James McAvoy in The Last King of Scotland. This year, the British Academy decided to support two (at least part-) British “royal movies”: Stephen Frears’ The Queen, starring Helen Mirren as Queen Elizabeth II, and Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland, starring James McAvoy as a Scottish doctor who becomes part of the entourage of Uganda dictator Idi Amin Dada (Forest Whitaker) in the early 1970s. Both “royal movies” were written by Peter Morgan – in the case of The Last King of Scotland, with Jeremy Brock. A Best Supporting Actor BAFTA nominee, James McAvoy has been wholly ignored this awards season in North America.
BAFTA Awards 2007: ‘Royal movies,’ James Bond, and Hollywood fare dominate, but strong Spanish-language presence
As to be expected, the two top nominees for the British Academy Awards, a.k.a. the BAFTAs, were (at least part-) British productions:
- Stephen Frears’ paean to Queen Elizabeth II, The Queen, with ten nods, including Best Film, Best British Film, Best Actress for Helen Mirren as the titular character, and Best Supporting Actor for Michael Sheen as the (now disgraced) British Prime Minister Tony Blair.
- Martin Campbell’s James Bond action thriller Casino Royale, evidence that these days bigger almost invariably means duller, with nine nominations, including, gasp!, Best British Film, Best Actor for Daniel Craig, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis).
And then there’s Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland, which, somewhat surprisingly, was shortlisted in five top categories: Best Film, Best British Film, Best Actor for U.S. performer Forest Whitaker as deranged Uganda dictator Idi Amin Dada, Best Supporting Actor for James McAvoy, and Best Adapted Screenplay (Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock).
James McAvoy’s supporting actor BAFTA nomination was particularly unexpected – and not just because he happens to be the film’s de facto lead. After all, the Scottish actor has been just about completely ignored this awards season on the other side of the North Atlantic.
In fact, the same goes for The Queen’s Best Supporting Actor nominee Michael Sheen: he’s as much the film’s lead as Helen Mirren and he has been blithely relegated to the sidelines this awards season in North America.
Spanish-language presence
Even if usually more open to non-English-language films than the U.S.-based Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts failed to include two internationally acclaimed Spanish-language releases – Pedro Almodóvar’s Volver and Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth – in the Best Film and/or Best Director categories.
Pan’s Labyrinth did, however, receive a healthy eight nominations, among them Best Foreign Language Film and Best Original Screenplay (del Toro). Almodóvar, a one-time awards season favorite, had to settle for a Best Foreign Language Film nod, in addition to Penélope Cruz getting shortlisted for Best Actress.
‘Dreamgirls’ snub
Bill Condon’s Dreamgirls was another would-be awards season front-runner bypassed for Best Film and Best Director. Adding insult to injury, the glitzy American musical earned a mere two nominations: Best Supporting Actress for Jennifer Hudson and Best Music (Henry Krieger).
Alfonso Cuarón’s dystopian drama Children of Men and Nicholas Hytner’s The History Boys are two other titles missing in action from the Best Picture and Best Director roster – not to mention Best British Film and Best Adapted Screenplay. Regarding the latter film, Richard Griffiths and Frances de la Tour did get shortlisted in, respectively, the Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress categories.
Several other potential Oscar contenders – e.g., Clint Eastwood’s World War II drama Letters from Iwo Jima – can’t be found on the British Academy’s list of nominees because they will not be released in the United Kingdom before Feb. 11, the date of the 2007 BAFTA ceremony and the deadline for qualification for this year’s awards.
Taking Oscar influence seriously
Absent from the previously announced 2007 BAFTA longlists, small British films such as Andrea Arnold’s Red Road and Paul Andrew Williams’ London to Brighton have been both shortlisted in the BAFTAs’ “Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film” category – the British Academy’s token recognition of independent British cinema.
Indeed, BAFTA voters take their international – i.e., Oscar/Hollywood – influence quite seriously. That helps to explain the prevalence of American and Anglo-American productions – Pan’s Labyrinth notwithstanding – on the longlists and, ultimately, in the nominations themselves.
That also helps to explain both the importance of and the need for the British Independent Film Awards.
