A night after IFTA was held in Dublin, the Orange British Academy Film Awards was held at the Royal Opera House in London. The red carpet introductions of the crème de la crème of British Cinema was hosted on telly by Edith Bowman. The stars are dressed in suitable finery for the occasion. A velvet suit designed by Christopher Bailey stood out and the ladies were dressed by the best of the designers like Vivian Westwood & Forever Mark, Valentino, H & M, Givenchy and more.
The evening opens with the “Thunderbolt” voice of Tom Jones paying homage to 50 years of James Bond in cinema. He is my favourite thing about old Bonds. The voice of “red-hot smoking Welsh dragon” still carries the chutzpah like none other.
Ladies and Gentleman, your host for the evening, Mr. Stephen Fry of “Top Gear” with the unmistakable British humour. After a Review of 2012 in Film were presented the Orange mask to the winners.
And the BAFTA Orange Mask and the Golden Envelope is awarded to…
● SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS – War Horse, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, The Adventures of Tintin: Teh Secret of the Unicorn, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, Hugo | presented by Cuba Gooding Jr.
● PRODUCTION DESIGN – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Hugo, War Horse, The Artist, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 | presented by Viola Davis
● SUPPORTING ACTOR – Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Philip Seymour Hoffman (The Ides of March), Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady), Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Kenneth Branagh (My Week with Marilyn) | presented by Helena Bonham Carter
● OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM named in the honour of the legendary producer Alexander Corder – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Senna, Shame, We Need to Talk About Kevin, My Week with Marilyn | presented by Naomi Harris and Belanice Merlot, Bond girls from upcoming “Sky Fall”
● SUPPORTING ACTRESS – Jessica Chastain (The Help), Judi Dench (My Week with Marilyn), Carey Mulligan (Drive), Octavia Spencer (The Help), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaid) | presented by Daniel Radcliffe
● ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY – The Iron Lady by Abi Morgan, Midnight in Paris by Woody Allen, The Guard by John Michael McDonagh, The Artist by Michel Hazanavicius, Bridesmaids by Annie Mumplo & Kristen Wiig | presented by Jeremy Irvine and Christina Ricci
● OUTSTANDING BRITISH CONTRIBUTION TO CINEMA Award which is named in the honour of Sir Michael Balcon – John Hurt [Look inward and ask not if there is anything outside that you want but whether there is anything inside that you have not yet unpacked.] | presented by Billy Bob Thornton
● Orange Wednesday’s RISING STAR AWARD created in honour of the legendary casting director Mary Selway – Eddie Redmayne, Adam Deacon, Tom Hiddleston, Chris Hemsworth, Chris O’Dowd | presented by Christina Hendricks
● DOCUMENTARY – George Harrison: Living in the Material World, Project Nim, Senna (Asif Kapadia, James Gay-Rees, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Manish Pandey) | presented by Paul Bettany
● ADAPTED SCREENPLAY – The Descendants, The Help, The Ides of March, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Moneyball | presented by Mad Man Jon Hamm
● BEST DIRECTOR named in the honour of the great Sir David Lean – Nicolas Winding Refn (Driver), Tomas Alfredson (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Lynne Ramsay (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Michel Hazanavicius (The Artist), Martin Scorsese (Hugo) | presented by Brad Pitt
● LEADING ACTRESS – Michelle Williams (My Week with Marilyn), Viola Davis (The Help), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) “Meryl Thatcher, Trophy Snatcher”, Bérénice Bejo (The Artist), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin) | presented by Colin Firth… It is my great privilege to present in a category in which I have been grievously overlooked. What a gentleman is Colin Firth.
● LEADING ACTOR – Michael Fassbender (Shame), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), George Clooney (The Descendants) | presented by Penelope Cruz
● THE ACADEMY FELLOWSHIP – The American Filmmaker, Martin Scorsese | presented by Max Von Sida ‘Glurg’
● BEST FILM – The Artist (Thomas Langmann), The Descendants, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (making a mountain of a film out of a mole), The Help, Drive | presented by Hugh Jackman and Russel Crow
The BAFTA paid tribute to Shammi Kapoor, Whitney Houston, Steve Jobs and Elizabeth Taylor amongst the others.
Lets all keep lining up for tickets and sitting in the dark. Support your local cinema. Live and Love Films!
