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Rain fails to dampen exciting BAFTA awards ceremony

Renee Zellwegger arrives for the annual British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards ceremony at the Odeon Leicester Square, in London. PHOTO: AFP

The British academy awards were dominated by Ang Lee (李安) but there were plenty of other winners.

It was a skillfully choreographed evening on Sunday and London's Leicester Square looked genuinely beautiful as hundreds of celebrities walked down the red carpet.

The rain started at about 2pm. By the time the stars trudged down a soggy carpet it was pouring. Really icy unpleasant rain that didn't seem to upset the excited crowds. "George! George!" "Heath! Heath!" they cried.

There was no repeat of the foaming carpet incident of three years ago when the showers reacted with the flame retardant chemicals on the carpets.

The awards were hosted by Stephen Fry, for the sixth time.

Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for his portrayal of Truman Capote through a stunningly accurate impersonation of a man with one of the oddest voices.

Best actress award went to Reese Witherspoon for her film-stealing performance in the Johnny Cash biopic Walk The Line. It also won the best sound award.

Zhang Ziyi accepts the award for music for the film Memoirs of a Geisha. PHOTO: AP

After Lee's Brokeback Mountain,Memoirs of a Geisha was the top film with three wins: cinematography, costume design and music.

Crash won two awards. The sweaty tale of road rage and racial tension brought wins for Thandie Newton as best supporting actress and best original screenplay for director Paul Haggis and Bobby Moresco.

While it starred a lot of big names in small roles, the film was made on a tight budget.

Best British film of the year was the Aardman-animated Wallace and Gromit: The Curse of the Were-rabbit. The award for special achievement by a Briton in a first feature went to Joe Wright for the beautiful Pride and Prejudice.

George Clooney, nominated in three categories for two films, Syriana and the CBS versus Senator Joe McCarthy drama,Good Night, and Good Luck, walked away empty handed. Before the awards he praised the number of political dramas being made.

"We haven't talked about politics like this in America since Watergate," he said.

David Puttnam received BAFTA's Fellowship, following the likes of Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick. In a 30-year career, Lord Puttnam has produced films including The Killing Fields, Chariots of Fire and Bugsy Malone.

James McAvoy, who was Mr. Tumnus the faun in Disney's Narnia film, was the rising star award winner, a new prize. Voted for by the public, he beat off competition from Gael Garcia Bernal and Chiwetel Ejiofor.

Among the big-money blockbusters,King Kong won for visual effects, Harry Potter for production design and Narnia won makeup and hair.

The disappointment of the night was The Constant Gardener, the second film from Brazilian director Fernando Meirelles, who co-directed City of God. The film looked stunning and featured acclaimed performances from Ralph Fiennes as a mild-mannered diplomat opposite Rachel Weisz's fiery activist.

Weisz, wearing a Vivienne Westwood frock, told interviewers that her next big job would be to have a baby.

The Michael Balcon award for outstanding contribution to cinema went to Churck Finch -- one of the industry's leading gaffers -- and Bill Merrell, a best boy and rigging gaffer. They have each a track record of 50 films and have worked together for more than 20 years.
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