February 19, 2002
BAFTA

Top names from the world of film are attending The Orange British Academy Film Awards next Sunday 24 th February 2002.

Attending will be Russell Crowe, nominated this year for his leading role as Nobel prize-winning mathematician John Forbes Nash in Ron Howard’s A Beautiful Mind. Last year he was nominated for a BAFTA Award for Actor in a Leading Role for his portrayal of Maximus in Ridley Scott’s Gladiator, for which he later picked up an Oscar®.

Nicole Kidman will also be at the Awards after receiving a BAFTA nomination for Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Alejandro Amenabar’s chilling The Others.

Actor in a Leading Role nominees Kevin Spacey (The Shipping News), Ian McKellen (The Lord of the Rings), Tom Wilkinson ( In The Bedroom) and Jim Broadbent ( Iris) will be present on the night. Jim Broadbent is also nominated in the Supporting Actor category for his role in Moulin Rouge.

Actress in a Leading Role nominees Renée Zellweger (Bridget Jones’s Diary), Sissy Spacek ( In the Bedroom), Audrey Tautou ( Amelie) and Judi Dench will be attending.

Judi Dench is nominated in the Leading Actress category for her poignant portrayal of Iris Murdoch in Richard Eyre’s Iris and in the Supporting Actress category for her role in The Shipping News.

Previous BAFTA wins for Judi Dench include Actress in a Leading Role for Mrs Brown and Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance as Queen Elizabeth in Shakespeare in Love. She received The Academy Fellowship at a special ceremony in December 2001.

Lord of the Rings, which is nominated for The Orange Film of the Year 1 plus 12 other categories is well represented by Leading Actor nominee Ian McKellen, producer/director Peter Jackson and category presenter Orlando Bloom.

Confirmed presenters include Harvey Keitel, Nick Nolte, Halle Berry, Saffron Burrows, Kate Winslet (also nominated in the Supporting Actress category for her role in Iris), Helena Bonham Carter, Bjork, Rhys Ifans, Monica Bellucci, Don Cheadle, Paul Bettany, Lord Attenborough and Adrian Lester.

The Orange British Academy Film Awards will take place at The Odeon, Leicester Square on the evening of Sunday 24 th February 2002. Hosted for a second year by Stephen Fry the Awards will be broadcast on BBC ONE at 8.00pm on the same evening.

Editors Note
Qualification for the Orange Film of the Year Award is determined by the top ten most popular movies in the last year. The Orange Film of the Year Award is the only award within the ceremony that is voted for by the cinema-going public.