**Sunday February 13
**Keep your eyes peeled here from 4.45pm as we live-blog the British Academy Film Awards red carpet and ceremony. We'll be bringing you the winners, as much of the speeches as we can possibly transcribe without our fingers falling off and Empire's view on the whole event, from fashion forays to quips from presenter Jonathan Ross. It's the biggest night on the Awards calendar in this country, everyone, so get ready! Oh, and 'ware spoilers for the TV broadcast, as we will be publishing the winners as we hear them without a time lag.
16.46
According to the timetable, red carpet arrivals began one minute ago. In practice, the red carpet is still mostly full of security guards in day-glo yellow carrying large umbrellas. The scene is, frankly, pretty miserable - but it's still better than a few years back when the recently-cleaned carpet foamed up in the rain and the entire scene began to resemble a dodgy 1990s club night in Ibiza. Promisingly, there's a large number of luxury cars lined up by the carpet, so we might get some actual famous people soon.
**16.57
*I think we have our first honest-to-blog celebrity on the carpet, and it's Rupert Grint! We can tell cause his hair blends in with the corporate logo as he runs around signing autographs. But we keep getting distracted by Steve Jones and Kimberley-from-Girls-Aloud trying to talk us through what's happening on the carpet. Apparently the atmosphere is "electric", which is downright dangerous given the damp conditions.
*Such a current gag!
17.05
It was Rupert Grint; we weren't just being ginger-ist! He's here to pick up the Michael Balcon award for British Contribution to Cinema (check our Harry Potter producer David Heyman on that subject here). Apparently Grint is planning to shave off his hair, which will be a bit of a culture shock for Potter fans.
17.14
Jesse Eisenberg looks incredibly awkward and uncomfortable, but was accused of being cool by Steve Jones. "Oh, thank you, that's very kind. I'm not sure what you mean there or how I'm supposed to act but that's nice." In fairness, we think that makes Jones right: Eisenberg really is kinda cool, in an incredibly awkward and uncomfortable way. "Colin Firth is incredible; I'm not going to beat him, it's his home turf". Jones then asks whether he's more comfortable with a woman or a keyboard (confusing him with his character, apparently): Eisenberg is clearly baffled by the question, and rightly so.
17.23
Sam Claflin is on the carpet, talking about Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides and falling in love with a mermaid. He's swiftly followed by Neve Campbell, wearing a dried-blood-red dress (a Scream 4 themed outfit, we like to think) with a plunging neckline and quite a lot of bronzer. That aside, she looks great and, in the Hollywood tradition, doesn't appear to have aged since she first hit the big time with the initial Scream.
17.34
Tallulah Riley has unfortunately tall hair and an enormous white bow attacking her shoulder. She's presenting the Best Costume award apparently, which may explain the fabric assault. Nicholas Hoult is going to be presenting Best Animated Feature, and sadly hasn't worn blue fur a la X-Men: First Class and his role as Beast. Barbara Hershey's in black, and looks like Ellen Page about 10 years from now. Danny Boyle's also arrived, to a raptuous reception. Helena Bonham-Carter's looking great, but we've only seen her from the waist up so far, so there's still the chance that she's wearing INSANE shoes again.
17.42
True Grit's Hailee Steinfeld has continued her run of red-carpet fashion triumphs with a rather yummy black dress with a jewelled top half; Danny Boyle's still adorably self-deprecating and charming, yet cackling evily at the thought of what he put James Franco through.
**17.50
**Bonnie Wright, of Harry Potter fame, is wearing a lot of blusher, blue eye shadow and a print dress, giving her a slight 1980s vibe. She's on the Colin Firth train for Best Actor, which puts her in perhaps the single biggest political group on Earth right now. Mark Ruffalo is walking the carpet; Helena Bonham Carter is wearing all-black under that slightly polka-dotted jacket, but apparently not feeling well enough to stomach interviews - a position with which we have some sympathy, frankly.
17.55
Ah, HBC has steeled herself and is undergoing the interview ordeal. She's even wearing matching shoes (her clashing Golden Globe clogs were apparently the result of being a "Gemini, so I'm indecisive" and wanting to have fun), which is faintly disappointing, but she's still being funny and charming and generally awesome so we can forgive her. Also, it transpires that despite playing opposite Brad Pitt and Johnny Depp, she never got to kiss either of them, poor love. Andrew Garfield is signing autographs further down, Dominic Cooper's arrived, and Tim Burton is his mumblingly lovely self.
