Baftas ’20: Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker leads with 11 nominations

Todd Phillips superhero film Joker leads the nomination pack for the 2020 British Academy of Film and Televisions Film Awards (BAFTAs), with actor Joaquin Phoenix in the race to grab the Best Actor accolade.
Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and Martin Scorsese’s The Irishman scored 10 nominations apiece. Sam Mendes’ war drama 1917 has nine nods.
Just a day after winning a Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Motion Picture for the movie, Joaquin has emerged as the contender for the Leading Actor trophy at BAFTAs. He will be fighting it out with Leonardo Dicaprio (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood), Adam Driver (Marriage Story), Taron Egerton (Rocketman) and Jonathan Pryce (The Two Popes).
Actress Jessie Buckley Wild Rose, Scarlett Johansson (Marriage Story), Saoirse Ronan Little Women), Charlize Theron (Bombshell) and Renee Zellweger (Judy) will be competing for Leading Actress trophy. Joker, which traces transformation of loner Arthur Fleck (Phoenix) from an aspiring stand-up comedian to a super villain, is also in the race to win the Best Film award, along with 1917, The Irishman, Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood and Parasite.
Phillip is in contention to win Best Director, battling it out with Sam Mendes (1917), Martin Scorsese (The Irishman), Quentin Tarantino (Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood) and Bong Joon-Ho (Parasite).
The film is also nominated in — Adapted Screenplay (Phillips and Scott Silver), Original Score (Hildur Gudnadottir), Casting, Cinematography, Editing, Production Design, Make Up & Hair and Sound.
The BAFTA film awards nominees were revealed on Tuesday in London. Sex Education stars Asa Butterfield and Charlie’s Angels star Ella Balinska readout the names. It is the first time that a category for Best Casting has been included in the list. The awards ceremony will be held in London on February 2. (IANS)