Baftas 2020: 1917 and Joaquin Phoenix triumph – as it happened

And finally, here’s our story on that significant Joaquin Phoenix speech, definitely one of the talking points of the night.

That’s it – we’re going to bed. See you for the Oscars this time next week, and thanks for watching the Baftas with us.

We’ve just launched our gallery of the best images of the night.

Here are the people who lost out tonight: Al Pacino, the royals and Cats for three.

Quentin Tarantino’s somewhat gloomy countenance at the Baftas is being talked about on Twitter – particularly when Bong June-ho won the screenplay award for Parasite and beat Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.

And, naturally, we’re going to be doing this all again, only on a bigger scale, for the Oscars next Sunday.

If you’re a Guardian liveblog addict, then we’ve got a pair of them starting for the Super Bowl. Follow the actual game here and we’re blogging the attendant hoopla, ads and half-time show from J Lo here.

Here’s that speech on diversity by Joaquin Phoenix, plus some commentary by writer Rebecca Carroll.

The success of For Sama tonight was definitely something to celebrate. As this tweet from Channel 4’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy puts it:

As for the hosting, some people are missing Stephen Fry:

LiviaDrusilla

02 February 2020 9:31pm

I never thought I'd agree with a post saying 'Bring back Stephen Fry" but.... you're right!

I think part of the problem is that a couple of years ago Fry seemed to be on every time you switched on the TV so people got sick of the sight of him. But now that he's kept a relatively low profile for a few years, it might be good to see him here again. Deffo better than Norton or Lumley.

So that’s it – a Baftas that talked the talk about diversity but perhaps didn’t really walk the walk, a factor called out by Joaquin Phoenix in a powerful speech. Plus, it’s pretty surprising that The Irishman – the Guardian’s film of the year, no less – didn’t win a single gong. But that’s awards for you – often arbitrary and rather difficult to fathom.

1917 won a bunch more awards – it won seven in all, putting it at the front of the queue for the Oscars when they’re dished out next Sunday.

They’re now recapping the awards that weren’t broadcasted, including original score, which was won by Hildur Guðnadóttir, whom we interviewed a few weeks ago. You can see the full list here.

Kathleen Kennedy remembers filming Raiders of the Lost Ark in London and having Steven Spielberg and George Lucas as mentors, vows that more will be done to be inclusive, and generally wraps up the evening with class. That’s it!

This is quite a montage, taking in Star Wars, Back to the Future, Lincoln, Schindler’s List, ET and a whole lot more – all produced by Kathleen Kennedy.

Daisy Ridley and John Boyega are on stage to give the award to Star Wars producer Kathleen Kennedy. The camera keeps panning to a stone-faced Adam Driver who will be going home empty-handed tonight.

William adds that more needs to be done to address diversity in Bafta and the film industry. “Bafta take this issue seriously and have commissioned a thorough review.”

George Mackay, the film’s star, pays tribute to the crew and “the goodness that can come in working on something bigger than yourself.”

Sam Mendes thanks the people who’ve gone to see the film: “It’s still on,” he points out.

Hugh Grant is giving out the award for best film with a Bridget Jones gag: “Well done, Jones.” The nominee are 1917, The Irishman, Joker, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood and Parasite.

Backstage, Zellweger’s been talking to Lanre and the assembled hacks about what Judy Garland meant to the gay community.

It’s impossible to accurately represent the legacy of Judy Garland without touching on what she meant to the LGBTQ+ community. Being one of the first people who spoke out and advocated publicly at a time when folks weren’t safe to live authentically, it could be worse, you could be ostracised or becoming a social pariah. It was illegal. I can’t imagine what that must have meant to a person who felt ostracised at that time, it must have meant everything. That was Rupert [Goold’s] decision to put that in.

Zellweger pays lavish tribute to Jessie Buckley who was also in the film, although she was nominated instead for Wild Rose, and gives a shout-out to a list of people including her “stage moms” and director Rupert Goold.

