“Carol”, “Bridge of Spies” lead BAFTA Awards noms

PanARMENIAN.Net - “The Big Short”, “Bridge of Spies”, “Carol”, “The Revenant” and “Spotlight” have been nominated as the best films of 2015 by the EE British Academy Film Awards, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) announced on Friday, January 8 morning in London, according to TheWrap.

Todd Haynes‘ period romance “Carol” and Steven Spielberg‘s Cold War drama “Bridge of Spies” led all films in total nominations, with nine each. “The Revenant” received eight, while “Mad Max: Fury Road” received seven.

The nominations were announced by Stephen Fry and Gugu Mbatha-Raw at the Princess Anne Theatre in London.

The Best Actor category consisted of Bryan Cranston for “Trumbo,” Eddie Redmayne for “The Danish Girl,” Leonardo DiCaprio for “The Revenant,” Matt Damon for “The Martian” and Michael Fassbender for “Steve Jobs.”

Best Actress nominees were Alicia Vikander for “The Danish Girl,” Brie Larson for “Room,” Cate Blanchett for “Carol,” Maggie Smith for “The Lady in the Van” and Saoirse Ronan for “Brooklyn.”

Vikander was a double nominee, also receiving a supporting actress nomination for “Ex Machina.” In that category, she’ll be competing with Rooney Mara for “Carol,” Kate Winslet for “Steve Jobs,” Jennifer Jason Leigh for “The Hateful Eight” and Julie Walters for “Brooklyn.”

The supporting actor field consists of Mark Rylance for “Bridge of Spies,” Benicio Del Toro for “Sicario,” Christian Bale for “The Big Short,” Mark Ruffalo for “Spotlight” and Idris Elba for “Beasts of No Nation.”

There were few shocks in the acting categories, though the omission of “45 Years” star Charlotte Rampling from the Best Actress field does come as something of a surprise. That film did receive a nomination for Best British Film, along with “Brooklyn,” “The Danish Girl,” “Ex Machina,” “The Lobster” and the documentary “Amy.”

Four of the five Best Director nominees were also represented in the Best Film category: Adam McKay for “The Big Short,” Spielberg for “Bridge of Spies,” Haynes for “Carol” and Alejandro G. Iñárritu for “The Revenant.” The fifth directing spot went to Ridley Scott for “The Martian,” while Tom McCarthy was not nominated for directing “Spotlight,” despite his movie’s Best Film nomination.

With the BAFTA Awards sticking with five best picture nominees while the Oscars expanded to 10, a British Academy nomination is virtually a guarantee that the American Academy will follow suit. Since the Oscars brought in the larger field in 2009, 28 of the 30 BAFTA nominees have gone on to Oscar nominations, with two Brit picks left out in 2011 but all five finding stateside favor every other year.

In addition to all five Best Film nominees, 15 of the 20 BAFTA acting nominees last year went on to receive Oscar nods.

The EE British Academy Film Awards will take place on Sunday, Feb. 14, at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London. Stephen Fry will host.