Award season is starting to heat up intensively after the British Academy announced their full line-up of film nominees for 2016.
The Cold War drama Bridge of Spies, and the romantic drama Carol lead this year’s ceremony with a solid nine nominations each, including a place on the prestigious Best Film shortlist.
Both films also scored directing nods for filmmakers Steven Spielberg and Todd Haynes, while British performer Mark Rylance earns a Best Supporting Actor nom for his portrayal of Soviet spy Rudolf Abel in Bridge of Spies.
In the case of Carol, star ladies Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are acknowledged in Leading Actress and Supporting Actress respectively for their performances as two women who embark on a forbidden romance in 1950s Manhattan.
Meanwhile, Alejandro González Iñárritu’s vengeance thriller The Revenant picked up eight mentions, including Best Director for Iñárritu, and another Leading Actor nod for early Oscar favourite Leonardo DiCaprio.
Bridge of Spies, Carol and The Revenant are joined in an impressive Best Film field by the fact-based features The Big Short with five nominations, and Spotlight with three.
Though Tom McCarthy is up for Best Original Screenplay, the Spotlight filmmaker failed to land a Best Director nod, with veteran British helmer Ridley Scott nominated instead for the sci-fi blockbuster The Martian.
Additionally, The Martian and the post-apocalyptic action sequel Mad Max: Fury Road both scored several technical nods despite missing out on a Best Film mention.
Meanwhile, the Outstanding British Film category is contested by an impressive six films with romantic dramas Brooklyn, The Danish Girl and 45 Years up against the Amy Winehouse documentary Amy and indie flicks Ex Machina, and The Lobster.
In the acting fields, British veteran Dame Maggie Smith (The Lady in the Van) and Irish starlet Saoirse Ronan (Brooklyn) go head-to-head in the Leading Actress field alongside Oscar favourite Brie Larson (Room) and Alicia Vikander (The Danish Girl).
As with the Golden Globes, Swedish star Vikander also finds herself up for Supporting Actress for her turn in Ex Machina with British duo Julie Walters (Brooklyn) and Kate Winslet (Steve Jobs) among her rival nominees.
Meanwhile, Eddie Redmayne is looking to repeat his Leading Actor success from last year after earning another nomination for his portrayal of transgender painter Lili Elbe in The Danish Girl.
However, the British star is shortlisted in a competitive category alongside Bryan Cranston (Trumbo), Matt Damon (The Martian) and Michael Fassbender (Steve Jobs).
The Best Supporting Actor field sees homegrown pair Christian Bale (The Big Short) and Idris Elba (Beasts of No Nation) compete alongside the likes of Mark Ruffalo (Spotlight) and surprise nominee Benicio del Toro (Sicario).
In other categories, Pixar’s Inside Out contests the Best Animated Film category along with Aardman’s Shaun the Sheep Movie and the Despicable Me prequel Minions, while the Best Film Not in the English Language field includes The Assassin, Force Majeure and Theeb.
Additionally, the current box-office hit Star Wars: The Force Awakens garnered multiple tech nominations, including another Original Score mention for veteran composer John Williams.
As previously revealed, the EE Rising Star award sees British trio John Boyega, Taron Edgerton and Bel Powley compete against box-office sensation Dakota Johnson, and Leading Actress frontrunner Brie Larson.
Once again, there were some significant snubs with British films Legend, Suffragette, Sunset Song and the James Bond blockbuster Spectre all shut out completely.
The overlooked acting omissions included Johnny Depp (Black Mass), Tom Hardy (The Revenant), Will Smith (Concussion), Carey Mulligan (Suffragette), Charlotte Rampling (45 Years), Rachel McAdams (Spotlight), Dame Helen Mirren (Trumbo) and Sylvester Stallone (Creed).
The 69th EE BAFTA Film Awards will take place at London’s Royal Opera House on Sunday 14 February (Valentine’s Day), with Stephen Fry hosting for the eleventh time.
