'The Artist' wins best picture at UK film awards

Britain's equivalent of the Oscars rewarded the French homage to old Hollywood over a homegrown favorite, espionage thriller “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.”

“The Artist,” a black-and-white picture that has charmed audiences around the world since its Cannes debut in May, was named best film, and its rubber-limbed star Jean Dujardin took the male acting prize. Its filmmaker, Michel Hazanavicius, won prizes for directing and his original screenplay.

Dujardin said it was “incroyable” — incredible — to win a prize in the homeland of acting titan Laurence Olivier, William Webb Ellis — the inventor of rugby — “and Benny Hill.”

Hazanavicius thanked presenter Brad Pitt for pronouncing his name correctly — and academy voters for recognizing that his silent film even had a screenplay.

“So many people thought there was no script because there was no dialogue,” he said.

Another homage to early cinema, Martin Scorsese's Parisian fantasy “Hugo,” took prizes for sound and production design.

John le Carre adaptation “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” went into the ceremony with 11 nominations compared to 12 for “The Artist,” but won just two prizes, for British film and for adapted screenplay.

Writer Peter Straughan dedicated the screenplay award to his wife and co-writer Bridget O'Connor, who died of cancer before the film was completed.

“She wrote all the good bits and I made this coffee,” Straughan said. “So, Bridget — I love you, I miss you. This is for you.”

The British prizes, known as BAFTAs, are considered a strong indicator of likely success at Hollywood's Academy Awards, to be held on Feb. 26.

The trophies give more momentum to “The Artist,” which has already won three Golden Globes, and has 10 Oscar nominations.

Dujardin, who plays a silent screen icon eclipsed by the talkies, said the appeal of “The Artist” lay in its accessibility.

“It's a simple story,” he said. “It's a love story. It's universal. And there's a cute dog” — Jack Russell terrier Uggie, who almost steals the film from his two-legged co-stars.

“The Artist” also won prizes for cinematography, costume design and for Ludovic Bource's sprightly musical score.

As predicted, Meryl Streep was named best actress for her depiction of Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister, in “The Iron Lady.” The film also won a well-deserved prize for hair and makeup.

“The ambition of this film was to look at the life of the Iron Lady from the inside out, and to locate something real — maybe hidden but truthful — in the life of someone we've all decided we know everything about already,” Streep said.

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