"The Queen" takes on Bond at British film awards

11/02/2007 11:23

LONDON (Reuters) - James Bond takes on Her Majesty at the British film awards on Sunday, with "Casino Royale" up for nine BAFTA awards, just one behind frontrunner "The Queen".

Stephen Frears is on the Best Director shortlist for "The Queen", and Helen Mirren, an Oscar favourite in the leading role, is contending for Best Actress for her portrayal of a confused monarch at the time of Princess Diana’s death in 1997.

Daniel Craig, the controversial choice to replace Pierce Brosnan as superspy James Bond in "Casino Royale", has been vindicated with a nomination for Best Actor.

"’Casino Royale’ has got nine nominations, including Best Actor for Daniel Craig, which is really one in the eye for all those people who said he wasn’t the right person for the job," film critic Mark Kermode told the BBC when the award contenders were revealed last month.

Craig is up against Leonardo DiCaprio in "The Departed", Richard Griffiths in "The History Boys", Peter O’Toole in "Venus" and Forest Whitaker in "The Last King of Scotland", where he portrays the late Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Bookmaker William Hill made Whitaker the favourite, followed by O’Toole, DiCaprio and then Craig.

Griffiths is gracious about his outsider status.

"I am naturally .....continued below

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thrilled to bits, as I have never been nominated for a movie award before," he said. "However, I will be astonished, dismayed and disappointed if it isn’t awarded to Peter O’Toole."

William Hill also predicted "The Queen" would walk off with the Best Film statuette, and Mirren with a Best Actress award.

She is competing with Judi Dench, nominated for her role in the school sex drama "Notes on a Scandal", Penelope Cruz in "Volver", Meryl Streep in the fashion comedy "The Devil Wears Prada" and Kate Winslet in "Little Children".

"I’ll be perfectly happy when I drop off the map as well," Mirren said of her new-found international fame.

"Win or lose, the bubble bursts and you’re back to the nitty-gritty of working," the 61-year-old told Reuters by telephone from the United States last month.

"I’m honestly at my happiest in a cold rehearsal room with my polystyrene cup of tea."

OSCAR BAROMETER?

In 2001, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ annual awards were moved to before the Oscars, helping them to attract Hollywood stars hoping to generate last-minute buzz.

But the BAFTAs, with a bias towards British films, have only a patchy record of predicting who will pick up Academy Awards.

In the Best Film category, "The Queen" is joined by Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu’s "Babel", "The Departed", directed by Martin Scorsese, "The Last King of Scotland" and the low-budget beauty pageant comedy "Little Miss Sunshine".

In the race to be Best Director, Frears takes on Scorsese, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Inarritu, and Paul Greengrass for his fact-based September 11 drama "United 93".

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LONDON (Reuters) - James Bond takes on Her Majesty at the British film awards on Sunday, with "Casino Royale" up for nine BAFTA awards, just one behind frontrunner "The Queen".

Daniel Craig, the controversial choice to replace Pierce Brosnan as superspy James Bond in "Casino Royale", has been vindicated with a nomination for Best Actor.

Bookmaker William Hill made Whitaker the favourite, followed by O’Toole, DiCaprio and then Craig.

Griffiths is gracious about his outsider status.

"I am naturally thrilled to bits, as I have never been nominated for a movie award before," he said. "However, I will be astonished, dismayed and disappointed if it isn’t awarded to Peter O’Toole."

William Hill also predicted "The Queen" would walk off with the Best Film statuette, and Mirren with a Best Actress award.

"I’ll be perfectly happy when I drop off the map as well," Mirren said of her new-found international fame.

"Win or lose, the bubble bursts and you’re back to the nitty-gritty of working," the 61-year-old told Reuters by telephone from the United States last month.

"I’m honestly at my happiest in a cold rehearsal room with my polystyrene cup of tea."

OSCAR BAROMETER?

In 2001, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts’ annual awards were moved to before the Oscars, helping them to attract Hollywood stars hoping to generate last-minute buzz.

But the BAFTAs, with a bias towards British films, have only a patchy record of predicting who will pick up Academy Awards.

In the race to be Best Director, Frears takes on Scorsese, Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Inarritu, and Paul Greengrass for his fact-based September 11 drama "United 93".

Best Supporting Actor nominations went to Alan Arkin ("Little Miss Sunshine"), James McAvoy ("The Last King of Scotland", Jack Nicholson ("The Departed"), Leslie Phillips ("Venus") and Michael Sheen ("The Queen").

Up for Best Supporting Actress are Emily Blunt ("The Devil Wears Prada"), Abigail Breslin and Toni Collette ("Little Miss Sunshine"), Frances de la Tour ("The History Boys") and Jennifer Hudson ("Dreamgirls").

"Pan’s Labyrinth", a fantasy set just after the end of the Spanish Civil War, garnered eight BAFTA nominations, and "Babel", starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett, gained seven.

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