop,” “An Education” and “Moon” all premiered at last year’s fest. The nominations also perfectly mirrored the British Independent Film Awards’ top category.

Other surprises included “Invictus”‘s complete shut-out, including best actor hopeful Morgan Freeman; Julianne Moore’s snub in the best supporting actress category for “A Single Man”; and Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer’s snubs for their performances in “The Last Station.” And though not particularly a surprise, the only nomination Rob Marshall’s “Nine” received was in the makeup & hair category.

The winners of the awards will be announced at the Orange British Academy Film Awards at the Royal Opera House in London on February 21, 2010. The complete list of nominations is below.

Best Film
Avatar
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire
Up In The Air

Outstanding British Film
An Education
Fish Tank
In The Loop
Moon
Nowhere Boy

Director
James Cameron, Avatar
Neill Blomkamp, District 9
Lone Schefig, An Education
Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds

Leading Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart
George Clooney, Up In The Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker
Andy Serkis Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

Leading Actress
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Saoirse Ronan, The Lovely Bones
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia
Audrey Tautou, Coco Before Chanel

Supporting Actor
Alec Baldwin, It’s Complicated
Christian Mckay, Me And Orson Welles
Alfred Molina, An Education
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds

Supporting Actress
Anne-Marie Duff, Nowhere Boy
Vera Farmiga, Up In The Air
Anna Kendrick, Up In The Air
Mo’nique, Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire
Kristin Scott Thomas, Nowhere Boy

Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer
Lucy Bailey, Andrew Thompson, Elizabeth Morgan Hemlock, David Pearson Directors, Producers – Mugabe And The White African
Eran Creevy Writer/Director – Shifty Stuart
Hazeldine Writer/Director – Exam
Duncan Jones Director – Moon
Sam Taylor-Wood Director – Nowhere Boy

Original Screenplay
The Hangover (Jon Lucas, Scott Moore)
The Hurt Locker (Mark Boal)
Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino)
A Serious Man (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen)
Up (Bob Peterson, Pete Docter)

Adapted Screenplay
District 9 (Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell)
An Education (Nick Hornby)
In The Loop (Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche)
Precious: Based On The Novel Push By Sapphire (Geoffrey Fletcher)
Up In The Air Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner

-the remaining nominations are listed on the next page-

Film Not In The English Language
Broken Embraces
Coco Before Chanel
Let The Right One In
A Prophet
The White Ribbon

Animated Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr Fox
Up

Music
Avatar
Crazy Heart
Fantastic Mr Fox
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll
Up

Cinematography
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Road

Editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Up In The Air

Production Design
Avatar
District 9
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Inglourious Basterds

Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
An Education
A Single Man
The Young Victoria

Sound
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek
Up

Special Visual Effects
Avatar
District 9
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Star Trek

Make Up & Hair
Coco Before Chanel
An Education
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria

Short Animation
The Gruffalo
The Happy Duckling
Mother Of Many

Short Film
14
I Do Air
Jade
Mixtape
Off Season

The Orange Rising Star Award (Voted For By The Public)
Jesse Eisenberg
Nicholas Hoult
Carey Mulligan
Tahar Rahim
Kristen Stewart

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