They entered via the Piazza entrance of the general ticket hall and their red carpet was switched for orange. Nonetheless they too drank champagne from BAFTA branded glasses and swiftly moved into a theatre hall. Okay, so this is probably where the similarities end.
I won tickets to Orange BAFTAs - The Final Word, an incredible opportunity to share a 'checked-in' location with George Clooney and Meryl Streep. The buzz of being next door, across the hall, a sprint away is phenomenal. I was tempted to show up in a black T-shirt and jeans and sneak through as part of BAFTA production. But alas, you will soon learn, I play by the rules.
So we walked into the Linbury theatre – a wing of tiered seating and metal beams – to find a sharper version of this:
The event hosted by Alex Zane with a panel of industry experts – The Times arts correspondent Ben Hoyle, stylist Grace Woodward (known for dressing X-Factor contestants and ex-judge of Ireland and Britain's Next Top Model), and actor and comedian Humphrey Ker (a bit of television and St Trinians 2) – was a kind of live audience forum where we watched parts of the ceremony from screen and voiced our thoughts. (In all honestly I would've seen more from my sofa.)
TAKEAWAYS
Here are the hottest takeaway points from the night.
The Artist.
The overall consensus didn't play out any different from a Rotten Tomatometer. The panel agreed it is the original underdog movie that really does blow you away because it of it's uniqueness and irresistible charm. Grace Woodward gave her fashion insight, referring to the 1920s styles we will be seeing over the next two fashion seasons and Gucci's art deco inspired Spring 2012 collection. The Artist taps into a wider cultural mood, which is why it is works so well. Kudos to Michel Hazanavicius for foreseeing the zeitgeist of our times.
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.
The film was widely respected for capturing 1970s grime, from George Smiley's glasses to the brown tinted wallpaper. Ben Hoyle explained that the glasses were apparently key to Oldman nailing the character, but otherwise the audience felt the film was a tad bit dull.
Drive.
The film was also a recurring hot topic. Apparently it is a product of European director Nicolas Winding Refn's love of the 80s, Miami Vice period of Hollywood. Ironically, he can't drive but because Ryan Grosling can, they would drive around the mountains playing 80s music and deciding what they should put in the next scene. From its opening sequence, it's an incredibly cool film that makes it luring. But Grace Woodward felt Carey Mulligan was a weird casting. That's it. Sorry, no real explanation why. (A bit like Kelly Osbourne commenting on fashion on e!)
The Iron Lady.
One audience member went off on one about how Margaret Thatcher was great for the country (you should have seen Alex Zane's face. Like 'is this guy serious?'), until another told him to pipe it with: "We're here for films". Goodwood agreed the film brushed over a lot of the politics and Humphrey Ker called Thatcher a panto-villain, so in that respect it was almost like taking on the wicked witch of the west and showing her good side as in Wicked. Fun.
Shailene Vs Clooney.
There was some debate on who stole the show in The Descendants. The audience felt it was good of George Clooney to take a step back for his 'two daughters', Shailene Woodley and Amara Miller to shine, whilst others felt that was not possible. Ben Hoyle could never lose sight of the fact that it was George Clooney in the film, and for him, if the film starred a less famous actor it wouldn't have had such a large bandwagon behind it. Overall, we thought Shailene came out on top.
Senna.
This is a largely respected documentary film. Even Formula 1 haters will cry.
2011: Great roles but not great movies.
2011 was definitely a year of dream roles (notably Margaret Thatcher and Marilyn Monroe), but sadly those movies didn't translate.
Adam Deacon.
The surprise Rising Star Award winner was the only real star to join us. Here are some inspirational words from him recorded on my dictaphone:
"If I'm being honest with you, a lot of Anuvahood was favours. You know even down to the music. I knew I wanted tracks by Tinie Tempah, Boy Better Know, Wiley. All these tunes, it costs money and we didn't have it. So it was a case of a lot of favours. The thing is – and I will put this out there while I'm up here – we've had to do things a little different. We didn't have the mainstream backing. So it was a case of getting people like yourselves to go out there and put it on a street level. That's the same thing we did with the BAFTA. I read some media comment about 'actors weird promotion tactics'. Whatever it was, what it comes down to is I've always done things a little different. I wasn't scared to say the BAFTAs is a huge thing so go out a spread the word. So I have to thank you guys, the fans...I'll say it all the time: there is possibilities. You can come from a council estate. You can come with no money or whatever that may be. I think if you've got talent, you're nurturing that talent and you're learning that craft. Well actually all it really is, is a case of getting seen and I think there will always be someone who will spot that, I do. Tinie Tempah, N Dubz, all these people, they put in solid ten years of work like myself to get to this place. So it is possible just with hard work."
Claudia Winklemann.
The presenter of BBC's Film 2012 is less annoying in person. I've spent an unbearable amount of time with her in the wee hours of Oscars morning, when she hosted the interval commentary segments on Sky Movies as the ceremony called for a break. By 3am, when the small awards have subsided and the main awards seem too far away, her quirky jokes and lame questions are quite close to breaking your Oscars mission. But she was actually quite charming for the brief 5 minutes we saw her. She was funny describing The Muppets movie as "basically The Artist with Kermit". Perhaps because she had a seat in the main auditorium (her husband Kris Thykier produced Madonna's W.E, Kick-Ass, Harry Brown and Stardust), we for once lusted for her spot.
"If I'm being honest with you, a lot of Anuvahood was favours. You know even down to the music. I knew I wanted tracks by Tinie Tempah, Boy Better Know, Wiley. All these tunes, it costs money and we didn't have it. So it was a case of a lot of favours. The thing is – and I will put this out there while I'm up here – we've had to do things a little different. We didn't have the mainstream backing. So it was a case of getting people like yourselves to go out there and put it on a street level. That's the same thing we did with the BAFTA. I read some media comment about 'actors weird promotion tactics'. Whatever it was, what it comes down to is I've always done things a little different. I wasn't scared to say the BAFTAs is a huge thing so go out a spread the word. So I have to thank you guys, the fans...I'll say it all the time: there is possibilities. You can come from a council estate. You can come with no money or whatever that may be. I think if you've got talent, you're nurturing that talent and you're learning that craft. Well actually all it really is, is a case of getting seen and I think there will always be someone who will spot that, I do. Tinie Tempah, N Dubz, all these people, they put in solid ten years of work like myself to get to this place. So it is possible just with hard work."
Claudia Winklemann.
The presenter of BBC's Film 2012 is less annoying in person. I've spent an unbearable amount of time with her in the wee hours of Oscars morning, when she hosted the interval commentary segments on Sky Movies as the ceremony called for a break. By 3am, when the small awards have subsided and the main awards seem too far away, her quirky jokes and lame questions are quite close to breaking your Oscars mission. But she was actually quite charming for the brief 5 minutes we saw her. She was funny describing The Muppets movie as "basically The Artist with Kermit". Perhaps because she had a seat in the main auditorium (her husband Kris Thykier produced Madonna's W.E, Kick-Ass, Harry Brown and Stardust), we for once lusted for her spot.
The complete show can be viewed here.
This was my view as I left the ROH. Beyond those barriers and security men lay the red carpet, and behind us a long stretch of coaches and black cars with drivers awaited all the way to Strand.
All photograph credits: Sejal Kapadia
Email image from BAFTA competitions
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