18.01
James McAvoy is rocking the black-shirt-black-tie look, because he's gangster. Andrew Garfield's hair is reaching Kid & Play heights these days, and he seems to be picking up Steve Jones' Welsh accent by osmosis. "I don't know what I'm doing" he claims. We're not convinced. "Today I have still not been fired from Spider-Man", so that's good news.
**18.39
**Due to a technical problem, we appear to have lost half an hour’s worth of live-blogging. In summary: Jessica Alba’s in blue, Amy Adams is in coral, Darren Aronofsky likes to heckle, Mark Ruffalo and his wife are the cutest, Emma Stone is very cool and looks good in orange, and from now on we back up everything we write. Also, dinner in the press room this year is chilli con carne or a lentil-and-aubergine curry, so that’s the most important thing. The celebrities are all heading inside now, so we’ll pick up the thread when the ceremony starts in a few minutes...
**18.52
**The curtain has gone up inside the Royal Opera House, and the Chairman of BAFTA is giving his annual public safety announcement. So far he’s quoted Shakespeare, Sir Tom Stoppard and, er, Prince William. Let’s play spot the odd one out! There follows several minutes worth of backslapping, which we’ll spare you, and instructions for winners, nominees and attendees
**19.00 The Ceremony Begins!
**Oh god save us, the awards show is starting with a display of breakdancing to the tune of the Sugarplum Fairy. Er, what? Did Step Up 3D get nominated when we weren’t looking? Wait, now there are ballerinas in the mix, so perhaps it’s a tribute to Black Swan...somehow. We have a sinking suspicion that someone is trying to make the awards hip and edgy. Ah yes, that was the cast of Streetdance, sure enough. “They were giving us a sneak preview there of King’s Speech 2: Bertie’s Comin’ Atcha” claims host Jonathan Ross. “For our American friends, the opulence of the Royal Opera House is pretty much what all of Britain looks like – apart from one street where Ken Loach lives with Mike Leigh. Security is tight, and I give you my personal guarantee that Ricky Gervais cannot get into the building. I will introduce each category this evening, and then a hopefully attractive member of the acting community will read out the winner and whichever member of the cast and crew of The King’s Speech has won will come up and accept the award. But of course they haven’t won everything – stuttering isn’t a Foreign Language! Of course, films don’t just entertain, they also educate. The Kids Are All Right taught me that a family unit can function without a male member, and The Last Airbender taught me that my local cinema will not give your money back no matter how often you ask. And Inception I loved. I would spoil the ending, but I can’t because I don’t understand it. Two of my favourite movies of the year aren’t even nominated: Sex and the City 2 and The Expendables. What’s not to love? A band of old mercenaries gets back together – and there was The Expendables too! We are looking forward to the winners making their speeches, but winners keep it short. Particularly Colin Firth – please if you win do not do it in character.
19.06 Music
Sir Paul McCartney is presenting! “Some of the best music ever written comes from the movies: Hard Day’s Night, Help, Live and Let Die...I could go on. If I find my music is being used in a movie, I personally ring up the director to let him know how much I’m suing him for,” says McCartney. And the winner is...
The King's Speech, Alexander Desplat
(The first of many for the frontrunner this evening? We'll see...)
Desplat: "Oh nice, this is beautiful, wow. Thank you, this is a great honour. I did not expect after writing the music for The Queen to be called again for royal duty, so thank you Tom for that. There are so many movies I've done with Colin Firth in the past, that I need to say thank you; he's like a lucky charm. This is the third time now. We are lucky to find in the archives the microphones that belonged to George VI, and we recorded through those microphones. It was an incredible experience, and just for that I could do it again. I'll be back. Thank you."
19.11 Short Film
Paddy Considine is presenting, in a vaguely teddy boy-esque grey suit with a black shawl collar: "I'm very proud to be presenting the awards for Best Short Film and Best Animated Film; I won the BAFTA for my short film three years ago and it spurred me on to complete my first film, so the importance of these awards is not to be underestimated." And the winner is...
Until The River Runs Red; Paul Wright and Poss Kondeatis
Wright: "Thanks so much for this, it really means a lot. I'd like to thank the cast and crew: we were small in numbers but big in effort and passion. I'd be lying if I said it had all been champagne and red carpets the last few years, so I'd like to thank my family.
Kondeatis: "I'd like to thank the crew who worked so hard: it rained and they worked, thanks everyone."
