BAFTA Nominations Honor Usual Suspects, and Exclude ‘Selma’

Friday morning brought the BAFTA nominations; the British Academy’s version of the Oscars, and the lineup of contenders didn’t deviate too far from the talent pool on the other side of the pond.

Wes Anderson’s delightfully quirky gem, The Grand Budapest Hotel gathered the most noms – 11 total including nods to star Ralph Fiennes for lead actor and a slot in the best film category.

Other notables include The Theory of Everything – the film that depicts the life of English cosmologist Stephen Stephen Hawking who also battles a slow-progressing form of Lou Gherig’s disease also made a dent in several key categories, with leads Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne garnering nominations.

Michael Keaton who is in comeback mode scored a nom for his critically acclaimed performance in Birdman. Others who have been absent from the circuit but seem to be proving their worth include Patricia Arquette who got a supporting actress nomination for Boyhood and Rene Russo who also scored the same honor for her turn in Nightcrawler.

The rest was a bevy of known names who have managed to consistently pop up annually a la Amy Adams who is once again among the lead actress contenders for Big Eyes where she will compete with Julianne Moore who is being recognized for Still Alice.

Not surprisingly Rosamund Pike got a lead actress nod for the most talked about role of her career in Gone Girl but her leading man Ben Affleck failed to score a nomination.

However, civil rights drama Selma failed to get a shoutout. The newly released film has been making quite an impact in the States, which led to a slew of nominations from the Golden Globes.

Apparently the British critics are not as impressed and didn’t bequeath the same honor that 12 Years a Slave enjoyed last year.

The BAFTA’s has steadily become a reliable gauge for the Academy Awards, which has helped to enhance its validity as one of the award shows to take seriously.

British actor Stephen Fry will host the 68^th BAFTA Awards on Feb. 8.