Telluride Film Festival: Angelina Jolie On Directing, Netflix, A Possible New Oscar Shot, And Getting Back To… https://t.co/BQ16Ihi1iM

— Pete Hammond (@DeadlinePete) September 3, 2017

 Angelina Jolie told me she’s having a great time at her first Telluride Film Festival, where since the debut here Saturday of First They Killed My Father, her fourth directorial effort that’s been winning strong praise.

The film is based on Loung Ung’s memoir about the devastating effect the Khmer Rouge had on her own family when she was just 9 years old. Ung, who is also in Telluride, adapted the book with Jolie. But Jolie told the Telluride audience yesterday the Cambodian people really made it themselves. “Netflix made it possible and gave them the tools to tell their story,” she said.

It is also a cautionary tale in the perilous world of today as dictators and dangerous regimes still seem to thrive the world over.  This movie, which could have been unrelievedly brutal and difficult to watch, instead is almost lyrical in some ways as told through the eyes of children so affected by that war, gorgeously shot by Oscar winning cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle with a great score by Marco Beltrami.

At an intimate Saturday night reception for the film at the Cosmopolitan restaurant as a thunderstorm raged outside, I suggested to Jolie and Ung (who now lives in Cleveland) that it was fate that intervened when Jolie, on a trip to Cambodia several years ago, just happened to pick up a $2 book on a street corner that turned out to be Ung’s memoir. The result changed her life and now the film is making its way out into the world. “I started directing just a few years ago and I thought what matters to me, what has changed my life, what needs to be told. And I love (Cambodia) and feel it is so important that people know what happened, and I want my son to know who his countrymen are and to be proud of their culture and to confront and be honest about the past,” she told the audience yesterday while explaining that she waited a few years until her son Maddox could fully participate, and in fact he has an Executive Producer credit on the movie and is also in Telluride.

At the reception I asked why she chose Netflix, and she said it was the reality of the current state of filmmaking that a small movie like this, in a foreign language and with no stars, would be lucky to play for a week at a small theater in New York. She said Netflix allows it to be found and seen by a much larger audience and will help give it a stronger social media imprint as well.

Getting this film made was just one hurdle for Jolie, but getting it seen is clearly her mission now. Netflix honcho Ted Sarandos sat directly in front of me at yesterday’s screening and I asked him about plans to have this film submitted by Cambodia for this year’s Academy Awards foreign language contest, and he said he is confident that will happen. That would have the extraordinary effect of making Jolie the rare American director with a movie eligible for the Foreign Language Film nomination. But first, it will also have to pass muster with Academy rules requiring the bulk of the key creative team to also be from the country of origin. For Jolie the fact that this film might be submitted by the current Cambodian regime is remarkable considering some of the things going on there now including attempts to shut down some of the media. “I am a western woman and it would be amazing if they could agree to send our film (to the Academy),” she said adding it would be a powerful and surprising message of unified support from the Cambodian government.

Jolie, with her continuing work with refugees the world over and her work with the United Nations , is already the winner of the Academy’s Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award, as well as having a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Girl Interrupted, but directing a movie that could possibly take her to the 90th Annual Academy Awards would be unprecedented for the star who has held Cambodian citizenship since 2005.

I also think her screenplay with Ung could find its way into the Best Adapted Screenplay category, which is much lighter this year in terms of competition. With past directorial efforts like In The Land Of Blood And Honey, Unbroken, and By The Sea shot, like First They Killed My Father, on foreign shores it would make perfect sense to see Jolie in the Foreign Language category, and in fact I brought up the fact that she is that rare director who has worked fairly effortlessly in several languages for her movies. She likes the dialogue to be authentic and doesn’t shy away from the use of subtitles.

With four directorial achievements under her belt I asked if she had another one lined up but she told me it is time to return to acting for a while. “I am now the breadwinner for the family so it’s time, ” she laughed . There were rumors that she might be doing Universal’s Bride Of Frankenstein but she said she is going back to Disney to do Maleficent 2. “We have been working on the script and this is going to be a really strong sequel,” she said, excited by the prospect of returning to that Disney villainess. Meanwhile she’s helping to make this Telluride Film Festival a memorable one.

Post Show Reports

 

Brad and Angelina Party Post-Oscars With George, John, and Emily

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Updated 02/27/12 7:32 AM · Posted 02/27/12 7:01 AM by Allie Merriam · 

George Clooney hosted a post-Oscars bash last night in LA. He welcomed friends like Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, as well as John Krasinski and Emily Blunt.

