District 9 gets 7 nominations
2010-01-21 10:41
London - Sci-fi extravaganza Avatar, Iraq drama The Hurt Locker and coming-of-age story An Education earned eight nominations apiece on Thursday in the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars.
The three films are up for best picture alongside Up in the Air and Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire.
South African alien thriller District 9 has seven nominations, including Best Director, while Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds and Jason Reitman's Up in the Air got six each.
The best actor race pits George Clooney, for Up in the Air, against The Hurt Locker star Jeremy Renner, Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, Colin Firth for A Single Man and Andy Serkis for his portrayal of musician Ian Dury in Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.
Best actress contenders are Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia, Carey Mulligan for An Education, Audrey Tautou for Coco Before Chanel, Irish actress Saoirse Ronan for The Lovely Bones and newcomer Gabourey Sidibe for Precious.
The prizes – officially the Orange British Academy Film Awards but known as Baftas – will be awarded at a ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on February 21. They are considered an important indicator of prospects at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles two weeks later.
Last year, Danny Boyle's underdog picture Slumdog Millionaire won seven Baftas, including best picture; it went on to win eight Oscars.
- AP