15 WTF Moments From BAFTAs 2017
Kubo upsets Disney.
The British Academy Film Awards is one of the very last stops on the trail towards the biggest night in the movie industry, the Oscars. Though BAFTA's indication of what will or won't win the big gold award is dubious at best, it's still a majorly respected awards institution that, naturally enough, skews towards British films and actors.
This year's show didn't feature many upsets in major categories, but the show wasn't without its own share of surprises regardless, not to mention some weird alterations to the usual format, a number of outrageous speeches, and the inevitable political talk given recent world events.
The path seems entirely laid out for La La Land to score Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress and a number of other technical awards at the Oscars, but at least a few unexpected wins in other areas might give Academy members a moment for pause, to consider who they really want to vote for ahead of the February 21st voting deadline.
From the glitz and glamour to the less-classy wise-cracks and everything in-between, here are 15 WTF moments from the 2017 BAFTAs...
15. Meryl Streep Freaks Out At Cirque Du Soleil
This year's BAFTAs opened with a bizarre and grossly overlong performance from Cirque du Soleil, which while impressive in its athleticism and pageantry, just felt rather unnecessary and tangential.
Still, viewers likely perked up a bit when the director cut to Meryl Streep, who seemed to be having a panicked reaction to the acrobats' death-defying performance, covering her eyes, removing her glasses and clearly mouthing "My God" as a female acrobat performed an insane flip.
Moments later Streep at least seemed to have regained her composure a little once it was clear that nobody had died during the impressive display, and appeared to at least partially enjoy the show.