Oscars: 'The Descendants' co-writer Jim Rash on his homage to Angelina Jolie's right leg

by Adam B. Vary

Filed under: Movies and tagged: Angelina Jolie, Movies, Oscars, The Descendants

One of the best spontaneous moments of comedy during the 84th Annual Academy Awards came courtesy of Jim Rash, co-writer of The Descendants, and the daffy Dean Pelton on NBC’s Community. After he and collaborators Nat Faxon and Alexander Payne won the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay, Rash chose to spend his time on stage paying homage to presenter Angelina Jolie’s right-leg-flashing fashion pose.
“Honestly, as soon as I saw her pose like that, I was like, ‘I’m going to do that,’” Rash told EW at the Governors Ball after the show. Producers had asked all the nominees, explained Rash, to have only one person speak when there were three or more winners. “I knew Alexander was going to take the reigns, so I was like, ‘How can I make a moment?’ — selfishly,” laughed Rash. “I almost thought it was a little Dean Pelton, somehow. I was bringing it all together. Because I have stood like that [on Community].”
And no, Rash had not yet spoken with Jolie about the moment. Was he at least aware that, while he was doing the pose, Jolie was doing it too, standing in the dark on the far left of the stage? “Are you serious? Oh my god, that’s fantastic.”

Angelina Jolie’s leg steals the Oscars – AWARDS ALLEY

By: Sean O'Connell

By Sean O’Connell
hollywoodnews.com: No, she didn’t win an Oscar Sunday night. Instead, Angelina Jolie won THE ENTIRE Oscar telecast.
The big story Monday morning, in wake of a slate of largely predictable winners, is Jolie’s leg. You know, the one she sexily displayed while presenting on stage? It led to Oscar winner Jim Rash’s hysterical pose as he helped Alexander Payne accept the Best Adapted Screenplay awards for “The Descendants.” And then it took on a life of it’s own.
For starters, “Angeline Jolie’ing” is the new “Tebow-ing,” according to this clever meme.
And in case you wanted to follow Angie’s right leg, it also has its own Twitter feed. The feed has more than 10K followers. Man, people move fast.



RED Magazine ‏ @RedMagazineID

Yes. We agree on it. Non stop compliments for Jolie today. #oscars2012 RT @randykharisma: Of course our Miss Gorgeous, Angelina Jolie, who

Best display of anatomy

( Getty / February 27, 2012 )

Hello, I am Angelina Jolie and this is my right leg. 

Monday, February 27, 2012

Movies

Angelina Jolie father Jon Voight on leg pose: 'I thought it was great'

Published Monday, Feb 27 2012, 10:00 GMT | By Daniel Sperling 

Jon Voight has said that he approves of daughter Angelina Jolie's attention-grabbing leg pose at the 2012 Oscars.

The actress wore a black velvet Atelier Versace dress exposing her right leg and made sure to make the feature prominent throughout the ceremony, most noticeably when she presented the 'Best Adapted Screenplay' and 'Best Original Screenplay' prizes.

© Rex Features / NIVIERE/SIPA

> Jon Voight: 'Angelina Jolie reunion is precious to me'

Asked for his thoughts on Jolie's alluring stance, Voight told Daybreak: "I'm so in love with her of course, as every father's in love with his daughter.

"She comes out and does this pose and waits until people get it, it was so great. The audience responded so wonderfully too, [with] whistles and everything."

© PA Images / Mark J. Terrill/AP

© PA Images / Mark J. Terrill/AP

Jolie's pose was mimicked by The Descendants writer Jim Rash when he collected the 'Best Adapted Screenplay' award, though he insisted that it had been "a loving tribute and nothing but".

A spoof Twitter account for her right leg has so far garnered close to 10,000 followers.

Oscars: The Good , The Bad And The Uggie — Hammond Analysis

By PETE HAMMOND | Monday February 27, 2012 @ 4:29am PSTTags: 84th Academy Awards, Angelina Jolie, Hugo, Jean Dujardin, Meryl Streep, The Artist, The Help

Comments (2)

