London – The romantic musical “La La Land” is expected to win big at Sunday’s British film and television awards, the BAFTAs, following its seven-award success at the Golden Globes.
Director Damian Chazelle’s film is nominated in 11 categories, including best film, original music, cinematography, editing, production design, costume design and sound.
Chazelle is nominated for best director and original screenplay, while Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone are nominated in the leading actor and actress categories for their roles as artists who dream of love and success but end up having to choose between them.
The British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) said Chazelle, Gosling and Stone had all confirmed their attendance at the live televised ceremony on Sunday night, to be hosted by writer, comedian and actor Stephen Fry.
The red-carpet event at London’s Royal Albert Hall will also honour veteran writer, producer, director and actor Mel Brooks, 90, with a Fellowship, the British academy’s highest annual award.
Acclaimed for his work on films that include “The Producers,” “Young Frankenstein,” “High Anxiety” and “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” the Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy winner will receive his latest award personally from Prince William, the academy’s president.
BAFTA’s annual Fellowships recognize “an outstanding and exceptional contribution to film, television or games.”
Brooks follows last year’s winner, Sidney Poitier, and a long list of other noteworthy Fellowship recipients: Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Helen Mirren and Mike Leigh.
“I am not overwhelmed, but I am definitely whelmed by this singular honour,” Brooks told the academy.
“To be included among such iconic talents is absolutely humbling,” he said, praising BAFTA for “a strangely surprising yet ultimately wise decision.”
“La La Land” swept last month’s 74th Golden Globe awards in Los Angeles, winning seven trophies, including best film in the musical or comedy category for its bittersweet American love story told in song and dance.
Gosling – who learned jazz piano and tap dance for his role as a pianist – and Stone took the lead acting prizes in the Globes’ comedy or musical category.
The film faces competition on Sunday from “Arrival” and “Nocturnal Animals,” with nine nominations each, and “Manchester by the Sea” with six nominations.
Four films are nominated in five categories: “Hacksaw Ridge”, “Lion”, “I, Daniel Blake,” and Harry Potter spin-off “Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.”
Casey Affleck, for “Manchester by the Sea,” and Jake Gyllenhaal, for psychological thriller “Nocturnal Animals,” square off against Gosling in the best actor category.
–dpa