Robert De Niro says that Graham Norton was his muse for The Irishman, then gives out the gong for best leading actress: Jessie Buckley, Scarlett Johansson, Saorsie Ronan, Charlize Theron and Renée Zellweger.

Olivia Colman gives the award for best actor: “I’d have a Wagamama with any of this lot” – Leonardo DiCaprio, Adam Driver, Taron Egerton, Joaquin Phoneix and Jonathan Pryce. Joaquin wins, wearing his famous tuxedo.

Lanre spoke to Sam Mendes at the Albert Hall.

“We’re absolutely over the moon – at the risk of sounding like an out of work football manager.

“I feel like somehow, because of the idea of shooting it without a cut, because of the crew and the amount of time we spent working together, it was kind of a utopia for me which I’ll never experience again. I thought: ‘I have to enjoy every second of this’, because I found it hard to imagine those circumstances ever happening again.

“In this movie, every single member of the crew was engaged with every single shot and that’s never happened before. It became a very selfless and unified group of people and that’s very unusual in film because it’s usually a fragmented process.

“Everyone behind the camera, in front of the camera – there were 1,000 people involved in making it. Everything from the trenches, to orchards, to farmhouses was made by these people and it’s a testament to them. I’m proud that that work was recognised.”

And a zinger! “Looking at this category – Sam Mendes, Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips, Quentin Tarantino, Bong Joon-ho, I don’t think I could do what they do. I just don’t have the balls.” Which gets the biggest laugh of the night.

She puts the mask to her face: “What a great way to stop yourself from getting coronavirus.” Maybe Wilson should host next year.

Wilson is wearing a half-red, half-black dress. “The black is from the funeral I went to for the film Cats.” Oh blimey.

Here comes Rebel Wilson: “Good evening distinguished guests and those who don’t identify as that. It’s an honour to be at the Royal Andrew Hall” – oof! “Tonight you’re getting a gifting wallet – which is what I call my vagina. So maybe I’ll win best original score at the afterparty tonight.”

Lanre’s been talking to Bong Joon-ho, who said:

“I think in any country you have the rich and you have the poor and between those classes you have staircases. Being here today going up and down the staircases of the Royal Albert Hall is making me sweat.

“Parasite is a movie about a poor man who wanted to go up the stairs but ends up going down the stairs, and I think it’s a sad portrait of our current times.”

The compere, Miranda Sawyer, then explained that the press conference takes place in the basement of Royal Albert Hall and Bong said: “This is the bunker! You are the best people.”

On diversity, the hot-button subject this year, Bong said: “I’m not sure if I’m contributing to the diversity of the Oscars or Baftas because I’ve been making films for the last 20 years, it’s a huge honour to be invited to these events. But from the various efforts we’ve been putting in, we will arrive at a day when we do have diversity whether that’s about gender, sexuality or people of colour.”

It’s the people we’ve lost section including Rutger Hauer, Terry Jones, John Singleton, Peter Fonda, Agnès Varda, Doris Day and Franco Zeffirelli.

Really can’t wait to see Parasite, a genre-mashing film which my colleagues, including the Guide’s Gwilym Mumford, have raved about. Here’s our review from Cannes, where it debuted last year.

Indeed, Parasite took the prize, adding to its tally of 170 awards to date.

So we’re on best film not in the English language: The Farewell, For Sama, Pain and Glory, Parasite and Portrait of a Lady on Fire. I loved Pain and Glory but it won’t win.

Here’s film critic Peter Bradshaw’s verdict on how the night went down – again, wait until the end to read it if you’re spoiler-wary.

1917 takes the prize for its one-take, immersive depiction of the first world war.

So it’s best special visual effects: 1917, Avengers Endgame, The Irishman (for the De Niro de-aging), The Lion King and Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker. What, no Cats?

