BAFTA BAFTA: The Brits have spoken!

The British Academy of Film had their big night yesterday.  Congrats to David O. Russell on his BAFTA win for his adaptation of Matthew Quick's book. The Silver Linings Playbook is a must-read and a must-see! I shared my take on the book here and the movie here.

Anne Hathaway earned her expected Best Supporting win for her emotional performance in Les Miz which was also recognized in the production design and hair/makeup categories. You can take a look at the work of Eve Stewart and Anna Lynch Robinson in this featurette on production design I posted prior to the nominations. Lisa Westcott took home the trophy for makeup/hair; you can see the work of the team at my post here  The sound department was a winner too; take a look at  my post here.

Anna Karenina, the beautiful but flawed film based on Tolstoy's much-adapted novel didn't quite work dramatically but Jacqueline Durran absolutely deserves the award for her stunning costume design. I highlighted some of her updated Karenina-inspired fashions for the real world here.

And congrats to genius cinematographer Claudio Miranda for Life of Pi. And to Glenn Westenhofer and crew for Special Visual Effects. They said Yann Martel's book was un-filmable but these craftsmen and director Ang Lee did it. You can get a behind the scenes look at my posts spotlighting Miranda's cinematography here and for visual effects here.

And finally, congrats to Ben Affleck! Argo took the top prize,  as did Affleck once again - he's won all the majors. At this point his Academy snub has become almost a joke; surely all the old men are scratching their heads. And just as surely, Affleck has earned the right to take a line from his own movie and tell the Academy "ARGO #$% yourself!"

I'm sorry Les Miz didn't win the top award but this was a year filled to the brim - especially during the last few months of year - with extraordinary films. Congrats to them all!

See all the BAFTA wins here.