19.14 Short Animation
Considine complained of being left without the instructions, but was directed to the autocue. "This year's nominees are all friends apparently, but whether they soon will be is another matter..." And the winner is...
The Eagleman Stag, **Michael Please
**Please: "Hello everybody. Crickey, this is quite overwhelming. I'd like to thank my fellow nominees, we had an incredible year at the RCA. I'd like to thank my brother who did the sound design and the score, and everyone who was involved in the process. Thank you so much, everybody! Cheers!"
19.17 Sound
Max Irons and Felicity Jones are presenting this one and looking good doing it. And the winner is...
Inception, Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
King: "Thank you so much for this. Thanks to Warner Brothers, to Chris Nolan, Emma Thomas, our two partners who couldn't be here, my family and my crew."
Novick: "I don't usually get to say much more than "sound speed" so thanks to my wife and children who let me travel for long periods of time and let me back in when I return. Thanks for listening!"
**19.20 Editing
**It's still Irons and Jones for this one, and the winner is...
The Social Network, Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter
Unfortunately they couldn't be here, so Jones and Irons promise to get the award to them. WE'LL BE CHECKING!
**19.22 Make Up & Hair
**The awesome Hailee Steinfeld, who Wossy reckons is "at least 62" judging by her acting ability in True Grit, is presenting. She stumbles very slightly on the autocue, but she's worked with the Coens, Matt Damon and Jeff Bridges and is still only 14 so she's still cooler than all of us. And the winner is...
Alice in Wonderland, Valli O'Reilly and Paul Gooch
(Surely that's got to be its only award tonight!)
Gooch: "On behalf of the make-up and hair teams, we are honoured.
O'Reilly: "Thanks also to the wonderful imagination of Tim Burton and the costumes of Colleen Atwood for our inspiration."
19.25 Film Not In The English Language
Mark Kermode's presenting this, giving us a welcome break from gorgeous tweens. "Cinema is THE global artform. This award celebrates movies that take the audience deep into the heart of other cultures. These are films that can be understood by anyone, but which Hollywood will still feel the need to remake in English." And the winner is...
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Soren Staermose, Niels Arden Oplev
Oplev: "This is a very heavy statue. I would like to dedicate it to my beautiful wife, yes! Without her, I wouldn't be here. I would like to dedicate it to Mr Stieg Larsson. Without him, none of us would be here. And I would like to dedicate it to this enormous audience around the world who has been inspired by this film and by Lisbeth Salander. And we couldn't have done it without Noomi Rapace, no one could have been Lisbeth but you!"
Staermose: "And you Brits are a part of this because Stieg Larsson started as a correspondent for a British anti-racism magazine."
(Ahhh, Rapace is pronounced "Ra-pass"! We've been wondering that for aaages!)
19.31 Costume Design
Dev Patel and Tallulah Riley are presenting, and explaining the importance of the "astounding creations" about to be rewarded. And the winner is...
Alice in Wonderland, Colleen Atwood
(Yes, should've seen this coming when I predicted only one win for Alice earlier. Never bet against Atwood in this category!)
Atwood: "Thank you very much for this. I'm especially touched because I've had amazing support from my fellow costume designers about my work in Alice, and you guys know all the secrets. But most of all, Tim Burton, who I've done so many projects with because he's such a great artist himself, thank you." (What are the secrets? WE WANT TO KNOW THE SECRETS!)
19.34 Production Design
It's Pirates' Sam Claflin and Minnie Driver, looking like a goddess in white. And the winner is...
Inception, Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
(Huh, we were rooting for Alice in Wonderland's Karen "no relation" O'Hara. JUST KIDDING - this is obviously a good call, and proof that The King's Speech isn't completely sweeping the board.)
"What can I say? Thank you so much, it's a tremendous welcome home. We would not be here without that man, Christopher Nolan. I spent a good 3 or 4 weeks in Chris' garage conceptualising this film - and I have to be honest, he'd pretty much already done it, which made it very easy for me."
19.38 Special Visual Effects
Jesse Eisenberg and Jennifer "purple dress that's slightly salon girl-looking" Lawrence. And the winner is...
Inception, Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb
(Wow, these guys are wearing suits almost as sharp as Joseph Gordon-Levitt's in the film)
"I feel like I'm about to be dunked in a cold bath, woken up and told I've still got to finish the film. But thank you for this honour. And most importantly thank you to my beautiful wife and wonderful children for putting up with this which took over my life for such a long time."