Well I guess that was good if you like that kind of thing? Renée Zellweger, who plays Judy in the film, seemed to enjoy it anyway. As my colleague Hadley puts it:

Now Cirque du Soleil are doing a Judy Garland tribute which involves a woman in a black basque and knickers being flung around by three blokes in baggy white trousers. The stars, including Olivia Colman, applaud politely.

So here’s our story about the Bafta fashions – not many people got the memo about sustainability.

And he’s calling the award Harry “because he’s really excited about bringing it back to the States with him.” Boom boom!

Bong says that he wrote Parasite in coffee shops and never dreamed that he’d be standing at the Albert Hall.

Florence Pugh presents the award for original screenplay. The contenders: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Parasite, Marriage Story, Knives Out, Booksmart.

Waad Al-Kateab is a bit tearful accepting her award for a documentary filmed in Aleppo, Syria, as bombs rained down. “As we speak there’s a bombing and shelling on 3.5 million civilians.” She appeals for Britain not to turn its back on the Syrian people.

It’s the best documentary award: The Great Hack, Apollo 11, For Sama, American Factory and Diego Maradona are the contenders.

Well that was a touching speech with the sting in the tail that both of Serkis’s parents “slipped away while I was filming on the other side of the world”.

Andy Serkis, the most agile actor in London according to Ian McKellen, thanks his partner and three children for “allowing me to gallivant around the world wearing grey spandex and not disowning me”.

Here’s our news story on the Baftas – but don’t click if you’re spoiler-wary.

So there’s quite a long riff about the disparity in heights between the cast of Lord of the Rings. Someone only came up to belt-height: “It wasn’t so much acting as navel-gazing.”

Now it’s outstanding British contribution to cinema presented by a dapper Ian McKellen.

Quite a bold choice for something in black-and-white and filmed on 16mm camera – and about Cornish fishermen, as Jenkin says in his touching speech.

So the nominations are Bait, Only You, For Sama, Retablo and Maiden.

Sex Education’s Gillian Anderson and Asa Butterfield come on to give the award for outstanding debut with a slightly awkward gag about imagining everyone naked. Adam Driver is wearing a codpiece, apparently.

Jessie Buckley is now singing Glasgow from Wild Rose. Plenty of closeups of stars intently listening – as they should to this splendidly sung number. Was Laura Dern shedding a tear there?

The Baftas’ view of Jojo Rabbit was not shared by our Peter Bradshaw, who gave the film one star.

George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman from 1917 are back and giving out the award for best adapted screenplay: the nominees are Jojo Rabbit, The Irishman, Joker, Little Women, The Two Popes.

Waad Al-Kateab and Edward Watts, the directors and producers of For Sama, have been talking to Lanre.

“People say it’s too much, in the film that was only 10% of what we shot and that is only a tiny percentage of what’s happening in Aleppo. In the past six months more than 71 attacks have happened on 51 medical facilities, 10 of them were maternity hospitals. I know it’s hard to watch but it’s harder to take for those who it’s happening to.”

Meanwhile Sama, the director’s daughter, “was running riot in the press area dismantling microphones and keeping compere Miranda Sawyer on her toes …”

“When I was six years old my mother received this very award in this category thanks to Mr Scorsese,” says Laura Dern about her mother Diane Ladd, who won for Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore. She goes on to pay tribute to Rada, where she studied, and Peter Sellers.

Best supporting actress now, and the contenders are Margot Robbie for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Scarlett Johansson for Jojo Rabbit, Florence Pugh for Little Women, Margot Robbie again for Bombshell and Laura Dern for Marriage Story.

Co-writer Krysty Wilson-Cairns gives the acceptance speech, paying tribute to the “incredible bravery” of the men who fought in the first world war.

So the first award is for outstanding British film and the contenders are 1917, Bait, The Two Popes, For Sama, Sorry We Missed You and Rocketman.

