London, Feb 10 (IANS) Before it gets into a neck-and-neck fight with "Roma" at the Oscars, "The Favourite", a period drama around Queen Anne, looks set to lift multiple awards at the British Academy Film Awards, organised by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) at the Royal Albert Hall on Sunday.
Olivia Colman-starrer "The Favourite" is a favourite with 12 nominations at BAFTA 2019, the most coveted celebration of film and television talent outside the US, and one which sets the pace and expectations for the Oscars every year.
Nominations for "The Favourite" are spread across Best Film, Best Director for Yorgos Lanthimos, Best Leading Actress for Olivia Colman, Outstanding British Film, Original Screenplay, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design, Make Up & Hair and Editing. Besides this, Colman's co-stars Rachel Weisz and Emma Stone, who play two cousins vying to be court favourites of Queen Anne, stand a chance to win Supporting Actress.
In an interview with Empire magazine, Colman had said that though she enjoys award events, she has gradually become more nervous.
"The first one you ever go to is the best night ever. And then after that it gets more scary. I get more and more nervous. I feel sick to my stomach before I have to go. Because 'What am I going to say if I win?'," said Colman, who is a frontrunner for the Best Actress trophy for which she is vying with Glenn Close ("The Wife"), Lady Gaga ("A Star Is Born"), Melissa McCarthy ("Can You Ever Forgive Me?") and Viola Davis ("Widows").
Behind "The Favourite" come Freddy Mercury biopic "Bohemian Rhapsody", space drama "First Man", Mexican black and white film "Roma" and the musical "A Star Is Born" with seven nominations apiece. Political comedy "Vice" has six nominations, biographical crime comedy-drama "BlacKkKlansman" has five, and historical period drama "Cold War" and biographical film "Green Book" have four each.
"Can You Ever Forgive Me?", "Mary Poppins Returns", "Mary Queen of Scots" and "Stan & Ollie" have three nominations each.
The Best Film category, the biggest award of the night, has "The Favourite" compete with "A Star Is Born", "BlacKkKlansman", "Green Book" and "Roma", but surprisingly, despite its success at the Golden Globes, "Bohemian Rhapsody" was snubbed in the category.
Lanthimos will fight Spike Lee ("BlacKkKlansman"), Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born"), Pawel Pawlikowski ("Cold War") and Alfonso Cuaron ("Roma") for Best Director.
The British Academy suspended Bryan Singer's nomination for "Bohemian Rhapsody" from the Outstanding British Film category as he faces accusations of sexual assault, which he has denied. However, his collaborators Graham King and Anthony McCarten find a mention as the nominations stand in place.
In the Leading Actor category, Christian Bale ("Vice"), Bradley Cooper ("A Star Is Born"), Rami Malek ("Bohemian Rhapsody"), Steve Coogan (Stan & Ollie") and Viggo Mortensen ("Green Book") are vying for the honour.
Apart from Weisz and Stone, Claire Foy ("First Man"), Margot Robbie ("Mary Queen Of Scots") and Amy Adams ("Vice") are in the race to win the Supporting Actress accolade.
Adam Driver ("BlacKkKlansman"), Mahershala Ali ("Green Book"), Richard E Grant ("Can You Ever Forgive Me?"), Sam Rockwell ("Vice") and Timothee Chalamet ("Beautiful Boy") gained nominations in the Best Supporting Actor category.
In the Best Outstanding British Film category, "Beast", "McQueen", "Stan & Ollie", "Bohemian Rhapsody", "The Favourite" and "You Were Never Really Here" are pitted against each other.
The Best Animated Film has "Isle Of Dogs", "Spider-Man: Into The Spider-verse" and "Incredibles 2" in competition at the ceremony, where Elizabeth Karlsen and Stephen Woolley, the pair behind "Carol" will get the outstanding British contribution to cinema award.
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