"The Artist" leads with 12 BAFTA nominations

LONDON (CBS/AP) Fresh from its Golden Globes victory Sunday night, the black-and-white silent film "The Artist" leads the race for the British Academy Film Awards, Britain's equivalent of the Oscars.

"The Artist" received 12 nominations and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy " got 11, with each film up for best picture and director, and best actor nominations for leading men Jean Dujardin and Gary Oldman.

Pictures: The BAFTA Awards Tea
Special Section: Awards Season

The other best-film nominees, announced at a ceremony Tuesday by actors Daniel Radcliffe and Holliday Grainger, were "The Descendants, "Drive" and "The Help."

In a diverse field not dominated by any single film, there are also multiple nominations for "Hugo," "My Week With Marilyn," and "The Iron Lady."

Many of the nominees were guests Saturday at BAFTA's Awards Season Tea Party in Los Angeles to celebrate and wish the best of luck to all nominees for the awards season ahead. It was one of the hottest tickets in a party-filled Golden Globe weekend.

The BAFTA nominations are a needed boost for "Tinker Tailor," an atmospheric adaptation of John le Carre's espionage classic that has received rave reviews but has so far been snubbed during the U.S. awards season.

Its producer Tim Bevan said the film was a "particularly British cultural phenomenon. It's great that it's being recognized at the BAFTAs but that it hasn't at the Golden Globes is not surprising."

"'The Artist' seems to be the film with the momentum, and rightly so," he said. "It's been an OK year but not a brilliant year for movies, and 'The Artist' defines what cinema should be. It's brave, different, it's got a great shot."

The best actor contest pits Oldman and Dujardin against Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," George Clooney for "The Descendants" and Michael Fassbender for "Shame."

The best actress category includes two performers playing real-life icons Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week With Marilyn" and Meryl Streep as former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady."

The other nominees are Berenice Bejo for "The Artist," Tilda Swinton for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and Viola Davis for "The Help."

The prizes will be awarded at a ceremony at London's Royal Opera House on Feb. 12. They are considered an important indicator of prospects at the Academy Awards in Los Angeles two weeks later.

In recent years, the awards, known as BAFTAs, have helped small British films gain momentum for Hollywood success.

In 2010, Danny Boyle's "Slumdog Millionaire" won seven BAFTAs, including best film; it went on to take eight Oscars. Last year, "The King's Speech" won seven BAFTAs and four Oscars, including best picture.

"My Week With Marilyn," the story of the movie legend's time shooting an ill-starred comedy in England, received six BAFTA nominations, including a supporting-actor nod for Kenneth Branagh, who plays Laurence Olivier.

He is up against Christopher Plummer for "Beginners," Jim Broadbent for "The Iron Lady," Jonah Hill for "Moneyball" and Philip Seymour Hoffman for "The Ides of March."

The supporting actress category features Carey Mulligan for "Drive," Jessica Chastain for "The Help," Judi Dench for "My Week With Marilyn," Melissa McCarthy for "Bridesmaids" and Olivia Spencer for "The Help."

The multinational best-director contest pits Denmark's Nicholas Winding Refn, for the turbocharged "Drive," against France's Michel Hazanavicius for "The Artist," Sweden's Tomas Alfredson for "Tinker Tailor," Britain's Lynne Ramsay for "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and Martin Scorsese of the United States for "Hugo."

The best British film category contains "My Week With Marilyn," racing documentary "Senna," sex-addiction drama "Shame," family tragedy "We Need to Talk About Kevin" and "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

Steven Spielberg's equine adventure "War Horse" was overlooked in the major categories but gained five nominations including cinematography, visual effects and music.