The London Film Critics have released their nominations- these could be important for the BAFTA nominations later on, or the British Academy Awards. The reason BAFTA matters is because there is a large British/European voting bloc in the Academy that overlaps with BAFTA, and often that is a clue for certain nominations and wins that you might not see coming. It's the reason the Academy tends to actually be a bit more adventurous and foreign-film friendly than places like SAG or the other guild awards.
Picture
- Blue is the Warmest Color
- Blue Jasmine
- Frances Ha
- Gravity
- The Great Beauty
- Her
- Inside Llewyn Davis
- Nebraska
- The Wolf of Wall Street
Director
- Alfonso Cuaron, Gravity
- Paul Greengrass, Captain Phillips
- Steve McQueen, 12 Years a Slave
- Paolo Sorrentino, The Great Beauty
- Martin Scorsese, The Wolf of Wall Street
Actor
- Bruce Dern, Nebraska
- Leonardo Dicaprio, The Wolf of Wall Street
- Michael Douglas, Behind the Candelabra
- Chiwetel Ejiofor, 12 Years a Slave
- Tom Hanks, Captain Phillips
Actress
- Cate Blanchett, Blue Jasmine
- Sandra Bullock, Gravity
- Judi Dench, Philomena
- Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue is the Warmest Color
- Greta Gerwig, Frances Ha
Supporting Actor
- Barkhad Abdi, Captain Phillips
- Michael Fassbender, 12 Years a Slave
- James Gandolfini, Enough Said
- Tom Hanks, Saving Mr. Banks
- Jared Leto, Dallas Buyers Club
Supporting Actress
- Naomie Harris, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom
- Sally Hawkins, Blue Jasmine
- Jennifer Lawrence, American Hustle
- Lupita Nyong'o, 12 Years a Slave
- June Squibb, Nebraska
Screenplay
- Inside Llewyn Davis
- Her
- Philomena
- 12 Years a Slave
- The Wolf of Wall Street
Foreign-Language Film
- Blue is the Warmest Color
- Caesar Must Die
- Gloria
- The Great Beauty
- A Hijacking
Documentary
- The Act of Killing
- Beware of Mr. Baker
- Leviathan
- Stories We Tell
- We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks
British Picture
- A Field in England
- Filth
- Philomena
- Rush
- The Selfish Giant
British Actor
- Christian Bale (American Hustle & Out of the Furnace)
- Steve Coogan (Alan Partridge: Alpha Papa, The Look of Love, Philomena & What Maisie Knew)
- Chiwetel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave)
- Michael Fassbender (The Counselor & 12 Years a Slave)
- James McAvoy (Filth, Trance & Welcome to the Punch)
British Actress
- Judi Dench (Philomena)
- Lindsay Duncan (About Time, Last Passenger & Le Week-end)
- Naomie Harris (Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom)
- Sally Hawkins (Blue Jasmine)
- Emma Thompson (Beautiful Creatures & Saving Mr. Banks)
Young British Performer
- Conner Chapman (The Selfish Giant)
- Saoirse Ronan (Byzantium, The Host & How I Live Now)
- Eloise Laurence (Broken)
- George MacKay (Breakfast with Johnny Wilkinson, For Those in Peril, How I Live Now & Sunshine on Leith)
- Shaun Thomas (The Selfish Giant)
Breakthrough British Filmmaker
- Jon S. Baird, Filth
- Scott Graham, Shell
- Marcos Markoou, Papadopoulos & Sons
- Rufus Norris, Broken
- Paul Wright, For Those in Peril
Technical Achievement Award
- American Hustle- Production Design
- Behind the Candelabra- Production Design
- Filth- Editing
- Frances Ha- Cinematography
- Gravity- Visual Effects
- The Hunger Games: Catching Fire- Costumes
- Inside Llewyn Davis- Music
- Stoker- Costumes
- 12 Years a Slave- Cinematography
- Upstream Color- Sound Design
So, not a lot of love for American Hustle from the London Critics, who seem to be on the Wolf of Wall Street divide. Behind the Candelabra was a theatrical release in England, so that's why it's eligible for film awards there, and the Italian film The Great Beauty was singled out for Picture and Director (that's sure to be one of the foreign film nominees at the Oscars). Other than that, no Emma Thompson in Best Actress, making me wonder if she's a tiny bit vulnerable in that category (we'll see if she gets a BAFTA nom, but I still think someone new's going to break into that Actress category, taking the spot of either Meryl Streep, Judi Dench or Emma Thompson). And Leo Dicaprio's Best Actor hopes remain alive if the Brits are passionate about his Wolf performance, and it's looking more and more like Robert Redford could be the vulnerable one in that Best Actor category.
