AFP, LONDON: As widely predicted, Tom Hooper's British film 'The King's Speech' swept the board with seven BAFTAs including best film at Sunday evening's awards ceremony -- but David Fincher grabs the best director award for 'The Social Network'.
Read on to find out how British film's biggest night of the year unfolded in the rarefied surroundings of the Royal Opera House in central London's Covent Garden district ...
1732 GMT: Welcome to our live report of this years frocks and shocks at the BAFTAs, Britain's prestigious warm-up for the Oscars in Los Angeles in two weeks time.
'The King's Speech', with fourteen nominations, is tipped to be this year's big winner while 'Black Swan', a psychological thriller starring Natalie Portman set in New York's ballet world, should also do well -- it's been nominated for 12 gongs.
1742 GMT: My colleague Ruth Holmes is down on the red carpet outside the Royal Opera House and sends me this:
"Red carpet arrivals are under way and the umbrellas are out. It's a typical February BAFTA night - cold and wet. But that hasn't deterred the fans who are already cheering from the sidelines. No famous faces to report yet though."
1750 GMT: More from Ruth braving the rain down on the red carpet:
"Crowds are shouting 'Rupert' ...as the first Harry Potter star Rupert Grint arrives."
1758 GMT: Director of 'The King's Speech' Tom Hooper said the response to the film had been 'extraordinary':
"The thing that's really surprised me is how democratic its reach has been. It's loved by eight-year-olds and by 80-year-olds in all different countries and cultures."
1805 GMT: Andrew Garfield, who's up for two BAFTAs this evening including best supporting actor for 'The Social Network', has arrived on the red strip.
"I feel very proud and privileged to be here," says the British-American rising star.
1811 GMT: Helena Bonham Carter, up for best supporting actress for 'The King's Speech', is next up, wearing a ruffled, floor-length Vivienne Westwood number. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II reportedly enjoyed the film in which Bonham Carter plays Queen Elizabeth, the current Queen's late mother:
"She's not been in personal touch," says Bonham Carter. "I just hope I did her mother justice in the film."
1821 GMT: This from Ruth outside the venue in Covent Garden:
"Jesse Eisenberg, who is nominated for best actor for his portrayal of Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in 'The Social Network', says: 'The whole experience for me has been a really overwhelming thing.
''The King's Speech' is such a wonderful movie so it's just nice to be nominated alongside it,' he says of the competition."
1825 GMT: The directors are arriving now -- Kevin Spacey has appeared along with David Fincher ('The Social Network') and Christopher Nolan ('Inception') Ruth tells me.
1830 GMT: More from Ruth at BAFTA HQ:
"The youngest nominee Hailee Steinfeld of the Coen Brothers' Western remake 'True Grit' has arrived looking elegant in black...
"And here's Samuel L. Jackson, sauntering down the carpet wearing a black cap and trainers with his dinner jacket."
Little bit cheeky...
1833 GMT: ... and tonight's host Jonathan Ross has pitched up. No sign of Colin Firth yet though.
1839 GMT: Brace yourselves ladies -- Colin Firth is now officially on the carpet.
1850 GMT: Floppy-haired film buff and tonight's awards host Jonathan Ross is on the stage in the Royal Opera House venue, Ruth tells me:
"The last 12 months has produced some incredible awards and there's strong competition in all of the categories," he says.
...and then some run-of-the-mill Ross gags! Nothing too controversial. He's not taking his chances after the Ricky Gervais Golden Globes fiasco.
1910 GMT: Jonathan Ross introduces ex-Beatle Sir Paul McCartney to the stage:
"Some of the best music ever written come from the movies....A Hard Day's Night....Yellow Submarine," the ex-Beatle quips.
"Tonight there are five amazing nominees for original music... And the BAFTA goes to ... 'The King's Speech'."
1915 GMT: Frenchman Alexandre Desplat, collecting the award for best original music, said: "This is a great honour. There are so many movies I've done with Colin Firth that I need to say thank you. He's like a lucky charm now."
1920 GMT: And the best short film BAFTA goes to... 'Until the River Runs Red'.
1923 GMT: English actor and director Paddy Considine is presenting the short film and short animation award.
And the best short animation goes to... 'The Eagleman Stag', a dark comedy written by Michael Please and voiced by British actor David Cann.
1927 GMT: Next up is the award for best editing. And 'The Social Network' picks up what could be a string of BAFTAs this evening.
