November 11, 2012 was a big night for the British film industry as the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (or BAFTA) hosted the 2012 Britannia Awards at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Los Angeles. BAFTA LA has held these awards for 25 years. That was not the only milestone celebrated that night as the 50th anniversary of James Bond was also celebrated.
The Master of Ceremonies for the night was Scottish actor, director, producer, and writer Alan Cumming. This was not the first time Cumming has hosted the Britannia Awards. His first assignment as host of the show was back at the 2003 Britannia Awards.
Cumming gave a comedic keynote which included topics such as politics and how the guests in the ballroom were all very happy and smiling. He also talked about how BAFTA decided to include video games into the award show for the first time.
The night started with actor Josh Gad presenting comedy masterminds Trey Parker and Matt Stone with the Charley Chapman Award for Excellence in Comedy. Parker and Stone are the creators of the satiric show South Park. Olivia Munn presented the Albert R. Broccoli Britannia Award for Worldwide Contribution to Entertainment to Will Wright, creator of the Sim City video game series. Wright is one of the most revered figures in the video game industry due to the massive success of all of his games.
Legendary director Roger Coreman presented the John Schlesigner Britannia Award for Excellence in Directing to Quentin Tarantino. Tarantino has directed his fair share of movies. Some of his films include Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, Inglorious Bastards, and Django Unchained.
The two big winners of the night were the two Daniels; Daniel Day-Lewis and Daniel Craig. Steven Spielberg, director of the movie Lincoln, presented the Stanley Kubrick Britannia Award for Excellence in Film to actor Day-Lewis. Day-Lewis portrays the American president Abraham Lincoln in the movie Lincoln. He also showed his funny side at the podium when he poked some fun at Clint Eastwood by talking to a chair, a reference to Eastwood, who at the Republican National Convention talked to president Barack Obama, the chair.
The night concluded with the Britannia Award for British Artist of the Year going to actor Daniel Craig. The award was presented by actor Harrison Ford, who starred in conjunction with Craig in the movie Cowboys and Aliens. Daniel Craig is mainly known for his portrayal as British super-spy James Bond in the movies Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace, and the recent Skyfall.
The night was a very relaxed and informal as the winners were already notified of their honors before the event even took place. There were only six people who received awards. There was a reference to how much of an honor a Britannia Awards is due to the small amount of those awards that are given out.
The Entertainment Fix 