“Let’s get on with the awards because, unlike Robert De Niro in The Irishman, we’re not getting any younger.” De Niro gives that a mildly avuncular smile.

We’ve now got a montage of the year in film set to Hot Chip’s Melody of Love. Cats is in it.

Good Irishman gag. “They said don’t watch it on your phone, but whose battery lasts that long?” This is definitely better than the Joanna Lumley opening monologue, although that’s a low bar.

“I think this will be remembered as the year when white men really broke through,” says Norton. Joker, he says, “is the story of a white man who makes himself even whiter.”

Our Catherine says that the EE on the podium has the suggestion of two testicles.

Graham Norton’s on in a red velvet jacket. “You’re in safe hands, I’m not going to be mean to anyone. I loved Cats, I’m not even joking.”

So that was a genuinely good gag from Asim Chaudhry from People Just Do Nothing to Sam Mendes. “Call my agent if you need another brown guy for your war films – it’s Laurence Fox.” Although there’s definitely a sense that the Baftas are having their diversity cake and eating it …

Robert De Niro says: “There’s no such thing as confidence, you do your best.”

So here’s a lovingly crafted red carpet gallery from our fashion team.

So Call the Midwife’s ending. Is it just me who always imagines that title to the tune of Robyn’s Call Your Girlfriend?

The longer the ceremony goes on, and the more info about it there is on social media, the stranger it seems that we have to contend with a two-hour delay. But there we are. Thanks for bearing with us. The TV broadcast starts in five minutes on BBC1, stand by for us liveblogging the hell out of it.

From our Lanners:

Taika Waititi on using one well-placed F-word in Jojo Rabbit.

I wanted kids to see the film. I think it’s important that they saw it and understand what has happened in the past and because humans are such idiots we could be doomed to repeat. In America you’re probably aware that you can only have the F-word once in a movie. Anything above that it’s an automatic R-rating so you’re cutting out anyone below 18, so I was determined to keep it clean-ish.

In the room where it happens, Brad Pitt has just cracked a pretty good Brexit gag: “Hey Britain. Heard you just became single. Welcome to the club!” As Catherine wrote recently, it’s part of a pretty effective charm offensive that’s seen him cut a wisecracking swather through awards season. What we don’t know – yet – is who’s penning these rib-ticklers. As we said in the story:

“The idea that Pitt has a speechwriter is not news,” says Anne Thompson, Indiewire’s editor-at-large. “They all use them. Carrie Fisher used to do it. This one is good, whoever they are.”

Lily-Rose Depp, whose parents are Johnny Depp and Vanessa Paradis, has the genes that mean something like a lace dress over a lace catsuit feels almost unremarkable. Of course, it isn’t – it has a rock’n’roll, Parisian, Helmut Newton feel that has not found its way to the red carpet anywhere else. We’re into it.

According to Screen International Laura Dern commented on the #dernaissance hashtag celebrating her great year thusly: “I’ve heard this pun and I’m liking it. Roles are changing because culture is changing.

“People say: ‘You played a couple of powerful women!’ – because there are a couple of them to play! Women are heads of finance and divorce lawyers and they weren’t 15 years ago. They’re complicated and powerful, and amazing characters to play.”

Our Lanre adds that she “also bigged up Rada, and said she worshipped Shakespeare”.

How much are the Baftas bellwethers for the Oscars? Well, there’s a 25% crossover in the voters according to film editor Catherine Shoard so films that do well at the Baftas usually do well on Hollywood’s big night. There’s also the magic “momentum”, which A Star Is Born lost last year and, er, Green Book very much gained. Oscar voting closes on Tuesday so this is the last chance the film companies have to drum up support.

Sandy Powell, as the costume designer for The Irishman, knows about innovative fashion. She wore a suit covered in the signatures of luminaries in the film industry, which will be auctioned off after the Oscars in order to raise money for Artfund’s campaign to save Derek Jarman’s Prospect Cottage and create a residency programme there for young artists.