The film, about Mark Zuckerburg founding of social network site Facebook, is nominated for six BAFTAs in all.
1932 GMT: Hailee Steinfeld, who at 14 is the youngest nominee of the evening for her role in 'True Grit', arrives on stage to announce the hair and make-up award, looking elegant above her age in a bejewelled black dress.
She stumbles over her words: "From period dramas to science fiction epics... make-up and hair are crucial elements to creating perfection.
"And the BAFTA goes to... 'Alice in Wonderland'"
1935 GMT: BAFTA for Film Not In The English Language goes to 'The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo'.
Producer Soren Staermose dedicates the "beautiful statue" to his wife and author Stieg Larsson who wrote the Millennium Trilogy on which the film is based.
"Without him none of us would be here," he says.
He goes on to pay tribute to the leading actress Noomi Rapace, who is nominated in the lead actress category and plays punky computer hacker Lisbeth Salander.
"We all know that Lisbeth Salander is the scariest thing coming out of Sweden since Abba," Staermose says.
1945 GMT: ... and the award for best Costume Design goes to 'Alice in Wonderland' (Colleen Atwood)
Atwood has previously been nominated seven times in this category, winning twice for 'Memoirs of A Geisha' and 'Sleepy Hollow'. This is her eighth collaboration with director Tim Burton.
1955 GMT: This just in from my colleague Ruth Holmes at the Royal Opera House:
"To present the award for best supporting actress is James McAvoy.
The winner is.... Helena Bonham Carter.
'I'm so used to losing it's quite a strange feeling to win,' says Bonham Carter. 'I'm thrilled to be considered in the same category as my fellow supporting actresses...
'My underskirt has got hitched up... it's not a good moment.'
She thanked the royal family ... 'You've done wonders for my career,' she said.
'I have fun and I love it and it's my privilege to keep working in this over-subscribed profession... to make a living by getting dressed up and pretending to be someone else... and getting paid for it... and then get an award for it.'
1958 GMT: Minnie Driver and Sam Driver come on stage to announce the award for Best Production Design.
And the BAFTA goes to... 'Inception'.
2002 GMT: Actor and director Kevin Spacey announces the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer or Producer, which he says "offers a snapshot of the future."
The nominees "prove that small budgets are no hindrance to remarkable invention", he says.
"And the BAFTA goes to... Chris Morris for 'Four Lions'. Chris "couldn't be here tonight," Spacey announces.
2007 GMT: The delectable Emma Watson of Harry Potter fame announces the award for Outstanding British Film.
And the BAFTA goes to... no surprises here: 'The King's Speech.' The first of many this evening?
2018 GMT: More from our reporter Ruth Holmes at the Royal Opera House:
"Director of 'The King's Speech' Tom Hooper said it was "absolutely thrilling to win the award in this room" after picking up the Outstanding British Film.
"He pays tribute to screenwriter David Seidler, who himself suffered with a stammer as a boy.
"Geoffrey Rush gets best supporting actor for his role as Lionel Logan, the king's speech therapist in the same film, but can't be there to collect it."
"For a stutterer and stammerer to be heard is a wonderful thing," says David Seidler, collecting the award.
2022 GMT: British acting pair Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper announce the award for Best Original Screenplay.
"The really original story would be if I read out the wrong name," Pike jokes, after fluffing her lines as she struggles with the autocue.
"But I won't do that," she adds quickly before going to open the envelope.
Jonathan Ross leaps in shouting "not yet" and they move onto list the nominations: 'Black Swan', 'The Fighter', 'Inception', 'The Kids are All Right' and 'The King's Speech'. ...and it's another one for 'The King's Speech'!
2030 GMT: British actor Stephen Fry pays tribute to the Harry Potter films which receive an award or Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.
Director David Heyman pays tribute to the 6,000 people who have worked on each of the Potter films:
"Over the past decade we've had the privilege of working with some of the finest people working today, in an atmosphere filled with pride but no ego, working on glorious fiction created by Jo Rowling.
"We became a family of sorts, we had an awful lot of fun."
Harry Potter author JK Rowling is equally enthused: "It's very strange to look back after seven films and remember how wary I was of letting anyone put Harry on the screen.
"I kept saying no and it was David Heyman who persuaded me.
"Being involved in these films has been one of the best experiences of my life," she adds.
