So, here we are again. My 2020 predictions (Will win / Should win) are below, which I’ll update in red during the event with the actuals. (Those I have yet to see are marked with *)
I don’t feel quite as ‘connected’ to the BAFTAs this year as previously. I really miss Stephen Fry presenting them, which might be part of it!
BEST FILM
- 1917 Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren
- THE IRISHMAN Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- JOKER Bradley Cooper, Todd Phillips, Emma Tillinger Koskoff
- ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD David Heyman, Shannon McIntosh, Quentin Tarantino
- PARASITE* Bong Joon Ho, Kwak Sin Ae
Will Win: Joker
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: 1917.
Looks a strong field this year…. with 1917 also in the British Film category (my choice) I think they will do it this way…. but I reckon it could be any of Joker, The Irishman or OUATIH that might pick it up.
OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
1917 Sam Mendes, Pippa Harris, Callum McDougall, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Krysty Wilson-Cairns
BAIT* Mark Jenkin, Kate Byers, Linn Waite
FOR SAMA* Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
ROCKETMAN Dexter Fletcher, Adam Bohling, David Furnish, David Reid, Matthew Vaughn, Lee Hall
SORRY WE MISSED YOU* Ken Loach, Rebecca O’Brien, Paul Laverty
THE TWO POPES Fernando Meirelles, Jonathan Eirich, Dan Lin, Tracey Seaward, Anthony McCarten
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: 1917
If they do it the other way and pick 1917, then probably they won’t give Best British film to 1917 as well. But I am pretty unsighted of this category this year.
OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
BAIT* Mark Jenkin (Writer/Director), Kate Byers, Linn Waite (Producers)
FOR SAMA* Waad al-Kateab (Director/Producer), Edward Watts (Director)
MAIDEN* Alex Holmes (Director)
ONLY YOU* Harry Wootliff (Writer/Director)
RETABLO* Álvaro Delgado-Aparicio (Writer/Director)
(I haven’t seen any of these, so can’t comment: I hear good things about “Bait” and “For Sama”).
Winner: Bait.
FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE FAREWELL Lulu Wang, Daniele Melia
FOR SAMA* Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
PAIN AND GLORY Pedro Almodóvar, Agustín Almodóvar
PARASITE* Bong Joon Ho
PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE* Céline Sciamma, Bénédicte Couvreur
Will Win: Parasite
Should Win: The Farewell
Did Win: Parasite.
What do I do with my time? Again, I have only seen two of these, so I’m basing this around the “Parasite” buzz. But I really loved “The Farewell”.
DOCUMENTARY
AMERICAN FACTORY* Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert
APOLLO 11 Todd Douglas Miller
DIEGO MARADONA* Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Paul Martin
FOR SAMA* Waad al-Kateab, Edward Watts
THE GREAT HACK* Karim Amer, Jehane Noujaim
(As I’ve only seen “Apollo 11” – which I loved – I won’t comment on this category. Interesting that “Apollo” wasn’t nominated for the Oscar).
Winner: For Sama.
ANIMATED FILM
FROZEN 2* Chris Buck, Jennifer Lee, Peter Del Vecho
KLAUS* Sergio Pablos, Jinko Gotoh
A SHAUN THE SHEEP MOVIE: FARMAGEDDON* Will Becher, Richard Phelan, Paul Kewley
TOY STORY 4* Josh Cooley, Mark Nielsen
(Again, I’m unsighted so won’t comment. Loved Toy Story 4, but who knows? One of the biggest snubs in the Oscar nominations must be the lack of “Frozen 2” in that list).
Winner: Klaus.
DIRECTOR
1917 Sam Mendes
THE IRISHMAN Martin Scorsese
JOKER Todd Phillips
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE* Bong Joon Ho
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: 1917.
I’d like to think this would be a shoe-in for Mendes here (if not necessarily at the Oscars).
ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
BOOKSMART Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Katie Silberman
KNIVES OUT Rian Johnson
MARRIAGE STORY Noah Baumbach
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Quentin Tarantino
PARASITE* Han Jin Won, Bong Joon Ho
Will Win: Marriage Story
Should Win: Knives Out
Did Win: Parasite.
It’s a toss up for me between “Knives Out” and “Booksmart”. I really didn’t care for “Marriage Story” (review still to follow).
ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
THE IRISHMAN Steven Zaillian
JOJO RABBIT Taika Waititi
JOKER Todd Phillips, Scott Silver
LITTLE WOMEN Greta Gerwig
THE TWO POPES Anthony McCarten
Will Win: The Irishman.
Should Win: Little Women.
Did Win: Jojo Rabbit.
I’d really love Gerwig to win for this. Such a clever retelling with its ever-shifting timeline.
LEADING ACTRESS
JESSIE BUCKLEY Wild Rose
SCARLETT JOHANSSON Marriage Story
SAOIRSE RONAN Little Women
CHARLIZE THERON Bombshell
RENÉE ZELLWEGER Judy
Will Win: Renée Zellweger
Should Win: Saoirse Ronan
Did Win: Renée Zellweger
Zellweger seems to be the odds-on favourite for this, but for me Ronan’s is the performance of the year in what is a strong category.
LEADING ACTOR
LEONARDO DICAPRIO Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood
ADAM DRIVER Marriage Story
TARON EGERTON Rocketman
JOAQUIN PHOENIX Joker
JONATHAN PRYCE The Two Popes
Will Win: Joaquin Phoenix
Should Win: Joaquin Phoenix
Did Win: Joachim Phoenix.
I’d like to think this is nailed on for Phoenix in what is an extraordinary performance.
SUPPORTING ACTRESS
LAURA DERN Marriage Story
SCARLETT JOHANSSON Jojo Rabbit
FLORENCE PUGH Little Women
MARGOT ROBBIE Bombshell
MARGOT ROBBIE Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Will Win: Laura Dern
Should Win: Florence Pugh
Did Win: Laura Dern.
My love for “Little Women” continues to shine through! But Dern seems to be the favourite on both sides of the Atlantic.
SUPPORTING ACTOR
TOM HANKS A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood
ANTHONY HOPKINS The Two Popes
AL PACINO The Irishman
JOE PESCI The Irishman
BRAD PITT Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Will Win: Brad Pitt
Should Win: Anthony Hopkins
Did Win: Brad Pitt.
I wouldn’t have a problem with Pitt winning this, but Hopkins’s quiet and studied performance as the retiring Pope is spellbinding.
ORIGINAL SCORE
1917 Thomas Newman
JOJO RABBIT Michael Giacchino
JOKER Hildur Guðnadóttir
LITTLE WOMEN Alexandre Desplat
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER John Williams
Will Win: Joker
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: Joker.
I’d give it to 1917 for that “Night Window” scene alone! I also love Desplat’s score for “Little Women”. My least favourite to actually sit and listen to would be the atonal and sombre “Joker”….. suspect it will just show I know nothing about the artistic merit of music!
CASTING
JOKER Shayna Markowitz
MARRIAGE STORY Douglas Aibel, Francine Maisler
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Victoria Thomas
THE PERSONAL HISTORY OF DAVID COPPERFIELD* Sarah Crowe
THE TWO POPES Javier Braier, Barbara Giordani, Nina Gold, Francesco Vedovati, Gabriel Villegas
Will Win: The Personal History of David Copperfield
Should Win: The Personal History of David Copperfield
Did Win: Joker.
How do they judge this category? The most “apt” cast? If so then I’m basing this solely on the one movie I haven’t seen… based on the trailer, where everyone on screen seemed “just right” for the roles!
CINEMATOGRAPHY
1917 Roger Deakins
THE IRISHMAN Rodrigo Prieto
JOKER Lawrence Sher
LE MANS ’66 Phedon Papamichael
THE LIGHTHOUSE Jarin Blaschke
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: 1917.
Surely to God, Deakins *must* have this one nailed on by the British Academy.
EDITING
THE IRISHMAN Thelma Schoonmaker
JOJO RABBIT Tom Eagles
JOKER Jeff Groth
LE MANS ’66 Andrew Buckland, Michael McCusker
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Fred Raskin
Will Win: Le Mans ’66
Should Win: Le Mans ’66
Did Win: Le Mans ’66.
I’m not an expert in this, but will pick my film of last year since it is not really featured elsewhere.