No, it wasn’t a dog collar on the Bafta red carpet for Andrew Scott. But Fleabag’s “Hot Priest” still stands out from the usual monochrome choice of men at award ceremonies. His green velvet jacket is smart and has a bit of glamour, so it’s a double thumbs up from us – even without anything ecclesiastical involved.

In Sex Education, Gillian Anderson makes a case for wafty robes and wedges. On the red carpet, the actor ups the classic glamour. This strapless black velvet dress is so chic because it is so simple. All that’s needed? Satin red naked sandals and a string of sparkle. It’s all a long way from Moorfield High.

A disembodied leg is now a well-known trope of the modern red carpet. Angelina Jolie’s at the Oscars in 2012 is still a meme somewhere on the internet. Naomie Harris’s pose here puts her in the mix too – and it’s even her right leg, the same as Jolie’s. Her dress, which has the fringing that other actors have worn too, is worth noting as well.

“Nack all going on here,” says our man in the Albert Hall. I’m getting into the spirit with a warm can of Kronenbourg, which could be a mistake.

It’s not often that red carpet dressing makes concessions to the weather. So we applaud Al Pacino, who is nominated for supporting actor for his role in The Irishman, for doing what’s sensible on a February evening in the UK and wearing a coat. Top marks also for his sensible shoes in the form of New Balance trainers. Less practical, though, are the sunnies. Sundown today was 16:53.

As Renata Klein in Big Little Lies, Laura Dern makes a case for 21st-century power-dressing, in all its stealth wealth glory. Dern herself has an approach to style which comes with, you might say, less rage and more joy. This frock, in the shade of watermelon, is fresh, glamorous and also somehow nonchalant. Perhaps that is down to the pockets.

For spring/summer 2020, sexy necklines with an architectural twist are big. Charlize Theron has brought the look to the red carpet with a dose of fun thanks to the purple. The black nail polish is anything but emo on a look that seems inspired by the severe lines of brutalism. Barbican-chic rendered in Technicolor from the leading actress nominee.

Greta Gerwig may have been snubbed in the best director category, with her take on Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women not earning her a place alongside male directors Martin Scorsese and Sam Mendes, but she’s come out in a look that oozes old Hollywood glamour. Her sumptuous emerald-green velvet gown is offset with straps made from enough crystals to fill a small Hatton Garden shop.

Olivia Colman looks like the kind of woman who knows what she likes when it comes to what she wears – see chiffon sleeves, florals and understated jewellery. This outfit, with its art nouveau florals and soft poet sleeves is like a sequel to the Prada outfit she wore when winning her Oscar last year. Although not nominated for a Bafta this time around, she is a strong contender for some fashion praise tonight.

Big up to MikeMoonlight for this Al Pacino-related gag.

MikeMoonlight

02 February 2020 7:03pm

" Al Pacino has fallen over...."

Just when you think he's down, they pull him back up again....

machinehead

02 February 2020 6:59pm

Is Margot Robbie here too for us to ....er....protest against obviously....

She is indeed and looking spiffing.

Al Pacino did indeed take a tumble on the red carpet according to this story from the Mirror. Be careful out there, Al!

Without the same tradition of red carpet theatrics that womenswear can draw on, menswear has to introduce some drama where it can, even if it’s in hushed tones via a bit of sparkle on a collar. Here the Queen and Slim actor Daniel Kaluuya is giving it some subtle welly with his embellished shirt. For real red carpet menswear pyrotechnics, you can’t do much better than Billy Porter’s motorised fringe hat on the Grammys red carpet last week. Still, hats off to Kaluuya for trying.

Drama in the venue – Al Pacino has fallen over according to this Twitter feed.

