After years of following Awards Seasons, and the four biggies: The Golden Globes, the Critics Choice Awards, the SAGs and, of course, the Oscars, I recently began to give some attention to another ceremony: The EE British Academy Film Awards, better known as The BAFTAs. These are, essentially, the UK Oscars. The BAFTAs have all of the major categories of the other awards shows, and a few originals, including Best British Film and the Rising Star Award, voted by the public, and awarded to the brightest new talent of the year.
The 68th BAFTAs is the final major awards show prior to The 87th Academy Awards. It takes place on Sunday, two weeks before the Oscars, at 8pm on BBC America. Stephen Fry will host for a record 10th time. He’s an excellent master of ceremonies, always in control of what, annually, is the swiftest, cleanest and fanciest awards show of the year.
In many ways, the BAFTAs are a solid indicator as to who will win on Oscar Night. Or, they can make some races much more interesting. Most of the time, BAFTA does go along with the “traditional” winners who have emerged throughout Awards Season, including last year, with Cate Blanchett sweeping Best Actress for “Blue Jasmine” and selecting Best Film winners “Argo” and “12 Years a Slave” the past two years.
But BAFTA voting can also provide a clue of surprises to come. Recent examples include giving Best Animated Feature honors in 2007 to “Happy Feet”, Meryl Streep their Best Actress award for “The Iron Lady” in 2012 and Christoph Waltz Best Supporting Actor honors for “Django Unchained” in 2013 – all before their “upset victories” at the Oscars. Last year’s Best Supporting Actress BAFTA winner was Jennifer Lawrence, which made the Oscar race between her and Lupita Nyong’o (who ended-up winning for “12 Years a Slave”) much more exciting.
Potential surprises this year? There are plenty. Steve Carell is in the Best Supporting Actor category for “Foxcatcher”, going-up against J.K. Simmons (“Whiplash”), who may not be a lock for the BAFTA. “How to Train Your Dragon 2” was snubbed in the Best Animated Feature category, so is “The LEGO Movie” the clear winner? And in the races that will go down to the wire on Oscar Sunday, there is the Best Actor contest between Eddie Redmayne (“The Theory of Everything”) and Michael Keaton (“Birdman”), as well as the “Birdman”/”Boyhood” Best Film battle. And Academy voters, who have yet to fill out their ballots, will be watching.
If you’re not into the Grammys, this is the perfect alternative on Sunday night. And if, like me, you want to be truly surprised by who wins, stay away from Social Media throughout the day, as the live ceremony will take place some five hours earlier than the US broadcast due to the time difference.