Celebrity News – Orange British Academy Film Awards 2010 – Defiantly British

But between the weather and the winners, this year’s BAFTAs were no desperate attempt at replicating Hollywood glamour, but instead were particularly and charmingly British. Indeed Armando Ianucci reflected British Academy feeling when describing the awards as recognising local talent. "I think they should feel different - and British - and celebrate our own films” said the director of the caustically witty political satire In The Loop.

Two of the major awards of the evening – Lead Actor and Lead Actress - were picked up by British favourites Colin Firth and Carey Mulligan. The gamine Mulligan, dressed in elegant monochrome, was clearly overwhelmed by the win, describing it as “being punched—nicely”.

Firth accepted his award with characteristic grace and humour saying: "an encounter with Tom Ford is to come away feeling resuscitated, a little more worldly, better groomed, more fragrant and more nominated than one has ever been before”. Ford of course strode the red carpet immaculately turned out: “I only wear me”.

The ceremony was presided over by Prince William whose resounding red carpet cheers were second only to vampire lover Robert Pattinson. HRH takes over from Lord Attenborough as new President of the Academy, and presented the Academy Fellowship to famously Republican Vanessa Redgrave, who curtsied graciously in acceptance.

Yet the biggest winner of the evening with six masks was the US war drama The Hurt Locker, whose director Kathryn Bigelow finally became first woman in BAFTA history to take the prize for Best Director.

The Hurt Locker’s comprehensive win could be seen as an industry snub to Avatar which took home only two of its eight nominations. With its game-changing visual and technical innovations, Cameron’s record-busting blockbuster has been making cynics of critics who despair that it will clean up at the Oscars despite its dialogue and characters being deader in the water than Jaws. I suspect the triumph of quality over box-office quantity, and Bigelow over ex-husband Cameron, gave a shiver of schadenfreude to arm-chair critics everywhere.

By: Kate Tyler

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