'Mandelas' out in cold

It seems the Brits are not big on sentiment. At the announcement yesterday of the nominees for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards, Idris Elba and Naomie Harris, the faces of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom were snubbed.

The movie itself was nominated in the Outstanding British Film category, alongside Gravity, Philomena, Rush, Saving Mr Banks and The Selfish Giant.

Prior predictions suggest Elba and Harris were always outsiders in the big individual categories anyway. A lot of noise is being made about Chiwetel Ejiofor in 12 Years a Slave as the probable Best Actor winner at the Baftas. Sandra Bullock (Gravity) is garnering similar odds for the Best Actress nod.

Unlikely as it is for Elba to beat Tom Hanks, Matthew McConaughey, Robert Redford and Ejiofor come Sunday night's 71st Golden Globes, he (and maybe Long Walk to Freedom producer Anant Singh and director Justin Chadwick) will be hoping that acts as a harbinger of the announcement of Oscar nominations on January 16.

The Golden Globes are cited as the most reliable indicator of the Oscars.

Britain's Daily Telegraph, however, reported yesterday that the Baftas "closely resemble the Oscars, in that their voters are also drawn from a wide cross-section of the film industry - unlike awards by critics' groups, specific guilds (actors, directors, producers) or the non-American film journalists in Hollywood who determine the outcome of the Golden Globes".

Gravity was nominated for 11 Baftas, followed by 12 Years a Slave and American Hustle with 10 nominations apiece. The Best Film nominees were 12 Years a Slave, American Hustle, Gravity, Captain Phillips, and Philomena.

The Best Actor nominees were Ejiofor, Christian Bale in American Hustle, Bruce Dern in Nebraska, Leonardo DiCaprio in Martin Scorsese's The Wolf of Wall Street and Hanks in Captain Phillips.

On the Best Actress end Bullock will have to fend off Amy Adams in American Hustle, Cate Blanchett in Woody Allen's Blue Jasmine, Emma Thompson in Saving Mr Banks, and Dame Judi Dench in Philomena.

The winners will be announced on February 16 in London.