'pianist' Toplines Britain's Bafas

Roman Polanski's "The Pianist," set during World War II against the background of the Nazi occupation of Poland, scooped two of this year's biggest Orange British Academy Film Awards, announced Sunday.

Polanski's film secured the evening's top award, taking BAFA's best film plaudit, while the director snatched the David Lean Award for achievement in direction.

"The Pianist" emerged victorious ahead of "Chicago," "Gangs of New York," "The Hours" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers."

Polanski won the director award over Martin Scorsese ("Gangs"), Rob Marshall ("Chicago") and Stephen Daldry ("The Hours"), who were all present Sunday, and Peter Jackson ("Two Towers"), who did not attend.

With Polanski absent from the ceremony, two of his film's producers, Robert Benmussa and Alain Sarde, picked up the awards from the British Academy of Film and Television Arts on his behalf.

Neither producer would be drawn on whether Polanski was making plans to travel to Los Angeles next month for the Academy Awards. Polanski is nominated for best director, and "The Pianist" received seven Oscar nominations.

Daniel Day-Lewis won the plaudits ahead of attendees Adrien Brody ("The Pianist") and Michael Caine ("The Quiet American"), as well as Nicolas Cage ("Adaptation") and Jack Nicholson ("About Schmidt"), both of whom were not in attendance.

Day-Lewis thanked all his colleagues on both sides of the camera, name-checking both Miramax Films co-chairman Harvey Weinstein and financier Graham King from Initial Entertainment Group. "If I had to point a finger at one man, who would have to be to thank that lovely man Martin Scorsese," he added.

The plaudits for best actress went to "The Hours' " Nicole Kidman, who had wowed the crowds before the ceremony when she started taking time to sign autographs and chat to the thousands gathered outside the theater. Kidman emerged victorious ahead of fellow "The Hours" cast member Meryl Streep, Renee Zellweger ("Chicago"), Salma Hayek ("Frida") and Halle Berry ("Monster's Ball").

With all the other nominees in the audience, Kidman said she was dividing the award into three among her, and "Hours" co-stars Streep and Julianne Moore. She also addressed audience member Weinstein, who Kidman said was "sitting right there with his arms folded."

Backstage, she reiterated her thanks for working with British filmmaking talents. But Kidman refused to be drawn on her prospects at this year's upcoming Academy Awards.

The best supporting actor award went to Christopher Walken for his role in "Catch Me If You Can."

He won ahead of Chris Cooper ("Adaptation"), Ed Harris ("The Hours"), Alfred Molina ("Frida") and Paul Newman ("Road to Perdition").

Best supporting actress went to Britain's Catherine Zeta-Jones for her stocking-clad, high-kicking performance in "Chicago."

She danced her way past Toni Collette ("About a Boy"), Queen Latifah ("Chicago"), Moore ("The Hours") and double-nominee Streep, who was nominated in this category for her role in "Adaptation."

Picking up the award, a tearful and pregnant Zeta-Jones asked the audience to forgive for being emotional as a result of "being full of hormones."

Backstage, Zeta-Jones expressed her joy at winning the award. "I can't remember the last time I came to the BAFA film awards," she said. "It really is a special moment."

The Anthony Asquith Award for achievement in music went to U.S. composer Philip Glass for his "The Hours" score. Glass paid tribute backstage to the film's producers, Scott Rudin and Robert Fox, and also to David Hare, who penned the screenplay. "I saw the film with no music at the first rough-cut stage and just thought there had been no compromises to the boxoffice," Glass said. "I just wanted to work with people at the highest level."

The award for best original screenplay went to Spain's Pedro Almodóvar for "Talk to Her," while the adapted screenplay nod went to "Adaptation's" Charlie Kaufman and Donald Kaufman. (Invented by Donald Kaufman, Charlie is both a character in the film and an ostensible screenwriter on the film.)

Almodóvar and his brother and producer Augustin Almodóvar also scooped the evening's award for best film not in the English language.

"I almost had a heart attack. It's an incredible emotion," Pedro Almodovar said. "In my case and my moment of my life, to write a screenplay that is so special and so risky is great for me. It is a kind of miracle that foreign movies are released and people get to see them. I'm a very lucky boy."

British director Asif Kapadia received two of the biggest awards for his "The Warrior." The film won the Alexander Korda Award for the outstanding British film of the year, and he secured the Carl Foreman Award for special achievement by a British director, screenwriter or producer in their first feature film.

"There were so many amazing movies we were up against, it is just amazing we won the awards," Kapadia said. "But I'm still skint," he said with a laugh, using Brit slang for "broke."

The evening also awarded a British Academy fellowship to legendary U.S. producer Saul Zaentz, who attended the event. Zaentz joins honorees including Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Steven Spielberg, Sean Connery, Elizabeth Taylor, Stanley Kubrick, Albert Finney and last year's recipient, Warren Beatty.

This year's awards had a pre-Oscar date and, for the third year running, were presented by writer-actor-comedian Stephen Fry. Cellular phone company Orange sponsored the awards for the sixth year running.

A complete list of winners can be found at www.hollywood reporter.com.