PRODUCTION DESIGN
1917 Dennis Gassner, Lee Sandales
THE IRISHMAN Bob Shaw, Regina Graves
JOJO RABBIT Ra Vincent, Nora Sopková
JOKER Mark Friedberg, Kris Moran
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Barbara Ling, Nancy Haigh
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: 1917.
I’d predict that 1917 will do very well in the technical categories.
COSTUME DESIGN
THE IRISHMAN Christopher Peterson, Sandy Powell
JOJO RABBIT Mayes C. Rubeo
JUDY Jany Temime
LITTLE WOMEN Jacqueline Durran
ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD Arianne Phillips
Will Win: Judy
Should Win: Judy
Did Win: Little Women.
Yeah… like I know!
MAKE UP & HAIR
1917 Naomi Donne, Tristan Versluis
BOMBSHELL Vivian Baker, Kazu Hiro, Anne Morgan
JOKER Kay Georgiou, Nicki Ledermann
JUDY Jeremy Woodhead
ROCKETMAN Lizzie Yianni Georgiou, Barrie Gower, Tapio Salmi
Will Win: Joker
Should Win: Rocketman
Did Win: Bombshell.
Again…. glad the experts vote on this category.
SOUND
1917 Scott Millan, Oliver Tarney, Rachael Tate, Mark Taylor, Stuart Wilson
JOKER Tod Maitland, Alan Robert Murray, Tom Ozanich, Dean Zupancic
LE MANS ’66 David Giammarco, Paul Massey, Steven A. Morrow, Donald Sylvester
ROCKETMAN Matthew Collinge, John Hayes, Mike Prestwood Smith, Danny Sheehan
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER David Acord, Andy Nelson, Christopher Scarabosio, Stuart Wilson, Matthew Wood
Will Win: Le Mans ’66
Should Win: Le Mans ’66
Did Win: 1917. (Why on earth didn’t I go with this!!!?)
You can almost smell the gasoline.
SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
1917 Greg Butler, Guillaume Rocheron, Dominic Tuohy
AVENGERS: ENDGAME Matt Aitken, Dan Deleeuw, Russell Earl, Dan Sudick
THE IRISHMAN Leandro Estebecorena, Stephane Grabli, Pablo Helman
THE LION KING Andrew R. Jones, Robert Legato, Elliot Newman, Adam Valdez
STAR WARS: THE RISE OF SKYWALKER Roger Guyett, Paul Kavanagh, Neal Scanlan, Dominic Tuohy
Will Win: 1917
Should Win: 1917
Did Win: 1917.
It stands out as the film that is the most innovative, but I don’t doubt that Endgame took the most work!
BRITISH SHORT ANIMATION
GRANDAD WAS A ROMANTIC* Maryam Mohajer
IN HER BOOTS* Kathrin Steinbacher
THE MAGIC BOAT* Naaman Azhari, Lilia Laurel
(I’ve not seen any of these so won’t comment).
Winner: Grandad was a Romantic.
BRITISH SHORT FILM
AZAAR* Myriam Raja, Nathanael Baring
GOLDFISH* Hector Dockrill, Harri Kamalanathan, Benedict Turnbull, Laura Dockrill
KAMALI* Sasha Rainbow, Rosalind Croad
LEARNING TO SKATEBOARD IN A WARZONE (IF YOU’RE A GIRL)* Carol Dysinger, Elena Andreicheva
THE TRAP* Lena Headey, Anthony Fitzgerald
(I’ve not seen any of these so won’t comment).
Winner: Learning to Skateboard in a War Zone (if you’re a girl).
EE RISING STAR AWARD
AWKWAFINA
KAITLYN DEVER
KELVIN HARRISON JR.
JACK LOWDEN
MICHEAL WARD
Will Win: Awkwafina
Should Win: Kaitlyn Dever
Did Win: Micheal Ward.
As this is the one voted for by the public, it’s normally the most high-profile candidate and Awkwafina has been in “The Farewell” and the “Jumanji” sequel. That being said, Kaitlyn Dever absolutely stole “Booksmart”, and that movie gathered a strong cult following during the year…. so this one could be close.
Outstanding Contribution to British Film (Michael Balcon Award)
Winner: Andy Serkis.
Fellowship Award
Winner: Kathleen Kennedy.
My score on the night:
(…of he categories I could go for)…
12/20.
