Baftas Awards Betting 2009

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts film awards, or Baftas to the likes of you and me, are rapidly approaching with nominations announced next week on January 15. Generally regarded as the British ‘Oscars’ they can provide a useful indication of the films likely to achieve success at the Hollywood event as well as providing an exciting opportunity for Bafta betting enthusiasts to exercise their judgement about the best films of the last year.

Free Betting On The Baftas

There are plenty of Awards Betting opportunities available on online betting sites and bookies have not been slow to recognise the enthusiasm for this kind of wager. For those of thinking about having a go there are plenty of very generous free bets available to new online customers and it’s worth having a good look round for the best offers when you are ready. There are also sites which will help you find the best deals as well as the best betting site for your needs.

Best Film is the most popular category and there are plenty of worthy contenders this year. Top of the list of likely nominations is ‘Slumdog Millionaire, a film which has already won over most of the American film critics who cite is as their choice for best film. It has also secured two important and influential Screen Actors Guild (SAG) nominations. Sean Penn’s outstanding ‘Milk’, winner of the New York Critics best film award, is a very strong contender and Penn may well go on to win the Best Actor Oscar for his performance.

Baftas Awards Hot Contenders 2009

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ is a Hollywood nostalgia trip which is receiving much acclaim while Kate Winslett’s strong performance in ‘Revolutionary Road’ may well win her the Best Female Actor award but is unlikely to be enough to save the film which is regarded as flawed. Sally Hawkins performance in Mike Leigh’s ‘Happy Go Lucky’ will pit her against Winslett for an award but Leigh’s films, although brilliant in their observation of British life, are rarely award fodder. Heath Ledger’s death, after his sterling performance in the latest in the Batman film, ‘The Dark Knight’ will give this film an exaggerated prominence but will hardly win best picture. Ledger may well get best Supporting Actor however.

International Favourites For The Bafta Trophy

Mickey Rourke is up there with his career revival vehicle, ‘The Wrestler’ but will barely catch the attention of the Bafta lot whose eyes will settle on contenders with more artistic or quirky merit. Similarly ‘Wall-E’ a Pixar animated feature, which has achieved widespread adulation, will be probably be overlooked because the lead roles are machines, not people. Who knows what will be the fate of the Israeli film ‘Waltz With Bashir’ which, with its widespread critical acclaim may well surprise us all, especially with the events currently happening in the Gaza strip. Other possible nomination contenders are ‘The Reader’ and the Nicole Kidman film ‘Australia’.

‘Mama Mia’ was a huge success in 2008 but is regarded as too much of a people pleaser by some and the worst film ever made, by others, to stand a chance. The thing that sets the Baftas apart from the Oscars is the requirement that films worthy of British recognition must pay overt homage to first the actor’s and then the filmmaker’s art and it’s worth remembering this when making your choices. There’s also a slight leaning towards films of British origin, presumably on the grounds that they need all the help they can get.