And the Winner Is... London Rolls Out Red Carpet for BAFTA Film Awards

Paul Giamatti poses as he arrives at the Nominees Party for 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, supported by Bulgari, at the National Gallery in London, Britain, February 17, 2024. (Reuters)

09:54-18 February 2024 AD ـ 09 Sha’ban 1445 AH

And the Winner Is... London Rolls Out Red Carpet for BAFTA Film Awards

Paul Giamatti poses as he arrives at the Nominees Party for 2024 BAFTA Film Awards, supported by Bulgari, at the National Gallery in London, Britain, February 17, 2024. (Reuters)

Hollywood stars descend on London on Sunday for the annual BAFTA Film Awards, where US historical drama "Oppenheimer", one of the highest-grossing films of 2023, leads nominations for Britain's top movie honors.

The three-hour epic about the making of the atomic bomb during World War Two has 13 nods, including for the night's top prize - best film - which it is the current favourite to win.

Also leading betting odds are the film's Irish star Cillian Murphy, who plays the American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, to win the leading actor prize and Briton Christopher Nolan for best director.

Digital Spy movies editor Ian Sandwell said the local talent in "Oppenheimer" could help its BAFTA chances.

"It's got Christopher Nolan, it's got Cillian Murphy in the lead. I think it would be a massive surprise if that film does miss out," Sandwell told Reuters.

Last year, a German remake of "All Quiet on the Western Front" was the big winner at the BAFTAs, including, in a surprise for many, for best film, beating the 2023 awards season favorite "Everything Everywhere All at Once".

"If there's anything that's going to do that this year it will be 'The Zone of Interest' because it's got a British director, even though it's foreign language, it's a British co-production so it's a local film," Sandwell said.

Jonathan Glazer's chilling movie "The Zone of Interest" - about the commandant of Auschwitz and his family living next to the death camp - has nine nominations.

The other contenders for best film include Emma Stone's gothic comedy "Poor Things", Martin Scorsese's "Killers of the Flower Moon", about the murders of members of the Osage Nation in the 1920s, courtroom drama "Anatomy of a Fall" and "The Holdovers", a comedy set in a boys' boarding school.

Previous BAFTA and Oscar winner Stone is the favorite to win the leading actress category.

"(It) was an absolutely extraordinary performance for any actress to do," Tim Richards, founder and CEO of cinema operator Vue International, told Reuters.

None of the best director contenders has previously won the award, and four out of the six are first-time director nominees, including Glazer and Justine Triet for "Anatomy of a Fall".

Triet is the only woman on the list, with the omission of "Barbie" director Greta Gerwig raising some eyebrows.

"Barbie", the highest grossing film of 2023, has five nominations overall. Known as the BAFTAs (British Academy of Film and Television Arts), the awards ceremony will take place at the Royal Festival Hall on the banks of the River Thames and will be hosted by actor David Tennant.

‘Comeback’ Queen Demi Moore ‘Has Always Been Here,’ Says Director

US actress Demi Moore poses with the Best Performance by a Female Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy award for "The Substance" in the press room during the 82nd annual Golden Globe Awards at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, on January 5, 2025. (AFP)

11:37-7 January 2025 AD ـ 08 Rajab 1446 AH

‘Comeback’ Queen Demi Moore ‘Has Always Been Here,’ Says Director

Demi Moore's Golden Globe best actress win for "The Substance" has, almost overnight, transformed the 1990s megastar into a seemingly unlikely favorite for the Oscars.

In her acceptance speech Sunday, the 62-year-old -- who once generated headlines as much for her love life as for her hit films -- said she had long been dismissed as a "popcorn actress," and had never "won anything as an actor."

But for Coralie Fargeat, the French director who also wrote Moore's new, blood-drenched body horror film, there is nothing surprising about the late-career reappraisal her leading lady is now enjoying.

"It was so moving to see Demi on that stage," Fargeat told AFP, the morning after Moore's big win.

The movie allowed audiences "to see who she is as an actress, and not project any more the stereotype that if you're beautiful, you can't be a good actress."

"It is being called a comeback. But she has always been here," Fargeat added.

Society's obsession with pigeonholing and pinning expiration dates on women is the core premise of "The Substance."

In the film, globally distributed by MUBI, Moore's character Elisabeth is a fading movie star, who is abruptly fired from her hit TV fitness show as she turns 50.

Out of desperation, she injects herself with a mysterious serum which allows her to live in a younger version of her body -- as long as she returns to her older form every week.

Inevitably, the allure of remaining young proves too strong, especially after Elisabeth's stunningly youthful alter ego is catapulted to fame by creepy male executives.

- 'Dream' -

Fargeat had long been a fan of Moore's acting work, which included hits like "Indecent Proposal" and "Ghost," as well as more divisive fare like "G.I. Jane."

"I could like or not like the movies, but I think she always delivered pretty great performances," said the director.

But Moore's real-life career also incarnated "this iconic star" represented by her character in "The Substance."

"Someone who has been totally valued for this dream, this fake promise that if you're young, beautiful, you're going to be happy and successful," said Fargeat.

"And when this goes away, it's like all your life is going away."

Even so, Moore's pitch-perfect casting as Elisabeth nearly did not happen.

Fargeat at first assumed Moore would not be interested in a role requiring countless, grotesque scenes of gore and decay.

But the director picked up a copy of Moore's 2019 memoir "Inside Out," which laid bare the actor's battles with ageism and misogyny, as well as addiction, abuse and very public divorces.

"When I read her book, I really saw that she was ready to take the level of risk that the movie requested," said Fargeat.

"The film is really about women's bodies. I wanted to tell my stories [in] the flesh," recalled Fargeat.

Fargeat also admits she was a demanding and meticulous director on set, requiring "a lot of takes."

Moore has spoken about losing 20 pounds (nine kilos) and contracting shingles due to the intense strain of filming, while co-star Margaret Qualley described being in the movie's prosthetic suits as "torture" that triggered panic attacks.

"If the lead performance isn't ready to go that far, the whole movie falls apart," said Fargeat.

Moore "took the risk to follow the vision of the movie... that's very, very brave and courageous," she said.

- Oscars race -

With the Globes win, more attention will come to "The Substance" -- both from wider audiences, and Oscars voters, who are picking their final nominees on ballots due this week.

Fargeat herself could earn nods for best director and best original screenplay, and "The Substance" is tipped by many pundits to make the best picture list.

But few would now bet against Moore for best actress.

"From the beginning, I believed that this can happen," said Fargeat. "That's what cinema is about -- creating things that people are not expecting."

"I'm just immensely proud to have created this part."

And the Winner Is... London Rolls Out Red Carpet for BAFTA Film Awards

And the Winner Is... London Rolls Out Red Carpet for BAFTA Film Awards

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‘Comeback’ Queen Demi Moore ‘Has Always Been Here,’ Says Director

‘Comeback’ Queen Demi Moore ‘Has Always Been Here,’ Says Director

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