British Academy Awards (BAFTAs) 2007: Winners & nominations
Best Film
Babel – Prod.: Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik & Steve Golin
The Departed – Prod.: Brad Pitt, Brad Grey & Graham King
The Last King of Scotland – Prod.: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer & Charles Steel
Little Miss Sunshine – Prod.: Albert Berger, David T Friendly & Ron Yerxa
* The Queen – Prod.: Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan & Andy HarriesThe Alexander Korda Award for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
Casino Royale – Prod.: Michael G Wilson & Barbara Broccoli; Dir.: Martin Campbell; Scr.: Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Paul Haggis
* The Last King of Scotland – Prod.: Andrea Calderwood, Lisa Bryer & Charles Steel; Dir.: Kevin Macdonald; Scr.: Peter Morgan & Jeremy Brock
Notes on a Scandal – Prod.: Scott Rudin & Robert Fox, Dir.: Richard Eyre; Scr.: Patrick Marber
The Queen – Prod.: Tracey Seaward, Christine Langan & Andy Harries; Dir.: Stephen Frears; Scr.: Peter Morgan
United 93 – Prod.: Tim Bevan, Lloyd Levin & Paul Greengrass; Dir. & Scr.: Paul GreengrassBest Film Not in the English Language
Apocalypto – Prod.: Mel Gibson & Bruce Davey; Dir.: Mel Gibson (United States)
Black Book / Zwartboek – Prod.: Teun Hilte, San Fu Maltha & Jens Meurer; Dir.: Paul Verhoeven (The Netherlands)
Paint It Yellow / Rang De Basanti – Prod.: Ronnie Screwvala & Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra; Dir.: Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra (India)
* Pan’s Labyrinth / El laberinto del fauno – Prod.: Alfonso Cuarón, Bertha Navarro, Frida Torresblanco & Guillermo del Toro; Dir.: Guillermo del Toro (Spain | Mexico)
Volver – Prod.: Agustín Almodóvar; Dir.: Pedro Almodóvar (Spain)** Oddly, Volver’s credited producer Esther García wasn’t listed above. Agustín Almodóvar is credited as executive producer.
The David Lean Award for Achievement in Direction
Babel – Alejandro González Iñárritu
The Departed – Martin Scorsese
Little Miss Sunshine – Jonathan Dayton & Valerie Faris
The Queen – Stephen Frears
* United 93 – Paul GreengrassBest Actor
Daniel Craig – Casino Royale
Leonardo DiCaprio – The Departed
Richard Griffiths – The History Boys
Peter O’Toole – Venus
* Forest Whitaker – The Last King of ScotlandBest Actress
Penélope Cruz – Volver
Judi Dench – Notes on a Scandal
* Helen Mirren – The Queen
Meryl Streep – The Devil Wears Prada
Kate Winslet – Little ChildrenBest Supporting Actor
* Alan Arkin – Little Miss Sunshine
James McAvoy – The Last King of Scotland
Jack Nicholson – The Departed
Leslie Phillips – Venus
Michael Sheen – The QueenBest Supporting Actress
Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada
Abigail Breslin – Little Miss Sunshine
Toni Collette – Little Miss Sunshine
Frances de la Tour – The History Boys
* Jennifer Hudson – DreamgirlsBest Original Screenplay
Babel – Guillermo Arriaga
* Little Miss Sunshine – Michael Arndt
Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo del Toro
The Queen – Peter Morgan
United 93 – Paul GreengrassBest Adapted Screenplay
Casino Royale – Neal Purvis, Robert Wade & Paul Haggis
The Departed – William Monahan
The Devil Wears Prada – Aline Brosh McKenna
* The Last King of Scotland – Peter Morgan & Jeremy Brock
Notes on a Scandal – Patrick MarberThe Carl Foreman Award for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer in their First Feature Film
* Andrea Arnold (Director) – Red Road
Julian Gilbey (Director) – Rollin’ with the Nines
Christine Langan (Producer) – Pierrepoint
Gary Tarn (Director) – Black Sun
Paul Andrew Williams (Director) – London to BrightonBest Cinematography
Babel – Rodrigo Prieto
Casino Royale – Phil Meheux
* Children of Men – Emmanuel Lubezki
Pan’s Labyrinth – Guillermo Navarro
United 93 – Barry AckroydBest Film Editing
Babel – Stephen Mirrione & Douglas Crise
Casino Royale – Stuart Baird
The Departed – Thelma Schoonmaker
The Queen – Lucia Zucchetti