The full list of BAFTA nominations are below (winner predictions in blue):
BEST FILM
THE BIG SHORT
BRIDGE OF SPIES
CAROL
THE REVENANT
SPOTLIGHT
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
AMY
BROOKLYN
THE DANISH GIRL
EX MACHINA
45 YEARS
THE LOBSTER
BEST DIRECTOR
Todd Haynes, CAROL
Alejandro González Iñárritu, THE REVENANT
Adam McKay, THE BIG SHORT
Ridley Scott, THE MARTIAN
Steven Spielberg, BRIDGE OF SPIES
BEST LEADING ACTRESS
Cate Blanchett, CAROL
Brie Larson, ROOM
Saoirse Ronan, BROOKLYN
Maggie Smith, THE LADY IN THE VAN
Alicia Vikander, THE DANISH GIRL
BEST LEADING ACTOR
Bryan Cranston, TRUMBO
Matt Damon, THE MARTIAN
Leonardo DiCaprio, THE REVENANT
Michael Fassbender, STEVE JOBS
Eddie Redmayne, THE DANISH GIRL
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Jennifer Jason Leigh, THE HATEFUL EIGHT
Rooney Mara, CAROL
Alicia Vikander, EX MACHINA
Julie Walters, BROOKLYN
Kate Winslet, STEVE JOBS
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Christian Bale, THE BIG SHORT
Benicio del Toro, SICARIO
Idris Elba, BEASTS OF NO NATION
Mark Ruffalo, SPOTLIGHT
Mark Rylance, BRIDGE OF SPIES
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE BIG SHORT (Adam McKay & Charles Randolph)
BROOKLYN (Nick Hornby)
CAROL (Phyllis Nagy)
ROOM (Emma Donoghue)
STEVE JOBS (Aaron Sorkin)
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BRIDGE OF SPIES (Matt Charman, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen)
EX MACHINA (Alex Garland)
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Quentin Tarantino)
INSIDE OUT (Josh Cooley, Pete Docter & Meg LeFauve)
SPOTLIGHT (Tom McCarthy & Josh Singer)
BEST EDITING
THE BIG SHORT
BRIDGE OF SPIES
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
THE REVENANT
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
BRIDGE OF SPIES
CAROL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
SICARIO
BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN
BRIDGE OF SPIES
CAROL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
BROOKLYN
CAROL
CINDERELLA
THE DANISH GIRL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
BEST MAKEUP & HAIR
BROOKLYN
CAROL
THE DANISH GIRL
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE REVENANT
BEST SOUND
BRIDGE OF SPIES
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
THE REVENANT
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
BEST SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
ANT-MAN
EX MACHINA
MAD MAX: FURY ROAD
THE MARTIAN
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS
BEST ORIGINAL MUSIC
BRIDGE OF SPIES (Thomas Newman)
THE HATEFUL EIGHT (Ennio Morricone)
THE REVENANT (Ryuichi Sakamoto & Carsten Nicolaim)
SICARIO (Jóhann Jóhannsson)
STAR WARS: THE FORCE AWAKENS (John Williams)
BEST ANIMATED FILM
INSIDE OUT
MINIONS
SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE
BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE ASSASSIN
FORCE MAJEURE
THEEB
TIMBUKTU
WILD TALES
BEST DOCUMENTARY
AMY
CARTEL LAND
HE NAMED ME MALALA
LISTEN TO ME MARLON
SHERPA
BEST BRITISH SHORT FILM
ELEPHANT
MINING POEMS OR ODES
OPERATOR
OVER
SAMUEL-613
BEST BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
EDMOND
MANOMAN
PROLOGUE
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
EX MACHINA, Alex Garland (Director)
SECOND COMING, Debbie Tucker Green (Writer/Director)
THE SURVIVALIST, Stephen Fingleton (Writer/Director)
A SYRIAN LOVE STORY, Sean McAllister (Director) & Elhum Shakerifar (Producer)
THEEB, Naji Abu Nowar (Writer/Director) & Rupert Lloyd (Producer)
EE RISING STAR AWARD
John Boyega
Taron Egerton
Dakota Johnson
Brie Larson
Bel Powley
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