Award Weekend

The WGA and BAFTA gave out their awards this weekend. I am sorry to report that there were very few surprising results. What surprises were in store, though, were quite rewarding.

WGA
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire (based upon the novel Q&A by Vikas Swarup)
Beat out Eric Roth's Benjamin Button, Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon, John Patrick Shanley's Doubt, and The Nolans' The Dark Knight. Of course, it's the only nominated screenplay I haven't read. I haven't read the novel either, and that's also the one exception here. I need to read the damn script already. 'Twould be nice to know what the fuss is about.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Beat out Woody Allen's Vicky Cristina Barcelona, Robert Siegel's The Wrestler, Thomas McCarthy's The Visitor, The Coens' Burn After Reading. I've not read Siegel's script, but the rest I have. This is a good choice, I have no qualms. It seems the Screenplay race is decided. Dammit, when even these categories get dull and predictable....

BAFTA
The BAFTAs announced today, and that's always interesting. They allow double nominees in acting categories, say "FUCK YOU" to category fraud, and have the tendency to surprise us all. Even if they have the same movies, they nominate them in unfamiliar categories. Let's just look.

BEST FILM: Slumdog Millionaire
Same nominees as the Oscars. It's getting to be a dull affair, isn't it? What's worse, I keep reading how it's the "under dog". Really? Do people not know what that word means?

BEST DIRECTOR: Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Defeated Stephen Daldry (The Reader), Clint Eastwood (Changeling), David Fincher (Benjamin Button), and Ron Howard (Frost/Nixon). It makes sense. He's the front-runner, one of two Brits nominated. Plus, Boyle's done a lot for British cinema. And he's the front-runner.

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY: Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
Also-rans: Dustin Lance Black's Milk, Philippe Claudel's I've Loved You So Long, The Coens' Burn After Reading, J. Michael Straczynski's Changeling. I was right. It really is All Awesome on the McDonagh Front. Much admiration for this pick.

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
Beat out David Hare for The Reader, Justin Haythe for Revolutionary Road, Peter Morgan for Frost/Nixon, Eric Roth for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. So, now he's won everything. And he'll get the Oscar, too. Beaufoy, by the way, also wrote Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, a film deeply admired here (Hollmann Award Nominee for Best Actress, Frances McDormand). So now that I know that, awesome!

BEST FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: I've Loved You So Long
Defeated The Baader Meinhof Complex, Gomorrah, Persepolis, Waltz with Bashir. This movie wasn't even in contention for this category at the Oscars. Of these, I've only seen Persepolis. Last year. So...why am I commenting on this at all?

BEST ANIMATED FILM: WALL-E
Beating out Persepolis and Waltz with Bashir. Obv. WALL-E is so going to own this category.

BEST LEADING ACTOR: Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
Also nominated: Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon), Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire), Sean Penn (Milk), and Brad Pitt (Benjamin Button). Last year, BAFTA matched Oscar's acting categories four-for-four, so this may bode well for Rourke. The idea of a split between him and Penn for a win by Langella or Jenkins or Pitt is an interesting one, though. Like when Adrien Brody beat out Daniel Day-Lewis and Jack Nicholson in 2002.

BEST LEADING ACTRESS: Kate Winslet, The Reader
Not only did she win against herself for Revolutionary Road, but Meryl Streep (Doubt), Angelina Jolie (Changeling) and Kristin Scott Thomas (I've Loved You So Long) are also bridesmaids. After last year, this could bode well for Winslet, who always wins for The Reader when it's nominated. I'm still not completely convinced, of course, but that's because I like suspense.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
The Losers: Robert Downey, Jr. (Tropic Thunder), Brendan Gleeson (In Bruges), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Doubt), Brad Pitt (Burn After Reading). What an awesome lineup this was. That posthumous Oscar is looking like a done deal for Heath. Bring it, says I.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Nommies: Amy Adams in Doubt, Freida Pinto in Slumdog Millionaire, Tilda Swinton in Burn After Reading and Marisa Tomei in The Wrestler. BAFTA and I remain the only ones to nomainte Adams without Viola Davis. A Cruz win here is awesome, and a Cruz win at the Oscars would mean a spiritual win for Woody Allen. Which is, of course, amazing.

For complete results, check this out.

The Brits

The BAFTAs announced today, and that's always interesting. They allow double nominees in acting categories, say "FUCK YOU" to category fraud, and have the tendency to surprise us all. Even if they have the same movies, they nominate them in unfamiliar categories. Let's just look.

BEST FILM
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Frost/Nixon
Milk
The Reader
Slumdog Millionaire
REACTION: So, I kind of figured they'd nominate The Reader, but I'm surprised they got Milk. It's a much more American tale than, say, Frost/Nixon. I figured Doubt would be more their style. Live and learn.

DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
Stephen Daldry, The Reader
Clint Eastwood, Changeling
David Fincher, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Ron Howard, Frost/Nixon
REACTION: No Nolan is a bit of a shock, but even more so is the inclusion of Clint Eastwood for Changeling. I guess they love him across the pond more than we do here. Good movie, but I wouldn't nominate Eastwood above Nolan.

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Dustin Lance Black, Milk
Philippe Claudel, I've Loved You So Long
Ethan Coen/Joel Coen, Burn After Reading
Martin McDonagh, In Bruges
J. Michael Straczynski, Changeling
REACTION: All Awesome on the McDonagh Front. I like how DLB is the only nominee getting any Oscar heat as well. The Coens are deserving, Straczynski, less so.

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
David Hare, The Reader
Justin Haythe, Revolutionary Road
Peter Morgan, Frost/Nixon
Eric Roth, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
REACTION: No surprises here.

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
The Baader Meinhof Complex
Gomorrah
I've Loved You So Long
Persepolis
Waltz with Bashir
REACTION: Interesting thing here. First off, BAFTA does not limit one entry per country, as France has both I've Loved You So Long and Persepolis. Also, release dates are wonky, since Persepolis was a 2007 release in most other places. Also, there are two animated films in competition here. BAFTA is odd.

ANIMATED FILM
Persepolis
WALL-E
Waltz with Bashir
REACTION: Persepolis, am I right?

LEADING ACTOR
Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon
Dev Patel, Slumdog Millionaire
Sean Penn, Milk
Brad Pitt, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
REACTION: See, BAFTA gets it. Dev Patel is the lead, not a supporting player. Otherwise, the usual suspects are there.

LEADING ACTRESS
Angelina Jolie, Changeling
Kristin Scott Thomas, I've Loved You So Long
Meryl Streep, Doubt
Kate Winslet, The Reader
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
REACTION: This is what I mean. Kate is the lead in two movies, therefore she gets nominated twice in the lead category. No choosing between roles, no category fraud. Just the truth. Although, having seen 3/5 of the films nominated, I gotta say this is disappointing. Angie? What the hell is BAFTA's deal with Changeling? And why is Kate always nominated when Leo isn't, even though he turns in far more believable performances in their films? At least Meryl's here, but I'm shocked at their snubbing of Happy-Go-Lucky and its star, Sally Hawkins.

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Robert Downey, Jr., Tropic Thunder
Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges
Philip Seymour Hoffman, Doubt
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
Brad Pitt, Burn After Reading
REACTION: Glad they included Pitt and Gleeson in this category. BAFTA has a sense of humor, as proven by 3/5 of this category -- 4, if you include Heath's Joker, but he was never ha-ha funny, more squirmily uncomfortable funny.

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Amy Adams, Doubt
Penelope Cruz, Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Freida Pinto, Slumdog Millionaire
Tilda Swinton, Burn After Reading
Marisa Tomei, The Wrestler
REACTION: Tilda was much better in Benjamin Button, but I'm glad Burn After Reading is getting so much attention. I'm glad I'm not alone in preferring Adams' turn to Davis's in Doubt. Davis is electric, but Adams does some really subtle work here. The Pinto nom is strange. She's good, but there was far better actressing in far deeper roles this year. Synecdoche, anyone? Was that even eligible?

MUSIC
Benny Andersson/Bjorn Ulvaeus, Mamma Mia!
Alexandre Desplat, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
James Newton Howard/Hans Zimmer, The Dark Knight
Thomas Newman, WALL-E
A.R. Rahman, Slumdog Millionaire
REACTION: Ma...Mamma Mia? Really? You...you lost me BAFTA. That's not...oh, never mind.

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Roger Deakins/Chris Menges, The Reader
Anthony Dod Mantle, Slumdog Millionaire
Claudio Miranda, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Wally Pfister, The Dark Knight
Tom Stern, Changeling
REACTION: No, seriously, what's with all the Changeling love? It wasn't, like amazing. It was OK.

EDITING
Kirk Baxter/Angus Wall, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Joel Cox/Gary D. Roach, Changeling
Chris Dickens, Slumdog Millionaire
Jon Gregory, In Bruges
Dan Hanley/Mike Hill, Frost/Nixon
Lee Smith, The Dark Knight
REACTION: I really do love the In Bruges party that is the BAFTAs. If only Colin was nominated...

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Donald Graham Burt/Victor J. Zolfo, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Nathan Crowley/Peter Lando, The Dark Knight
Michelle Day/Mark Digby, Slumdog Millionaire
Gary Fettis/James J. Murakami, Changeling
Debra Schutt/Kristi Zea, Revolutionary Road
REACTION: That's fine. That's okay.

