Vera Drake in line for Bafta film nomination

The nominations for this year’s Bafta film awards are being announced tomorrow.

Hollywood blockbusters The Aviator, Shrek 2 and The Incredibles are in the running, along with low-budget British offerings such as Mike Leigh’s Vera Drake.

The best actress category is almost certain to include Imelda Staunton, who has already picked up awards for her starring role in Vera Drake.

Nicole Kidman could earn a nomination for Birth, while Kate Winslet could have two nominations for her performances in Finding Neverland and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

Jude Law is a best actor contender for Closer, along with Tom Cruise for Collateral and Johnny Depp for Finding Neverland.

Kate Beckinsale and Cate Blanchett are in with a good chance of landing a best supporting actress nomination for The Aviator.

The nominees will be announced this morning from Bafta’s headquarters in Piccadilly, central London.

Votes have been cast by Bafta’s 6,240 members, and the longlist of 15 in each category has been whittled down to five.

The awards ceremony itself will be held on a Saturday night this year for the first time – February 12.

It will be hosted as usual by Stephen Fry and broadcast the same night on BBC1.

Since the organisers took the decision to move the Baftas forward and ahead of the Academy Awards they have become one of the biggest events in the movie world, with a host of Hollywood stars in attendance.

One film said to be missing from today’s nominations is Million Dollar Baby, starring Clint Eastwood as a boxing trainer and Hilary Swank as his protégé.

The movie has received rave reviews and is tipped for Oscar glory – but the UK screenings were only held a few weeks ago and reportedly not enough voters had seen the film.

Besides the categories announced today, one award will be chosen by the public.

The 10 biggest UK box office hits of 2004 have been shortlisted for the Orange Film of the Year award.

Moviegoers can vote for their favourite via the Orange website.

The films are:

:: Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason

:: The Day After Tomorrow

:: Shrek 2

:: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

:: Spider-Man 2

:: Troy

:: Shark Tale

:: I, Robot

:: Scooby Doo 2

:: The Incredibles