In the end it was mostly predictable.  The only stunning surprise of the 84th Annual Academy Awards was that somehow The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo came out of nowhere to win the Best Film Editing award, something no pundit I know of saw coming.  But it served to stop the early momentum of Hugo which at one point was leading front-runner The Artist  5 awards to 1. Was Harvey Weinstein nervous that there could be an upset brewing over his heavily favored film? No. When I caught up with him at the Governor’s Ball he said he was just enjoying the show and not keeping tabs.  Eventually Artist caught up and won all the big ones, the Oscars everyone was predicting including Best Picture, director for Michel Hazanavicius and actor for Jean Dujardin in addition to music and costumes. I am told The Weinstein Company plans to expand the little-film-that-could on to 2000 screens by next weekend in what should be a real test of Oscar’s drawing power at the boxoffice. So far after a little over three months the film has just grossed over $30 million domestically. Weinstein will hope to double that with an Oscar bounce. Among those congratulating him was Cannes Festival Director Thierry Fremaux who proudly championed the film at last May’s Cannes Fest , even switching it from out of competition to a competition slot where it won the first Best Actor prize of Jean Dujardin’s remarkable run. When I ran into him at the Gov’s Ball Dujardin told me the Oscar had put him in “a very happy place”. I told Fremaux that based on the stellar showing of Cannes titles like Artist, Midnight In Paris and  The Tree Of Life in this year’s Oscar race he had a lot of pressure to repeat the performance at the upcoming festival in May. Cannes proved itself to be a formidable start for awards season with a lot of major players. And what a season for Hazanavicius who has pulled off the unprecedented hat trick of winning Best Director prizes  from the Oscars, the BAFTA awards, the french Cesar Awards and the DGA. It’s hard to imagine how someone else with ever be able to pull that off again. Among those he thanked in his speech was Uggie, the scene stealing Jack Russell Terrier who turned up on stage  after Best Picture was announced and had a nice bit with Crystal earlier. He should be thanking this dog. He’s getting more talk show bookings than any of the film’s stars.
It was a big night for Harvey, further evidence of a major comeback (after last year’s King’s Speech win) and a return to the Oscar dominance he enjoyed all those years in a remarkable run at Miramax. And it wasn’t just the dominance in major categories of The Artist, the black and white silent film that became the first non-talkie to win the top Oscar since Wings in 1927-28, Oscar’s first year.  He also grabbed two Oscars  for the Margaret Thatcher biopic  The Iron Lady including a first Best Actress win in nearly three decades for Meryl Streep. Weinstein had been campaigning hard for this one , reminding voters on a daily basis that the 17-time nominee hadn’t won an Oscar in 29 years. It was a relentless campaign theme that obviously paid off the 2-time , now 3-time Oscar winner. At the Governor’s Ball Weinstein admitted they really wanted this one and got it with the help good old-fashioned hard core campaigning which included Streep’s rare participation in select Q&As and interviews such as 60 Minutes.
When I caught up with her, also at the Governor’s Ball, Streep was ebullient and clearly excited about having a third Oscar, especially considering the competition including her Doubt co-star Viola Davis. “There were so many great performances this year. I think maybe they should expand the category. Maybe there should be 10 nominees (instead of 5) , “  she told me adding it was nice to get this towards the “end of her career”.  Hardly.  Streep is going to be working with Weinstein again in the film adaptation of the Tony Winning Play , August Osage County which is scheduled to roll in the Fall co-starring Julia Roberts. At the Governors Ball Davis put on a game face but was clearly disappointed to lose Best Actress for The Help. But it was always going to be an extremely tight race and the two had seesawed back and forth at precursor shows.  I thought Davis might eek it out, but it wasn’t to be.
Weinstein cornered me just before the ceremony to ask why I was so confident in predicting their company’s Best Documentary nominee underdog , Undefeated as the winner in that category.  I gave him my reasons and after its surprise victory he said ,  “You were right . You called that one”. Saturday night when I ran into them at the Weinstein’s pre-Oscar Soho House party I had told the three filmmakers (T.J.Martin, Dan Lindsay and RIchard Middlemas)  nominated that I thought they would win despite pundits predictions they wouldn’t. It’s a powerful film about an all black high school football team but there were complaints from other Documentary campaigners that the Weinsteins sent out the DVD screener of it to all Academy members even though to be able to vote you have to prove you have seen all five films in theatres. Whatever the tactic, it worked and Weinstein hopes the Oscar win will increase the middling business the film has done since its February 17th release.