19.41 True Grit Profile
As is traditional, each of the Best Picture nominees gets its own little ads spot, and here's the Coens' effort first. It's a good thing this writer is a total professional and doesn't play favourites, because otherwise this particular update might contain quite a few superlatives and threats as to what might happen if this one doesn't win (OK, it probably won't, but that's only because we live in an unjust world). While we have a moment, anyone else think they should mix the acting categories in near the start a bit more than they do?
19.44 Supporting Actress
The adorable and quite delightful James McAvoy is presenting. "I have laughed, cried, been informed, terrified and devastated by the nominees for Best Supporting Actress this year. If it were up to me, when I opened the envelope all 5 of your names would be on it." And the winner is...
Helena Bonham-Carter, The King's Speech
(Huzzah! We love her, mad hair and all!)
HBC: "Aaah. I'm so used to losing that it's kind of a strange feeling to win. It's very nice, but children, if you're watching, it's not about the winning. It still feels nice. I'm thrilled to be in the same category as my fellow nominees, and I'm not just sucking up. And my skirt's just gotten hitched up at the back, not a good time. I'd like to thank the Royal family, since they seem to be very good for my career. This year I've been playing queens with steadily decreasing head sizes. I'm incredibly lucky because I love it - I'm incredibly lucky to get to play at being someone else all day and get parts and get paid lots of money for it and then get an award, so this is pretty much as good as it gets! I'd like to think I did it all by myself like my 3 year old but the truth is I didn't. Tom Hooper, thank you for not cutting me and making sure the Queen Mother wasn't totally eclipsed by King Colin, who deserves all the awards he's getting. And Geoffrey Rush, who is really the Best Supporting Actress wherever you are....I might never get another award so I better stretch this out - and finally Tim Burton, who is my genius and thank you for the big-headed Queen, and for helping me make the 8th and 9th wonders of the world, who are my children. I want to dedicate this to all the Best Supporting wives in the world, existing, the Queen Mum herself and my mum." (Speech of the night so far! Speech of several nights in terms of sheer length; this, believe it or not, is slightly edited.)
19.51 Carl Foreman Award for Outstanding Debut
("Well that was a fabulous speech but that's all we've got time for...!) Kevin Spacey is presenting, with a Bill Clinton impression for no real reason but hey! Why not? And the winner is...
Four Lions, Chris Morris
HOORAY! What a great film to win a BAFTA, and a nice change from the traditional safe costume drama malarky! Morris isn't there, so the film's stars are picking up, Nigel Lindsay and Adeel Akhtar.
Lindsay: "We're not Chris Morris. He didn't say what to say if he won, but he did send us a text message 5 minutes ago. It reads, "Doused in petrol, lighter at the ready." I don't know what that means, but Chris, if you're watching, PUT DOWN THE LIGHTER. We don't want to lose you."
19.57 The King's Speech Featurette
It's a summary of the runaway favourite, which really is a very good film. Apparently even Her Majesty likes it, so there's that. We're not sure what her credentials as a film reviewer are, however.
19.58 Outstanding British Film
Emma Watson is sighing heavily as she presents this one, probably because her dress' silly ruffle needs to be regularly blown away from her face. And the winner is...
The King's Speech
(Wow, does this mean it will take both Best British and Best Film? They're usually split up. Or can it do the double?)
"Thank you. I promise that all of us combined will be quicker than Helena. This is an incredible honour, I can't quite believe it."
"Thanks to Tom, who displayed such passion for the material from the off."
Hooper: "This is an incredible honour to stand in this room before all these people and win this award. This all started with a little boy with a stammer who sat and listened to the King's Speech, and was inspired by it, and that man is our writer, David Seidler. This is the Royal Opera House, a temple to the human voice, so there's a wonderful irony to be celebrating the finding of David's voice and the film's voice in this room. I want to thank my wonderful cast, my wonderful London-based crew. This was an entirely London-based film and it was incredible to shoot it here. Lastly I'd like to thank my family; they're all here tonight."
20.04 Supporting Actor
Jessica Alba is presenting, in that gorgeous blue dress: "Time and again history remembers the supporting actor as much as the lead, sometimes more so." And the winner is...
Geoffrey Rush, The King's Speech
(confirming the film's dominance on home turf, where The Fighter had dominated in the US)
"Geoffrey is on stage in New York, but I'm sure Harvey will get it to him. Woo! That's it!" finishes Alba, as she collects the envelope, slip and award. "Beautiful, and she tidies up after herself," quips Ross.
