Bafta nominations 2014: Gravity leads race, but Mandela overlooked
12 Years a Slave and American Hustle among favourites as Philomena's Judi Dench is tipped for 15th award
SPACE, slavery and Seventies con artists are the focus of this year's nominations for Britain's top film awards.
Gravity, the critically-acclaimed science-fiction thriller starring George Clooney and Sandra Bullock, leads the pack with 11 nominations including best film and best British film. It will be up against the slave drama 12 Years a Slave and the crime comedy-drama, American Hustle, which have 10 nominations each.
Not surprisingly, Gravity - which was directed by Alfonso Cuaron and shot on sound stages at the British studios Pinewood and Shepperton - has accumulated a "huge raft" of technical nominations, says The Guardian. Meanwhile, 12 Years a Slave, "performed well in more traditional acting and script categories".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The Guardian says the Bafta nominations will be particularly encouraging for the producers of American Hustle which was largely overlooked in the nominations for the London Critics Circle awards.
Today's nominations – just one of the bellwether events in the run-up to the Oscars on 2 March – also created a "dark horse", the Guardian says. Captain Phillips, a drama about a container ship captain (played by Tom Hanks) who is kidnapped by Somali pirates, scored nine Bafta nominations despite being a "quiet performer" in the awards season so far.
Philomena, a British drama about a woman searching for the son she was forced to give up for adoption, fared "marginally less well" than expected, The Guardian says. Its four nominations include best film and outstanding British film, but one of its leads, Steve Coogan, was overlooked in the acting categories.
However, Philomena did provide Judi Dench with yet another leading actress nomination, making her Bafta's most nominated movie actress. She has been nominated 15 times, including six wins.
Perhaps the biggest disappointment was the poor showing by Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, which scored just one nomination, for outstanding British film. The drama August: Osage County - a film hotly-tipped for success as the Oscars – will also be licking its wounds after picking up a single Bafta nomination for best supporting actress (Julia Roberts).
Stephen Fry will again host this year's Bafta ceremony, which takes place on 16 February at the Royal Opera House in London. You can find a full list of the nominations here.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
The Pentagon faces an uncertain future with Trump
Talking Point The president-elect has nominated conservative commentator Pete Hegseth to lead the Defense Department
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
This is what you should know about State Department travel advisories and warnings
In Depth Stay safe on your international adventures
By Catherine Garcia, The Week US Published
-
'All Tyson-Paul promised was spectacle and, in the end, that's all we got'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Can AI tools be used to Hollywood's advantage?
Talking Points It makes some aspects of the industry faster and cheaper. It will also put many people in the entertainment world out of work
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Wolfs: 'comedy thriller' stumbles despite George Clooney and Brad Pitt
Talking Point While the crime caper might 'pleasingly pass a Saturday night' its star-studded duo cannot ultimately salvage it
By The Week UK Published
-
Was Masters of the Air worth the wait?
The Week Recommends Following 2001's hit war drama Band of Brothers and The Pacific in 2010, the story shifts from land and water to sky
By Adrienne Wyper Published
-
Sport on TV guide: Christmas 2022 and New Year listings
Speed Read Enjoy a feast of sporting action with football, darts, rugby union, racing, NFL and NBA
By Mike Starling Published
-
House of the Dragon: what to expect from the Game of Thrones prequel
Speed Read Ten-part series, set 200 years before GoT, will show the incestuous decline of Targaryen
By Chas Newkey-Burden Published
-
One in 20 young Americans identify as trans or non-binary
Speed Read New research suggests that 44% of US adults know someone who is transgender
By The Week Staff Published
-
The Turner Prize 2022: a ‘vintage’ shortlist?
Speed Read All four artists look towards ‘growth, revival and reinvention’ in their work
By The Week Staff Last updated
-
What’s on TV this Christmas? The best holiday television
Speed Read From films and documentaries to musicals for all the family
By The Week Staff Published