Jodie Turner-Smith, the star of Queen & Slim, is the latest member of a still surprisingly small club: women who do the red carpet while pregnant. Her floorlength sunshine yellow gown, with its halter bodice, is a classy take. File with Beyonce’s red sequin dress in 2017, Natalie Portman in Prada the same year and – of course – Kim Kardashian-West in that much-meme’d floral frock at the Met Ball in 2013.

We’re posting a list of Bafta winners as the ceremony progresses. We’re doing this in real time, not from the TV feed. So don’t click if you want to avoid spoilers.

Big up to MontoyaFan below the line who is not into Scarlett’s mermaid dress/tattoos combo:

MontoyaFan

02 February 2020 6:48pm

How did tattoos become so mainstream? They look bloody awful, and are only just about acceptable on sailors. The vandal who did that to Scarlet Johannsens back deserves a.long prison sentence.

That’s definitely the end of the Facebook coverage – we just had a high tone and what older viewers like myself would call the test card.

I’m still watching the Facebook feed. Someone just said: “Are we still live? I’ve had absolutely no communication for the past hour.”

A dispatch from our Lanre Bakare, who is in the room where it happens (well, the press pen in the Albert Hall). “Heard more people saying the word on the street is that big Prince Willy is going to say ‘something’. That ‘street’ is a room full of bored journalists waiting to be taken into a basement but still … Excitement is building.”

There’s been a lot of speculation about whether the Duchess of Cambridge would rewear an old gown, something she’s done on several occasions. And lo and behold, here is a wardrobe repeat for her: she wore this Alexander McQueen gown to a dinner hosted by Malaysia’s head of state during the diamond jubilee tour, way back in 2012.

Quite digging the haiku-style news stories from the BBC.

Red carpets of the 00s would have been awash with them, and Saoirse Ronan’s spaghetti straps are nodding to that period’s revival in fashion of late. The actor, nominated for her role as Jo March in Little Women, has polished off the look with earrings that look like an elevated take on the contents of a Skittles bag. Plus: pockets! Because every dress deserves them.

Scarlett Johansson is unrecognisable from her roles in both Jojo Rabbit and Marriage Story for the Baftas. This is a dress that is ready to party. It’s a bit reminiscent of the one Beyonce wore to the Met Gala in 2011, with the pose out of Rihanna’s playbook - see the popstar’s tribute to Josephine Baker at the CDFA awards in 2014. Both great references and a great dress.

So that’s it for a bit. The ceremony starts at 7pm but it’s not on TV until 9pm, so stay tuned for some slightly awkward filler – I mean sparkling bon mots – over the next couple of hours.

Vick sums up her time on the red carpet meeting Al Pacino and Robert De Niro. “I touched them! I shook their hand!” she says. She didn’t ask them any decent questions, mind, but maybe that’s one for next year.

Nominated twice, once for her role in Bombshell and once for Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Margot Robbie has gone for a look that is demure with a capital D. Its long hemline and colour palette take it a million miles from the Fox News “look” of Bombshell or the hippy babydoll dresses of her role in Tarantino’s latest.

“She looks like a real-life mermaid” is the not inaccurate summary of Scarlett’s dress from our friends at Facebook.

Scarlett Johansson is wearing an eye-popping dress. The Mail will describe it as barely there. Curves are being flaunted and so are her tattoos. Hats off!

Renée Zellweger is nominated for her role as Judy Garland in the biopic Judy. She takes a style leaf out of Garland’s book here - with a dress that feels as midcentury as it does 2020. The off-the-shoulder detail and the lush pink taffeta only add to the mood, while the bracelets on both wrists are unexpectedly Wonder Woman. Hey, whatever works.

We’re back on the red carpet with Laura Dern, whose turn as a hard-as-nails lawyer in Marriage Story should surely net her a gong tonight.

Nominated for best supporting actress for her role as Amy March in Little Women, Florence Pugh has come in a hot pink and black dress that would make her on-screen character proud. It’s one to arrest the eyeballs on Instagram feeds. The wide silhouette speaks to the current trend for all things Renaissance in fashion, from panniers to pearls – titled Renaissancecore it has had fashion show front rows doing their best to look like Anne Boleyn.

