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Could Tilly Norwood Ever Win a BAFTA? Film Awards Rules Are Firm — No

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AI “actor” Tilly Norwood will never be eligible for a BAFTA Film Award, the British Academy has confirmed, amid updates to its rulebook and voting processes.

BAFTA is now reserving the right to ask for more information regarding the use of AI and “the extent of human creative involvement” in work submitted for Film Awards consideration. Following “industry consultation,” BAFTA has clarified its approach to AI and on Wednesday said its Awards are “presented annually to recognise, honour and reward individuals for outstanding human achievement in originating, shaping and realising the final artistic outcome, regardless of the tools used to bring this work to life.”

Where the use of generative AI or other digital tools is relevant to the consideration of films, BAFTA can request additional information.

“[Artificial intelligence] is obviously evolving at a very fast pace,” executive director of awards and content at BAFTA, Emma Baehr, told The Hollywood Reporter in a media briefing about the changes. “We’re aware that AI and digital tools are used in some areas more than others. But we felt that it was very important that we expanded that and acknowledged that if anything comes up, we have the right to request further information because ultimately BAFTA is about recognizing human achievement.”

While things may change again next year, Baehr said the language used in the updated rulebook allows the film committee at BAFTA to “dig into” specific uses of AI ahead of the longlist and nominations announcements. There isn’t a specific percentage or “exact science” that would rule out an AI-aided film from contention for a BAFTA, but Baehr maintains the focus is on human creativity.

For example, THR asked, what would the 2027 approach be to Adrien Brody’s BAFTA and Oscar-winning role in The Brutalist? (The actor was said to have used AI to help with his Hungarian accent in Brady Corbet’s 2024 film.) Baehr responded: “[The updates] would rule out an AI actor. It’s going to be a human that collects a BAFTA. We’re never going to allow an AI actor [to win a BAFTA]. But we never really comment on what’s happened in the past because the rules are the rules for that year, and every year it changes. So Adrien Brody was eligible; he won. We celebrated that win, and that was within that year in that rulebook. So, as we said, AI is moving so fast, but we have to go back to what we’ve already said about human creativity, and that is the essence of it. We want to celebrate that.”

When asked for confirmation that Norwood — the AI “actor” who last year plunged the industry into crisis around the ethicality of AI performers, and who is about to make her feature film debut — will not ever be eligible for a BAFTA, Baehr was firm: “No. No. That’s not human.”

Baehr and Deirdre Hopkins, head of film at BAFTA, declined to comment on the possibility of one day introducing a craft category entirely devoted to AI-generated projects.

Among other changes are BAFTA’s expansion of the outstanding British film category, taking the longlist from 15 to 20 films to “better showcase the depth and range of British filmmaking and create a wider pool of British titles for consideration.” The category will retain 10 nominations, with five chosen by the membership vote and five by the nominating jury.

BAFTA is also broadening participation in the performance categories’ voting process by inviting Casting Chapter members to vote alongside the Acting Chapter in the longlisting and nomination rounds. As part of the update, the longlisting jury will now select five performers on the longlist. These changes will bring “additional industry expertise to these categories and support wider recognition of acting talent.”

In other news, the children’s & family film category will be renamed family film, bringing the category title
into “closer alignment with its focus on films that appeal across generations.” The new name is said to
better reflect the types of films eligible for consideration and provides greater clarity for entrants, voters, and jurors, while the eligibility criteria and voting process remain unchanged.

Entries for the 2027 BAFTA Film Awards are open from Wednesday, July 22. The longlist will be announced on Jan. 7, 2027, the nominations on Jan. 29, and the ceremony on Feb. 21.

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Locarno 2026 Film Clip ‘Brave New Love’: Shame, Norms, Bodily Fluids

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Can you be happily married while leading a double life? Especially if that double life involves another person? One way to explore that question is to watch Kate, the protagonist of Brave New Love, the new feature film from writer-director Maria Bäck (I Remember When I Die, Psychosis in Stockholm) that will world premiere on Aug. 9 in the international competition of the 79th edition of the Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.

But be warned: things may get awkward at times.

After all, Kate, a hypnotherapist, lives happily with her husband, Orla, and their daughter, Athena. But she also shares a secret romantic relationship with another man, Andreas. “After years of secrecy, the fragile balance of her double life begins to unravel,” reads a synopsis. “As a role model to her daughter, she struggles to navigate her existential quest – a journey filled with body fluids, intimacy, Greek mythology, laughter, madness, and clumsiness.” In the process, Kate struggles to redefine love.

Kathrine Thorborg Johansen (Post Mortem: No One Dies in Skarnes) stars as Kate, Simon Sears (Shadow and Bone) is husband Orla, and Anders Danielsen Lie (Sentimental Value, Everybody Digs Bill Evans, The Worst Person in the World) portrays Andreas. Young Noemi Carbone Mannov plays Athena, and Angeliki Papoulia (Dogtooth, The Lobster) also features in the cast.

Produced by Anna-Maria Kantarius, Brave New Love features cinematography by Maria Von Hausswolff, with editing handled by Julius Krebs Damsbo. Reinvent Yellow is in charge of International sales.

“There are so many rules and inherited expectations attached to love,” Bäck says about the film. “I wanted to explore these often absurd ideas through wit and sensuality, and create a mirror for the loneliness and power of a heart set on fire.”

