Brit Oscars Bow to Queen, Bond

Would the so-called British Oscars snub Queen Elizabeth and her loyal subject James Bond?

Not bloody well likely.

The royal-examining The Queen claimed 10 nominations, and the 007-relaunching Casino Royale nabbed nine to lead all comers as the field for the Orange British Academy Film Awards was announced Friday.

The U.K.-centric nominations made the six nominations scored by the great American tragedy United 93, heretofore a hit-and-miss awards-show contender, all the more remarkable. Until, that is, one was reminded that writer-director Paul Greengrass, nominated for Best Director and Original Screenplay, is, like Queen Elizabeth and Bond, available for afternoon tea, as it were.

Not every Brit, however, was a shoo-in. London-born, Cambridge-educated Sacha Baron Cohen's Borat was nowhere to be found among the nominees.

Having better luck, despite their utter lack of Britishness: the Mexican fable Pan's Labyrinth, up for eight awards; and the Hollywood hit The Departed, and the dysfunctional-American-family comedy Little Miss Sunshine, both up for six.

Informally known as the British Oscars, or the BAFTAs (for the show-sponsoring British Academy of Film and Television Arts), the Orange British Academy Film Awards are considered the most prestigious trophies of trophy season not presented in Hollywood.

All of this means Helen Mirren now will have a chance to accept trophies on two continents.

The Globe-nominated star of The Queen, having swept the U.S. critics awards for her portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in crisis, will vie for BAFTA's Best Actress trophy opposite Volver's Penélope Cruz, Notes on a Scandal's Judi Dench, The Devil Wears Prada's Meryl Streep and Little Children's Kate Winslet.

If that lineup doesn't look familiar, it will. Come Monday, all five actors will be up for Golden Globes, although Streep will compete as a comedy performer.

New James Bond Daniel Craig didn't win over Globe voters, but he did just fine with BAFTA ones. His work in Casino Royale puts him in the heavyweight Best Actor category with The Departed's Leonardo DiCaprio, The History Boys' Richard Griffiths, Venus' Peter O'Toole and, per usual, The Last King of Scotland's Forest Whitaker.

Dreamgirls, meanwhile, apparently didn't translate overseas. The Oscar-contending musical, ostensibly about the rise of Detroit's Motown Records, notched only two BAFTA nominations: one for Jennifer Hudson's hard-to-ignore supporting turn as a spurned singer and one for composer Henry Krieger's music.

Movies that got more love from BAFTA voters included Babel, The Departed, The Last King of Scotland, Little Miss Sunshine and The Queen, all up for Best Film.

A win for The Departed would be a win for BAFTA-approved producer Brad Pitt, also a star of Babel. (As reported last week, Pitt likely won't be up for an Academy Award for The Departed because the Producers Guild of America has judged that only one of the film's three producers, Graham King, should be deigned worthy of such an honor.)

Martin Scorsese, who knows about hard luck at the Oscars, will seek his second BAFTA as Best Director for The Departed. His competition: United 93's Greengrass, Babel's Alejandro González Iñárritu, The Queen's Stephen Frears and Little Miss Sunshine's Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris. (No, no Clint Eastwood—again.)

Making a rare award-season cameo was Mel Gibson's Mayan-speaking Apocalypto, nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film.

Winners are to be announced Feb. 11 in ceremonies in London.

Here's a complete rundown of nominations for the Orange British Academy Film Awards:

Film:

• Babel
• The Departed
• The Last King of Scotland
• Little Miss Sunshine
• The Queen

Actor:

• Daniel Craig, Casino Royale
• Leonardo DiCaprio, The Departed
• Richard Griffiths, The History Boys
• Peter O'Toole, Venus
• Forest Whitaker, The Last King of Scotland 

Actress:

• Penélope Cruz, Volver
• Judi Dench, Notes on a Scandal
• Helen Mirren, The Queen
• Meryl Streep, The Devil Wears Prada
• Kate Winslet, Little Children

Supporting Actor:

• Alan Arkin, Little Miss Sunshine
• James McAvoy, The Last King of Scotland
• Jack Nicholson, The Departed
• Leslie Phillips, Venus
• Michael Sheen, The Queen

Supporting Actress:

• Emily Blunt, The Devil Wears Prada
• Abigail Breslin, Little Miss Sunshine
• Toni Colette, Little Miss Sunshine
• Frances De La Tour, The History Boys
• Jennifer Hudson, Dreamgirls

Director:

• Alejandro González Iñárritu, Babel
• Martin Scorsese, The Departed
• Jonathan Dayton and Valerie Faris, Little Miss Sunshine
• Stephen Frears, The Queen
• Paul Greengrass, United 93

Original Screenplay:

• Babel
• Little Miss Sunshine
• Pan's Labyrinth
• The Queen
• United 93

Adapted Screenplay:

• Casino Royale
• The Departed
• The Devil Wears Prada
• The Last King of Scotland
• Notes on a Scandal

Foreign-Language Film:

• Apocalypto
• Black Book
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Rang De Basanti
• Volver

Animated Feature:

• Cars
• Flushed Away
• Happy Feet

Music:

• Babel
• Casino Royale
• Dreamgirls
• Happy Feet
• The Queen

Cinematography:

• Babel
• Casino Royale
• Children of Men
• Pan's Labyrinth
• United 93

Editing:

• Babel
• Casino Royale
• The Departed
• The Queen
• United 93

Production Design:

• Casino Royale
• Children of Men
• Marie Antoinette
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest

Costume Design:

• The Devil Wears Prada
• Marie Antoinette
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• The Queen

Sound:

• Babel
• Casino Royale
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• United 93

Visual Effects:

• Casino Royale
• Children of Men
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• Superman Returns

Make Up & Hair:

• The Devil Wears Prada
• Marie Antoinette
• Pan's Labyrinth
• Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
• The Queen

Animated Short:

• "Dreams and Desires—Family Ties"
• "Guy 101"
• "Peter and the Wolf"

Live-Action Short:

• "Care"
• "Cubs"
• "Do Not Erase"
• "Hikikomori"
• "Kissing, Tickling and Being Bored"

British Film of the Year:

• Casino Royale
• The Last King of Scotland
• Notes on a Scandal
• The Queen
• United 93

British Director, Writer or Producer in First Feature Film:

• Andrea Arnold, director of Red Road
• Julian Gilbey, director of Rollin' with the Nines
• Christine Langan, producer of Pierrepoint
• Gary Tarn, director of Black Sun
• Paul Andrew Williams, director of London to Brighton

Rising Star Award:

• Emily Blunt
• Eva Green
• Naomie Harris
• Cillian Murphy
• Ben Whishaw