Wes Anderson's “The Grand Budapest Hotel” leads BAFTA awards noms

PanARMENIAN.Net - The nominees for the biggest film awards outside the U.S. are in, and Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel is in the lead with 11 nominations, The Hollywood Reporter said.

In an announcement streamed live online from London on Friday, Jan 9 morning (late Thursday in LA), BAFTA revealed the nominations for the 68th edition of its awards.

Stephen Fry – who will host the BAFTA ceremony on Feb. 8 – was on hand at the U.K. academy’s famed address at 195 Piccadilly to read out the names alongside Hunger Games actor Sam Claflin.

Now considered the most prestigious film industry awards outside the U.S., the BAFTAs have made grade strides to align themselves with the Oscars since 2001 when the event moved to its February slot just weeks before the main Hollywood shindig. More recently, it has become arguably the best predictor of Academy Awards glory, having successful selected the best film winner for the past five years running (three more than the Golden Globes).

Last year, Gravity walked away with 11 nominations, six of which bore golden fruit, while 12 Years a Slave earned 10 nominations, winning two, including best film.

This year, the following titles were nommed for best film:

Birdman Alejandro G. Inarritu, John Lesher, James W. Skotchdopole Boyhood Richard Linklater, Cathleen Sutherland The Grand Budapest Hotel Wes Anderson, Scott Rudin, Steven Rales, Jeremy Dawson The Imitation Game Nora Grossman, Ido Ostrowsky, Teddy Schwarzman The Theory of Everything Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Lisa Bruce, Anthony McCarten