'La La Land' leads BAFTA with 11 nominations

"La La Land", director Damien Chazelle's love letter to classic Hollywood musicals, continued its award season triumph by bagging 11 nominations at the British Academy Film Awards (BAFTA).
The movie, which bagged a record seven trophies at the just-concluded Golden Globes, seems set to dominate Baftas as well because it has been nominated in every major category.
Director Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi drama "Arrival" and Tom Ford's "Nocturnal Animals" are close on heels with nine apiece.
"La La Land", starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone as two aspiring artists finding romance in Hollywood, has cemented its chances at the next month's Oscars with by notching up awards and nominations.

Both "Arrival" and "Nocturnal Animals" were neglected in the award shows so far despite the critical-acclaim coming their way, reported the Guardian.
Kenneth Lonergan's "Manchester by the Sea", which won Casey Affleck the best actor - drama at the Globes, earned six nominations at Bafta.

"I, Daniel Blake", veteran director Ken Loach's poignant story of an unwell carpenter battling the benefits system, leads the British pack with five nominations.
Its numbers are matched by Harry Potter spin-off "Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them", Mel Gibson's war story "Hacksaw Ridge" and "Lion", starring British-Indian Dev Patel in the lead role.

Coming-of-age drama "Moonlight", which won the best picture -drama at Globes, earned four nominations alonside Stephen Frears's "Florence Foster Jenkins", starring Meryl Streep and Hugh Grant.
"American Honey", directed by Andrea Arnold, earned a nomination for outstanding British film.
Baftas, like other award shows this season, ignored Martin Scorsese's "Silence" but they also snubbed "Elle", which won the best foreign film and best actress -drama trophies for Isabelle Huppert.
The best actress nominees are Emily Blunt for "The Girl on the Train", Natalie Portman for "Jackie", Streep for "Florence Foster Jenkins", Emma Stone for "La La Land" and Amy Adams for "Arrival".

"Arrival", about a linguist's attempts to talk to aliens who have landed on earth, has also earned nominations for best score, best director, best film, best adapted screenplay and best cinematography, as well as a slew of technical nods such as best sound and best visual effects.
"Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" also earned nominations in the make up & hair and visual effects category so did "Doctor Strange", besides its third nod for production design.
The nominees for the rising star award, which is voted for by the public, were announced last week. They include Loving star Ruth Negga and the new Spider-Man, Tom Holland.

Stephen Fry will host the ceremony that is slated to take place on February 12.