BAFTAs 2024: Oppenheimer sweeps the ceremony with seven awards – including the night’s big prize
Oppenheimer is the winner of the night at this year’s BAFTAs, taking home seven awards, including the big one – best film.
Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who stars as “father of the atomic bomb” J Robert Oppenheimer, was named best actor – and thanked his “Oppen-homies” on stage – while co-star Robert Downey Jr was honoured in the supporting category.
Accepting his trophy, Murphy described his character as “colossally knotty,” and added: “We have a space to debate and interrogate and investigate that complexity and it’s a privilege to be a part of this community with you all.”
Irish actor Cillian Murphy is this year’s BAFTA best actor. Pic: Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty
For Christopher Nolan, the film’s acclaimed British director – also known for Inception, The Dark Knight, and Dunkirk – the “incredible honour” of his first ever BAFTA was a case of third time lucky.
He paid tribute to the film’s cast, led by the “peerless” Murphy, as he accepted the award.
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Downey Jr, who plays Lewis Strauss, head of the Atomic Energy Commission, set a new record for the longest gap between wins by an actor – with his latest trophy coming 31 years after his previous BAFTA for Chaplin, in 1993.
On stage, he thanked Nolan, joking: “Recently that dude suggested I attempt an understated approach as a last ditch effort to resurrect my dwindling credibility.”
It was also a successful night for Emma Stone, who was named best actress for her performance in Poor Things, and Da’Vine Joy Randolph – who took home the supporting actress trophy for her portrayal of a grieving school chef in The Holdovers.
Emma Stone stars in Poor Things. Pic: Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty
Stone’s win was one of five for Poor Things, in which she plays a woman with the mind of a child discovering life for the first time, making the film the night’s second big winner.
The American actress said she was “in awe” of all of the team behind the surreal comedy, and thanked her British dialect coach for “not laughing” when she said water in an American accent.
All four acting winners are among the favourites to take home prizes at the Oscars in March.
The show was hosted by David Tennant. Pic: Joe Maher/BAFTA/Getty
In her speech, Randolph paid tribute to her co-star and fellow nominee, Paul Giamatti, saying she “cries every time” she says his name.
“I’m proud to call you a friend and thank you for never wavering,” she said.
She also hailed her character Mary, who would “never would have got a chance to wear a beautiful gown”, before saying it was a “responsibility I don’t take lightly”.
Elsewhere, Holocaust drama The Zone Of Interest took home three awards, including best film not in the English language – and also outstanding British film, due to British involvement behind the scenes, including Jonathan Glazer directing.
Read more:
The full list of winners
Red carpet fashion – all the best looks
Prince William, president of BAFTA, and David Beckham were among the BAFTA VIPs. Pic: PA
Despite being the biggest film of 2023, and heading into the ceremony with five nominations, Barbie left the BAFTAs empty-handed.
The show was hosted by David Tennant, who kicked things off with a Zoom-style sketch about looking after Michael Sheen’s dog, Bark Ruffalo – which ended with the dog being handed to the Welsh star at the ceremony.
The ceremony also included a memorable performance from Sophie Ellis-Bextor – whose 2001 hit Murder On The Dancefloor has soared up the charts once again thanks to its inclusion in the particularly memorable final scene in viral hit film Saltburn.
Emma Stone stars in Poor Things. Pic: Kate Green/BAFTA/Getty
Samantha Morton, known for films and TV shows including Minority Report, The Whale and The Walking Dead, was named this year’s BAFTA fellowship winner, and used her speech to highlight problems in the children’s care system.
The actress and director, who grew up in foster care, said on stage: “It costs the taxpayer a huge amount of money to keep a child in care, to take care of them. And that money is wasted and spent ridiculously.
“I used to say when I was a kid of many children’s homes, I used to say, ‘It’d be great, why don’t I just go to some fancy boarding school? At least then I get an education’. But that wasn’t on the cards.”
She added: “To those kids in care, don’t allow the system to drag you down because it can and it will.”
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A woman who saw a man falling from an upper tier at Wembley Stadium says a similar incident at an Oasis concert over the weekend in which a fan died makes her wonder whether lessons have been learned.
Stephanie Good, 39, said a man fell during a Euro 2020 match between England and Croatia at Wembley in June 2021.
He landed “right next to where we were” on the “stairwell between rows of seats”, she said.
Named as Jon, he reportedly survived but suffered two broken ankles, a fractured femur and fractured pelvis just before kick-off.
Ms Good said she tried to give feedback but was unable to and felt the “emergency response was really lacking”.
Oasis, meanwhile, said they were “shocked and saddened to hear of the tragic death of a fan” at their Wembley concert on Saturday.
