BAFTA Nominations out with nine each for “Blood” and “No Country”

By Jeffrey Jolson

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 1/16/07 – Though it’s lagging in U.S. Guild and critic balloting as well as box office in the run-up to the Oscars, Golden Globe -winning WWII-era romance film “Atonement” led the British Academy of Film Awards with 14 noms. Tying for second place with nine nods each are gritty Oscar front-runners “There Will Be Blood” and “No Country for Old Men.”

Edith Piaf biopic “La Vie en Rose” trilled with seven noms, followed by the only big blockbuster in top contention, “The Bourne Ultimatum,” with six. At five each are “American Gangster” and “The Lives Of Others” which are also up for best picture along with “Atonement,” “Blood” and “No Country.”

Legal drama “Michael Clayton” also appealed with five nominations including Best Actor for George Clooney . He will face off against devlish Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”), Star-crossed lover James McAvoy (“Atonement”), Russian would-be Godfather Viggo Mortensen (“Eastern Promises”) and Ulrich Muehe in “The Lives of Others,” which won an Oscar last year.

Femme fatales at this year’s British Film Awards include Cate Blanchett, who is up for both actress and supporting actress for a regal turn in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and gender-bending in Bob Dylan biopic “I’m Not There.”

Marion Cotillard from “La Vie en rose” will be hard to beat, but class of the field given the Anglo twist is Keira Knightley from “Atonement.” Yet Julie Christie won the Golden Globe for “Away from Her” and precocious preggie teen Ellen Page from “Juno” can’t be counted in the toughest of all the fields, Best Actress.

Looney lawyer Tom Wilkinson from “Michael Clayton” and cool-eyed killer Javier Bardem from “No Country” have been critical favorites and Tommy Lee Jones, Paul Dano (“There Will Be Blood”), Philip Seymour Hoffman (“Charlie’s Wilson War”) make it a race for best supporting actor.

There Will be Stars when winners are announced Feb. 10 at London as unlike the Oscars and Golden Globes, there will be no Hollywood guild picketing to present a moral dilemma at the Royal Opera House. Nonetheless, with Oscars coming up a scant two weeks later, the potential boycott there and the issues behind the writers strike is not likely to be ignored by the actors, who have a big stake in what the U.S. studios pay.

See related Hollywood Today story for complete list of winners.