The last major precursor nominations before Tuesday’s Oscar nods come out tomorrow and it’s the British Academy Film Awards or BAFTAs. Let’s discuss them a bit, shall we? The BAFTAs can be a confusing branch to figure out.
For starters, the number of nominees in each category is a tad puzzling. Best Film has five as do the tech races and screenplay derbies. Director and the acting competitions contain 6 while Animated Film is 4. However, Documentary and “Film Not in the English Language” is 5. Got that?
While past years have matched the Oscars fairly closely in the big categories, 2020 was an exception. While 4 of the 5 Best Film contenders ended up nabbing BP mentions from the Academy, it was just 3 of the directors. For Best Actor, it was also 3 but in Best Actress only two. Same goes for Supporting – 3 in Actor, 2 in Actress.
In other words, projecting the BAFTAs is a major crapshoot but I’ll try. Since it’s British voters, titles such as the BBC’s After Love are expected to perform well in some of the major races.
Another major note – I am only forecasting competitions where there’s a direct correlation to the Academy. Therefore I’m not weighing in on Best British Film, Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director, or Producer, or Casting.
For each race, I’ll give you my picks (and I triple checked the numbers) and an alternate. A recap on how I did and my general thoughts are up tomorrow and my final Oscar predictions will be up Friday!
Film
Predicted Nominees:
Belfast
Dune
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
West Side Story
Alternate: No Time to Die
Director
Predicted Nominees:
Kenneth Branagh, Belfast
Jane Campion, The Power of the Dog
Julia Ducournau, Titane
Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Drive My Car
Aleem Khan, After Love
Denis Villeneuve, Dune
Alternate: Steven Spielberg, West Side Story
Leading Actress
Predicted Nominees:
Olivia Colman, The Lost Daughter
Lady Gaga, House of Gucci
Nicole Kidman, Being the Ricardos
Renate Reinsve, The Worst Person in the World
Claire Rushbrook, Ali & Ava
Joanna Scanlan, After Love
Alternate: Kristen Stewart, Spencer
Leading Actor
Predicted Nominees:
Adeel Akhtar, Ali & Ava
Daniel Craig, No Time to Die
Benedict Cumberbatch, The Power of the Dog
Andrew Garfield, Tick, Tick… Boom!
Stephen Graham, Boiling Point
Denzel Washington, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Alternate: Will Smith, King Richard
Supporting Actress
Predicted Nominees:
Caitriona Balfe, Belfast
Jessie Buckley, The Lost Daughter
Ariana DeBose, West Side Story
Kirsten Dunst, The Power of the Dog
Kathryn Hunter, The Tragedy of Macbeth
Ruth Negga, Passing
Alternate: Vinette Robinson, Boiling Point
Supporting Actor
Predicted Nominees:
David Alvarez, West Side Story
Benicio del Toro, The French Dispatch
Jamie Dornan, Belfast
Ciaran Hinds, Belfast
Troy Kotsur, CODA
Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Power of the Dog
Alternate: Bradley Cooper, Licorice Pizza
Original Screenplay
Predicted Nominees:
After Love
Being the Ricardos
Belfast
Don’t Look Up
Licorice Pizza
Alternate: The French Dispatch
Best Adapted Screenplay
Predicted Nominees:
CODA
Drive My Car
The Lost Daughter
The Power of the Dog
West Side Story
Alternate: The Tragedy of Macbeth
Animated Film
Predicted Nominees:
Encanto
Flee
The Mitchells vs. the Machines
Ron’s Gone Wrong
Alternate: Luca
Film Not in the English Language
Predicted Nominees:
Drive My Car
Flee
Petite Maman
Titane
The Worst Person in the World
Alternate: The Hand of God
Documentary
Predicted Nominees:
Cow
Flee
The Rescue
The Sparks Brothers
The Velvet Underground
Alternate: Summer of Soul
Cinematography
Predicted Nominees:
Belfast
Dune
No Time to Die
The Power of the Dog
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Alternate: West Side Story
Costume Design
Predicted Nominees:
Cyrano
Dune
House of Gucci
Last Night in Soho
West Side Story
Alternate: Cruella
Editing
Predicted Nominees:
Belfast
Dune
Last Night in Soho
No Time to Die
West Side Story
Alternate: The Power of the Dog
Makeup and Hair
Predicted Nominees:
Cruella
Dune
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
The Eyes of Tammy Faye
House of Gucci
Altenrate: Last Night in Soho
Original Score
Predicted Nominees:
Dune
The French Dispatch
The Green Knight
The Power of the Dog
Spencer
Alternate: No Time to Die
Production Design
Predicted Nominees:
Belfast
Dune
The French Dispatch
Nightmare Alley
The Tragedy of Macbeth
Alternate: West Side Story
Sound
Predicted Nominees:
Belfast
Dune
Last Night in Soho
No Time to Die
West Side Story
Alternate: The Power of the Dog
Special Visual Effects
Predicted Nominees:
Dune
The King’s Man
The Matrix Resurrections
No Time to Die
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Alternate: Ghostbusters: Afterlife
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