'Aviator' soars to top of BAFTA nominations list

Martin Scorsese's much-acclaimed Howard Hughes biopic, 'The Aviator' is the front runner in this year's nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards (BAFTAs).

Scorsese's latest film, which stars Leonardo Di Caprio as Hughes, is nominated for 14 awards, including Best Film and Best Director. The film collected three awards at last night's Golden Globes ceremony, including Best Actor in a Drama (for Leonardo Di Caprio) Best Film and Best Original Score, but Scorsese was snubbed for the Best Director award, which instead went to Clint Eastwood for the boxing drama, 'Million Dollar Baby'.

'The Aviator's' main competition at the BAFTAs will come from Mike Leigh's back-street abortion drama, 'Vera Drake', which has 11 nominations, including nods for Best Film and Most Outstanding British Film, although it was ignored at last night's Golden Globes.

Two foreign films, 'The Motorcycle Diaries' and 'House of Flying Daggers, have also achieved several nominations (seven and eight, respectively).

'The Aviator' and 'Vera Drake' will face tough competition in the 'Best Film' category, as 'The Motorcycle Diairies', 'Finding Neverland' and 'Eternal Sunshine of The Spotless Mind' have all been nominated. Both 'Eternal Sunshine…' director, Michael Gondry and Marc Foster, who helmed 'Finding Neverland' are also nominated for 'Best Director', alongside Martin Scorsese, Mike Leigh, and Michael Mann, who collected a nomination for the thriller, 'Collateral', which starred Tom Cruise as a hitman.

Kate Winslet leads the way in the Best Actress category, with two nominations for her roles in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' and 'Finding Neverland'. She will compete against 'Vera Drake' star, Imelda Staunton, Charlize Theron in 'Monster' (for which she won the Oscar last year) and Chinese star, Ziyi Zhang, in 'House of Flying Daggers'.

Leonardo Di Caprio will be the firm favourite in the 'Best Actor' category, after collecting a Golden Globe, last night, but he faces stiff competition from Jamie Foxx, who played Ray Charles in 'Ray' (Foxx is also nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role in 'Collateral'), Johnny Depp ('Finding Neverland), Jim Carrey ('Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind') and Gael Garcia Bernal ('The Motorcycle Diaries'.

British actor, Clive Owen, will be the favourite in the Best Supporting Actor category, having already picked up a Golden Globe award for 'Closer', although his co-star Natalie Portman (who also won a Golden Globe), will have to compete against Cate Blanchett ('The Aviator') and BAFTA favourite Meryl Streep ('The Manchurian Candidate') in the 'Best Supporting Actress' category.

Two highly acclaimed British films have also received well-deserved nods at this year's event, with Shane Meadows dark drama, 'Dead Man's Shoes' and the zombie comedy, 'Shaun of the Dead', from the creators of the cult sitcom 'Spaced', garnering nominations for the Alexander Korda award for 'Most Oustanding British Film of the Year'.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards will be held on February 12, 2005.

(KMcA/SP)