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LONDON - Film romance Atonement has dominated the field in the nominations for the annual BAFTA film awards.
The World War Two epic about two lovers torn apart by a family betrayal boasted 14 nominations for the British Academy Film Awards with its stars Keira Knightley and James McAvoy both up for top acting honours.
Atonement is also up for Best Film but could face some tough competition from Ridley Scott's American Gangster, the grim crime thriller No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood and The Lives Of Others.
In the Leading Actor category, McAvoy faces a sizeable challenge from Daniel Day-Lewis, who portrays an oil prospector who gains enormous wealth in There Will Be Blood.
Also up for Leading Actor are Hollywood heart-throb George Clooney for Michael Clayton, Viggo Mortensen for Eastern Promise and Ulrich Muhe for The Lives of Others.
Keira Knightley faces an equally tough battle for the Leading Actress award.
She is pitted against Cate Blanchett in Elizabeth: The Golden Age, veteran star Julie Christie as an Alzheimer's sufferer in Away from Her, Marion Cotillard for her haunting portrayal of singer Edith Piaf in La Vie En Rose and Ellen Page for Juno.
Amid fears that a writers' strike could jeopardise this year's Oscars ceremony, the red carpet BAFTA show at London's Royal Opera House on February 10 could attract plenty of Hollywood glamour.
Last weekend's strike-plagued Golden Globe awards were stripped down to a bare-bones news conference lacking all the usual Hollywood razzmatazz. It was a big flop in telecast ratings.
BAFTA Academy chairman Hilary Bevan Jones told Reuters at the nominations ceremony: "Life is very difficult at the moment for those in Hollywood. As far as we are concerned, with BAFTA there is no dispute over here."
"It is a concerning time. We need to get this issue sorted and hopefully they will be sorted soon."
Asked if the BAFTAs might now end up being the movie world's big awards ceremony of the year, she said: "I would hate to think about benefiting from somebody else's misfortunes."
BAFTAs 2008 full list of nominations:
Best Film
American Gangster
Atonement
The Lives of Others
No Country for Old Men
There Will Be Blood
Best British Film
Atonement
The Bourne Ultimatum
Control
Eastern Promises
This Is England
The Carl Foreman Award - for Special Achievement by a British Director, Writer or Producer for their First Feature Film
Chris Atkins (Director/Writer) - Taking Liberties
Mia Bays (Producer) - Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
Sarah Gavron (Director) - Brick Lane
Matt Greenhalgh (Writer) - Control
Andrew Piddington (Director/Writer) - The Killing of John Lennon
Best Director
Atonement - Joe Wright
The Bourne Ultimatum - Paul Greengrass
The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
No Country for Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Original Screenplay
American Gangster - Steven Zaillian
Juno - Diablo Cody
The Lives of Others - Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Michael Clayton - Tony Gilroy
This Is England - Shane Meadows
Best Adapted Screenplay
Atonement - Christopher Hampton
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Ronald Harwood
The Kite Runner - David Benioff
No Country for Old Men - Joel Coen/Ethan Coen
There Will Be Blood - Paul Thomas Anderson
Best Film not in the English Language - nominations announced on Friday 4 January
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly - Kathleen Kennedy/Jon Kilik/Julian Schnabel
The Kite Runner - William Horberg/Walter Parkes/Rebecca Yeldham/Marc Foster
The Lives of Others - Quirin Berg/Max Wiedemann/Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
Lust, Caution - Bill Kong/James Schamus/Ang Lee
