Sunday, February 19th 2006 and famous butt cheeks are nested on the seats of the Odeon Leciester Square cinema. They are tensed and in antipredation in the hope that over the next few hours they will be lifted up and walked onto the stage to meet Stephen Fry and be awarded a BAFTA. Not the butt cheeks, of course - but the actors and actresses themselves. Although when attention draws to Brokeback Mountain, the nominated gay cowboy film then maybe the cheeks may have paid a few roles after all!
Tonight is the night before and it's the legs which are doing all the working. Spencer House is this years venue for The Pre-Bafta Party, known as The London Party. Hosted by UIP it's a very showbizzy affair attended by A-List stars such as Heath Ledger, Michelle Williams, William H.Macy, Feliciity Huffman, Rachel Weisz and Pierce Brosnam plus oodles more - even Coolio has turned up! Spencer House is situated just off St. James Street and is pretty blooming posh. The covered patio provides the smokers to choke themselves to an early grave and the pink champagne helps guests to open up and wish each other the very best of luck to fellow nominees.
For a hefty £300 a ticket there's luckily quite a good array of canapés from chicken to meatballs. Vegetarian dishes to duck and the small desert bite-size chocolates are exceedingly refreshing too. James Nessbit is here to help promote a charity auction happening in Belfast this Spring where 50 celebrities have painted a picture which will be auctioned off to help women and kids affected by terrorism.
Charity also plays a mayor part tonight with money raised going to LEPRA which helps those with leprosy, a curable illness if treated with the right and effective aid. Variety magazine is also a sponsor and a main organiser, president-publisher Stuart Hill took to the stage with Stephen Fry to give out two awards to those associated with the film industry and a special award to Rachel Weiz.
It was a small, elegant and posh party and the early finish allowed guests to venture back to their five star penthouses and choose their dress code for Bafta night itself. The legs needed a rest and for that matter, some heads did as well!
THE BAFTA WINNERS
Best film
Brokeback Mountain
Best British film
Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were Rabbit
Best actor in a leading role
Philip Seymour Hoffman - Capote
Best actress in a leading role
Reese Witherspoon - Walk The Line
Best actor in a supporting role
Jake Gyllenhaal - Brokeback Mountain
Best actress in a supporting role
Thandie Newton - Crash
Original screenplay
Crash - Paul Haggis/Bobby Moresco
Adapted screenplay
Brokeback Mountain - Larry McMurtry/Diana Ossana
The David Lean Award for achievement in direction
Ang Lee - Brokeback Mountain
The Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British Director/Producer
or Writer in their first feature film
Joe Wright (Director) - Pride & Prejudice
Best film not in the English language
De Battre Mon Coeur S'est Arrete
The Anthony Asquith Award for achievement in film music
Memoirs of a Geisha - John Williams
Cinematography
Memoirs of a Geisha
Editing
The Constant Gardener
Production design
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Costume design
Memoirs of a Geisha
Sound
Walk the Line
Achievement in special visual effects
King Kong
Make Up and Hair
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Short animation film
Fallen Art
Short Film
Antonio's Breakfast
Academy Fellowship
David Puttnam
The Michael Balcon Award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema
Robert (Chuck) Finch and Bill Merrell
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