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Paddington 2 Hugh Grant.jpg

Bring on the 'Paddington 2' Sweep: The Biggest Surprises From the 2018 BAFTA Nominations

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | January 9, 2018 |

By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | January 9, 2018 |


Paddington 2 Hugh Grant.jpg

The British Academy of Film And Television Arts, more commonly known as BAFTA, announced their nominations for the 2018 awards today, and things were pretty interesting. That sounds so condescending, but the BAFTAs can be fickle fiends who prefer to follow the American crowd over rewarding British fare. This proves really irritating for us Brits as so many of the nominees are films that haven’t been released here yet and won’t be for a couple of months. A lot of that is still present in these nominations, but there are also some true delights here that should be celebrated.

First, let’s appreciate the 3 nominations for shining jewel of happiness and positivity, Paddington 2. It deserves every single one of them. Don’t believe me? Check out Kristy’s wonderful review. The biggest surprise here came with the Best Supporting Actor nomination for Hugh Grant, beating out assumed favourites like Richard Jenkins and Armie Hammer. But seriously, he totally deserves that nod. His work in Paddington 2 as a down-on-his-luck and highly vain actor who becomes Paddington’s nemesis is comic gold.

Oh look, it’s another all-male Best Director line-up. Someone go get Natalie Portman. Anyone else got that sinking feeling that Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is going to become something of a consensus pick for voters? It was a shock, albeit a delightful one, to see Denis Villeneuve get recognition in this category for Blade Runner 2049. Now, who does Roger Deakins have to kill to win that Best Cinematography Oscar?

Get Out didn’t make Best Film, and neither did Lady Bird, although Darkest Hour did. That film allowed Kristin Scott Thomas to garner a Best Supporting Actress nod for her work as Churchill’s wife Clementine. She’s nominated alongside the surprise inclusion of Lesley Manville, a British character actor legend who’s finally getting recognition for her work in Phantom Thread.

The Best Film Not in the English Language category offered some of the better surprises. Due to UK release dates, most of the nominees are ones from last year - huzzah for Best Film of 2017, The Handmaiden - but it’s also great to see Angelina Jolie’s First They Killed My Father in there. It’s an astounding piece of work that, if it weren’t a Netflix exclusive, would be one of the most talked about films of the year. Go check it out.

Here are the rest of the nominees:


Best film
Call Me by Your Name
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Outstanding British film
Darkest Hour
The Death of Stalin
God’s Own Country
Lady Macbeth
Paddington 2
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
The Ghoul - Gareth Tunley (writer/director/producer), Jack Healy Guttman & Tom Meeten (producers)
I Am Not a Witch - Rungano Nyoni (writer/director), Emily Morgan (Producer)
Jawbone - Johnny Harris (writer/producer), Thomas Napper (director)
Kingdom of Us - Lucy Cohen (director)
Lady Macbeth - Alice Birch (writer), William Oldroyd (director), Fodhla Cronin O’Reilly (producer)


Best film not in the English language
Elle
First They Killed My Father
The Handmaiden
Loveless
The Salesman


Best documentary
City of Ghosts
I Am Not Your Negro
Icarus
An Inconvenient Sequel
Jane


Best animated film
Coco
Loving Vincent
My Life as a Courgette


Best Director
Denis Villeneuve - Blade Runner 2049
Luca Guadagnino - Call Me by Your Name
Christopher Nolan - Dunkirk
Guillermo Del Toro - The Shape of Water
Martin McDonagh - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Best original screenplay
Get Out
I, Tonya
Lady Bird
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Best adapted screenplay
Call Me by Your Name
The Death of Stalin
Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Molly’s Game
Paddington 2


Best actress
Annette Bening - Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Frances McDormand - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Margot Robbie - I, Tonya
Sally Hawkins - The Shape of Water
Saoirse Ronan - Lady Bird


Best actor
Daniel Day-Lewis - Phantom Thread
Daniel Kaluuya - Get Out
Gary Oldman - Darkest Hour
Jamie Bell - Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool
Timothée Chalamet - Call Me by Your Name


Best supporting actress
Allison Janney - I, Tonya
Kristin Scott Thomas - Darkest Hour
Laurie Metcalf - Lady Bird
Lesley Manville - Phantom Thread
Octavia Spencer - The Shape of Water


Best supporting actor
Christopher Plummer - All the Money in the World
Hugh Grant - Paddington 2
Sam Rockwell - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
Willem Dafoe - The Florida Project
Woody Harrelson - Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Best original music
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water


Best cinematography
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Best editing
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri


Best production design
Beauty and the Beast
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water


Best costume design
Beauty and the Beast
Darkest Hour
I, Tonya
Phantom Thread
The Shape of Water


Best make up & hair
Blade Runner 2049
Darkest Hour
I, Tonya
Victoria & Abdul
Wonder


Best sound
Baby Driver
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi


Best special visual effects
Blade Runner 2049
Dunkirk
The Shape of Water
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
War for the Planet of the Apes


Best British short animation
Have Heart
Mamoon
Poles Apart


Best British short film
Aamir
Cowboy Dave
A Drowning Man
Work
Wren Boys


EE Rising Star award (voted for by the public)
Daniel Kaluuya
Florence Pugh
Josh O’Connor
Tessa Thompson
Timothée Chalamet