'Atonement' Tops British Academy Film Noms

The tragic romantic drama "Atonement" led the nominations for the British Academy of Film and Television Awards Wednesday, racking up 14 nods including Best Picture, Best Actress for Keira Knightley and Best Actor for James McAvoy.

The British period film has been largely ignored by other major industry organizations this awards season, failing to yield a single nomination from the screen actor, writer, director and producer guilds.

Facing off against "Atonement" for the Best Picture BAFTA is the oil boom drama "There Will Be Blood," the crime thriller "No Country For Old Men," the crime epic "American Gangster" and German drama "The Lives of Others."

"No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood" each had a strong showing in the BAFTA lineup, earning nine nominations a piece.

"There Will Be Blood" earned a Best Actor nomination for Daniel Day-Lewis, who will take on McAvoy, George Clooney for "Michael Clayton," Viggo Mortensen for "Eastern Promises" and Ulrich Muhe, in a posthumous nod for "The Lives of Others."

Taking on Knightley for Best Actress are Cate Blanchett for "Elizabeth: The Golden Age," Julie Christie for "Away From Her," Marion Cotillard for "La Vie En Rose" and Ellen Page for "Juno."

"No Country For Old Men" stars Tommy Lee Jones and Javier Bardem are both up for Best Supporting Actor, along with Paul Dano for "There Will Be Blood," Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Charlie Wilson's War" and Tom Wilkinson for "Michael Clayton."

"Michael Clayton" also earned Tilda Swinton a Best Supporting Actress nomination, along with Blanchett for "I'm Not There," Kelly MacDonald for "No Country For Old Men," Samantha Morton for "Control" and Saoirse Ronan for "Atonement."

In the Best Director category, the nominees include Joe Wright for "Atonement," Paul Greengrass for "The Bourne Ultimatum," Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck for "The Lives of Others," Joel Coen and Ethan Coen for "No Country For Old Men" and Paul Thomas Anderson for "There Will Be Blood."

In the running for the British Film of the Year BAFTA are "Atonement," "The Bourne Ultimatum," "Control," "Eastern Promises" and "This is England."

The BAFTAs will be handed out Feb. 10 at London's Royal Opera House.