Besides the de rigueur nods to Erin Brockovich's Julia Roberts and Cast Away's Tom Hanks, acting noms went to Tiger's Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi and to Gladiator stars Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, and late British actor Oliver Reed.

Crowd-pleasing Billy Elliot earned 13 BAFTA nominations, including ones for best actor (Jamie Bell), most promising newcomer (director Stephen Daldry), best film, and best British film.

The BAFTAs are not given only to British-made pictures; homegrown films can be honored with the Alexander Korda Award for Outstanding British Film. Besides Billy Elliot, contenders for the Korda award this year include Chicken Run, The House of Mirth, The Last Resort, and Sexy Beast.

The BAFTA ceremony, which usually is scheduled after its American counterpart, the Oscars, has been bumped up this year to Feb. 25, a full month before the Academy Awards.

A new eligibility ruling means that Chocolat, Almost Famous, and The Last Resort, none of which are even in theaters yet in the United Kingdom, were able to sneak in as contenders. The eligibility window also means that Hilary Swank is nominated for a BAFTA this year for her role in Boys Don't Cry, the same part that won her an Oscar last year.

Another oddity in the BAFTA noms is that Almost Famous' Kate Hudson is competing in the lead category, not the supporting one, for which she won a Golden Globe.

The nominations were announced today by writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry (the star of Wilde), who will host the awards show Feb. 25. The London ceremony will be shown live on satellite channel Sky One.

BAFTA nominations for major categories:

OUTSTANDING FILM

Almost Famous
Billy Elliot
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Erin Brockovich
Gladiator

THE DAVID LEAN AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN DIRECTION

Stephen Daldry, Billy Elliot
Ang Lee, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Steven Soderbergh, Erin Brockovich
Ridley Scott, Gladiator
Steven Soderbergh, Traffic

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Juliette Binoche, Chocolat
Kate Hudson, Almost Famous
Julia Roberts, Erin Brockovich
Hilary Swank, Boys Don't Cry
Michelle Yeoh, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Jamie Bell, Billy Elliot
Russell Crowe, Gladiator
Michael Douglas, Wonder Boys
Tom Hanks, Cast Away
Geoffrey Rush, Quills

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Judi Dench, Chocolat
Frances McDormand, Almost Famous
Lena Olin, Chocolat
Julie Walters, Billy Elliot
Zhang Ziyi, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Benicio Del Toro, Traffic
Albert Finney, Erin Brockovich
Gary Lewis, Billy Elliot
Joaquin Phoenix, Gladiator
Oliver Reed, Gladiator

FILM NOT IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The Girl on the Bridge
Harry, He's Here to Help
In the Mood for Love
Malèna

SCREENPLAY, ORIGINAL

Almost Famous, Cameron Crowe
Billy Elliot, Lee Hall
Erin Brockovich, Susannah Grant
Gladiator, David Franzoni, John Logan, William Nicholson
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

SCREENPLAY, ADAPTED

Chocolat, Robert Nelson Jacobs
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, James Schamus, Wang Hui-Ling, Tsai Kuo-Jung
High Fidelity, D.V. De Vincentis, Steve Pink, John Cusack, Scott Rosenberg
Traffic, Stephen Gaghan
Wonder Boys, Steve Kloves

THE ANTHONY ASQUITH AWARD FOR ACHIEVEMENT IN MUSIC

Almost Famous, Nancy Wilson
Billy Elliot, Stephen Warbeck
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Tan Dun
Gladiator, Hans Zimmer, Lisa Gerrard
O Brother, Where Art Thou?, T-Bone Burnett, Carter Burwell