Aussie actors acknowledged in AACTA Award nominations

Established in 2011, AACTA is a clever acronym for Australia’s version of the Academy Awards, actually standing for ‘Awards of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts’, and a continuum of the ol’ AFI Awards, established in 1958.

This year’s AACTA nominations see an impressive amount of Aussie talent up for wins including Essie Davis for her role in indie horror flick Babadook, Naomi Watts for her fab roles in comic book-style comedy Birdman and comi-drama St Vincent (pictured top of story).

Birdman (above) leads the nominations tally with a total of seven nods, followed by Boyhood and The Imitation Game, with five nominations each. All three are up for the prestigious award categories of Best Film, Best Direction and Best Screenplay. Whiplash follows closely with four nominations, and quirky take on the hospitality industry The Grand Budapest Hotel rounded out the top five with three.

Other films which got AACTA’s attention this year are American sports bio Foxcatcher, The Theory Of Everything (a bio on academic genius Stephen Hawking), Nightcrawler (note: Jake Gyllenhaal, below, nominated for Best Lead Actor up against Steve Carell, Benedict Cumberbatch, Michael Keaton, and Eddie Redmayne), and Still Alice (Julianne Moore tipped for Best Actress alongside nominees Felicity Jones, Rosamund Pike, Reese Witherspoon, and aforementioned Aussie Essie Davis).

Winners of the 4th AACTA International Awards will be announced in Los Angeles on 31 January at the G’Day USA Gala. The awards will form the centrepiece of the gala, which will also see G’Day USA honour a prominent Australian from the entertainment industry for their individual contribution to the US-Australia relationship.  Antonino Tati

The AACTA International Awards will be broadcast on Foxtel’s Arena on Sunday 1 February.

4TH AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS NOMINEES

Best Film 
BIRDMAN
BOYHOOD
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL
THE IMITATION GAME
WHIPLASH

Best Direction 
BIRDMAN – Alejandro González Iñárritu
BOYHOOD – Richard Linklater
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL – Wes Anderson
THE IMITATION GAME – Morten Tyldum
WHIPLASH – Damien Chazelle

Best Screenplay 
BIRDMAN – Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Armando Bo
BOYHOOD – Richard Linklater
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL – Wes Anderson
THE IMITATION GAME – Graham Moore
WHIPLASH – Damien Chazelle

Best Lead Actor 
Steve Carell – FOXCATCHER
Benedict Cumberbatch – THE IMITATION GAME
Jake Gyllenhaal – NIGHTCRAWLER
Michael Keaton – BIRDMAN
Eddie Redmayne – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING

Best Lead Actress 
Essie Davis – THE BABADOOK
Felicity Jones – THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING
Julianne Moore – STILL ALICE
Rosamund Pike – GONE GIRL
Reese Witherspoon – WILD

Best Supporting Actor 
Ethan Hawke – BOYHOOD
Edward Norton – BIRDMAN
Mark Ruffalo – FOXCATCHER
Andy Serkis – DAWN OF THE PLANET OF THE APES
J.K. Simmons – WHIPLASH

Best Supporting Actress 
Patricia Arquette – BOYHOOD
Keira Knightley – THE IMITATION GAME
Emma Stone – BIRDMAN
Meryl Streep – INTO THE WOODS
Naomi Watts – BIRDMAN