Why Were ‘Maria’ and ‘The Room Next Door’ Snubbed From BAFTA Longlists?
Both Angelina Jolie (“Maria”) and Tilda Swinton (“The Room Next Door”) will be in attendance at the Beverly Hilton on Sunday night as they compete for the Golden Globe award for best actress (drama). There’s a chance they’ll both leave empty-handed, with Nicole Kidman (“Babygirl”), Fernanda Torres (“I’m Still Here”), Kate Winslet (“Lee”) and Pamela Anderson (“The Last Showgirl”) also in contention for the honor amid a highly competitive year for lead actress.
But one awards show where neither Jolie and Swinton will be get recognition is the BAFTAs, with both of their acclaimed dramas failing to land a single spot on the longlists following the first round of voting.
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Announced Friday, the longlists have put “Emilia Perez” and “Conclave” out in front, with 15 and 14 slots respectively, followed by a tight pack that includes “The Substance,” “The Brutalist,” “A Complete Unknown,” “Dune: Part Two,” “Wicked” and “Anora.”
The omissions of “Maria” and “The Room Next Door,” two films that have been part of the awards chatter since bowing in Venice (where “The Room Next Door” won the Golden Lion award), is significant.
The third film in Pablo Larrain’s trilogy about important 20th century women, “Maria” becomes the first not to make it through the first round of voting, with “Jackie” getting three nominations in 2016 (including Natalie Portman for leading actress) and “Spencer” not making the final nominations but landing several longlist spots including Kristen Stewart.
For “The Room Next Door” it’s perhaps even more surprising, with Pedro Almodovar being a five-time BAFTA winner and Swinton being a previous BAFTA winner, and a beloved British star.
So why the snubs?
And for both, the simple answer could be down to the campaigning — or lack thereof.
Beyond appearing in the U.K. for the London Film Festival in October, there hasn’t been much of a presence for Jolie or “Maria” across the Atlantic for BAFTA voters.
“Did Angelina do much for BAFTA? Seems she was more focused on AMPAS this year,” says one industry source. It should also be noted that “Maria,” while being available on awards platforms, hasn’t been released in the U.K. yet, with the film due to release Jan. 10. In addition, Netflix doesn’t have the U.K. distribution rights (StudioCanal does).
For “The Room Next Door,” again, there wasn’t a huge amount in the way of campaigning in the U.K. compared to other contenders, and certainly nothing like “The Substance,” which Mubi — based in London — has been heavily marketing for months, Demi Moore and director Coralie Fargeat working tirelessly on behalf of the film.
Like “Maria,” “The Room Next Door” also has different U.S. and U.K. distributors with Sony Pictures Classics handling stateside and Warner Bros internationally. As one awards publicity specialist notes, “Everybody being on one team and having one cohesive effort in multiple markets when it comes to awards is helpful — though that’s not to say multiple distributors in multiple markets and multiple teams can’t yield results.”
The incredible awards results in both markets for Netflix’s “Emilia Perez” — which was far from the most critically adored film in Cannes (and lost out to “Anora” for the Palme d’Or) — do appear to indicate what a coordinated campaign can achieve.
On the leading actress longlist, where there was no Jolie or Swinton (or her co-star, Moore), there was space for Marisa Abela for the biopic “Back to Black.” But this surprise addition could be best explained by the iconicity of Amy Winehouse, who she played in the film, plus BAFTA voters’ affinity for up-and-coming talent (i.e., Micheal Ward in “Empire of Light”). Much of Jolie’s buzz was also about her triumphant Hollywood comeback, a factor that plays heavily with AMPAS voters, but less so overseas.
As the awards specialist says: “I think it just shows that this is anybody’s year.”
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