THE musical “Chicago” and the historical epic “Gangs of New York” led this year’s British Academy Award (BAFTA) nominations, announced yesterday, with 12 nods for each of the Miramax films.
Both were nominated for best picture, along with the Virginia Woolf homage “The Hours” (11 nods), the epic fantasy “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” (nine) and the Holocaust drama “The Pianist” (seven).
The best actor race includes Daniel Day-Lewis (“Gangs of New York”), Jack Nicholson (the dark comedy “About Schmidt”), Adrien Brody (“The Pianist”), Nicolas Cage (the quirky comedy “Adaptation”) and Michael Caine (the political drama “The Quiet American”).
And for best actress,Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep were both nominated for “The Hours,” along with Renée Zellweger (“Chicago”), Salma Hayek (the biopic “Frida”) – and Oscar-winner Halle Berry for the racism drama “Monster’s Ball,” which didn’t qualify for last year’s BAFTA contest.
The awards will be handed out in London on Feb. 23.