OSCAR WATCH - BAFTA WINS

Once again, the black and white silent film THE ARTIST has proven that it is the frontrunner of this year's awards season that will climax with the Oscars on the morning of Feb 27. Not only did the movie win Best Picture at the British Academy Film Awards, it also snagged wins for a Best Actor award for Jean Dujardin and a Best Director award for Michel Hazanavicius.

Even more surprising was the fact that the movie took home the Best Original Screenplay prize, and its unexpected win was acknowledged in Hazanavicius' thank-you speech when he said, "I’m very surprised because so many people thought there was no script because there was no dialogue. So, British people are very smart. Congratulations to you." 

What does this mean just two weeks before the all-important ceremony at the Kodak Theatre?

Well, if you're hedging bets with your friends, it seems like the safest one for Best Picture lies with the French darling. Its momentum has been building and building all this time, and short of a stunner, there seems to be no stopping this juggernaut. The same goes for the Best Actor award, which was thought to belong to George Clooney for his heartbreaking performance in THE DESCENDANTS, until Dujardin came along. Best Director seems likely to go down to Hazanavicius as well, with THE DESCENDANTS showing little of the momentum it was thought to have going into the Oscar race. 

As for the other categories, Meryl Streep won for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher at the BAFTA- but whether she can repeat that win at the Oscars remains to be seen. Viola Davis remains a strong contender in this category, especially among the largely American voters of the Academy. Supporting wins went to Christopher Plummer from BEGINNERS and Octavia Spencer from THE HELP, and given their Golden Globe wins, it's likely that they will be repeating their wins at the Oscars. 

Here's a full list of who won what at last night's BAFTAs, a night where John Hurt (who appears in TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY) was also honoured with the Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award:

BEST FILM
THE ARTIST – Thomas Langmann

LEADING ACTOR
JEAN DUJARDIN – The Artist

LEADING ACTRESS
MERYL STREEP – The Iron Lady

DIRECTOR
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius

ANIMATED FILM
RANGO – Gore Verbinski

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

DOCUMENTARY
SENNA – Asif Kapadia

ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
THE ARTIST – Michel Hazanavicius

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
OCTAVIA SPENCER – The Help

OUTSTANDING BRITISH FILM
TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY – Tomas Alfredson, Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Robyn Slovo, Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughan

SUPPORTING ACTOR
CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER – Beginners

PRODUCTION DESIGN
HUGO – Dante Ferretti, Francesca Lo Schiavo

OUTSTANDING DEBUT BY A BRITISH WRITER, DIRECTOR OR PRODUCER
TYRANNOSAUR – Paddy Considine (Director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (Producer)

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE
THE SKIN I LIVE IN – Pedro Almodóvar, Agustin Almodóvar

MAKE UP & HAIR
THE IRON LADY – Marese Langan

COSTUME DESIGN
THE ARTIST – Mark Bridges

CINEMATOGRAPHY
THE ARTIST – Guillaume Schiffman

EDITING
SENNA – Gregers Sall, Chris King

SOUND
HUGO – Philip Stockton, Eugene Gearty, Tom Fleischman, John Midgley

ORIGINAL MUSIC
THE ARTIST – Ludovic Bource

SHORT FILM ANIMATION
A MORNING STROLL – Grant Orchard, Sue Goffe

SHORT FILM
PITCH BLACK HEIST – John Maclean, Gerardine O’Flynn

SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS – PART 2 – Tim Burke, John Richardson, Greg Butler, David Vickery