20.09 Inception Featurette
Here, this was a bit good, wasn't it? With the bit where it was a twist, and the bit where it wasn't quite clear whether it was real or a dream?
20.11 Original Screenplay
Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper are reuniting post-An Education for this. Cooper "thinks" he's in Captain America - but there's a pause as the autocue goes a bit squiffy. They're riffing now, because it appears to have gone wrong. "A great screenplay offers us as actors true inspiration, great flights, lovely holidays and gorgeous women," quips Cooper. Pike starts to read out the names; Wossy runs onstage and stops her from opening the envelope. As we cut away to the clips, Cooper can just be heard going, "That went alright, I think." Funniest intro of the night, albeit unintentionally. And the winner is...
The King's Speech, David Seidler
(Bit of a shock? Or just part of the trend?)
Seidler: "My goodness, The Writer's Speech now; this is terrifying! For someone who was born in London and spent a lot of time in the foolishly lost colonies of North America, this is a nice way to come home, so thanks for that. I certainly didn't get here by myself, I had a lot of help from the best of British. At the head of my ship was Tom Hooper who certainly entered into the spirit of collaboration. My King, Colin, I hope you're rewarded as you should be. My Queen, Helena! Tim, watch your back, because I'm in love! Geoffrey Rush, who was always Lionel Logue for me and was very generous from the beginning. I do want to single out my producers, who protected my work, which is terribly precious. It's amazing that this little film - and it is a small film, two men in a room - seems to have spoken to the world, and I am deeply moved by that. For a stutterer, stammerer, to be heard is a wonderful thing. Thank you." (Awesome speech, and great voice: he sounds like a trailer guy)
20.17 Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema
Apparently Stephen Fry was Best Young Breakdancer 1981, according to Wossy. "I have the honour to present this year's award to an achievement in British cinema which has created a British film industry within the British film industry, which has entertained more people around the world than any other - I'm going to use the horrible world - franchise of our time. The Harry Potter cycle became the most popular literary series of our time, perhaps of all time. New words entered the world, new characters like Harry, Snape, Voldemort who must not be - oh damn, I named him. Could such a phenomenon ever be translated to the screen? Well with a total of 28 BAFTA nominations and the final instalment still to come, the Harry Potter series has shown British cinema in its own right. At the heart of its appeal is the fact that no matter how much money they make - and believe me, it's a shedload - they seem to have been crafted with love and an attention to detail. Some have suggested, sacrilege though it may seem, that the films may be better than the quite brilliantly-voiced audio books [Fry recorded those, for you not in the know]."
Here to collect is producer David Heyman and JK Rowling herself, in a backless snakeskin-looking dress we hope was made from Nagini, with Emma Watson and Rupert Grint.
Heyman: "Thank you. On behalf of the over 6000 people who worked on each of the film, I'd like to say thank you to BAFTA for this honour (pause for the directors, and fellow producer David Barron, to join them). They weren't any quicker shooting, either. Ahem. Over the past decade, we've had the privilege of working with some of the finest people today in an atmosphere filled with pride but no ego, working on glorious fiction created by Jo Rowling. We became a family of sorts. We had an awful lot of fun. I'd like to thank our directors, our screenwriters, our amazing cast Dan, Rupert, Emma and a host of others, and our incomparable crew - and Warner Brothers, who have been the very best partners one could ever ask for. Last but not least, I want to thank Jo Rowling for encouraging parents and children to share the pleasure of reading, and for giving us the opportunity to bring her wonderful fiction to life."
Rowling: "It's very strange to look back after 7 films and remember how wary I was of letting anyone put Harry on the big screen. It was David Heyman who persuaded me, and tonight I want to say publicly how right I was to trust him, how much I owe him and how great it was to be involved with these films and these great people standing behind me. So thank you from all of us."
20.28 Black Swan
("Take that, Twilight!" says Ross after Potter's win). Now it's time to pause and reflect on psychos in tutus. Interestingly, we write this sitting in the ballet studio on the 5th floor of the Royal Opera House, where the press watch the proceedings. Amazingly, not one journalist so far has gone crazy watching their own reflection in the mirror up here. That said, if anyone produces a pair of nail scissors we are OUT of here.
20.31 Animated Film
Neve Campbell and Nicholas Hoult are presenting this, who Wossy terms "Beauty and the Beast", what with him playing Hank McCoy in the new X-Men movie. Ahaha. And the winner is...