Meanwhile Hugo producer Graham King wasn’t disappointed the Martin Scorsese-directed film-about-film did not go all the way , especially after winning 5 big early techincal awards. He said that is the same number their The Aviator got too before losing to Million Dollar Baby. It’s not a bad haul and GK films also scored the Best Animated Feature Oscar for Rango.  King was in a good mood when I saw him after at the Governors Ball, happy his Hugo had tied the Artist for most Oscars of the night.
Mostly it was all a very predictable ceremony but I thought a good one, at least from the vantage point of the first Mezzanine where the Cirque Du Soleil number looked simply spectacular and the ambience of the setting of an old movie palace was pitch perfect, right down to traditional-looking movie  ushers handing out popcorn and candy during commercial breaks. Nice touch. Billy Crystal didn’t always land his schtick but he got off some good zingers and the opening film sequence and song  was a winner in the room. He makes this gig work about as well as anyone can. There were a lot of jokes about the old age of many in the Academy which couldn’t have pleased Acad officials who are still trying to prove they can be young and hip. He also was funny after Academy President Tom Sherak’s dryly-delivered speech. “Thanks  Tom for whipping this crowd into a frenzy,”  Crystal joked.
The show flowed nicely and got off just seven minutes over the alloted three hours according to producer/director Don Mischer in our conversation at the Governor’s Ball. He was cautiously optimistic that the response would be good when reviews roll in Monday  but not counting on it, especially after last year when the show was lambasted in the press. Critics do love to pounce on the Oscars. I pointed out one trade paper actually ran a formal online review of the first 30 minutes of the show while it was still going on. “That’s just evidence that we are now judged minute by minute. Times have changed,” Mischer said — and not necessarily for the better.  But maybe that is the lure and power of the Oscars that media types feel they have to jump the gun and be there first. He can take solace in the fact that most of the people at the Governors Ball seemed very enthused by the breezy Oscar show, one of the all-time shortest (at least in the modern era) at three hours and seven minutes according to Mischer. That could help the ratings but it is still expected to come in on the low side due to the fact that the movies nominated this year were not big blockbusters that can bring in an audience. Foreign Language Film presenter Sandra Bullock told me she thought the whole show was really great, a sentiment I heard more than once at the nicely appointed Governors Ball where Tony Bennett entertained.  Usually it is a quick stop and then off to Vanity Fair and other parties , but this year (eschewing the formal sit-down dinner routine) it was still going well past 11pm with nominees like Streep and Dujardin still there.  Streep later made it to the packed Weinstein’s after party at Mondrian’s Sky Bar where the celebration continued for TWC.
Among the highlights of the show were the standing ovations for Supporting Actress winner Octavia Spencer  and Supporting Actor winner Christopher Plummer who wryly noted that at age 82 he was only two years younger than Oscar himself (and now the oldest performer to ever win).  As she was leaving the Ball I walked down the stairs with Spencer and asked how she felt about the whole night. “It’s crazy town, it’s crazy town,” is all she could say at that point sounding a little shell shocked and loopy. Her earlier emotional acceptance scored big points as did  many of the speeches, particularly those of Streep, Dujardin, Foreign Language winner Asaghi Farhadi, Live Action Short Subject winner Terry George and the Live Action Documentary short winners for the harrowing Saving Face. It was also nice to see full-on glamour return to the show thanks to presenters like Angelina Jolie who had a whole lotta leg going on  and the teaming of Cameron Diaz and Jennifer Lopez.
Another class act of the night was Best Actor nominee Gary Oldman who got up during the commercial break after losing Best Actor to Dujardin and sought out each of the other nominees to presumably commiserate or console them. Whatever the purpose it was a nice thing to do for George Clooney, Brad Pitt and Demian Bichir who were locked in a tight race.  As for Dujardin he charmingly nailed his acceptance speech opening with the line, “I love your  country”. Indeed he should since he was snubbed by his own country Friday night at the Cesar awards where he was passed over for another , Omar Sy in the Best Actor competition despite the sweep of The Artist.
And clearly this country loves Dujardin and his movie, or at least Academy members do. Now if it can just translate that love into boxoffice gold it could mean the silent era is baaaaack.

