Lincoln, the story of US President Abraham Lincoln’s battle to end slavery, starring Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, won 10 Bafta nominations yesterday, putting it ahead of the pack at Britain’s top film honours.
The movie which has become the most successful in British box-office history was not included as best film
The biopic was short-listed in categories including best film, actor, supporting actor (Tommy Lee Jones) and supporting actress (Sally Field), but director Steven Spielberg was not nominated.
Added to its domination of the Golden Globe contenders going into Sunday night’s awards ceremony, British critics said the film appeared to be in pole position to sweep Oscar nominations which are announced today.
Les Misérables, the movie version of the global hit stage musical, and shipwreck saga Life of Pi followed with nine nominations each, while the latest instalment of James Bond, Skyfall, garnered eight.
Iranian hostage thriller Argo won seven nominations and Anna Karenina, an adaptation of the Russian novel, earned six.
Quentin Tarantino’s slavery-era Western Django Unchained and Zero Dark Thirty, about the hunt for Osama bin Laden, were just behind with five nominations apiece.
Amour, Austrian director Michael Haneke’s moving portrayal of death, bagged four nominations, an unusually high number for a film in a foreign language.
Eric Fellner of Working Title Films, the company behind Les Misérables and Anna Karenina, said he was pleased that two potentially risky projects had been recognised.
Les Misérables, by Oscar-winning director of The King’s Speech Tom Hooper, was sung live on set, while Joe Wright’s Anna Karenina, starring Keira Knightley and Jude Law, was set against the backdrop of elaborate stage sets.
“We knew that it was a much-loved musical and there was a large part of the world’s population who were also aware of the book,” Fellner said of Les Misérables after the nominations were announced.
Of Anna Karenina, he added: “The minute you do anything different it becomes harder to get it made. But we believe in our film makers.”
Skyfall’s Judi Dench was nominated for best supporting actress as Bond’s spymaster M and Spanish actor Javier Bardem was nominated for best supporting actor as the villain Silva.
There is likely to be disappointment, however, that the movie which has become the most successful in British box-office history, with critical acclaim to match, was not included on the most coveted shortlist – best film.
That award will be contested by Argo, Lincoln, Life of Pi, Les Misérables and Zero Dark Thirty.
Up for best actor alongside Day-Lewis is Ben Affleck (Argo), Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) and Joaquin Phoenix in the scientology tale, The Master.
The best actress award is between 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva (Amour), Helen Mirren (Hitchcock), Jennifer Lawrence (Silver Linings Playbook), Jessica Chastain (Zero Dark Thirty) and Marion Cotillard (Rust and Bone).