From Golden Globes To Baftas: Award Season Continues
Colin Firth's best actor win notwithstanding, the British presence at the Golden Globes was most memorably the flop of Ricky Gervais' hosting act. So when the awards season moves to the UK, you better be prepared for a particularly jarring transition when looking at the very stiff-upper-lipped Bafta shortlist. People tend to view the Baftas as a more reliable version of what the academy will rate at the oscars, with the twist that they seem to come from some alternate reality where the war of independence was never won. Take out the British films and the British sensibilities and you're left with your Bafta list. This year couldn't be more British even if its teeth went crooked: the British royalty are back on top. 'The King's Speech' is the rather comfortable favourite to Best Film and Actor, with 14 nods of approval and a good chance at the Best Director gong too. For his portrayal of stuttering British monarch George VI, Colin Firth was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor. But the other seven nominations the film received were fruitless. A "really rather spiffing" film, 'The King's Speech' is best enjoyed in front of a roaring fire, whilst wearing a monocle and clutching half-emptied whisky glasses.
Most symptomatic of this virulent strain of Old Worldness is the fact that 'The Social Network' has been nominated for only 8 prizes, despite being the clear favourite at the Globes. Though 'The Social Network' is nominated in every category it's important for it to be nominated in, it would be foolish to discount any Colin Firth vehicle. Colin Firth is about as quintessentially British as you get. An undeniably great actor, he's perhaps most beloved as a king among wine accessories for Bridget Jones' style singletons sipping cheap wine on a lonely evening in. Another British exclusive nod will be to 127 Hours and Danny Boyle, in the Best British Film and Best Director categories.
Don't let it be said that there isn't some credibility to the Baftas though. 'Hurt Locker' was a Bafta best film before repeating the feat at the Academy Awards. That said, 'Hurt Locker' was always going to win. Who in the film industry would support James Cameron? Most wanted him to fall rather suddenly to some very sharp table candle holders as a punishment for 'Avatar' and the ridiculous trend in 3D movies that has followed.
tags:entertainment,movies,awards,Celebs
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