The man reportedly fell from the stadium’s upper tier.
In his 40s, he was found with “injuries consistent with a fall” and pronounced dead at the scene, the Met Police said.
Ms Good, an NHS manager from east London, said what happened at the Oasis gig was “so similar” to what she witnessed that it made her wonder “were lessons learned”?
Liam and Noel Gallagher on stage for the first Wembley night of the Oasis reunion tour. Pic: Lewis Evans
During that incident, among stadium staff “nobody seemed to know what to do”, she told the Press Association.
She thinks the man may have been trying to attach a flag to the front of a stand and “somehow managed to fall straight over”.
She said: “They (staff) didn’t seem well-trained in terms of how to respond to a really big emergency.
“Their stewards were kind of paralysed a little bit by fear, or they just weren’t well trained and didn’t know how to call for paramedics.
“It was us who were sort of shouting at them that they needed to get some paramedics.
“The first person on the scene wasn’t a stadium paramedic or St John Ambulance. It was an off-duty firefighter who had seen the guy fall and ran down to just try and offer some help.”
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Regarding the follow-up, Ms Good said staff moved spectators to other seats but did not ask for witness statements.
She added: “They didn’t seek any input from people who’d seen the incident or the aftermath of it. They didn’t seem interested in speaking to anybody about it.
“I was a bit concerned, because I felt that the emergency response was really lacking.”
She then tried to get in touch to give feedback, but was unable to do so and did not receive a response to a message on social media, she said.
A Wembley spokesperson said: “Wembley Stadium operates to a very high health and safety standard, fully meeting legal requirements for the safety of spectators and staff, and is certified to and compliant with the ISO 45001 standard.
“We work very closely and collaboratively with all relevant event delivery stakeholders – including event owners, local authorities, the Sports Grounds Safety Authority and the police – to deliver events to high standards of safety, security and service for everyone attending or working in the venue.”
Sean “Diddy” Combs has been denied bail ahead of his sentencing on prostitution-related charges.
Judge Arun Subramanian said the hip-hop mogul had failed to show sufficient evidence he is not a flight risk and also cited admissions of previous violence made during his trial.
Combs, 55, has been in prison since his arrest in September last year.
During a two-month trial, jurors heard allegations that he had coerced former girlfriends, including singer and model Cassie Ventura, into having drug-fuelled sex marathons with male sex workers, while he watched and filmed them.
Diddy fell to his knees after the verdict was delivered last month. Pic: Reuters/ Jane Rosenberg
In July, he was found guilty of two counts of transportation for prostitution – but cleared of more serious charges of racketeering conspiracy and sex-trafficking, which carried potential life sentences.
The rapper’s legal team hailed this a “victory” and immediately applied for bail ahead of sentencing, citing his acquittal on the top charges.
After this was denied, they submitted another application last week. Judge Subramanian has now rejected the request again.
In denying the motion for bail, the judge found Combs had failed to show sufficient evidence to counter arguments he is a flight risk, writing in a court filing: “Increasing the amount of the bond or devising additional conditions doesn’t change the calculus given the circumstances and heavy burden of proof that Combs bears.”
Read more:
How the trial unfolded
The rise and fall of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs
Judge Arun Subramanian heard Diddy’s trial and will also sentence the rapper
He also found that an argument by the music star’s legal team that the squalor and danger of the Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC), where he is being held, did not warrant release.
“The public outcry concerning these conditions has come from all corners,” the judge wrote. “But as Combs acknowledges, MDC staff has been able to keep him safe and attend to his needs, even during an incident of threatened violence from an inmate.”
As well as Combs’s bail application, his legal team has also filed a motion calling for him to be acquitted or given a new trial on the prostitution-related charges only.
The judge has not yet responded to this application.
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How the Diddy trial unfolded
How long could Diddy be jailed for?
Combs is due to be sentenced on 3 October and could be sentenced to up to 20 years in prison.
Discussions on sentencing guidelines which followed the jury’s verdict suggest it is unlikely he will be jailed for this long, with an estimate of around two to five years, taking into account time already served.
However, it is ultimately up to Judge Arun Subramanian to decide the rapper’s punishment.
On Friday, Donald Trump was asked during an interview about a potential pardon for Combs following speculation about the issue.
The president said it was unlikely, adding that the rapper was “very hostile” during his presidential campaign.
Combs, who co-founded Bad Boy Records and launched the career of the late Notorious BIG, was for decades a huge figure in pop culture – a Grammy-winning hip-hop artist and business entrepreneur, who presided over an empire ranging from fashion to reality TV.
As well as the criminal conviction, he is also facing several civil lawsuits.
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