BAFTA Spreads The Glory
February 24, 2002

With 12 nominations a piece, The Lord of the Rings and Moulin Rouge were hoping to split the honours at tonight’s Orange BAFTA Film Awards, but the Academy decided instead to bestow its awards across a much wider range of movies this evening.

Peter Jackson and The Lord of the Rings team took home the top prizes at this year’s BAFTA Awards with four trophies to their name, as well as the audience-voted Orange Film of the Year award. The Fellowship of the Ring was awarded Best Film, Best Director, Best Special Visual Effects and Best Make-up and Hair – topping the list for the evening.

Moulin Rouge, which like the Tolkien epic had also been nominated for 12 awards, took home a respectable three on the night – Best Supporting Actor for Jim Broadbent, The Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music and Best Sound. 'I'd like to thank Baz above all becuase he's a completely visionary genius,' said Broadbent, 'the world would have been a duller place without his Moulin Rouge.'

Russell Crowe and Jennifer Connelly took home Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress for A Beautiful Mind. Connelly seemed on the verge of tears when she accepted the award, professing herself 'totally flabbergasted and honoured.' The British film Iris won a Best Actress award for Judi Dench. Amelie also won two awards, for Best Original Screenplay and Best Production Design, although the Best Foreign Language honour went to Amores Perros. Gosford Park picked up two awards, for Costume Design and Best British Film of the Year. ‘It was a great experience to make this English film,’ said Altman.

Other category winners included Best Adapted Screenplay for Shrek, Best Short Film – About A Girl and Best Animated Short – the briefly titled Dog. Best Editing went to Mulholland Drive, while Best Cinematography was picked up by The Man Who Wasn’t There.

A number of companies and individuals were given special awards by the Academy. Warren Beatty and film production team Merchant Ivory were both awarded the greatest accolades of the night – Academy Fellowship – given for outstanding contribution to world cinema. Bond production company Eon were given a special award to recognise 40 years of Bond movies, and British stunt co-ordinator Vic Armstrong, whose recent credits include Charlie’s Angels and Planet of the Apes, won an award for contributions to British cinema.

Despite being a British Awards ceremony nominated by British Academy members, there were a number of disappointments in the evening for a couple of British films - two of the biggest British box office successes, Harry Potter and Bridget Jones's Diary went home empty-handed. The BAFTA Awards 2002 – The List in Full

Best Film: The Lord of the Rings

Best Director: Peter Jackson – The Lord of the Rings

Best Actor: Russell Crowe – A Beautiful Mind

Best Actress: Judi Dench – Iris

Best Supporting Actor: Jim Broadbent – Moulin Rouge

Best Supporting Actress: Jennifer Connelly – A Beautiful Mind

Best Special Visual Effects: The Lord of the Rings

Best Make Up and Hair: The Lord of the Rings

The Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music: Moulin Rouge

Best Sound: Moulin Rouge

Best Original Screenplay: Amelie

Best Adapted Screenplay: Amelie

Best British Film: Gosford Park

Best Production Design: Amelie

Best Cinematography: The Man Who Wasn’t There

Best Editing: Mulholland Drive

Best Foreign Language Film: Amores Perros

Best Costume Design: Gosford Park

Best Short Film: About A Girl

Best Animated Short: Dog

BAFTA Academy Fellowship: Warren Beatty and Merchant Ivory

Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema: Vic Armstrong Special Award: Eon

Orange Film of the Year: The Lord of the Rings

Source: Empire Online