Following a successful night at the Golden Globes this weekend, The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards Out Of Ebbing, Missouri look set to sweep the board at The 2018 British EE British Academy Film Awards.
Guillermo Del Toro’s The Shape Of Water earned 10 when nominations while the Frances McDormand fronted drama Three Billboards received six nods when nominations for the 71st annual ceremony were revealed by Game Of Thrones star Natalie Dormer and Black Mirror’s Letitia Wright from London on Tuesday morning.
The two films will compete against Call Me By Your Name, Darkest Hour and Dunkirk in the coveted Best Film category.
Nominated: Following a successful night at the Golden Globes , Three Billboards Out Of Ebbing, Missouri looks set to sweep the board at The 2018 British EE British Academy Film Awards
Frances will go head-to-head with The Shape Of Water’s Sally Hawkins for Best Actress in a Leading Role, as well as Annette Benning (Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool), Margot Robbie (I Tonya), Saorise Ronan (Lady Bird) for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
And Golden Globe winner Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) will be facing off against Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards) in the Best Director round, alongside Denis Villeneuve for Blade Runner 2049, Luca Guadagnino for Call Me By Your Name and Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk.
Three Billboards has also been nominated for Outstanding British Film alongside Darkest Hour, The Death of Stalin, God’s Own Country, Lady Macbeth and Paddington 2.
British films such as Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool and Paddington 2, for which Hugh Grant has received a Best Supporting Actor nod, have received more attention than at the big US ceremonies.
Facing off in the all important Best Actor category are Daniel Day Lewis for Phantom Thread, rising star Daniel Kaluuya for Get Out, Gary Oldman for Darkest Hour, Timothee Chalamet and Call Me By Your Name and Jamie Bell for Film Stars Don’t Die In Liverpool.
Best director: Golden Globe winner Guillermo Del Toro (The Shape of Water) – pictured with his prize on Sunday – will be facing off against Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards) in the Best Director round, alongside Denis Villeneuve for Blade Runner 2049, Luca Guadagnino for Call Me By Your Name and Christopher Nolan for Dunkirk.
One category not announced was the EE Rising Star Award, voted for by the public, which will be a battle between Daniel Kaluuya, Florence Pugh, Josh O’Connor, Timothée Chalamet and Tessa Thompson.
The 7,580 members of the British Academy of Film and Television Academy have been voting for the nominations since December 15. The BAFTAs will take place in London on February 18.
This comes just two days after the Golden Globes, which saw Big Little Lies take home the most awards on the night with Frances McDormand and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri taking top honours in the film category.
The film won the final (and arguably biggest) award of the night: Best Motion Picture – Drama.
Joanna Lumley was announced as the new host for the upcoming ceremony was also announced following Stephen Fry’s decision to step down from the role after fronting the event 12 times.
She declared: ‘Who thought I’d turn into Stephen Fry – thrilling! I’ve been voting for BAFTA for so long.
‘I want to thank BAFTA so much for letting me do this. I’ll see you on the night!’
The actor, comedian and writer’s affectionate and occasionally innuendo laden teasing of celebrities as well as his unique humour had become a fixture at annual awards.
Announcing his stepping down he said: ‘Every one of the 12 Bafta film award ceremonies that I had the privilege of hosting has a place in my memory.
‘The mixture of glamour, glory, drama and – occasionally – embarrassment and hiccup holds a unique place in the British film calendar.
‘Over the last two decades I have especially loved watching the emergence of new young film talent behind and in front of the camera. But after so long a time I felt it only right to stand down and let others take the Baftas on to new heights and greater glories.
‘I want to thank all the production staff, Amanda Berry and her wonderful Bafta colleagues, the BBC and all those who helped make every year so enjoyable.
‘I reserve especial gratitude and imagination for Ivor Baddiel and Phil Kerr, whose work on the scripts was so skillful it made people think I’d written every line myself.
‘What fun it will be to watch Bafta 2018 without my heart hammering, mouth drying and knees trembling.’