The Oscars' five best picture nominees line up exactly with the contenders for the top prize at Sunday's BAFTAs. "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" lead the pack at the BAFTA Awards with 11 nominations each while "Frost/Nixon" and "Milk" have six and three bids,  respectively. Surprise nominee "The Reader" — which many believe bumped "The Dark Knight" from the top race on both sides of the Atlantic — got five nods in total. (And, as is the case with the Oscars, "The Dark Knight" has eight nominations here.)

Since the BAFTAs were moved up in 2000 to take place while academy members are still voting for the Oscars, these laurels have foreseen only two best picture  winners — "Gladiator" (2000) and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (2003). However, the BAFTAs do far better at predicting the acting Oscar winners. Both last year and in 2006, all four BAFTA champs went on to win at the Oscars.

With dueling lead actress nominations, Kate Winslet can't be the double winner at BAFTA that she was at the Golden Globes for "Revolutionary Road" and "The Reader." Winslet won only the first of her five BAFTA nods — a supporting award in 1995 for "Sense and Sensibility." Also in the running for BAFTA best actress are two other Oscar contenders — first-time BAFTA nominee Angelina Jolie for "Changeling" (which has seven nods in all) and 1982 BAFTA best actress Meryl Streep ("The French Lieutenant's Woman"), who earned her 12th nom for "Doubt" (which has three nods in total). The BAFTA field is rounded out by Kristin Scott Thomas, who earned her third nod for "I've Loved You So Long." Missing from the BAFTA roster are Anne Hathaway, who made the long list even though "Rachel Getting Married" had yet to run in the U.K., and Melissa Leo, showcased in "Frozen River," which also has yet to open.

Four of the five BAFTA best actor contenders are also in the running at the Oscars — the three first-time BAFTA nominees Frank Langella ("Frost/Nixon"), Brad Pitt  ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button"), and Mickey Rourke ("The Wrestler"), as well as Sean Penn, who scored his third nod for "Milk." BAFTA pick Dev Patel ("Slumdog Millionaire") was bounced at the Oscars by Richard Jenkins ("The Visitor"), who did make the BAFTA long list.

Three of the supporting actor Oscar nominees compete at the BAFTAs — 1992 BAFTA best actor Robert Downey Jr. ("Chaplin") for "Tropic Thunder," 2005 BAFTA best actor Philip Seymour Hoffman ("Capote") for "Doubt," and one-time BAFTA nominee Heath Ledger ("Brokeback Mountain") for "The Dark Knight." The BAFTA complement is completed with Brad Pitt for "Burn After Reading" and first-time BAFTA nominee Brendan Gleeson for "In Bruges." While Oscar hopeful Josh Brolin ("Milk") was on the BAFTA long list, Michael Shannon ("Revolutionary Road") was not.

And three of the BAFTA supporting actress nominees will also go on to contend at the Oscars — 2006 best actress nominee Penelope Cruz contending for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and BAFTA newcomers Amy Adams("Doubt") and Marisa Tomei ("The Wrestler"). Oscar hopeful Viola Davis ("Doubt") was on the BAFTA long list, but Taraji P. Henson ("The Curious Case of Benjamin Button") was not. Curiously, last year's supporting actress winner Tilda Swinton made two appearances on the long list and got a nod for "Burn After Reading" rather than "Benjamin Button." The fifth BAFTA nominee is another first-timer — Freida Pinto ("Slumdog Millionaire").

Four of the five Oscar-nominated directors also made the cut with BAFTA —  two-time BAFTA nominee Stephen Daldry ("The Reader") and one-time contender Ron Howard ("Frost/Nixon") and newcomers Danny Boyle ("Slumdog Millionaire") and David Fincher ("Benjamin Button"). The fifth BAFTA slot went to one-time nominee Clint Eastwood ("Changeling") rather than Gus Van Sant ("Milk").

Four of the five Oscar-nominated adapted screenplays are contenders: "Benjamin Button" by one-time BAFTA nominee Eric Roth ("Forrest Gump"), "Frost/Nixon" by 2006 BAFTA winner Peter Morgan ("The Last King of Scotland"), "Slumdog Millionaire" by one-time BAFTA nominee Simon Beaufoy ("The Full Monty"), and "The Reader" by one-time nominee David Hare ("The Hours"). The fifth Oscar nominee — John Patrick Shanley ("Doubt") — was on the BAFTA long list, but newcomer Justin Haythe got the last BAFTA slot for "Revolutionary Road."

Two of the Oscar original screenplay contenders compete here: newcomers Martin McDonagh ("In Bruges") and Dustin Lance Black ("Milk"). Snubbed by the Oscars were Joel & Ethan Coen  ("Burn After Reading"), Philippe Claudel ("I've Loved You So Long"), and J. Michael Straczynski ("Changeling") in favor of two BAFTA long-listed scripters — Mike Leigh ("Happy-Go-Lucky") and the "Wall-E" trio Andrew Stanton, Jim Reardon and Peter Docter — and BAFTA-ineligible Courtney Hunt ("Frozen River").

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Photo: L.A. Times

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