It’s been a week since the 96th Oscars came to a rushed close and it turned out to be a big “whew” for The Academy. Despite some unfortunate discourse over Jonathan Glazer‘s acceptance speech, this awards season ended with no serious controversies, no embarrassing upsets, and an uptick in television ratings (whether it’s enough for ABC to pay big bucks for the telecast remains to be seen). And despite winning just one statue, Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” had its moment on the Dolby Theater stage in more ways than one (thank you, Ryan Gosling).

Continue reading Oscars New Rules: Original Song, Cannes, BAFTA & A New Voting Weekend Tradition? at The Playlist.

When Jane Fonda agreed to appear at the 2019 British Academy Britannia Awards weeks ago she likely didn’t realize she’d be all the way across the country on the night of the ceremony for a much greater cause. Fonda, along with Ted Danson, was arrested Friday morning with other protesters on the steps of the Capitol. The group’s goal is to bring attention to a climate crisis members of the Republican party and the 45th President refuse to acknowledge.

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A strange award season came to a strange end. Or perhaps “unsatisfying” end would be more like it. “Green Book” winning Best Picture had many saying the Academy had taken a step back, had others screaming for the end of the preferential ballot system (um, no) and had fans of the movie wondering what all the fuss was about.   No matter where you landed on Peter Farrelly‘s flick it’s hard to dispute it’s certainly the most contentious winner since “Crash.”  And for anyone at Universal, which landed its first Best Picture winner since “A Beautiful Mind” won in 2002, jumping on social media since Sunday night certainly hasn’t been the most rewarding experience.

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts revealed the winners of the 2019 BAFTA Awards on Sunday and it crowned a frontrunner for the Best Picture Oscar, “Roma.”  Alfonso Cuaron’s autobiographical drama took Best Film over “The Favourite” which dominated the rest of the proceedings.

“Roma” also won Best Director (Cuaron) as well as Film Not in the English Language (Foreign Language Film) and Best Cinematography.  Along with the DGA honor for Cuaron, it nudges the Netflix release into pole position for Oscar’s top prize.  

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The fallout from the recent report from the Atlantic involving director Bryan Singer’s most recent sexual assault allegations keeps coming. After GLAAD decided to remove “Bohemian Rhapsody” from its awards nominations entirely, it appears that the BAFTA Awards are doing something a bit more…personal.

READ MORE: Rami Malek Opens Up About Bryan Singer Allegations & Says Working With The Director “Was Not Pleasant”

For those not aware, “Bohemian Rhapsody” was nominated for a total of seven BAFTAs, including Outstanding British Film, for which Bryan Singer is listed as one of the nominated parties.

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The British Academy of Film and Television Arts announced the nominees for the 2019 BAFTA Awards Rising Star this morning and there were some familiar and, well, established names among the mix. The five standouts include Lakeith Stanfield, Letitia Wright, Jessie Buckley, Cynthia Erivo and Barry Keoghan.    

First handed out in 2006, previous winners have included James McAvoy, Eva Green, Shia LaBeouf, Kristen Stewart, John Boyega and Tom Holland.  

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It’s something of a vicious circle when it comes to calls for more representation in awards nominations. There are some who will say that the problem lies with the industry, who are not creating enough opportunities for women or people of color, hence the lack of nominations. But when good movies by those diverse groups are ignored, it perpetuates the notion that those individuals don’t have the talent to be on the same playing field as the usual roster of dudes.

Continue reading BAFTA Responds To All Male Director Nominations at The Playlist.

Over 6,500 BAFTA members around the world voted for the 2018 British Academy Film Awards and Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” led all films with 12 nominations. “Darkest Hour” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri” each earned nine nominations with “Blade Runner 2049” and “Dunkirk” each.taking eight nods each. “Call Me by Your Name” and “Phantom Thread” took four each while “Film Stars Don’t Die in Liverpool,” “I, Tonya,” “Lady Bird” and “Paddington 2” receive three nominations each.

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We are entering the late fall of the awards season, with only a handful of major precursor awards left to unveil their winners before the Oscars in two weeks time. Tonight brings one of the biggest, in the shape of the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts Awards, or the 2017 EE BAFTA Awards. With a large British contingent, and the date having been moved up so it comes before the Oscars, the British Academy have become more and more important to awards season in recent years, with six of the last eight Best Film winners going on to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards (though it split in the last two years, interestingly).

Continue reading ‘La La Land’ Wins 5 BAFTA Awards Including Best Film, ‘Moonlight’ Snubbed at The Playlist.

Over the past seven years, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Screenwriter’s Lecture Series has become a crucial destination for anyone interested in writing for film, with a few dozen luminaries giving their time to talk in front of an audience at BAFTA HQ in London. From Charlie Kaufman to Emma Thompson, many big-name screenwriters have hit the BAFTA stage, with this year’s seasons bringing great talks and interviews by Kenneth Lonergan and Park Chan-Wook (click on their names to read our coverage).

Continue reading Phil Lord & Chris Miller Talk Failure, Stupid Birds & Their Drug Of Choice In 80-Minute BAFTA Screenwriting Lecture at The Playlist.

Continue reading Park Chan-Wook Talks Collaboration, Coming Up With The ‘Oldboy’ Ending While Peeing & More In 49-Minute BAFTA Talk at The Playlist.

'The Revenant' Wins Big At BAFTAs & American Society Of Cinematographers Awards

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'Boyhood' Wins Big At BAFTAs

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'Grand Budapest Hotel' 'Birdman,' 'Theory Of Everything' Lead BAFTA Nominations, 'Selma' Shut Out

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