Hollywood heavyweights including Margot Robbie and Bradley Cooper hit the red carpet in London Sunday for the BAFTA awards, where “Oppenheimer” is in the running for an unrivalled 13 awards.
Scottish actor David Tennant, is the show’s host at the Royal Festival Hall, on the south bank of the River Thames, for the annual highlight of the British film industry.
Irish star Cillian Murphy, leading man in “Oppenheimer” and his costar US actor Robert Downey Jr were also attending.
Britain’s royal family was represented by Prince William in his capacity as BAFTA president.
It is his most important engagement since returning to duties following his wife Catherine’s abdominal operation, and news of his father King Charles III’s cancer diagnosis.
“Oppenheimer”, Christopher Nolan’s epic movie about the creation of the atomic bomb, has grossed more than $1 billion. It has already won big at the Golden Globes and Critics Choice Awards and is the clear frontrunner to sweep the board at next month’s Oscars.
At Sunday’s BAFTAs, the blockbuster is nominated for best film, for Nolan (director and adapted screenplay), as well as for Emily Blunt (supporting actress) and Downey Jr. (supporting actor).
Murphy is widely tipped to pick up his first best actor BAFTA for his role as J. Robert Oppenheimer, the US theoretical physicist often called the “father of the atomic bomb”.
Emma Stone and Carey Mulligan were also among those in attendance.
– ‘Barbenheimer’ –
“Poor Things”, a surreal dark comedy, has secured 11 nominations, including for best film category and for Stone’s portrayal of a Victorian reanimated corpse with the brain of an infant.
The American actress has already scooped Golden Globe and Critics Choice best actress awards for her no-holds-barred performance.
She will compete with Robbie (“Barbie”), Mulligan (“Maestro”), Sandra Hueller (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Fantasia Barrino (“The Colour Purple”) and Vivian Oparah (“Rye Lane”).
Other contenders for best film include French courtroom drama “Anatomy of a Fall”, 1970s-set prep school comedy “The Holdovers” and Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon”.
Both Scorsese and his historical epic’s leading man Leonardo DiCaprio missed out on individual BAFTA nods but the movie amassed nine nominations in total, including for best film. Robert De Niro, another Scorsese regular, is up for best supporting actor.
The best director award will pit Nolan against Andrew Haigh (“All Of Us Strangers”), Justine Triet (“Anatomy of a Fall”), Alexander Payne (“The Holdovers”), Cooper (“Maestro”) and Jonathan Glazer (“The Zone Of Interest”).
Cooper also earned individual nominations for his bio-pic about US conductor Leonard Bernstein, for original screenplay (shared with screenwriter Josh Singer) and best actor.
He is up against Murphy, Barry Keoghan (“Saltburn”), Colman Domingo (“Rustin”), Paul Giamatti for (“The Holdovers”) and Teo Yoo (“Past Lives”) for the acting honours.
The BAFTA shortlist was another disappointment for “Barbie” — the other half of last summer’s “Barbenheimer” box office phenomenon — which only managed five nominations.
Greta Gerwig’s film, which turned nostalgia for the beloved doll into a sharp satire about misogyny and female empowerment, has so far failed to capture the number of top prizes expected this awards season.
Reflecting on this year’s shortlist following its unveiling last month, BAFTA chair Sara Putt said the 38 films with nominations reflected “an outstanding year for filmmaking.
“They showcase ambitious, creative and hugely impressive voices from independent British debuts to global blockbusters,” she added.