* United 93 – Clare Douglas, Christopher Rouse & Richard PearsonAnthony Asquith Award for Best Score
* Babel – Gustavo Santaolalla
Casino Royale – David Arnold
Dreamgirls – Henry Krieger
Happy Feet – John Powell
The Queen – Alexandre DesplatBest Production Design
Casino Royale – Peter Lamont & Simon Wakefield
* Children of Men – Geoffrey Kirkland, Jim Clay & Jennifer Williams
Marie Antoinette – K.K. Barrett & Véronique Melery
Pan’s Labyrinth – Eugenio Caballero & Pilar Revuelta
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Rick Heinrichs & Cheryl A. CarasikBest Costume Design
The Devil Wears Prada – Patricia Field
Marie Antoinette – Milena Canonero
* Pan’s Labyrinth – Lala Huete
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Penny Rose
The Queen – Consolata BoyleBest Sound
Babel – José García, Jon Taylor, Chris Minkler & Martín Hernández
* Casino Royale – Chris Munro, Eddy Joseph, Mike Prestwood Smith, Martin Cantwell & Mark Taylor
Pan’s Labyrinth – Martín Hernández & Jamie Bashkt
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Christopher Boyes, George Watters II, Paul Massey & Lee Orloff
United 93 – Chris Munro, Mike Prestwood Smith, Douglas Cooper, Oliver Tarney & Eddy JosephBest Special Visual Effects
Casino Royale – Steve Begg & Chris Corbould
Children of Men – Frazer Churchill, Tim Webber, Michael Eames & Paul Corbould
Pan’s Labyrinth – Edward Irastorza & Everett Burrell
* Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – John Knoll, Hal Hickel & Charles Gibson
Superman Returns – Mark StetsonBest Make Up & Hair
The Devil Wears Prada – Nicki Ledermann & Angel De Angelis
Marie Antoinette – Jean-Luc Russier & Desiree Corridoni
* Pan’s Labyrinth – José Quetglas & Blanca Sànchez
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – Ve Neill & Martin Samuel
The Queen – Daniel PhillipsBest Animated Feature Film
Cars – John Lasseter
Flushed Away – David Bowers & Sam Fell
* Happy Feet – George MillerBest Short Animation Film
Dreams and Desires – Family Ties – Les Mills & Joanna Quinn
* Guy 101 – Ian Gouldstone
Peter and the Wolf – Hugh Welchman, Alan Dewhurst & Suzie TempletonBest Short Film
Care – Rachel Bailey & Corinna Faith
Cubs – Lisa Williams & Tom Harper
* Do Not Erase – Asitha Ameresekere
Hikikomori – Karley Duffy & Paul Wright
Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored – David Smith & Jim McRobertsOrange Rising Star Award
Emily Blunt – The Devil Wears Prada
* Eva Green – Casino Royale
Naomie Harris – Miami Vice
Cilliam Murphy – The Wind That Shakes the Barley
Ben Whishaw – Perfume: The Story of a MurdererAcademy Fellowship
Anne V. CoatesMichael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema
Location Manager Nick Daubeny
Feb. 11 update: Perhaps there’s something I’m missing here, but the Orange British Academy of Film and Television Arts has decided that Kevin Macdonald’s The Last King of Scotland is the outstanding British film of 2006, coming out ahead of United 93, Notes on a Scandal, Casino Royale, and Stephen Frears’ The Queen. Yet that very same Orange Academy has picked The Queen as the best film of the year, defeating Little Miss Sunshine, Babel, The Departed, and … The Last King of Scotland. Go figure.
There were few surprises at the 2007 Bafta ceremony held at London’s Royal Opera House this evening, unless one considers a Helen Mirren victory in Britain a surprise. In her home country, Mirren has thus far trailed Meryl Streep (The Devil Wears Prada, at the London Film Critics’ Awards*), Kate Dickie (Red Road, at the British Independent Film Awards), and Judi Dench (Notes on a Scandal, at the 2007 Evening Standard Film Awards).
Even so, just like at the upcoming Hollywood Academy Awards, Helen Mirren was the odds-on favorite to win the best actress Bafta – so much so, that bookies had stopped taking bets on her. “There’s no chance of me winning this evening,” Judi Dench said before the ceremony. “I’m just here for the show. I’m a betting woman, so I’ll put money on Helen.” (Apparently, one lone, brave bookie was still taking bets that evening.)