La Vie en Rose - Alain Goldman/Olivier Dahan
Best Animated Film
Ratatouille - Brad Bird
Shrek The Third - Chris Miller
The Simpsons Movie - Matt Groening/James L Brooks
Best Leading Actor
George Clooney - Michael Clayton
Daniel Day-Lewis - There Will Be Blood
James McAvoy - Atonement
Viggo Mortensen - Eastern Promises
Ulrich Mühe - The Lives of Others
Best Leading Actress
Cate Blanchett - Elizabeth: The Golden Age
Julie Christie - Away From Her
Marion Cotillard - La Vie en Rose
Keira Knightley - Atonement
Ellen Page - Juno
Best Supporting Actor
Javier Bardem - No Country for Old Men
Paul Dano - There Will Be Blood
Tommy Lee Jones - No Country for Old Men
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Charlie Wilsons War
Tom Wilkinson - Michael Clayton
Best Supporting Actress
Cate Blanchett - Im Not There
Kelly Macdonald - No Country for Old Men
Samantha Morton - Control
Saoirse Ronan - Atonement
Tilda Swinton - Michael Clayton
Best Music
American Gangster - Marc Streitenfeld
Atonement - Dario Marianelli
The Kite Runner - Alberto Iglesias
There Will Be Blood - Jonny Greenwood
La Vie en Rose - Christopher Gunning
Best Cinematography
American Gangster - Harris Savides
Atonement - Seamus McGarvey
The Bourne Ultimatum - Oliver Wood
No Country for Old Men - Roger Deakins
There Will Be Blood - Robert Elswit
Best Editing
American Gangster - Pietro Scalia
Atonement - Paul Tothill
The Bourne Ultimatum - Christopher Rouse
Michael Clayton - John Gilroy
No Country for Old Men - Roderick Jaynes
Best Production Design
Atonement - Sarah Greenwood/Katie Spencer
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Guy Hendrix Dyas/Richard Roberts
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Stuart Craig/Stephenie McMillan
There Will Be Blood - Jack Fisk/Jim Erickson
La Vie en Rose - Olivier Raoux
Best Costume Design
Atonement - Jacqueline Durran
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Alexandra Byrne
Lust, Caution - Pan Lai
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Colleen Atwood
La Vie en Rose - Marit Allen
Best Sound
Atonement - Danny Hambrook/Paul Hamblin/Catherine Hodgson
The Bourne Ultimatum - Kirk Francis/Scott Millan/Dave Parker/Karen Baker Landers/Per Hallberg
No Country for Old Men - Peter Kurland/Skip Lievsay/Craig Berkey/Greg Orloff
There Will Be Blood - Christopher Scarabosio/Matthew Wood/John Pritchett/Michael Semanick/Tom Johnson
La Vie en Rose - Laurent Zeilig/Pascal Villard/Jean-Paul Hurier/Marc Doisne
Best Special Visual Effects
The Bourne Ultimatum - Peter Chiang/Charlie Noble/Mattias Lindahl/Joss Williams
The Golden Compass - Michael Fink/Bill Westenhofer/Ben Morris/Trevor Woods
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix - Tim Burke/John Richardson/Emma Norton/Chris Shaw
Pirates of the Caribbean: At Worlds End - John Knoll/Charles Gibson/Hal Hickel/John Frazier
Spider-Man 3 - Scott Stokdyk/Peter Nofz/Kee-Suk Ken Hahn/Spencer Cook
Best Make Up + Hair
Atonement - Ivana Primorac
Elizabeth: The Golden Age - Jenny Shircore
Hairspray - Nominees TBC
Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street - Ivana Primorac
La Vie en Rose - Jan Archibald/Didier Lavergne
Best Short Animation
The Pearce Sisters - Jo Allen/Luis Cook
Head Over Heels - Osbert Parker/Fiona Pitkin/Ian Gouldstone
The Crumblegiant - Pearse Moore/John McCloskey
Best Short Film
Dog Altogether - Diarmid Scrimshaw/Paddy Considine
Hesitation - Julien Berlan/Michelle Eastwood/Virginia Gilbert
The One and Only Herb Mcgwyer Plays Wallis Island - Charlie Henderson/James Griffiths/Tim Key/Tom Basden
Soft - Jane Hooks/Simon Ellis
The Stronger - Dan McCulloch/Lia Williams/Frank McGuinness
The Orange Rising Star Award - (voted for by the public) - nominees announced on Tuesday 8 January
Shia Labeouf
Sienna Miller
Ellen Page
Sam Riley
Tang Wei
- REUTERS
