So, just one night after Birdman sealed up the guilds, Boyhood comes roaring back with the top wins at BAFTA, which is a voting body about the same size as the Academy's, and shares an overlap of about 500 voters. Does this mean anything? I'd say yes- this is the first time Boyhood has proved itself as a consensus choice among a group of thousands. That guild combination is still much stronger, historically, but when The King's Speech won all the guilds in 2010 over The Social Network, it also swept BAFTA. So Boyhood is definitely still in this. I may have to lean towards predicting a split after all- Linklater in Director and Birdman in Picture.
British Film: The Theory of Everything
Music: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Production Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Animated Short: The Bigger Picture
Live Action Short: Boogaloo and Graham
Makeup & Hair: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Editing: Whiplash
Sound: Whiplash
Animated Film: The Lego Movie
Visual Effects: Interstellar
Supporting Actor: J.K. Simmons, Whiplash
Supporting Actress: Patricia Arquette, Boyhood
Cinematography: Birdman
British Debut: Pride
Original Screenplay: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Foreign Language Film: Ida
Adapted Screenplay: The Theory of Everything
Costume Design: The Grand Budapest Hotel
Rising Star: Jack O'Connell
Director: Richard Linklater, Boyhood
Actor: Eddie Redmayne, The Theory of Everything
Actress: Julianne Moore, Still Alice
Picture: Boyhood
In other news, The Grand Budapest Hotel looks good for a lot of tech wins on Oscar night, while the acting winners look set to move on, Redmayne included (unfortunately). On a side note, Bafta's vomit-inducing love for Theory of Everything is totally inexplicable- seriously, that script could have been written by a 12-year-old. This is a very close race overall, and now we're done as far as Best Picture precursors, with voting taking place right now for the next week and a half. When in doubt, I say it's better to rely on the guilds, which is why I have to stick with Birdman. But it's going to be a nail-biter- I'm betting that before Best Picture is announced on Oscar night, both films will have won no more than two (maybe three) trophies each.
