BAFTAs 2023: All Quiet On The Western Front leads the nominations – as Irish talent also shines
German-language war epic All Quiet On The Western Front leads this year’s BAFTA race – while Irish talent also shines in the acting categories.
An adaptation of the 1929 novel about the First World War, All Quiet On The Western Front is up for 14 awards including best director, supporting actor, adapted screenplay, best film not in the English language, and the big one – best film. It joins Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon as the joint most nominated foreign film in the history of the awards.
Dark comedy The Banshees of Inisherin and sci-fi comedy Everything Everywhere All At Once follow in the BAFTAs race with 10 nods each, while Elvis Presley biopic Elvis has nine, and Tar, starring Cate Blanchett as composer-conductor Lydia Tar, has five. The five most nominated also make up the full nominations list for best film.
Read more: The full list of stars and films up for BAFTA awards
Austin Butler as Elvis Presley in Elvis. Pic: Warner Bros
In the acting categories, six Irish stars are up for awards: Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson, Barry Keoghan and Kerry Condon, for The Banshees Of Inisherin; Paul Mescal, for Aftersun; and Daryl McCormack – who is also nominated for the previously announced rising star prize – for Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.
Emma Thompson (Good Luck To You, Leo Grande), Bill Nighy (Living), Carey Mulligan (She Said), Eddie Redmayne (The Good Nurse) and Micheal Ward (Empire Of Light) make up the British stars in the running in the acting categories, while other stars to receive nods include Viola Davis (The Woman King), Danielle Deadwyler (Till), and Michelle Yeoh (Everything Everywhere All At Once).
BAFTA debuts and one all-female shortlist
First time nominees feature heavily this year, with 14 of the 24 nominees in the performance categories making their BAFTA debut – including Ana De Armas (Blonde), Angela Bassett (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever), Austin Butler (Elvis), Brendan Fraser (The Whale), and Ke Huy Quan (Everything Everywhere All At Once), as well as Farrell and Mescal.
Elsewhere, blockbuster releases such as The Batman, Top Gun: Maverick and Avatar: The Way Of Water also received a number of nominations in the technical categories, and nominees for outstanding British film include Empire Of Light, The Swimmers and See How They Run, alongside Aftersun, The Banshees Of Inisherin, Living and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande.
Emma Thompson and Daryl McCormack in Good Luck To You, Leo Grande. Pic: Lionsgate/ Nick Wall
In the best director category, four of the six nominees – Gina Prince-Bythewood (The Woman King), Todd Field (Tar), Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert (Everything Everywhere All At Once), and Edward Berger (All Quiet On The Western Front) – are shortlisted for the first time. They are up against Martin McDonagh (The Banshees Of Inisherin) and Park Chan-wook (Decision To Leave).
While only one female director is nominated, the outstanding debut category – recognising writing, directing or producing – is made up entirely of female nominees, including Aftersun writer and director Charlotte Wells, and Good Luck To You, Leo Grande writer Katy Brand.
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The nominees for the rising star award, the only award voted for by the public, have already been revealed as Aimee Lou Wood, Emma Mackey, Naomi Ackie, Sheila Atim and McCormack.
In total, some 215 nominees represent 45 films, from independent debuts to blockbusters, voted for by BAFTA’s 7,500 voters.
‘A uniquely British perspective’
(L to R) Sophie Kauer as Olga Metkina and Cate Blanchett as Lydia Tar in Tar. Pic: Florian Hoffmeister/Focus Features
BAFTA chair Krishnendu Majumdar said the range of films nominated offers a “uniquely British perspective on this year’s best films from around the world”.
Following controversy over a lack of diversity in previous years, Anna Higgs, chair of the organisation’s film committee, said the 2023 nominations show that BAFTA’s “ongoing work to level the playing field continues to have a positive impact”.
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She continued: “I’m delighted to see an all-women list in our outstanding debut category, as well as so many first-time nominees across the board.”
The BAFTA film awards will take place on Sunday 19 February at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall, with actor Richard E Grant hosting the ceremony and presenter Alison Hammond hosting a new access-all-areas segment.
BAFTA initially said All Quiet On The Western Front had become the most nominated foreign language film ever, but later corrected this as 2000’s Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon also received 14 nominations.
Russell Brand has been charged with rape and two counts of sexual assault between 1999 and 2005.
The Metropolitan Police say the 50-year-old comedian, actor and author has also been charged with one count of oral rape and one count of indecent assault.
The charges relate to four women.
He is due to appear at Westminster Magistrates’ Court on Friday 2 May.