Toy Story 3, Lee Unkrich
(Colour us unshocked by this one)
Unkrich: "I don't think my heart has ever pounded this hard, I guess I don't have to feel bad that I didn't do my cardio this morning. Thanks to the British Academy for this award, which I have to share with my cast and crew, particularly Darla Anderson and my writer Michael Arndt, and my incredible cast. Thanks to everyone at Disney and Pixar, especially John Lasseter for trusting me to write a Toy Story film to stand alongside his two. Finally, it's an incredible honour for me to be accepting this award in the UK where audiences came out in incredible numbers to embrace a film about the joys of childhood and saying goodbye to childhood, and I just thank you all very much."
**20.34 Orange Rising Star award
**Tom Ford and Eva Green are presenting this one, "two of the most stylish people in the building." He's a very good speaker, which for some reason comes as a surprise - but shouldn't. Wonder who the public has chosen this year for a star who's already quite a long way up? And the winner is...
Tom Hardy
He's not here, but Eva Green is sure he'll be "very very honoured".
20.38 Obituaries
John Barry, Alan Hume, Blake Edwards, Roy Ward Baker, Arthur Penn, Dede Allen, Bernd Eichinger, Leslie Nielsen, Maria Schneider, Clive Donner, Dennis Hopper, Sally Menke, Peter Yates, Guido Coen, Ingrid Pitt, Norman Wisdom, Tura Satana, Susannah York, Carol Marsh, Ronald Neame, Dino DeLaurentiis, Patricia Neal, Corey Haim, Claude Chabrol, Pete Postlethwaite, RIP
20.41 Adapted Screenplay
"One of the finest actresses on the planet", "the elegantly gorgeous and supremely brilliant" Julianne Moore is presenting. She's gone old Hollywood in blue velvet and looks like Rita Hayworth. And the winner is...
The Social Network, Aaron Sorkin
(Well duh!)
Sorkin: "God thanks very much. Under more normal circumstances, I would be very excited about this, but in the seat in front of me was one of the Beatles, and in the seat in front of him was Julianne Moore and in front of her was Annette Benning so I'm maxed out. I wrote this movie but David Fincher made this movie and did a breathtakingly artful job. He had help from an amazing cast that we're going to be seeing things from for a long time. This is a terrific compliment to all of us, thank you very very much."
20.46 Cinematography
It's Thandie Newton and Mark Ruffalo presenting; Wossy's excited because "he's the new Hulk!". And the winner is...
True Grit, Roger Deakins
(YAY! Er, rather, like, whatever; I guess that's good)
He can't be there, so Hailee Steinfeld is collecting on his behalf.
"I am honoured to collect this on behalf of Roger Deakins. It was truly inspirational working with such legends on my first feature film, so thank you."
20.49 The Social Network Featurette
It's the final Best Picture nominee, and it's about these newfangled computer things. They'll never catch on.
20.55 Best Actress
"A man so full of manliness that doctors believe he may be able to reverse the menopause", it's Gerard Butler, with faint golden highlights, it seems. One hope's that's for a role. "A lesbian couple with a dragon tattoo take up ballet to avenge their father's death...I may have missed a few commas there..." And the winner is...
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
(Well duh!)
She's not in the house, because she's knocked up one assumes. Darren Aronofsky is collecting for her, minus his spiffy scarf from the red carpet.
Aronofsky: "On the off-chance this would happen, Natalie asked me to accept this for her, because she says I am to blame for why she's not here as well as why she's here. I introduced her to her fiance, and now she's heavily pregnant and can't fly. If she was here, she'd be thanking everyone, but I'd correct that because she shouldn't be thanking anyone: this was all her. She trained for a year before we made this movie. When we shot, every day she was in every single scene and every single shot. So with a lot of pride I thank you for this for her. Thank you, Natalie.
20.51 Director
Tilda Swinton learned to speak Italian with a Russian accent for I Am Love, and she dresses like no one else on Earth. And she's presenting Best Director! "Tonight in English, with an English accent," she demurs. But the winner is...
David Fincher, The Social Network
He can't be there tonight, so Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield proceed to collect $200 and pass Go.
Garfield: "David Fincher would have loved to have been here, genuinely, but he's busy making his next gift for us in another country."
Eisenberg: "As exhilarating as his films are to watch, they are to act in. I know he'd want to thank Aaron Sorkin, whose scripts are as exhilarating to read as they are to act in."