2040 GMT: Neve Campbell and Nicholas Hoult present the BAFTA for Best Animated Film, which goes to Toy Story 3.
2046 GMT: US fashion designer and film director Tom Ford is joined by French actress Eva Green to present the Rising Star Award, now in its sixth year.
"Star quality is something that can't truly be explained but when a young actor has it... it can be dazzling," says Ford.
Nominated are Gemma Arterton, Andrew Garfied, Tom Hardy, Aaron Johnson and Emma Stone.And the winner is... Tom Hardy... who couldn't be here to collect his award.
Tom Hardy made his name in Stephen Spielberg's World War II series 'Band of Brothers', more recently acted in 'Inception' and is the upcoming star of 'Batman Rises'.
The Rising Star Award is the only one to be voted for by the public.
2052 GMT: Julianne Moore, who is nominated for best actress for her role in 'The Kids Are All Right', announces the best Adapted Screenplay.
And the BAFTA goes to... 'The Social Network'.
2056 GMT: Writer Aaron Sorkin paid tribute to the young actors in 'The Social Network', including Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield who he said would give cinema "some great things for a long time."
Next up, Joel and Ethan Coen's remake of the John Wayne Western 'True Grit' gets its first BAFTA -- for Cinematography.
Hailee Steinfeld, 14, who plays headstrong farmgirl Mattie Ross in the film, collects it as cinematographer Roger Deakins couldn't attend.
"It was truly inspirational working with such industry legends on my first feature film," she says.
2059 GMT: The next award is for Best Director and is presented by British actress Tilda Swinton.
The four nominations are: Danny Boyle, for '127 Hours', Darren Aronofsky for 'Black Swan', Christopher Nolan for 'Inception', Tom Hooper for 'The King's Speech ' and David Fincher for 'The Social Network'.
2101 GMT: And the BAFTA for best director goes to...
David Fincher for 'The Social Network'.
2103 GMT: David Fincher couldn't attend so Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg collect it in his stead.
Andrew Garfield: "David Fincher would have loved to have been here but he's busy making his next gift for all of us."
Eisenberg says Fincher's films were as "exhilarating" to act in as they are to watch. Fincher is known for his meticulous directing. The first scene alone took 99 takes.
2106 GMT: Next up is leading actress... and the BAFTA goes to:
Natalie Portman for 'Black Swan', a dark look at the world of ballet in New York.
Portman couldn't attend so Gerard Butler presents the award instead to director Darren Aronofsky.
"She's very pregnant so she can't fly," explains Aronofsky of Portman's absence.
"She's by far the most committed, dedicated, focused actor I've ever worked with," he adds.
"She swam a mile a day, trained for hours every day for a year, learned ballet and was in every scene in every shot," he adds.
"She shared her heart and soul and spirit with me and with the world."
2110 GMT: And -- phew, struggling to keep up with this -- it's the BAFTA for leading actor...no surprises here ...
... it's Colin Firth for 'The King's Speech.'!!
2115 GMT: "Consistent with the fact that almost every important turning point in my life has hinged on the banal... the day in which I had my first meeting with [director, Tom] Hooper I had to postpone a ... possibly painful medical appointment," Firth recounts, joking that director Tom Hooper's methods were just as intrusive.
"Perhaps one never truly escapes one's fate," he says.
"He [Hooper] has my eternal gratitude."
2119 GMT: Best film is presented by Hollywood legend Samuel L Jackson...
And the BAFTA goes to...guess what... 'The King's Speech'!!
2122 GMT: And up steps Tim Burton, Helena Bonham Carter's other half of course, to present the Fellowship award to Christopher Lee, best known for his role as the original Count Dracula.
2135 GMT: "The fellowship is the highest honour the BAFTAs can bestow," Tim Burton says.
Christopher Lee has featured in the Guinness Book of Records as the movie star with the most screen credits to his name, with a repertoire ranging from Sherlock Holmes to Count Dracula...The mummy in 'Frankenstein'...'Triple Nipple' [Scaramanga] in 'Man with the Golden Gun'... Saruman in the 'Lord of the Rings' Trilogy.
He is "the most dedicated actor I've ever worked with," Burton adds.
Lee works with UNICEF and record operas and heavy metal in his spare time and was knighted in 2009. He is 88 years old.
"This is a truly great honour, a great, great honour," Christopher Lee said.
"Two things make it so, the fact that this was voted to me by my peers and secondly that I received it from one of the great directors of our age.
Lee added he was "thankful that he didn't stand in the steps of Stanley Kubrick whose award was posthumous."