COSTUME DESIGN
Lindy Hemming, The Dark Knight
Deborah Hopper, Changeling
Michael O'Connor
Jacqueline West, The Curious case of Benjamin Button
Albert Wolsky, Revolutionary Road
REACTION: You know, if it wasn't for technical awards, I would never have a reason to see The Duchess. I was happier before.

SOUND
Ben Burtt/Tom Myers/Michael Semanick/Matthew Wood, WALL-E
Glenn Freemantle/Resul Pookutty/Richard Pryke/Tom Sayers/Ian Tapp, Slumdog Millionaire
Lora Hirschberg/Richard King/Ed Novick/Gary Rizzo, The Dark Knight
Eddy Joseph/Chris Munro/Mike Prestwood Smith/Mark Taylor, Quantum of Solace
Walt Martin / Alan Robert Murray / John Reitz / Gregg Rudloff, Changeling
REACTION: I've decided BAFTA only saw Changeling, and Christmas-treed the rest. Seriously. What am I missing? WALL-E does have some kick-ass sound work, and I like how BAFTA has just one sound category. Easier.

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Eric Barba/Craig Barron/Nathan McGuinness/Edson Williams, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Chris Corbould/Nick Davis/Paul Franklin/Tim Webber, The Dark Knight
Chris Corbould/Kevin Tod Haug, Quantum of Solace
Pablo Helman, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Shane Patrick Mahan/John Nelson/Ben Snow, Iron Man
REACTION: This looks fine, although I recently found out that some very impressive Milk cinematography was actually some kick-ass visual effects. So. Anyway, good list, except that everything looks fake in Indiana Jones, and isn't that just antithetical?

MAKE UP & HAIR
Steven E. Anderson / Michael White, Milk
Jan Archibald/Daniel Phillips, The Duchess
Jean Black / Colleen Callaghan, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Edouard Henriques/Kim Santantonio, Frost/Nixon
Peter Robb-King, The Dark Knight
REACTION: Man, does Frost/Nixon ever deserve that hair nom. I mean, Michael Sheen. That hair.

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
Hunger
In Bruges
Mamma Mia!
Man on Wire
Slumdog Millionaire
REACTION: Man, only BAFTA would nominate Mamma Mia! over and over. I love how documentaries get on these lists. That's pretty boss.

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
Michael Cera
Noel Clarke
Michael Fassbender
Rebecca Hall
Toby Kebbell
REACTION: Not to belittle this "public", but why were Cera and Kebbell not nominated last year? Both had relatively high-profile films last year, released in Britain in time for awards consideration, so...? Also, I hate to sound ignorant, but who is Noel Clarke?

Golden Globes Results

Well, now that I've actually caught up a bit on films, I can give an honest reaction to last night's Golden Globes.

BEST PICTURE - DRAMA
Slumdog Millionaire
REACTION: No argument here. I just saw Slumdog, and it's everything people are saying it is. Uplifting, inspiring, romantic, incredible. Guessed right, I did.

BEST PICTURE - COMEDY/MUSICAL
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
REACTION: Let the joyous news at last be spread: Woody's career's no longer dead! I predicted Happy-Go-Lucky incorrectly, but I am VERY happy with this choice. ECSTATIC.

BEST ACTOR - DRAMA
Mickey Rourke, The Wrestler
REACTION: Rourke, Penn, Langella, DiCaprio and Pitt all turned in some career-best performances. I really would have been happy no matter who won. I predicted Sean Penn for Milk, but Rourke will do just fine, thank you.

BEST ACTOR - COMEDY/MUSICAL
Colin Farrell, In Bruges
REACTION: Called it. Deserved it. Let's move on.

BEST ACTRESS - DRAMA
Kate Winslet, Revolutionary Road
REACTION: I dunno. She was good, but this performance just didn't ring true for me. Still, it was great to see her win something, and awesome to see her win everything. I'd give it to her over Jolie, too.

BEST ACTRESS - COMEDY/MUSICAL
Sally Hawkins, Happy-Go-Lucky
REACTION: Called it. Loved it. Let's move on.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Heath Ledger, The Dark Knight
REACTION: See above.

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Kate Winslet, The Reader
REACTION: Hoo-ah! This is a shock! Two awards in one ceremony? If only she had done a musical this year, too. I'm surprised neither Cruz nor Davis got it, but oh well. Still need to see this one.

BEST DIRECTOR
Danny Boyle, Slumdog Millionaire
REACTION: I predicted Fincher, but I can't complain. Boyle's the fucking man, man.

BEST SCREENPLAY
Simon Beaufoy, Slumdog Millionaire
REACTION: And I still need to read this one. It sounded great, though! Hurrah!