Robert De Niro on the red carpet at his first ever Baftas. What was it like seeing himself de-aged? “I liked it” – and who wouldn’t?

I interviewed Dustin Hoffman a few years ago who told me that he loved the Baftas because, unlike the Oscars, the stars can get pissed while watching it.

There’s something brilliantly Buffy the Vampire Slayer about Zazie Beetz’s high-glam vampy red carpet look here, from the burgundy strapless dress to the burgundy lipstick. Plus she’s opted for that most powerful of sartorial moves: the thigh-high slit. The Joker star is not here to mess about.

John Boyega looks unrecognisable from his turn as stormtrooper turned good guy in the Star Wars franchise. No desert-coloured survival style here. Instead, this brocade-style red suit is a bold choice and, with a lot of the men on the red carpet still playing it safe with black tuxes, one that we heartily approve of. No wonder he looks pleased with himself.

We have an answer to the number of glasses worn by Taron Egerton in Rocketman. Fifty-four. As for “singing singing floor”, that was La La Land ... right.

It’s the great John Boyega on the red carpet with Vick Hope. What do the awards mean to him? “A pat on the back” says the former winner of the rising star award. He’s not going to the party after because he’s training for a film called Rebel Ridge. And he’s also wearing a very fancy red jacket.

We have an answer to Tintenfische’s query about the Bafta mask, sort of. It was sculpted by Mitzi Cunliffe in 1955. So now you know.

George Mackay and Dean-Charles Chapman, the stars of 1917, are on the red carpet. What was it like to film? “Muddy,” they say. 1917 is tipped to sweep the board tonight although the most namechecked film on the red carpet so far has been Parasite.

There’s something a bit Vegas lounge singer about Rebel Wilson’s outfit - which makes us like it a lot. Also, if you study this picture for long enough, it looks like Wilson is actually wearing two dresses. And that adds a bit of Balenciaga edge to proceedings.

Vick’s on the red carpet with Jonathan Pryce, saying that her mum loves his film The Two Popes. Is she Catholic, asks Jonathan Pryce, somehow implying that it’s only of interest to Catholics. He also had a great time acting with Anthony Hopkins according to the interview. I wonder whether an actor has ever said “I hated every minute with my co-star”?

“Playthings wake up” … but is playthings one word or two, our hosts want to know? One according to the Guardian style guide.

This is some heroic filling our hosts are doing. Having drawn the titles of the nominated films they’re now giving three-word clues. “Singing singing floor” … is this Rocketman?

How many pairs of glasses did Taron Egerton wear in Rocketman? More than 50 according to the Facebook hosts – who I now know, thanks to Google, are Jack Howard, Nush Cope and Tyler West, with the excellently named Vick Hope on the red carpet.

Charlie’s Angel star Ella Balinska has given the red carpet what it wants: a train the size of your Duke of Edinburgh awards sleeping bag. The soft florals are offset with sky-high black stilettos and her hair is pulled back into the A-list’s favourite hairstyle du jour: the high ponytail.

Richard E Grant is now on the red carpet. He’s presenting the award for best supporting female actor and hopes it goes to Laura Dern.

Joaquin Phoenix said before the award season that he would wear the same Stella McCartney suit to all of the ceremonies he attended. Judging by this picture, it looks as if the Joker star was true to his word. A classic tux that we’ll probably be seeing again this time next week at the Oscars.

The hosts on Facebook are now discussing Bafta’s vexed issue of diversity – 36% of the nominees are women according to the hosts on Facebook. While that doesn’t sound impressive, it’s better than last year – perhaps an example of the glacially slow progress on this issue of Hollywood at large.

And it’s a warm welcome to Tintenfische below the line.