21.00 Best Actor
Amy Adams is presenting, and being pretty straight as she does so. Nice dress though, so there's that. And the winner of the most-shoo-in-award-ever is...
Colin Firth, The King's Speech
(WHO SAW THAT COMING? Still, we love him. Two in a row! They won't stop cheering! He looks embarrassed)
Firth: "I like coming here. Thank you, BAFTA. Consistent with the fact that almost every turning point in my life has hinged on the banal and the arbitrary, such things as kitchen appliances and unsent emails, the day of my first meeting with Tom Hooper I had to postpone a routine but somewhat uncomfortable medical examination. I am happy to report that the meeting was rather less uncomfortable than the exam, but as time went on it became clear that Tom's working methods were just as thorough and invasive as my doctor's. But when you see the results you're grateful, so I am thankful as I am to my doctor. I'd like to thank our masterly voice coach Neil Swain for indulging our dependence on him, and my very great friend Tom Ford who has everything to do with me standing here. Also, my majestic mum and dad and Livia who deals with everything from kings to dancing queens. Thank you very much."
Good lord, that man's a class act!
**21.06 Best Film
**("Well that was an unpopular winner," notes Rossy, disingenuously) Samuel L Jackson, "who can make anything look cool" is presenting this big finale. And the winner is...(more clips! More!)
The King's Speech
(It did the double! Which is somehow no surprise at all!)
"Thank you, this is such an incredible honour. This was such a team effort: we didn't have a lot of money, but these people did such an incredible job to put it onscreen. Tom Hooper took it beyond our wildest imaginations, so thank you Tom. Normally as a producer you hope that one of these people will say yes, but they all did - apart from Helena, who I believe still hasn't said yes. And I want to thank the British public for going to see this film, and my parents who made most of the West Country go and see it. And finally, King George VI had someone who loved him at home and a really great friend, and I have that in Ben."
"To our financiers, who took a huge risk on a film that had not many explosions and which was incredibly drama-heavy, and we put it together at a difficult time, thank you, and to the UK Film Council; without you, this film could not have been made. It's a testament to the importance of government subsidy."
"Thank you BAFTA; this is a childhood ambition that's come true tonight."
Hooper: "We're completely thrilled, this is a huge deal for us, thank you."
(Someone on stage can be heard saying, "Who'd have thought?" as the camera cuts away, which is sweet.)
21.12 The Fellowship: Sir Christopher Lee
Tim Burton is presenting this one to Sir Christopher Lee. "The recipient of this award and his electric screen presence is someone I've admired since I was a child. At 6'5" he physically towers over those around him in the same way that his presence towers over those he works with. From Rasputin to Rochefort, in the 50s and 60s he was the definitive Count Dracula; in the 50s he was Scaramanga; more recently he played Count Dooku and appeared as Saruman in The Lord of the Rings; I won't mention every movie he's made as we'd be here all night. Last year he worked with Martin Scorsese on Hugo Cabret and he's slated to reunite with Jackson on The Hobbit; in his spare time he records opera and heavy metal albums - I don't know if you have those, but I recommend them. At the age of 88, he's still going strong."
Christopher Lee! The man's a legend (and incidentally, a reader of this website, as we discovered once when we made a mistake about him in a story and he called up to set the record straight. But that's not the only reason we're calling him a legend, honest). He's walking with a stick tonight, but looking pretty spiffy.
Lee: "I do feel a little bit like the man who said, "I can't wait to hear what I've got to say." But I'll do my best. Wise and generous members of the committee, my fellow thespians, many of whom are involved in this, I thank you all. This is a truly great honour, a great, great honour. Two things really make it so. The fact that this was voted to me by my peers and secondly that I received it from one of the great directors of our age. [Burton's blushing]
"I think there was a newspaper this morning that said I was probably going to cry, something that I don't often do in films at any rate, but it is a very emotional moment for me. I'm thankful that I don't follow in the steps of the great Stanley Kubrick, whose award was posthumous. And I would like to say, my god, that this is without a doubt the finest image I've ever had (looking at the audience). Thank you very kindly."
Cue standing ovation that just won't quit.
21.21 The End!
"That marvellous moment brings us to the end of another evening celebrating all that's great in cinema. Join us next year when you will not only be able to enjoy the show in high definition 3D, but it will actually be incepted into your brain."
That's it, folks! See you in two weeks for the Oscars!