Posted at 09:18 AM ET, 02/27/2012

Jim Rash on his Angelina Jolie leg move: ‘It was just an impulse’

By Jen Chaney

Nat Faxon, Alexander Payne and leg extender Jim Rash accepting their Oscar. (Mark J. Terrill - AP)
Screenwriter Jim Rash says he was not making fun of Angelina Jolie when he decided to show a little leg on the Academy Awards stage Sunday night. But while standing up there to accept his Oscar for “The Descendants” screenplay, the urge to strike a Jolie-style pose could not be resisted.
For those who missed the thigh-flashing moment of the year, while presenting the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, Jolie assumed a position that exposed her admittedly exceptional right leg via the slit in her Atelier Versace gown. It was a move that she had already busted out on the Oscar red carpet, as well as one that has inspired its own Twitter feed.

Jolie, knocking us out with her American thigh. (ROBYN BECK - AFP/GETTY IMAGES)
Yes, AngiesRightLeg has already amassed more than 11,000 followers since last night, based on such tweets as:”I’m a leg!,” “Don’t forget about the leg!” and “You have to admit, I’m one hell of a leg.”
When Rash — along with his fellow winners in the adapated screenplay category, Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon — rose to accept the award, the motivation to mimic came over him.
“It was just an impulse,” he told me at the Governors Ball. “I was just standng there and I thought--” At this point, he paused to, once again, stick his leg out.
“I hope it was okay,” Rash, aka Dean Pelton from TV’s “Community” and former member of the Groundlings improv troupe, said. “I hope she thought it was okay. It was a loving tribute.”
It’s unclear whether Jolie thought it was loving or not. But was it funny to many of the people watching the Oscars at home? That’s a definite yes.

By Jen Chaney  |  09:18 AM ET, 02/27/2012

Posted at 09:18 AM ET, 02/27/2012

Oscar Countdown: Hammond on the Show

Oscar Countdown: Sherak On Kodak Theatre’s New Name, Show Ratings And Star Power

By PETE HAMMOND | Wednesday February 22, 2012 @ 12:57am PST

Word is CIM,  the landlord for the Hollywood and Highland complex where the Oscars are held has asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences NOT to announce on air that the awards are coming from the Kodak Theatre. Instead the Academy opening announcement will say it is being broadcast live from Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood, California.  “That is what the landlord has asked us to do and we are gonna do it,”  said Academy President Tom Sherak during a pre-taping  of KABC’s local public affairs show, Eyewitness Newsmakers (airing this Sunday). CIM has been trying to find a replacement for Kodak which won the right last week to back out of their multi-million dollar naming agreement for the theatre in which the Oscars and other events such as Cirque Du Soleil’s  Iris  take place.
When I spoke to Sherak over the weekend to discuss progress for this year’s show he re-emphasized the Academy has nothing to do with who will take over the name of the theatre except for veto rights . He told me they would never hold back approval as long as it’s not some completely inappropiate name that would clash with the Academy’s image. In other words don’t expect to hear , “Live from the Hooters Theatre , welcome to the Academy Awards”.   Sherak also reiterated his previous statement that as of now the Academy is  only currently negotiating with CIM  regarding where the Oscars will be held after next year’s show, but is in no hurry to decide. Clearly they have a lot of leverage now that Kodak has pulled out of its deal. ”You can imagine we have a lot of interest from other venues but right now we are only talking to CIM,”  he says.
Sherak says he is quite pleased with the direction this year’s Oscarcast, under producers Brian Grazer and Don Mischer, is taking so far but I asked if he was worried that they could conceivably come in second in the ratings to the Grammy Awards for the first time ever.   The Academy Awards are routinely the highest rated entertainment special of the year usually drawing an audience second only to the Super Bowl. They have never been usurped by another awards show but on February 12th the Grammys drew nearly 40 million viewers (second highest ever for the music show) due to interest sparked by Whitney Houston’s sudden death the day before. That’s higher than several Oscar broadcasts of the last decade including last year’s critically drubbed show. And since having a rooting interest in the movies nominated is often key to ratings, it’s a warning sign that only one of the nine nominated Best Pictures (The Help) grossed more than $100 million at the box office. Sherak was sanguine about it. “It’s true we don’t have any $300 million movies but there are some real horse races. Look the Grammys was the best concert show I have seen in a long time. I watched it and I am not the audience. It was a great concert. We are an awards show,” he said confidently predicting a large tune-in thanks to host Billy Crystal and those tight races in high profile acting categories. “We are going to do the best show possible. And I can tell you our research indicates there is a lot of interest in seeing Billy host. I have seen some of the show so far and it’s smart and funny and our new writers have made a big difference.”
He’s confident viewers will definitely tune in for Billy’s opening and their mission is to keep them there for the whole show. One way they will do that is with comedy, just as Grazer promised when I spoke to him right after the nominations announcement. Among the  presenters named so far are Will Ferrell, Zach Galfianakis, Tina Fey, Ben Stiller , Chris Rock, Kermit and Miss Piggy and of course the host, Crystal all designed to keep the laughs coming.  There’s also a high quotient of star power among presenters too including Tom Cruise, Angelina Jolie , Tom Hanks , Jennifer Lopez and Michael Douglas among others. And with high profile superstar nominees like Brad Pitt , George Clooney and Meryl Streep  in the ”Hollywood and Highland Center” theatre   Sherak is happy. “One thing is certain. We are not gonna have a problem figuring out who to cut to in the audience,” he says.
And he’s also promising some strong musical elements even as I pointed out the producers have decided not to let the two song nominees, Real In Rio  and Man Or Muppet be performed  on the show, a decision that caused a big outcry on the internet. “It is true we won’t be performing the song nominees but that is not the first time that’s happened,”  he says . That’s true but one of the two times the songs were jettisoned was the infamous Allan Carr-produced Oscars , generally considered the worst in history.  Sherak says conductor Hans Zimmer has created a great sound for the show and that there will be a big orchestra pit for the first time in a few years. He is also excited that Cirque Du Soleil is creating a special “one time only” performance for the show with the largest number of Cirque performers ever gathered together.  Since Cirque also has a long running show , Iris at Hollywood and Highland I asked if this appearance was a tie-in and attempt to cross plug that show but he says one has nothing to do with the other.
For Sherak it’s full steam ahead and ABC is heavily promoting the big night.  In fact every night this week, Uggie the dog star of Best Picture front runner , The Artist  is appearing on the network’s Jimmy Kimmel late night show to pick the winners of the top categories (he’s also taped a bit with Crystal for the Oscars). On Tuesday’s show the photos of the  five nominees for Best Actor were placed on the floor with hot dogs on top of each one.  Uggie went straight for George Clooney without hesitation , even bypassing his own co-star Jean Dujardin. Is that a sign?
Hey, maybe the ratings would go through the roof if we let dogs decide the winners instead of the Academy.