THR can now exclusively premiere a clip from Brave New Love that introduces you to Kate in a scene that is likely to take your breath away – and not necessarily in the way you may expect.

You might remember that Madonna, in her 1998 hit “Frozen,” sang: “Love is a bird; she needs to fly.” Well, the scene here fits in with that line – but again, not necessarily in the way you may expect. Watch the exclusive clip from Brave New Love right here.

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Whoopi Goldberg Slams Critics Of Elliot Page’s ‘The Odyssey’ Casting

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As The Odyssey surpasses $300M after a record opening weekend, conservative critics should be eating their words.

On Tuesday’s episode of The View, panelist Whoopi Goldberg called out social media trolls who have been “losing their minds over the cast” and are “still trashing the movie” amid its box office success, responding to a video of Ben Shapiro complaining that it’s “stupid to cast Elliot Page as a dude” in the Christopher Nolan adaptation.

“Listen, a lot of conservatives who see this are going to feel the same way. That’s okay,” she prefaced. “But I don’t understand. Why go see the movie? If you don’t want to see it, then don’t go see it. Why do you care who’s cast in it?”

Goldberg continued, “I don’t understand this idea that if we hate it, everybody must hate it because we hate it for this reason. You don’t like Elliot Page? Don’t go see the damn movie. Don’t do it. We will be okay if you don’t go see it.”

Fellow panelist Alyssa Farrah Griffin called the movie “a masterpiece,” arguing that despite the “woke” criticisms, the film has “a real conservative message.”

“It’s about devotion to family, it’s about faith, it’s about upholding institutions. It’s about how war is dangerous and has repercussions for all of us,” she explained. “And the fact that conservatives can’t take the win and just be like, ‘oh no, this is a really excellent film with a good message for families,’ I’ll never understand.”

Joy Behar quipped, “but they’re stuck on ‘woke,’” to which Griffin noted, “But there’s nothing woke in this film.”

Sarah Haines also chimed in on the discourse around trans actor Page playing Greek soldier Sinon, following online outrage over speculation that he would star as Achilles.

“There’s a unique ignorance to someone who comments on something they’ve never seen,” said Haines. “You’re taught from a young age, do your research, learn, and then you can join the conversation. But it’s like not voting and then complaining about what you get. You cannot not see the film and complain about how awful it is, when you haven’t seen the film. Because this film—and I echo Alyssa—is a masterpiece.”

Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan attends ‘The Odyssey’ premiere on July 11, 2026 in Mumbai, India.

Aalok Soni/Getty Images for Universal Pictures

Tuesday’s segment comes after criticism from the likes of Elon Musk and Matt Walsh over Oscar-winning Black actress Lupita Nyong’o’s dual casting as Helen of Troy, “the face that launched a thousand ships,” and her sister Clytemnestra. Others have also criticized Nolan for casting Black musician Travis Scott.

Meanwhile, Nolan has dismissed the backlash as “irrelevant” since the movie had not yet been released, noting that it “comes with the territory” of adapting a major piece of IP.

An adaptation of one of the first stories in human history, The Odyssey follows Odysseus (Matt Damon) through the incredible trials and mythical encounters he faces on his decade-long journey home to wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) after the Trojan War.

The film also stars Zendaya, Robert Pattinson, Charlize Theron, Jon Bernthal, Benny Safdie, John Leguizamo, Himesh Patel, Bill Irwin, Samantha Morton, Jesse Garcia, Will Yun Lee, Rafi Gavron, Shiloh Fernandez, Mia Goth and more.

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Reid Scott Leaving ‘Law & Order’, James Badge Dale Replaces Him

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EXCLUSIVE: The police force on Law & Order is undergoing some major staff turnover. Reid Scott, who has played Senior Detective Vincent Riley for the past three seasons, is leaving the venerable NBC crime drama. The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Veep alum will be succeeded by another high-profile name, James Badge Dale (13 Hours, 1923). He is set to play a new Senior Detective who will replace Riley.

For Scott, who is believed to have one more year on his contract, the departure is said to be his decision, related to the strain caused by the cross-country commute and being away from his family for nine months of the year while filming Law & Order in New York. His exit was amicable.

Det. Riley will get a proper ending as Scott is back on the set, filming a few episodes to wrap the character’s arc before Dale is introduced. The exact time of the transition is unclear.

Law & Order is known for its revolving cast, with changes between seasons happening annually. Scott’s Det. Riley was most recently partnered with Junior Detective Theo Walker (David Ajala). His previous partner, Junior Detective Jalen Shaw, was played by Mehcad Brooks who left last summer. Scott, in turn, replaced Jeffrey Donovan.

In addition to Ajala, Dale is joining returning Law & Order cast members Tony Goldwyn, Hugh Dancy, Maura Tierney and Odelya Halevi. Season 26 premieres Oct. 8 at 10 PM, behind the season opener of Law & Order: SVU.

In TV, Dale has had major roles on Fox’s 24, HBO’s The Pacific, Starz’s Hightown, Peacock’s Devil In Disguise: John Wayne Gacy and Paramount+s 1923. He is also in the Jessica Chastain thriller series The Savant whose release has been put on hold by Apple TV.

Dale’s film credits include The Departed, The Grey, Iron Man 3, 13 Hours and World War Z. He recently signed on for crime thriller Interference and psychological thriller The Guide. Dale is repped by CAA, MJ Management and Michael Auerbach.

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