If Roger Friedman ever decides to become an expatriate, we know he would find a good home in the British Isles. You may recall that the Fox News columnist recently advocated that AMPAS members should honor Kate Winslet’s work in The Reader with a Best Actress nomination, versus the Best Supporting Actress nods she’s been getting from just about every other group. Taking Friedman’s cue (sort of), the BAFTA committee just announced that the English Rose has been honored with not one but TWO Best Actress nominations (the other being for her work in Revolutionary Road, natch). Those rogue critics across the pond seem to be deliberately thumbing their noses at the well-scripted (and expensive) For Your Consideration process that Hollywood dictates for most stateside critics, with one Guardian columnist going as far as saying that they “righted the wrongs the Golden Globes dished out.†However, this extra tip of the cap for Winslet turned out to be bittersweet news for Anne Hathaway: While she lost out on a nomination, it does get her out of having to schlep over to England for an awards ceremony in which she has no shot at winning.
Kate Winslet up against Kate Winslet at the Baftas [Guardian.co.uk]