BAFTA Reports

BAFTA Awards: What ‘Artist’, Dujardin, Streep Wins Mean For Oscar – Hammond

By PETE HAMMOND | Sunday February 12, 2012 @ 3:09pm PST

If there was any question before today’s British Academy Film Awards that The Artist was the film to beat for the Oscars, the results in London just cemented it, and in an impressive sweep that portends big things. It wasn’t just the expected awards for Picture, Director, Music Score, Costumes. It was also another Best Actor notch in Jean Dujardin’s belt following his all-important SAG win two weeks ago. It also scored less obvious BAFTA trophies  for its black and white Cinematography and most surprisingly for director Michel Hazanavicius’ Original Screenplay, a category widely predicted to go to Woody Allen for Midnight In Paris. A writing award for a screenplay of a essentially dialogue-less movie surprised even Hazanavicius who has told me he expects to lose in this category to his idol, Allen.  It just goes to show the amount of love this film has gotten, not only from critics but the industry where it has also won key PGA and DGA honors. BAFTA, like those groups has a large crossover of Academy members. As much as one sixth of the entire Academy voting bloc are also members of BAFTA.
Last year’s BAFTA winners for Picture , Actor and Actress (The King’s Speech’s Colin Firth and Black Swan’s Natalie Portman) all repeated at the Oscars although oddly Social Network’s David Fincher beat hometown boy Tom Hooper in the directing contest while King’s Speech co-stars Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter took Supporting awards only to lose to The Fighter’s Christian Bale and Melissa Leo (she wasn’t even nominated for a BAFTA) at the Oscars. Two years ago Oscar fave The Hurt Locker took the BAFTA Best Picture and directing award but local favorites Firth (A Single Man) and Carey Mulligan (An Education) grabbed the lead acting awards while corresponding Oscars went to Jeff Bridges and Sandra Bullock.
So even with the Academy voter crossover the correlation isn’t perfect but it is significant, and it can change the dynamics of the race.  In 2007 after losing in previous matchups both Lead Actress Marion Cotillard (La Vie En Rose) and Supporting Actress Tilda Swinton (Michael Clayton) got their first significant wins late in the awards season game at BAFTA and rode those victories straight to upset wins at the Oscars.  And like Dujardin seems to be doing this year,  Roberto Begnini in 1998 took SAG/BAFTA victories to a somewhat surprising (at the time) Best Actor Oscar win for Life Is Beautiful. And while BAFTA is the last pre-Oscar test for his category mates Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Gary Oldman, Dujardin can lock up yet another win on February 24 at the French Cesar awards giving him a quartet of major victories (SAG, BAFTA, Cesar, Golden Globe) before walking into the Kodak on the 26th.  While Clooney seemed to be ruling the Best Actor race early on, all momentum has now shifted to Dujardin who also is winning charm points from a recent Jay Leno appearance, a hilarious Funny or Die video  and last night’s surprise dancing turn on Saturday Night Live. He’s on a roll, peaking at just the right moment and part of a movie juggernaut that appears to be coasting to Best Picture. The stars are aligned , folks.
On the other hand the Best Actress race is starting to turn into something resembling the Republican primary. It’s become a real knock down-drag out battle between BAFTA, Golden Globe and New York Film Critics winner Meryl Streep vs The Help’s  Viola Davis who beat Streep head on at the Critics Choice Movie Awards and SAG. I suppose Streep held a bit of an advantage at BAFTA since she played ‘The Iron Lady’, an iconic ,if controversial , British figure in Margaret Thatcher. But it was no slam dunk as there was some question as to how the Brit contingent would welcome this American superstar playing one of their own. It didn’t seem to hurt. In fact during a Q&A I moderated last week with Streep an audience member asked if it might be more appropiate for an English actress to have been cast as Thatcher. Streep laughed and didn’t miss a beat by replying, “We all bring something very specific (to a role). I brought a lot of New Jersey to Margaret Thatcher”.
And now both Streep and Davis head to Oscars with no clear outright momentum in their seesaw battle at  the precursor awards. Hard to say and should they split the vote, could a third contender, My Week With Marilyn’s  Michelle Williams sneak in for the upset? Stranger things have happened and I have talked to numerous voters who told me they voted for Williams. Incidentally this is only Streep’s second BAFTA win ever. Of 14 previous nominations she last won 30 years ago for The French Lieutenant’s Woman.
The BAFTA supporting winners Christopher Plummer (Beginners)  and Octavia Spencer (The Help) continue their winning ways without a stumble and these BAFTA wins pretty much guarantee they will be repeating in the same categories at the Oscars, no suspense here folks.
Among chief Best Picture rivals of The Artist , the BAFTA results were downright discouraging.  Hugo, which wasn’t even nominated for Best Film but did get 9 nods won only two for Sound and Production Design. Still that was a better showing that either Moneyball, The Descendants and Midnight In Paris which all went home empty handed. Ouch.  The Help took only Spencer’s Supporting award. This was a trouncing by The Artist of such proportions that Adapted Screenplay winner Peter Straughn (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) said upon accepting, “I’d just like to thank The Artist for not being adapted from a book”.
There is a little bit of good news on the horizon for competitors of The Artist. In the WGA awards , the last major Guild awards show of the season next Sunday, The Artist isn’t nominated due to its ineligibility since it wasn’t produced under Writers Guild auspices. But other than that  it appears the improbable contender, a French produced black and white silent film that has made less at the box office to date than all of its major competition, is looking like it just can’t lose.
Harvey Weinstein strikes again.

