BAFTA nominations were announced this morning, just in time for us to figure out what the asterisks in the longlist meant (only joking, we've still got no idea).

The The Iron Lady's nomination is a bit unusual as Meryl Streep (American) has been nominated for Best Actress, while the film itself (British) was heavily panned. Having said that, Jim Broadbent also got a nod, so it's not quite as bad as we may be making out.

It also would've been nice if there had been a few more decent British actors and British films to choose from. Luckily, the UK Film Council was shut down this year. Great stuff.

Whingeing aside, the noms are pretty much spot on, especially good to see Philip Seymour Hoffman getting a nod for Ides of March. In an ideal world he'd get an award for something every year, even if it's just for eating well. 

Also, isn't Outstanding British Film a bit patronising? Especially when only Tinker Tailor is also in Best Film?

Anyway…

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

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

Leading actress
Berenice 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

Supporting actor
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Jim Broadbent - The Iron Lady
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Ides Of March

Supporting actress
Carey Mulligan - Drive
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Judi Dench - My Week With Marilyn
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Octavia Spencer - The Help

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

Outstanding debut by a British writer, director or producer
Attack The Block - Joe Cornish (director/writer)
Black Pond - Will Sharpe (director/writer), Tom Kingsley (director), Sarah Brocklehurst (producer)
Coriolanus - Ralph Fiennes (director)
Submarine - Richard Ayoade (director/writer)
Tyrannosaur - Paddy Considine (director), Diarmid Scrimshaw (producer)

Foreign language film
Incendies
Pina
Potiche
A Separation
The Skin I Live In

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

Documentary
George Harrison: Living In The Material World
Project Nim
Senna

Animated film
The Adventures Of Tintin: The Secret Of The Unicorn
Arthur Christmas
Rango