AACTA Announces International Nominees

Continuing to carve out some semblance of international relevancy for itself – or at least trying to – Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (AACTA) has announced the cachet-boosting A-Listers nominated in the five major categories making up their annual celebration of non region specific awesomeness, the AACTA International Awards.

Silver Linings Playbook, the latest drama by Hall of Fame tantrum thrower David O. Russell (Three Kings, I Heart Huckabees, The Fighter), leads all nominations with five nods (i.e. all the categories!) just shading four nods apiece from Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and Zero Dark Thirty by Hurt Locker duo Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal. Ben Affleck’s Argo nabbed three while Life of Pi and Les Misérables each received two.

The awards, though purportedly free of local bias, also recognised Aussies including Naomi Watts (The Impossible), Hugh Jackman (Les Misérables) and Nicole Kidman (The Paperboy) and Ben Lewin for Best Direction in The Sessions

Geoffrey Rush, AACTA President, said: “As the Australian Academy engages in the international Awards conversation, it’s brilliant to see Australian performers and practitioners nominated alongside international talent for the 2nd AACTA International Awards. Indeed, the talents of Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Naomi Watts and Ben Lewin stand on their own and will no doubt be honoured by our international screen peers.”

The winners of the 2nd annual AACTA International Awards will be announced later this month in L.A..

2nd AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARDS NOMINEES


AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST SCREENPLAY

Argo. Chris Terrio
Django Unchained. Quentin Tarantino
Lincoln. Tony Kushner
The Master. Paul Thomas Anderson
Silver Linings Playbook. David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty. Mark Boal

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST DIRECTION
Argo. Ben Affleck
Life Of Pi. Ang Lee
Lincoln. Steven Spielberg
The Sessions. Ben Lewin
Silver Linings Playbook. David O. Russell
Zero Dark Thirty. Kathryn Bigelow

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTOR
Bradley Cooper. Silver Linings Playbook
Daniel Day-Lewis. Lincoln
John Hawkes. The Sessions
Hugh Jackman. Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix. The Master
Denzel Washington. Flight

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST ACTRESS
Jessica Chastain. Zero Dark Thirty
Marion Cotillard. Rust and Bone
Nicole Kidman. The Paperboy
Jennifer Lawrence. Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva. Amour
Naomi Watts. The Impossible

AACTA INTERNATIONAL AWARD FOR BEST FILM
Argo. Ben Affleck, George Clooney, Grant Heslov
Les Misérables. Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Debra Hayward, Cameron Mackintosh
Life of Pi. Ang Lee, Gil Netter, David Womark
Lincoln. Kathleen Kennedy, Steven Spielberg
Silver Linings Playbook. Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon
Zero Dark Thirty. Kathryn Bigelow, Mark Boal, Megan Ellison

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