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Filed under: BAFTA News

'Slumdog Millionaire' and 'Ben Button' Lead BAFTA Nominees with 11 Followed By 'The Dark Knight'

'Changeling' arrives as a big surprise with eight noms

BY: Brad Brevet | January 15th 2009 at 4:25 AM

The 2009 BAFTA Award nominees have been announced and Slumdog Millionaire, along with The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, leads the way with 11 nominations with The Dark Knight close behind with nine. However, at the top of the pile it is immediately noticeable that The Dark Knight did not get a Best Film nomination as all the usual suspects are there, but The Reader is added to the pack as one of its five nominations.

Dev Patel (Slumdog Millionaire) is considered a lead actor at the BAFTAs and earns a nomination in the category while he is competing Stateside for a Supporting nom. I believe he is more of a lead actor than a supporting, but Fox Searchlight obviously sees the supporting category as the easier place to get him a nomination and has pushed him in the category as a result. Other than that, the usuals are there with Brad Pitt earning a nomination, and Leonardo DiCaprio (Revolutionary Road) and Richard Jenkins (The Visitor) left out in the cold. Pitt also scored a supporting nomination for his role in Burn After Reading and I am sure many will be happy to see Brendan Gleeson also scoring a Supporting nom for his turn in In Bruges, the film that earned Colin Farrell a Golden Globe, but Farrell was not nominated here.

On the actress side Kate Winslet will be competing against herself in the Lead Actress category as well as Meryl Streep, Angelina Jolie and Kristin Scott Thomas. I would say the choice to nominate Winslet as a lead in the category ousted Sally Hawkins, whom I am surprised to see not nominated considering she is a Brit in a Brit flick, but then again you won't see Happy-Go-Lucky anywhere on this list of nominees, much to my surprise. As for Supporting Actress there are a couple of interesting inclusions such as Freida Pinto for Slumdog Millionaire and Burn After Reading's second of three nominations in Tilda Swinton. Amy Adams (Doubt), Penelope Cruz (Vicky Cristina Barcelona) and Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler) round out the category.

In the director slot the only surprise – for me at least – is Clint Eastwood for Changeling. Stephen Daldry also earned a nomination for The Reader, but considering the film was given a Best Film nomination that isn't as much of a surprise.

The screenplay categories are all pretty much what you would expect outside of a nice inclusion as Martin McDonagh's script for In Bruges gets a nomination in Original Screenplay.

Overall, the only big surprise for me would be the eight nominations for Changeling, there hasn't been much talk about the film's award chances since its release and I didn't expect it to gain much traction across the pond. You can check out the complete list of nominees below. The awards take place in London on February 8, in a ceremony hosted by Jonathan Ross and screened live on BBC1.

