Awards

Brits lose out at Baftas

See photos of the Baftas 2007

The BAFTAs rolled around once again last night with hopes high for British filmmakers and actors.  Alas it wasn’t the scoop for the UK that we’d all hoped, with many of the top gongs headed across the pond.

Our girls might have wowed on the red carpet, Sienna Miller in vintage Ungaro, Kate Winslet in her standard Ben De Lisi and Joely Richardson in a stunningly revealing Chanel number, among others, but the evening was all about one woman – Dame Helen Mirren.  Despite being of an age when most of us would be spending our days weeding the garden and taking up needlepoint, Mirren wowed crowds in Azagury and Chopard, but let the regal stance slip with a swear word or two live on Sky News (f**king nutbag?  Dame Helen, we salute you).  More importantly she also took two trips to the stage, collecting her Best Actress award and helping to lift the Best Film trophy too.

Elsewhere the hotly tipped return of James Bond – Casino Royale – failed to excite the judges, taking home only the Best Sound statue, although Eva Green was the public’s choice when it came to the Rising Star Award.  Daniel Craig, who wore his best Bond look on the red carpet with gorgeous gold clad girlfriend Satsuki, lost out on Best Actor to The Last King of Scotland’s Forest Whitaker.  However, Whitaker’s co-star James McAvoy bowed to Little Miss Sunshine’s Alan Arkin when it came to Best Supporting Actor while there were surprises elsewhere as one time American Idol contestant Jennifer Hudson (Dreamgirls) beat off competition from the likes of Toni Collete and Frances De La Tour for the Best Supporting Actress Award.

The Queen was clearly the big winner on the night, pushing that Oscar buzz up a notch, however the likes of Pan’s Labyrinth, Children of Men and United 93 were adequately represented alongside Little Miss Sunshine and The Last King of Scotland.  In the absence of any award-winning excitement much of the night’s talk revolved around a certain change of personnel – Jonathan Ross we love you but the BAFTAs just weren’t the same without the marvellous Stephen Fry at the helm.

Award list

BEST FILM
The Queen

ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD FOR THE OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR
The Last King of Scotland

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE
Forest Whitaker - The Last King of Scotland

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE
Helen Mirren - The Queen

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Alan Arkin - Little Miss Sunshine

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE
Jennifer Hudson - Dreamgirls

CARL FOREMAN AWARD FOR SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT BY A BRITISH DIRECTOR, WRITER OR PRODUCER IN THEIR FIRST FEATURE FILM
Andrea Arnold - Red Road

DAVID LEAN AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION
United 93 - Paul Greengrass

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Little Miss Sunshine - Michael Arndt

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Last King of Scotland

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
Pan's Labyrinth

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
Happy Feet

ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN FILM MUSIC
Babel

CINEMATOGRAPHY
Children of Men

EDITING
United 93

PRODUCTION DESIGN
Children of Men

COSTUME DESIGN
Pan's Labyrinth

SOUND
Casino Royale

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

MAKE UP AND HAIR
Pan's Labyrinth

SHORT ANIMATION FILM
Guy 101 - Ian Gouldstone

SHORT FILM
Do Not Erase - Asitha Ameresekere

ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD - voted for by the public
Eva Green

ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP
Anne V Coates

MICHAEL BALCON AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA
Nick Daubeny


See photos of the Baftas 2007