Meryl Streep and Christina Hendricks take the plunge as Hollywood royalty hits the Baftas red carpet

By Andrea Magrath


We're used to seeing her covered up in elegant, demure red carpet gowns. But last night, Meryl Streep gave always-provocative Christina Hendricks a run for her money as both attended the Orange British Academy Film Awards in plunging dresses by Vivienne Westwood.
Streep wore a black floor-length dress with a corset that showed off far more décolletage than we are used to seeing from The Iron Lady star. The Best Actress nominee covered her shouldered in a cropped sequinned jacket.
Mad Men star Christina was true to form in her equally plunging number, with bright red lips to match her fiery hair.

Hollywood comes to town: Christina Hendricks and Meryl Streep both took the plunge in corseted black gowns as they dazzled on the red carpet at the Orange BAFTA Awards at The Royal Opera House

The Iron Lady is a Vamp: The Iron Lady star stole the spotlight in her daring number, with showcased her figure with the look balanced out by her cropped jacket

Glamorous: Mad Men star Christina is just as famous for her provocative red carpet gowns

My Week With Marilyn star Michelle Williams surprised everybody by arriving in a bespoke cream and black dress by H&M from their Conscious collection. The Best Dressed list regular's elegant outfit was perked up by her quirky clutch bag, which was a wink to her famous character.
Tilda Swinton, also up for Best Actress for We Need To Talk About Kevin, has been favouring a more feminine style this awards season, and wore an elegant white gown.
Bridesmaids star Kristen Wiig was lovely in a white strapless gown that was gathered at the waist and simple accessories.

Elegant:  Michelle Williams, Kristen Wiig and Tilda Swinton did not disappoint in their simple gowns - but best accessory of the evening was undoubtedly Michelle's  quirky 'book' clutch bag which was a nod to Marilyn Monroe's husband Arthur Miller

All that glitters: The Help star Jessica Chastain (in Oscar de la Renta), Pan Am star Christina Ricci and Gillian Anderson ( in Sybil Connolly) wore golden floor-length gowns

Spotlight: Chastain, wearing Oscar de la Renta, was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for The Help, but lost out to co-star Octavia Spencer

Red carpet trend: Emilia Fox, in Louisa Beccaria, and Holliday Grainger also wore the glamorous colour

Gold was a popular red carpet trend, with a number of A-listers dazzling in glittering metallics and Grecian-style silhouettes.
The Help star Jessica Chastain's Oscar de la Renta gown had a plunging V-neck paired with layered necklaces, while Pan Am's Christina Ricci wore a wet look ruffled gown with a thigh-high slit.
Gillian Anderson, in a 1956 WilliamVintage haute couture gown by Sybil Conolly, wore a soft golden strapless gown with a full skirt and dripped in jewels, while Emilia Fox, in Louisa Beccaria, and Holliday Grainger also chose the colour palette.