2009 NOMINEES

BEST FILM
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kathleen Kennedy / Frank Marshall / Ceán Chaffin
  • Frost/Nixon, Tim Bevan / Eric Fellner / Brian Grazer / Ron Howard
  • Milk, Dan Jinks / Bruce Cohen
  • The Reader, Anthony Minghella / Sydney Pollack / Donna Gigliotti / Redmond Morris
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colso
LEADING ACTOR
  • Frank Langella for Frost/Nixon
  • Dev Patel for Slumdog Millionaire
  • Sean Penn for Milk
  • Brad Pitt for The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  • Mickey Rourke for The Wrestler
LEADING ACTRESS
  • Angelina Jolie for Changeling
  • Kristin Scott Thomas for I've Loved You So Long
  • Meryl Streep for Doubt
  • Kate Winslet for The Reader
  • Kate Winslet for Revolutionary Road
SUPPORTING ACTOR
  • Robert Downey Jr. for Tropic Thunder
  • Brendan Gleeson for In Bruges
  • Philip Seymour Hoffman for Doubt
  • Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
  • Brad Pitt for Burn After Reading
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
  • Amy Adams for Doubt
  • Penelope Cruz for Vicky Cristina Barcelona
  • Freida Pinto for Slumdog Millionaire
  • Tilda Swinton for Burn After Reading
  • Marisa Tomei for The Wrestler
DIRECTOR
  • Changeling, Clint Eastwood
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, David Fincher
  • Frost/Nixon, Ron Howard
  • The Reader, Stephen Daldry
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Danny Boyle
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
  • Burn After Reading, Joel Coen / Ethan Coen
  • Changeling, J. Michael Straczynski
  • I've Loved You So Long, Philippe Claudel
  • In Bruges, Martin McDonagh
  • Milk, Dustin Lance Black
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Roth
  • Frost/Nixon, Peter Morgan
  • The Reader, David Hare
  • Revolutionary Road, Justin Haythe
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Simon Beaufoy
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
  • Hunger, Laura Hastings-Smith / Robin Gutch / Steve McQueen / Enda Walsh
  • In Bruges, Graham Broadbent / Pete Czernin / Martin McDonagh
  • Mamma Mia!, Judy Craymer / Gary Goetzman / Phyllida Lloyd / Catherine Johnson
  • Man on Wire, Simon Chinn / James Marsh
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Christian Colson / Danny Boyle / Simon Beaufoy
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
  • The Baader Meinhof Complex, Bernard Eichinger / Uli Edel
  • Gomorrah, Domenico Procacci / Matteo Garrone
  • I've Loved You So Long, Yves Marmion / Philippe Claudel
  • Persepolis, Marc-Antoine Robert / Xavier Rigault / Marjane Satrapi / Vincent Parannaud
  • Waltz With Bashir, Serge Lalou / Gerhard Meixner / Yael Nahl Ieli / Ari Folman
ANIMATED FILM
  • Persepolis, Marjane Satrapi / Vincent Parannaud
  • WALL•E, Andrew Stanton
  • Waltz With Bashir, Ari Folman
CINEMATOGRAPHY
  • Changeling, Tom Stern
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Claudio Miranda
  • The Dark Knight, Wally Pfister
  • The Reader, Chris Menges / Roger Deakins
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Anthony Dod Mantle
EDITING
  • Changeling, Joel Cox / Gary D. Roach
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Kirk Baxter / Angus Wall
  • The Dark Knight, Lee Smith
  • Frost/Nixon, Mike Hill / Dan Hanley
  • In Bruges, Jon Gregory
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Chris Dickens
PRODUCTION DESIGN
  • Changeling, James J. Murakami / Gary Fettis
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Donald Graham Burt / Victor J. Zolfo
  • The Dark Knight, Nathan Crowley / Peter Lando
  • Revolutionary Road, Kristi Zea / Debra Schutt
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Mark Digby / Michelle Day
COSTUME DESIGN
  • Changeling, Deborah Hopper
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jacqueline West
  • The Dark Knight, Lindy Hemming
  • The Duchess, Michael O'Connor
  • Revolutionary Road, Albert Wolsky
MAKE UP & HAIR
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Jean Black / Colleen Callaghan
  • The Dark Knight, Peter Robb-King
  • The Duchess, Daniel Phillips / Jan Archibald
  • Frost/Nixon, Edouard Henriques / Kim Santantonio
  • Milk, Steven E. Anderson / Michael White
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Eric Barba / Craig Barron / Nathan McGuinness / Edson Williams
  • The Dark Knight, Chris Corbould / Nick Davis / Paul Franklin / Tim Webber
  • Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, Pablo Helman
  • Iron Man, Shane Patrick Mahan / John Nelson / Ben Snow
  • Quantum of Solace, Chris Corbould / Kevin Tod Haug
SOUND
  • Changeling, Walt Martin / Alan Robert Murray / John Reitz / Gregg Rudloff
  • The Dark Knight, Lora Hirschberg / Richard King / Ed Novick / Gary Rizzo
  • Quantum of Solace, Eddy Joseph / Chris Munro / Mike Prestwood Smith / Mark Taylor
  • Slumdog Millionaire, Glenn Freemantle / Resul Pookutty / Richard Pryke / Tom Sayers / Ian Tapp
  • WALL•E, Ben Burtt / Tom Myers / Michael Semanick / Matthew Wood
MUSIC
  • The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, Alexandre Desplat
  • The Dark Knight, Hans Zimmer / James Newton Howard
  • Mamma Mia!, Benny Andersson / Björn Ulvaeus
  • Slumdog Millionaire, A. R. Rahman
  • WALL•E, Thomas Newman
SHORT ANIMATION
  • CODSWALLOP Greg McLeod / Myles McLeod
  • VARMINTS Sue Goffe / Marc Craste
  • WALLACE AND GROMIT: A MATTER OF LOAF AND DEATH Steve Pegram / Nick Park / Bob Baker
SHORT FILM
  • KINGSLAND #1 THE DREAMER Kate Ogborn / Tony Grisoni
  • LOVE YOU MORE Adrian Sturges / Sam Taylor-Wood / Patrick Marber
  • RALPH Olivier Kaempfer / Alex Winckler
  • SEPTEMBER Stewart le Maréchal / Esther May Campbell
  • VOYAGES D'AFFAIRES (THE BUSINESS TRIP) Celine Quideau / Sean Ellis
THE CARL FOREMAN AWARD for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film
  • SIMON CHINN Producer – Man on Wire
  • JUDY CRAYMER Producer – Mamma Mia!
  • GARTH JENNINGS Writer – Son of Rambow
  • STEVE McQUEEN Director/Writer – Hunger
  • SOLON PAPADOPOULOS / ROY BOULTER Producers – Of Time and the City
THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD (voted for by the public)
  • Michael Cera
  • Noel Clarke
  • Michael Fassbender
  • Rebecca Hall
  • Toby Kebbell
NOMINATION TOTALS
  1. Slumdog Millionaire: 11
  2. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button: 11
  3. The Dark Knight: 9
  4. Changeling: 8
  5. Frost/Nixon: 6
  6. The Reader: 5
  7. In Bruges: 4
  8. Milk: 4
  9. Revolutionary Road: 4
  10. Burn After Reading: 3
  11. Doubt: 3
  12. The I've Loved You So Long: 3
  13. Mamma Mia!: 3
  14. WALL•E: 3
  15. The Duchess: 2
  16. Hunger: 2
  17. Man on Wire: 2
  18. Persepolis: 2
  19. Quantum of Solace: 2
  20. Waltz With Bashir: 2
  21. The Wrestler: 2
  22. The Baader Meinhof Complex: 1
  23. Gomorrah: 1
  24. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull: 1
  25. Iron Man: 1
  26. Of Time and the City: 1
  27. Son of Rambow: 1
  28. Tropic Thunder: 1
  29. Vicky Cristina Barcelona: 1