Tintenfische

02 February 2020 5:39pm

I’ve always wanted to know who the bafta statuette is and more importantly which bastard gauged out his right eye?

If you were in any doubt about which fashion decade it is, look to Jessie Buckley’s dress to jog your memory. The Wild Rose star’s monochromatic look is all about the flapper-filled roaring 1920s, complete with feathers and razor-sharp bob.

Now we’re with an eccentrically dressed Al Pacino, who’s being asked about the role he’d always like to play. The answer – Hamlet, although he says that Richard Harris told him that if you don’t play Hamlet when you’re young, you never will. “You’re still young,” says Vic the host to Pacino, who is 79. Well, buttering up the stars never went amiss.

Kaitlyn Dever was just on the red carpet saying that Olivia Wilde, the director of Booksmart, is “an alien” (meant complimentary). Now we’re with David Furnish, who is spruiking (as the Australians would say).Rocketman, the biopic of his husband, Elton John. Taron Egerton, he says, “became Elton on a molecular level” when playing the star – blimey.

Kaitlyn Dever has been spotted in Miu Miu, Dior and Valentino of late. Here big-potatoes Hollywood stylist Karla Welch has dressed the Booksmart star in a beautiful frock that looks a little like a high-fashion loo roll doll, all lovely frills and float; no Flash bathroom cleaner in sight. We wouldn’t be surprised to see it as a meme – 2020’s highest form of flattery.

Monochrome sparkle is a no brainer for winter afterdark dressing - and Emilia Clarke is a pro. This outfit could - feasibly - work for anything from a 40th birthday party to the evening do of a wedding. Wearing it on the red carpet gives Clarke an edge of understated cool. The slicked back hair and twinkly earrings score further points.

Asif Kapadia is on the red carpet. He’s nominated for his film about Diego Maradona. He went to art school next door to the Albert Hall, and says he feels like an underdog – much like Diego’s team Napoli. The segment ends with a handshake so awkward that the hosts are getting another two minutes of material out of it.

Ella Balinska, the star of Charlie’s Angels, is on the red carpet now. She’s saying that the films this year are exploring what it means to be human, which is simultaneously a big call and stating the bleedin’ obvious. Meanwhile, there’s a poll on the best plot twist of all time. When we looked at it The Sixth Sense had 100% and the rest were on zero, which strongly implies that a grand total of one person had voted.

This might be the Baftas, but Zoë Kravitz has come as a resplendent Oscars statuette. The look’s a long way from the knitted vests and Beastie Boys tees she wears in the forthcoming High Fidelity series. It’s high-Hollywood glamour transported to a cold, February in South Kensington, complete with a stylishly extreme side-parting. She can do no sartorial wrong.

We’re back on the red carpet. Sam Mendes and David Furnish are here, the atmosphere’s electric, the fashion is sustainable, the food is plant based and they’re even recycling the red carpet. Well, according to the hosts anyway.

So there’s news from the red carpet coming live and direct on Facebook. At the moment, though, we’re in the studio, where the hosts are drawing their interpretations of the contending films. This could be a long night.

New Baftas host Norton celebrates with something of a Christmassy vibe – red velvet and embroidery worthy of the finest opera coat. With attendees encouraged to be mindful of the planet when choosing their outfits this year, you might speculate that this outfit was found in Norton’s archive. He has now been dressing for the limelight for over 20 years so that wardrobe is bound to have some treasures.

The red carpet is already in full swing. This year, guests have been encouraged to opt for more planet-friendly fashion choices by wearing something they already own, renting an outfit, wearing vintage or opting for a designer that produces sustainable clothes, such as Stella McCartney, Mother of Pearl or Bethany Williams. London College of Fashion’s Centre of Sustainability wrote a pamphlet to help celebrities up their sustainability credentials on the red carpet. They offer information on mending and reselling; as well as sustainability heads in the fashion world to follow, such as Aja Barber, Lucy Siegle and Fashion Revolution.