Mike Leigh blasts BAFTA and Oscars

Notoriously candid director Mike Leigh really let loose when I sat down with him at the Toronto International Film Festival and asked him what he thought about showbiz awards. He's grateful for the love he gets from Yankee and European kudos, but — yikes — quite upset over being snubbed by the top film awards in his native Britain. "Let's put it this way," he said. " 'Happy-Go-Lucky.' Sally Hawkins got the Silver Bear for best actress (at the Berlin Film Festival). She got a Golden Globe. We had Oscar nominations and a huge number of critics' awards in the States. We had no nominations in any categories at all in the BAFTAs." "Why do...

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09/17/2010 19:01
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'Harry Potter' stars dominate BAFTA TV nominations

Although Daniel Radcliffe was snubbed two years ago by the BAFTA TV Awards -- the British equivalent of the Emmy Awards -- for his performance in the telefilm "My Boy Jack," six of his older "Harry Potter" co-stars are contending in top races at this year's kudos. Leading that list is Julie Walters, the on-screen mother of Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint), who competes with herself in the best actress race. All four of the nominated performances are for real-life roles -- Walters as politico Mo Mowlam in "Mo" and assisted suicide advocate Anne Turner in "A Short Stay in Switzerland"; Helena Boham Carter -- the dastardly Bellatrix LeStrange in "Harry Potter" -- as beloved children's...

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05/10/2010 09:24
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Gold Derby nuggets: 'Come Fly Away' to Broadway | 3-D or not 3-D | Katherine Heigl on Emmy uproar

• Twyla Tharp -- who picked up a Tony in 2003 for choreographing "Movin' Out," set to the songs of Billy Joel -- is back with another dancefest. "Come Fly Away" tells the story of four couples to the tunes of Frank Sinatra. The musical opened Thursday to mixed reviews from the Gotham critics. "Movin' Out" landed 10 Tony nominations, including best musical, but took home just two awards (orchestrations was the other). Among the five acting bids were a lead one for John Selya and a featured one for Ashley Tuttle, both of whom appear in "Come Fly Away." • No surprise that the BAFTAs will be held on Sunday, Feb. 13. As with...

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03/26/2010 16:09
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Gold Derby nuggets: Oscars odd couple | 'Lost' actors find new work

• Anthony Breznican interviews rookie Oscars producers Bill Mechanic and Adam Shankman and discovers "the division of labor is simple: Mechanic puts together the show; Shankman puts ON the show." He notes that "they liked last year's innovation of having five past Oscar winners coming out to introduce the individual acting contenders. But Shankman and Mechanic want the presenters to have some past connection to the person they're introducing. 'For things where you can't have a connection, for example documentary short, we'll put a comedian,' Shankman adds. 'We'll put an entertainment value there.' As for other entertainment, 'there will be two big dance numbers. Though Shankman doesn't want to reveal too much, smart money is...

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02/25/2010 17:05
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Gold Derby nuggets: Dave Karger predix Oscars | So does Sasha Stone | Oscars marketing gambits

• Before revealing that he is sticking with "The Hurt Locker" for the best picture Oscar, Dave Karger recaps the derby parallels between that film and "Brokeback Mountain" four years ago: "'Brokeback' managed the rare feat of winning Best Picture and Best Director at both the New York and Los Angeles film critics awards; so did 'Hurt Locker.' 'Brokeback' also picked up those two big prizes at the Broadcast Film Critics Awards; so did 'Hurt Locker.' 'Brokeback' won the trifecta of PGA, DGA, and WGA trophies; so did 'Hurt Locker. 'Brokeback' won 4 BAFTAs, including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay; 'Hurt Locker' picked up 6 awards, including Best Film, Director, and Screenplay. And of course,...

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02/23/2010 16:12
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Poll: Can Carey Mulligan pull off an upset at the Oscars?

The Oscars and BAFTA Awards reputedly share about 500 voters, so maybe that explains why BAFTA has correctly predicted the Oscars' lead actress race for the last four years. If they're really in sync, what are we to make of Carey Mulligan's lead-actress victory for "An Education"? Does this mean we're underestimating her voter pull at the Oscars? Or maybe the Brits just decided that they wanted to take a break from Hollywood groupthink this year and embrace a local British gal? What makes parallels difficult is the fact that Oscar front-runner Sandra Bullock wasn't nominated at BAFTA because she wasn't eligible. "The Blind Side" didn't open in Britain in 2009. Maybe the fact that...