Brights: Viola Davis and Naomie Harris stood out in bright pink and yellow frocks that showed plenty of skin

Statuesque: Penelope Cruz wore a simple strapless column dress with her hair in an elegant bun

Unique: There was a variety of styles from quirky to classic on the red carpet, (L-R) Laura Bailey, Olivia Williams and Hayley Atwell (in WilliamVintage)

Sisterhood: The Help leading ladies Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer (up for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively) and new Bond girls Naomie Harris and Bérenice Marlohe

The Help star Viola Davis stood out in a hot pink Valentino number that showed off plenty of leg.
Penelope Cruz was fuss-free in a simple red dress by Armani, and wore her hair in an Audrey Hepburn-esque bun.
Another bright red carpet surprise was Naomi Harris in her bright yellow dress which featured hints of skin with cut-out panels in the bodice, while Hayley Atwell wore an ivory and cornflower blue silk WilliamVintage A-line gown from the 1960s.

The Angelina effect: Melissa George wore a shimmering black gown by Victoria Beckham, not dissimilar to the wet look one worn by Angelina Jolie at the SAG Awards recently

Escaped from the Abbey: Elizabeth McGovern, Joanne Froggatt (in Victoria Beckham) and Jessica Brown Findlay were dark and mysterious in all-black ensembles

Keeping warm: Best Actress nominee Bérénice Bejo and Helena Bonham Carter both wore jackets over the dresses

Best dressed? Miss Piggy dazzled in Louis Vuitton as she hosted the red carpet proceedings with Dermot O'Leary and Fearne Cotton

Melissa George emulated Angelina Jolie's popular wet look style at the SAG Awards, in a long-sleeved gown by Victoria Beckham.
Both Bérénice Bejo and Helena Bonham Carter were sensible in the freezing weather, both opting to keep their jackets on while posing for photographers.
The ladies of Downton Abbey colour-coordinated in all black ensembles. Elizabeth McGovern wore a strapless number, Joanne Froggatt was sleek in a column dress by Victoria Beckham while Jessica Brown Findlay was incredibly demure in a high-neck, long-sleeved dress.

Leading Men: Brad Pitt, George Clooney and Michael Fassbender prepared to go up against each other in the Best Actor category

Bromance: George appeared to have ditched BFF Brad for Colin Firth on the red carpet

Bow tied: Cuba Gooding Jr, Tom Hiddleston, Douglas Booth and Daniel Radcliffe looked sharp in their suits, with both Tom and Cuba sticking to the velvet trend

Suave: Jon Hamm and Kenneth Branagh had temperatures rising on the red carpet

Harry Potter actress Bonnie Wright wore a blue Prada polka dot dress and was glued to fiancé Jamie Campbell Bower's side on the red carpet.
Other cute couples included Bridesmaids star Chris O'Dowd, up for the Rising Star Award, and his fiancée Dawn Porter, James Corden and fiancée Julia Carey, and Gary Oldman and wife Alexandra Edenborough.
George Clooney muscled his way in on Colin and Livia Firth's red carpet moment, and had the couple in fits of laughter in front of photographers.

Meet my wife: Colin stood back while smooth George greeted his wife Livia on the red carpet

Show me the money! Colin looked thrilled to meet Cuba Gooding Jr

The Best Actor nominee, for The Descendants, appeared to have ditched BFF Brad Pitt in favour of Colin, while Brad hung out with Moneyball co-star Jonah Hill.
Meanwhile Colin looked just as thrilled to meet Cuba Gooding Jr on the red carpet, who sauntered up to him and Livia to introduce himself.

Cute couples: Bonnie Wright and Jamie Campbell Bower, and Dawn Porter and Chris O'Dowd were joined at the hip

Leading ladies: Gary Oldman looked smitten with glamorous wife Alexandra Edenborough, while Geoffrey Arend was proud as punch next to dazzling Christina Hendricks

Love in: James Corden and fiancée Julia wearing Theysken' Theory's Marble print dress, and Tim Burton and Helena Bonham Carter held hands as they posed for pictures