“It’s pretty spectacular … I haven’t been to the Bafta film awards much because I’m not usually invited,” Mirren remarked. “I’ve had TV Baftas but I think it’s the first time I’ve been nominated for a film Bafta so it’s fantastic to be here.” (Earlier this year, at the 2007 SAG Award ceremony in Los Angeles, Mirren had berated the British Academy for failing to nominate her TV special Elizabeth I.)
In her acceptance speech, Mirren dedicated her trophy to “her mentor” Ian Richardson, who died last week.
Among the other top Bafta winners were best actor Forest Whitaker (who dedicated his award to his recently deceased grandmother) for his performance as deranged Uganda leader Idi Amin Dada (who’d have been right at home in today’s world, where some sort of mental illness is a prerequisite for leadership positions); best director Paul Greengrass for United 93, about one of the four hijacked planes on Sept. 11, 2001; and best foreign-language film Pan’s Labyrinth, Guillermo del Toro’s Mexican-Spanish dark fantasy about a young girl (Ivana Baquero) leading two lives – one above ground, in the Fascist Spain of the 1940s; the other underground, in a fantasy world of satyrs, monsters, and melting giant frogs.
Red Road director Andrea Arnold, upon accepting the Carl Foreman Award for a first-time British filmmaker, expressed her hope that “there is some money that comes with this award, which is great as my boiler’s packed up.”
Veteran film editor Anne V. Coates, 81, whose illustrious career spans more than half a century, from Noel Langley’s version of The Pickwick Papers in 1952 to the Jennifer Garner 2007 vehicle Catch and Release, received the Academy Fellowship, the British Film Academy’s top honor. Among Coates’ other credits are the Alec Guinness comedy The Horse’s Mouth (1958), Ronald Neame’s military drama Tunes of Glory (1960), David Lean’s Academy Award-winning epic Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express (1974), David Lynch’s The Elephant Man (1980), Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin (1992), and the Julia Roberts vehicle Erin Brockovich (2000).
In-between host Jonathan Ross’ jokes about Mel Gibson (Ross remarked that several nominees looked “tenser than Mel Gibson in a synagogue”) and Scientology (“a good acceptance speech should be like a Scientologist’s birth – no tears and as few words as possible”), other awards were presented to best supporting actor Alan Arkin, for his heroin-addicted but loving gramps in Little Miss Sunshine; to best supporting actress Jennifer Hudson, for playing one of the Supremes-like Dreamgirls; and to Peter Morgan and Jeremy Brock, who received best adapted screenplay honors for The Last King of Scotland.
One surprise was the fact that Michael Arndt’s cutesy comedy Little Miss Sunshine took the best original screenplay award – instead of Peter Morgan’s much-admired script for The Queen, which revolves around a battle of wills between Queen Elizabeth II and prime minister Tony Blair following the death of Princess Diana.
Perhaps that happened because the British Academy was in a share-and-share-alike mood. Morgan, after all, had already co-won the best adapted screenplay award, so Orange Academy-ites may have figured it’d be a generous idea to give the other screenwriting trophy to somebody else.
In fact, no one film dominated the 2007 Baftas. Despite its nine nominations, Casino Royale won only one award (for best sound), in addition to a Rising Star trophy for Eva Green, while The Queen won only two of its ten nods. The two top winners of the evening turned out to be The Last King of Scotland and Pan’s Labyrinth, each with a mere 3 wins. (In addition to its best foreign-language film award, Pan’s Labyrinth received top honors for costume design and make-up/hair. It fared considerably better at the Spanish Academy’s Goya Awards.)
The British Academy’s “Everybody Wins!” approach also helps to explain the nonsense of having The Last King of Scotland as best British film and The Queen as best film, while having the best director award go to United 93.
Apparently, no one at the British Academy was bothered by the (contradictory) fact that the British-made “best film of 2006” wasn’t the best British film, the best directed film, or the best written film of the year.
Addendum: The best British film is chosen by a jury panel, not by the general BAFTA membership. That helps to explain the best British film vs. best film contradiction.
* Helen Mirren did win as best British actress. She lost the best actress award to Streep.
Note: Three nominated short films, including best animation film Guy 101, are available for viewing through the British Academy’s site.
“BAFTA Awards 2007” notes
British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) website.
Judi Dench and Helen Mirren quotes: The Scotsman.
Jonathan Ross and Andrea Arnold quotes: Variety.
James McAvoy The Last King of Scotland image: Fox Searchlight Pictures.