LONDON, Jan 7 ― Dark drama Joker led the nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (Bafta) awards today, earning 11 nods at the United Kingdom’s top movie honours.
Martin Scorsese’s gangster movie The Irishman and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood followed with 10 nominations each.
Immersive World War One drama 1917 got nine nominations.
That movie, which uses a long-shot format to follow two young British soldiers sent on a mission across enemy lines, triumphed at yesterday’s Golden Globes ceremony where it picked up best drama and best director for Briton Sam Mendes.
The four movies will compete against South Korean director Bong Joon-ho’s darkly comic Parasite for best film at the February 2 awards in London as well as for best director.
Joaquin Phoenix’s turn in Joker, where he transforms from vulnerable loner into confident villain, won him a Bafta leading actor nomination. He will compete against Oscar winner Leonardo DiCaprio for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Adam Driver for Netflix divorce drama Marriage Story, Taron Egerton in Elton John musical biopic Rocketman and Jonathan Pryce in papal drama The Two Popes.
Nominees for leading actress featured Scarlett Johansson for Marriage Story, Saoirse Ronan for Little Women, Charlize Theron for Bombshell, Jessie Buckley for Wild Rose and Renee Zellweger for Judy, in which she plays actress Judy Garland, a role which won her a Golden Globe on Sunday. ― Reuters