Academy Awards BAFTA Carey Mulligan Gabourey Sidibe Julie & Julia Meryl Streep Oscars Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire Sandra Bullock The Blind Side
02/23/2010 10:07
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Gold Derby nuggets: OMG! Kristen & Taylor at the Oscars | Emmys for Betty White and Ann-Margret? | Memorable Oscars of yesteryear

• While last year's Oscar champs Sean Penn, Kate Winslet and Penelope Cruz were referred to by their last names in the Feb. 11 academy news release touting their appearances on this year's Oscars, tween and teen stars Miley Cyrus, Zac Efron, Taylor Lautner and Kristen Stewart merited first-names only in Monday's announcement of their bookings. For Cyrus and Efron, it will be their second time on the Kodak Theatre stage while "Twilight" stars Lautner and Stewart will be making their debut appearances at the Oscars. AMPAS • Scott Feinberg talks to Harvey Weinstein about the Oscar odds of "Inglourious Basterds" and a wide array of other subjects. As Scott reports, "Over the course of...

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02/22/2010 16:48
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'The Hurt Locker' wins six BAFTA Awards

"The Hurt Locker" won six of its eight races at the BAFTA Awards in London including the top prize of best picture. Since the BAFTAs were moved up in 2000 to take place while academy members were still voting for the Oscars, these laurels have foreseen only three of the nine best-picture winners: "Gladiator" (2000), "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003) and last year's "Slumdog Millionaire." Unlike this year's Oscars, there were only five films nominated for the top BAFTA and the winner was decided by a simple vote count. Of the four other nominees, all of which are also in contention at the Oscars, "Avatar" took two of its...

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02/21/2010 14:34
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Gold Derby nuggets: Oscars nixed 'Bruno' for host | Dave Karger BAFTAs predix | WGA Awards preview

• The Oscars took pity on the poor ABC censor when they said no to rookie show producers Bill Mechanic's and Adam Shankman's idea to have Sacha Baron Cohen ("Bruno") host the Oscars. As Shankman told "Fresh Air" host Terry Gross, "it would just be spectacular. But I think the Academy felt like not only is it unpredictable but it could overshadow the nominees. Then we immediately went to this idea of co-host." Among the other tidbits he shared was this one about the presentation of the acting Oscars: "We're doing something a little bit different with it, but in point of fact, something like that is going to be done and the way we're...

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02/19/2010 15:26
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How BAFTAs voting works and differs from the Oscars

While the BAFTAs preview many of the eventual winners at the Oscars, the two prizes are awarded in very different ways. Last year, BAFTA chairman and Oscar-winning producer David Parfitt ("Shakespeare in Love") spoke to Gold Derby about the three-part process used to determine the eventual winners. To listen to the full podcast download the MP3 file here. (You may need to hold down your computer's control key while clicking.) First off, what's the overlap between BAFTA and Oscars voters? "We don't know, of course. It's hard to find out," Parfitt said, but he offered some helpful information. Oscars consultants estimate that there are about 500 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences members in...

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02/19/2010 10:09
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Will BAFTAs preview Oscars again?

Since the BAFTAs were moved up in 2000 to take place while academy members were still voting for the Oscars, these laurels have foreseen only three best-picture winners -- "Gladiator" (2000), "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003) and last year's "Slumdog Millionaire." The BAFTAs do far better at predicting the acting Oscar winners. In 2006 and 2007, all four BAFTA champs went on to win at the Oscars. Last year, three of the four BAFTA winners repeated at the Academy Awards -- Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler") was the exception. Of the 36 acting Oscars handed out so far this decade, 22 went to BAFTA winners. Two of the front-runners at...

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02/19/2010 08:43
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Gold Derby nuggets: Brits go Lady Gaga | Oscars set set | Prince William presenting at BAFTAs

• Lady Gaga went three for three at Tuesday's Brit Awards in London, winning international album, female and breakthrough act. Home-grown boy band JLS won best British breakthrough act and best single for "Beat Again." Dizzee Rascal, Florence and the Machine and Lily Allen also picked up prizes. "Two special categories were created to celebrate the 30th Brits ceremony -- the Spice Girls' 1997 performance of their hits 'Wannabe' and 'Who Do You Think You Are' was named the best moment in Brits history, while Oasis' '(What's the Story) Morning Glory' was named best album. Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher accepted the award, with no sign of brother Noel, and threw the statuette straight into the...

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02/17/2010 17:03
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