Police have said Brand is accused of raping a woman in the Bournemouth area in 1999 and indecently assaulting a woman in the Westminster area of London in 2001.
He is also accused of orally raping and sexually assaulting a woman in Westminster in 2004.
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Ashna Hurynag discusses Russell Brand’s charges
The fourth charge alleges that a woman was sexually assaulted in Westminster between 2004 and 2005.
Police began investigating Brand, from Oxfordshire, in September 2023 after receiving a number of allegations.
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The comedian has denied the accusations and said he has “never engaged in non-consensual activity”.
He added in a video on X: “Of course, I am now going to have the opportunity to defend these charges in court, and I’m incredibly grateful for that.”
Metropolitan Police Detective Superintendent Andy Furphy, who is leading the investigation, said: “The women who have made reports continue to receive support from specially trained officers.
“The Met’s investigation remains open and detectives ask anyone who has been affected by this case, or anyone who has any information, to come forward and speak with police.”
Tom Cruise has paid tribute to Val Kilmer, wishing his Top Gun co-star “well on the next journey”.
Cruise, speaking at the CinemaCon film event in Las Vegas on Thursday, asked for a moment’s silence to reflect on the “wonderful” times shared with the star, whom he called a “dear friend”.
Kilmer, who died of pneumonia on Tuesday aged 65, rocketed to fame starring alongside Cruise in the 1986 blockbuster Top Gun, playing Tom ‘Iceman’ Kazansky, a rival fighter pilot to Cruise’s character Maverick.
Tom Cruise said ‘I wish you well on the next journey’. Pic: AP
Val Kilmer in 2017. Pic: AP
His last part was a cameo role in the 2022 blockbuster sequel Top Gun: Maverick.
Cruise, on stage at Caesars Palace on Thursday, said: “I’d like to honour a dear friend of mine, Val Kilmer. I can’t tell you how much I admire his work, how grateful and honoured I was when he joined Top Gun and came back later for Top Gun: Maverick.
“I think it would be really nice if we could have a moment together because he loved movies and he gave a lot to all of us. Just kind of think about all the wonderful times that we had with him.
“I wish you well on the next journey.”
The moment of silence followed a string of tributes from Hollywood figures including Cher, Francis Ford Coppola, Antonio Banderas and Michelle Monaghan.
Kilmer’s daughter Mercedes told the New York Times on Wednesday that the actor had died from pneumonia.
Tom Cruise at Caesars Palace on Thursday. Pic: AP
Diagnosed with throat cancer in 2014, Kilmer discussed his illness and recovery in his 2020 memoir Your Huckleberry and Amazon Prime documentary Val.
He underwent radiation and chemotherapy treatments for the disease and also had a tracheostomy which damaged his vocal cords and permanently gave him a raspy speaking voice.
Kilmer played Batman in the 1995 film Batman Forever and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of rock singer Jim Morrison in the 1991 movie The Doors.
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He also starred in True Romance and Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, as well as playing criminal Chris Shiherlis in Michael Mann’s 1995 movie Heat and Doc Holliday in the 1993 film Tombstone.
In 1988 he married British actress Joanne Whalley, whom he met while working on fantasy adventure Willow.
The couple had two children before divorcing in 1996.
Bruce Springsteen is to release seven albums of mostly unheard material this summer.
The US singer said the songs, written and re-recorded between 1983 and 2018, were being made public after he began completing “everything I had in my vault” during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In a short video posted on Instagram, Springsteen said the albums were “records that were full records, some of them even to the point of being mixed and not released”.
The 83-song collection is being released in a box set called Tracks II: The Lost Albums and goes on sale on 27 June.
Some 74 of the tracks have never been heard before.
Springsteen first teased the release on Wednesday morning with a short social media video accompanied by text which said: “What was lost has been found”.
Tracks II is the follow-up to the star’s first Tracks volume, a four-CD collection of 66 unreleased songs, released in 1998.
Bruce Springsteen at New York’s Carnegie Hall at a tribute to Patti Smith last month. Pic: PA
The New Jersey-born rocker, nicknamed The Boss, last released a studio album in 2022.
Only the Strong Survive was a collection of covers, including songs by Motown and soul artists, such as the Four Tops, The Temptations, The Supremes, Frankie Wilson and Jimmy Ruffin.
The late soul legend Sam Moore, who died in January and was a frequent Springsteen collaborator, sang on two of the tracks.
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Springsteen is coming to the UK in May to launch a two-month tour of Europe with his E Street Band.
The shows will include performances at the Co-op Live in Manchester and Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
The singer-songwriter has sold more than 140 million records since his debut on the music scene in 1973, according to his website.
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