‘Avatar,’ ‘Hurt Locker,’ ‘An Education’ receive 8 nominations for British Academy Film Awards
By APThursday, January 21, 2010
‘Avatar’ gets 8 noms for British film awards
LONDON — Sci-fi extravaganza ‘Avatar,’ Iraq drama “The Hurt Locker” and coming-of-age story “An Education” earned eight nominations apiece Thursday in the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain’s equivalent of the Oscars.
The three films are up for best picture alongside “Up in the Air” and “Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.”
South African alien thriller “District 9″ has seven nominations, while Quentin Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” and Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” got six each.
The best actor race pits George Clooney, for “Up in the Air,” against “The Hurt Locker” star Jeremy Renner, Jeff Bridges for “Crazy Heart,” Colin Firth for “A Single Man” and Andy Serkis for his portrayal of musician Ian Dury in “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.”
Best actress contenders are Meryl Streep for “Julie & Julia,” Carey Mulligan for “An Education,” Audrey Tautou for “Coco Before Chanel,” Irish actress Saoirse Ronan for “The Lovely Bones” and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious.”
The prizes — officially the Orange British Academy Film Awards but known as BAFTAs — will be awarded at a ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House on Feb. 21. They are considered an important indicator of prospects at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles two weeks later.
Last year, Danny Boyle’s underdog picture “Slumdog Millionaire” won seven BAFTAs, including best picture; it went on to win eight Oscars.
On the Net: www.bafta.org
Tags: Arts And Entertainment, Award Shows, Celebrity, England, Europe, Events, George Clooney, London, Movies, Quentin Tarantino, Saoirse ronan, United Kingdom, Western Europe
