Casino Royale nominated for 9 BAFTA awards, including best actor for Daniel Craig

The latest James Bond film Casino Royale picked up nine nominations at this year's Orange Bafta film awards, including best actor for Daniel Craig - reports the BBC.

British royal drama The Queen leads the pack with 10, while fantasy film Pan's Labyrinth is up for eight awards.

The winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden, London, on 11 February.

For the first time in six years, the awards will not be hosted by comedian Stephen Fry, who stepped down last year. His replacement is yet to be announced.

While one film often dominates the Baftas, this year sees several movies picking up five or more nominations, including low-budget independent film Little Miss Sunshine and comedy The Devil Wears Prada.

"It's very widespread," said film critic Mark Kermode. "Little Miss Sunshine gets more recognition than expected. It's a very open field."

However, spoof documentary Borat failed to receive any nominations, despite being widely tipped for Bafta success.

Daniel Craig is one of three British actors named in the best actor nominees, alongside Richard Griffiths and Peter O'Toole.

As well as nine nominations in the main awards, Casino Royale gets an extra nod for Bond girl Eva Green in the rising star category, which was revealed earlier in the week.

The British Academy of Film and Television Arts is celebrating its 60th anniversary, after handing out its first prize for achievement in film in 1947.

The awards have grown in prominence since 2001, when the ceremony was rescheduled to take place before the Oscars.

It is now seen as one of the most important events in the international film calendar and has attracted Hollywood stars like George Clooney, Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman in recent years.

Last year, Western romance Brokeback Mountain emerged as the big winner, taking home four awards including best film and best director for Ang Lee.

Philip Seymour Hoffman won best actor for Capote, while Reese Witherspoon won the actress award for Walk the Line. Both went on to win Oscars.

But there was disappointment for The Constant Gardener, which only received one Bafta award last year despite leading the field with 10 nominations.

THE ALEXANDER KORDA AWARD for the Outstanding British Film of the Year
CASINO ROYALE - Michael G Wilson/Barbara Broccoli/Martin Campbell/Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Andrea Calderwood/Lisa Bryer/Charles Steel/Kevin Macdonald/Peter Morgan/Jeremy Brock
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Scott Rudin/Robert Fox/Richard Eyre/Patrick Marber
THE QUEEN - Tracey Seaward/Christine Langan/Andy Harries/Stephen Frears/Peter Morgan
UNITED 93 - Tim Bevan/Lloyd Levin/Paul Greengrass

ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
CASINO ROYALE - Neal Purvis/Robert Wade/Paul Haggis
THE DEPARTED - William Monahan
THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA - Aline Brosh McKenna
THE LAST KING OF SCOTLAND - Peter Morgan/Jeremy Brock
NOTES ON A SCANDAL - Patrick Marber

ACTOR in a LEADING ROLE
DANIEL CRAIG - Casino Royale
LEONARDO DICAPRIO - The Departed
RICHARD GRIFFITHS - The History Boys
PETER O'TOOLE - Venus
FOREST WHITAKER - The Last King of Scotland

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD for Achievement in Film Music
BABEL - Gustavo Santaolalla
CASINO ROYALE - David Arnold
DREAMGIRLS - Henry Krieger
HAPPY FEET - John Powell
THE QUEEN - Alexandre Desplat

CINEMATOGRAPHY
BABEL - Rodrigo Prieto
CASINO ROYALE - Phil Meheux
CHILDREN OF MEN - Emmanuel Lubezki
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Guillermo Navarro
UNITED 93 - Barry Ackroyd

EDITING
BABEL - Stephen Mirrione/Douglas Crise
CASINO ROYALE - Stuart Baird
THE DEPARTED - Thelma Schoonmaker
THE QUEEN - Lucia Zucchetti
UNITED 93 - Clare Douglas/Christopher Rouse/Richard Pearson

PRODUCTION DESIGN
CASINO ROYALE - Peter Lamont/Simon Wakefield
CHILDREN OF MEN - Geoffrey Kirkland/Jim Clay/Jennifer Williams
MARIE ANTOINETTE - K K Barrett/Véronique Melery
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Eugenio Caballero/Pilar Revuelta
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Rick Heinrichs/Cheryl A Carasik

SOUND
BABEL - José García/Jon Taylor/Chris Minkler/Martín Hernández
CASINO ROYALE - Chris Munro/Eddy Joseph/Mike Prestwood Smith/Martin Cantwell/Mark Taylor
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Martín Hernández/Jamie Bashkt
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - Christopher Boyes/George Watters II/ Paul Massey/Lee Orloff
UNITED 93 - Chris Munro/Mike Prestwood Smith/Douglas Cooper/Oliver Tarney/Eddy Joseph

ACHIEVEMENT IN SPECIAL VISUAL EFFECTS
CASINO ROYALE - Steve Begg/Chris Corbould
CHILDREN OF MEN - Frazer Churchill/Tim Webber/Michael Eames/Paul Corbould
PAN'S LABYRINTH - Edward Irastorza/Everett Burrell
PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: DEAD MAN'S CHEST - John Knoll/Hal Hickel/Charles Gibson
SUPERMAN RETURNS - Mark Stetson

THE ORANGE RISING STAR AWARD (nominees announced on 8 Jan 2007)
EMILY BLUNT
EVA GREEN
NAOMIE HARRIS
CILLIAN MURPHY
BEN WHISHAW

Thanks to `Col. Sun` for the alert.

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