Tim Bevan

Producer, Best Film nominee, Atonement

It won Best Picture at the Golden Globes, but the ceremony was cancelled because of the writers' strike. I didn't mind not going to pick it up, but I felt that the profile of the movie was robbed by not getting that additional coverage. If you get the timing right, awards matter. In terms of Atonement and the Baftas, we got the timing right - the DVD went out on Monday, so if we win some awards this weekend it'll give it a big lift.

The ceremony is a more glamorous event these days. There's lots of nominations for British films and very good British talent attached to other films - people such as Daniel Day-Lewis and Julie Christie. You can't get too nationalistic about it, because it's a global industry, but it's good that British talent is everywhere.

Finally, if I wasn't allowed to bet on Atonement I'd put some money on No Country for Old Men. It's exceptional, and since the awards season began it and Atonement have been the films to beat.

Stephen Graham

Actor, Best British Film nominee, This is England

It's a great thing that we've been nominated, but obviously it would have been nice if we'd got a bit more recognition for the film, and for Shane [Meadows, the director]. I'm supposed to be going to the ceremony on Sunday, but I've just got a part in Michael Mann's new film, which starts rehearsals in Chicago on Monday. I auditioned for that film, I got down to the last three, then my US agent sent Mann the DVD of This is England and that was it. I don't understand why little Tommo [Thomas Turgoose, star of This is England] hasn't been nominated for Best Newcomer. No disrespect, but Sienna Miller is hardly a newcomer, is she?

Stephen Woolley

Producer, former chairman of the Bafta Film Committee

There's a complete misunderstanding that Bafta is all about awarding our own. Well, remember that in the year when Sam Mendes won an Oscar for American Beauty he didn't win a Bafta. And you won't see many nominations for The Lives of Others at the Academy Awards, whereas we've nominated it for four major awards, including Best Film and Best Actor - and it's German. In fact, because of that, sometimes the voting gets a bit freakish, and people deliberately vote against British talent.

There are two sides to Bafta. There's the public side that people see on TV, and then there's the actual industry perception, which is about drawing attention to talent. Often a Bafta-nominated writer, director or actor will get access to better material after the awards. Their names become bankable.

Ronald Harwood

Writer, Best Adapted Screenplay nominee, The Diving Bell and the Butterfly

I've been nominated for a Bafta twice before, but not won. It's exciting this time just because this movie is so unlikely. You certainly notice a change in your status once you win an award. I noticed it after winning the Oscar for The Pianist - it raised my stakes enormously. George Clooney said he'll always be known now as “Academy Award winner George Clooney”, and the same thing applies to me. It just sticks to you, which is nice.

I'm more than grateful for it - it has changed my life. I'm not a betting man, but when I was nominated for The Pianist I was a 100-to-1 outsider. So a friend of mine put a bet on me and made quite a lot of money. It taught me that it's impossible to forecast awards ceremonies. You'll always get them wrong.

JoAnne Sellar

Producer, Best Film nominee,

There Will Be Blood

Being English, you feel an amount of kudos to be recognised by your home country, but generally I'm quite happy in the background. I've been producing Paul's films for 15 years, and as long as I'm helping him get his vision out there it's fine to be anonymous.

There have been many awards shows already with this film, but none with the glitz and glamour of the Baftas. Obviously, awards recognition is fantastic for your movie, and in theory it should help the next film that you're producing, but you'd be surprised. I produced Boogie Nights, Punchdrunk Love and Magnolia, and still it took us a long time to get There Will Be Blood together. If I wasn't going to choose my own film for best picture I'd bet on Atonement. I know the producer well, it's obviously a favourite, and it's British.

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