Brad Pitt & George Clooney lead BAFTA nominations

Academy Award nominations won’t be announced until Jan. 24, but until then we’ve got the nods for the British version of the Oscars — the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Awards — to tide us over.

Leading the way with 12 nominations was Oscar front-runner The Artist with 12 nominations, followed closely by the Brit thriller Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy with 11.

Though that latter film has been largely overlooked in Stateside awards, its inclusion here isn’t surprising considering it’s an English film. Also unsurprising are the nominations for best actor, which include usual suspects George Clooney (The Descendants), Brad Pitt (Moneyball), Jean Dujardin (The Artist) and Michael Fassbender (Shame), as well as Tinker Tailor‘s Gary Oldman.

A bit more unexpected were the nominees in the best picture category. In addition to Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, the Ryan Gosling-headlined Drive also received a nod for best picture — while awards season stalwarts such as Martin Scorsese’s Hugo and Steven Spielberg’s War Horse were snubbed.

In fact, War Horse was shut out of all the major categories (though it did receive five “craft” nominations). Luckily, as you may have guessed, the BAFTA’s aren’t exactly a precise bellwether for the Oscars.

Check out some of the BAFTA nominees below, and click here for the full list.

Best Film
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
The Help
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Film Not in the English Language
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

Outstanding British Film
My Week with Marilyn
Senna
Shame
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
We Need to Talk About Kevin

Director
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Nicolas Winding Refn, Drive
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Tomas Alfredson, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Lynne Ramsay, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Leading Actor
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Michael Fassbender, Shame

Leading Actress
Bérénice Bejo, The Artist
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week with Marilyn
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin
Viola Davis, The Help

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