Permalink   |   RSS Feed | 11 comments so far
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Post #1
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slumdog love is gtting a little ridiculous

- ayan
( January 15th, 2009 | 4:35 am )
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Post #2
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I despair – most of the nominated films haven't even been released here yet! I think it's a little bit cheeky not to allow the viewing public to vote with their feet before OUR academy places it's Xs. And what does Chris Nolan have to do to get a little recognition from his own country, sigh….

- kassiopeia
( January 15th, 2009 | 6:38 am )
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Post #3
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What do you mean, "slumdog love is getting a little ridiculous"? I mean, yeah, it isn't that good – I think that it would have been 3rd or 4th best film last year…. but this year it blows the other films out of the water – its pretty much (besides a few that aren't in consideration for picture like burn after reading) the only film that has perfect consistency of tone.

- Dan Tralder
( January 15th, 2009 | 8:13 am )
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Post #4
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I have never liked the BAFTAs much, and them nominating freida Pinto just makes me mad. She was just 'ok' in the movie, and dont tell me Dev Patel deserves anomiation over Leo's performance in revolutionary road. Unfortunately, Slumdog is gonna take the crown once again, I just hope Button gets some awards at the Oscars.

- adu
( January 15th, 2009 | 9:13 am )
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Post #5
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I forgot about "Son of Rambow". A cute little movie.

- Steve
( January 15th, 2009 | 9:21 am )
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Post #6
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I hope "The Dark Knight" at least gets a Best Picture nom come Oscar time. It missed out on the Golden Globes, and now it missed out again here with the BAFTA's. But then again, the Oscars probably won't nominate "The Reader" for Best Picture, and at least TDK got 9 nominations here. Even if none of them were in the five major categories (Picture, Actor, Actress, Director, and Screenplay), it's at least better than nothing. And it might portend a nice batch of noms on this side of the Atlantic.

- JM
( January 15th, 2009 | 10:20 am )
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Post #7
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Nice to see The Reader get some love, that was an amazing movie.

Unfortunately this is just another shot against The Dark Knight.

- Scott
( January 15th, 2009 | 10:37 am )
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Post #8
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I personally hope that Slumdog sweeps the awards again. The movie is much better than Brad Pitt and Jolie's movies… though, across the Atlantic, it is hard to convince them of that. Even just based on reviews though, it should come out on top.

- Erin
( January 15th, 2009 | 12:51 pm )
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Post #9
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It boggles my mind how Mamma Mia! gets nominated for a Golden Globe and BAFTA in the best film categories for both awards and The Dark Knight still gets snubbed.

However, I think it will still end up in the final five at the Oscars.

- Chris
( January 15th, 2009 | 1:42 pm )
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Post #10
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Can someone please explain to me how one actress can get nominated twice in the one catagory? I really seriously want to know, because to me it seems really unfair when award shows do that. Most actors get a nom based on one performance even if they've got a couple of films out the same year, so to me it seems like Winslet's already got twice as good a chance of winning, what with the two noms and all. Which, in my mind, isn't very fair. Both Streep and Scott Thomas turn in consistently good performances but they weren't nominated twice this year (I know, I know, if they haven't made enough films in the year, only one nom). I seriously wouldn't have been surprised if Meryl Streep got nominated for Mamma Mia too, just cause she's Meryl Streep. My point is, why not pick one of these two 'amazing' Kate Winslet performances for nomination and give the other place to someone else e.g. Sally Hawkins, to give it a bit more diversity and make it that little bit more of a level playing field. So, good bloggers of RoS, how can one actor get nominated twice in the same catagory? Is it film industry politics? Or is Kate just that good?

- HM
( January 15th, 2009 | 4:41 pm )
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Post #11
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@HM: Many will disagree with you (self included) and say Kate has even less of a chance of winning now since she will be competing with herself and splitting the votes.

- Brad Brevet (Post Author)
( January 15th, 2009 | 4:48 pm )
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