'Philomena', '12 Years A Slave' and 'American Hustle' lead BAFTA Award hopes, following the nominations announced this morning.
The Best Film will be chosen from these nominees:
'12 Years a Slave', 'American Hustle', 'Captain Phillips', 'Gravity' and 'Philomena'
while Best Director nominees are Steve McQueen ('12 Years'), David O'Russell ('American Hustle'), Paul Greengrass ('Captain Phillips'), Alfonso Cuarón ('Gravity'), Martin Scorsese ('The Wolf of Wall Street').
It was a very good morning for Steve Coogan, with his film 'Philomena' also getting a nod in the Best British Film category - along with 'Gravity', 'Mandela Long Walk to Freedom', 'Philomena', 'Rush', 'Saving Mr Banks', 'The Selfish Giant'.
Idris Elba fared less well. He was overlooked in the Best Actor category for his portrayal of Nelson Mandela, as was Colin Firth for his portrayal of Eric Lomax in 'The Railway Man'. Idris's co-star Naomie Harris, also failed to get a mention.
In the acting stakes, odds seem evenly divided between '12 Years a Slave' and 'American Hustle', with the latter just sneaking ahead with nominations for both its leading lady and man, as well as supporting roles - Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Jennifer Lawrence AND Bradley Cooper.
Best Actor nods went to Christian Bale ('American Hustle'), Bruce Dern ('Nebraska'), Leonardo DiCaprio ('The Wolf of Wall Street', Chiwetel Ejiofor ('12 Years A Slave', Tom Hanks ('Captain Phillips').
Nominations for Best Actress included Amy Adams ('American Hustle'), Cate Blanchett ('Blue Jasmine'), Sandra Bullock ('Gravity), Judi Dench ('Philomena') and Emma Thompson ('Saving Mr Banks').
This is Dame Judi's FIFTEENTH BAFTA nod.
The nominations were announced by 'The Hobbit' star Luke Evans and Peaky Blinders actress Helen McCrory from the BAFTA Theatre in London.
The EE British Academy Film Awards will take place on Sunday 16 February 2014 and will be held for the eighth year running at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
Hosted by Stephen Fry, and sponsored by EE, the Awards will be broadcast exclusively on BBC One and BBC One HD that evening, preceded by a red carpet show on BBC Three.