LONDON (AP) 鈥� Papal thriller 鈥� ,鈥� which stars Ralph Fiennes as a cardinal overseeing the election of a new pope, leads the race 鈥� just 鈥� for the British Academy Film Awards, with nominations in 12 categories, one more than the genre-busting trans musical " ."
But with the over the past week fresh in the minds of everyone in the movie industry, Wednesday's announcement of the latest BAFTA nominations was understandably subdued.
"We are very much thinking of our colleagues, friends, community over there," BAFTA chair Sara Putt told The Associated Press. 鈥淚t鈥檚 devastating what鈥檚 going on.鈥�
She wouldn't be drawn on whether the fires may impact the BAFTA ceremony, which is due to take place on Feb. 16.
鈥淭he ceremony is a month away, it would be inappropriate and far too early to say anything about that,鈥� Putt said.
The five films nominated for the prestigious best film award were 鈥淐onclave,鈥� 鈥淓milia Perez,鈥� the 215-minute postwar epic 鈥� ,鈥� the Palme d鈥橭r-winning comedy/drama 鈥� 鈥� and the Bob Dylan biopic 鈥� .鈥�
鈥淭he Brutalist鈥� ended up with nine nominations, including leading actor for Adrien Brody, who faces stiff competition from Fiennes and Timothee Chalamet, who plays the young Dylan in 鈥淎 Complete Unknown.鈥�
The other actors nominated are Hugh Grant for his creepy role in the horror film 鈥� ,鈥� Colman Domingo in real-life prison drama 鈥� 鈥� and Sebastian Stan for his portrayal of a real estate mogul 鈥� a certain Donald Trump 鈥� in 鈥� .鈥�
鈥淎nora,鈥� the sci-fi epic and each received seven nominations. 鈥淎 Complete Unknown鈥� received six nominations, as did 鈥淜neecap,鈥� the Irish-language hip-hop drama.
The prizes 鈥� officially called the EE BAFTA Film Awards 鈥� are Britain鈥檚 equivalent of Hollywood鈥檚 and will be watched closely for hints of who may win at the Oscars on March 3.
Putt lauded the variety in the list of nominations, noting that six different genres were represented on the best film list.
鈥淭here鈥檚 some really exciting stories in there and just a real glorious range of film-making this year,鈥� she said.
She also highlighted that 14 of the 24 nominations in the acting categories were first-timers, and that whoever wins the best actress award will be a first-time BAFTA winner.
Demi Moore is in with a chance for that, having been nominated for lead actress for her role in the body horror film 鈥� .鈥�
Other notable female nominations for best supporting actress were Selena Gomez and Ariana Grande for their roles in 鈥淓milia Perez鈥� and the musical 鈥淲icked.鈥�
Like other major movie awards, Britain's film academy has introduced changes in recent years to increase diversity. In 2020, no women were nominated as best director for the seventh year running and all 20 nominees in the lead and supporting performer categories were white.
The voting process was rejigged to add a longlist round in the selection before the final nominees are voted on by the academy鈥檚 8,000-strong membership of industry professionals.
Hilary Fox And Pan Pylas, The Associated Press
