Among the leading contenders are "The King's Speech," "Black Swan," "Inception," "Made in Dagenham," "The Social Network," "True Grit," "127 Hours" and "Alice in Wonderland".

In contention for Best Director is Danny Boyle for "127 Hours"; in February, Boyle makes his long-awaited return to the theatre, to direct Frankenstein at the National Theatre.

Amongst actors in possible contention for Leading Actor are Colin Firth (for "The King's Speech," who was last seen on the London stage in Three Days of Rain at the Donmar Warehouse) and Jim Broadbent (for "Another Year," once a regular at the National Theatre).

Those named in the Supporting Actor category include the recently deceased Pete Postlethwaite (for "The Town," last seen on the London stage in the title role of King Lear at the Young Vic), Andrew Garfield (for "The Social Network," who began his career on the London stage), Bob Hoskins (for "Made in Dagenham," once a regular at the National Theatre where he played Nathan Detroit in Richard Eyre's production of Guys and Dolls), Geoffrey Rush (for "The King's Speech," who was seen on Broadway in Exit the King in 2009, for which he won that year's Tony Award for Best Actor in A Play), Mark Ruffalo (for "The Kids Are All Right," who was seen on Broadway in Awake and Sing! in 2006), Ben Kingsley (for "Shutter Island," once a regular RSC actor) and Dustin Hoffman (for "Barney's Version," whose Broadway credits include Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice).

Amongst those in contention for nominations for Leading Actress are Andrea Riseborough (for "Brighton Rock," who began her career on the London stage), Carey Mulligan (for "Never Let Me Go," who was seen both at London's Royal Court and on Broadway in The Seagull), Gemma Arterton (for both "The Disappearance of Alice Creed" and "Tamara Drewe," who was recently seen on the London stage in The Master Builder at the Almeida), Julianne Moore (for "The Kids Are All Right," who was seen on Broadway in David Hare's The Vertical Hour), Natalie Portman (for "Black Swan," who was seen on Broadway in The Diary of Anne Frank), Nicole Kidman (for "Rabbit Hole," who was seen at the Donmar Warehouse and subsequently on Broadway in The Blue Room), Rosamund Pike (for "Barney's Version," who was last seen onstage at the Old Vic in Gaslight), Sally Hawkins (for "Made in Dagenham," who was recently seen on Broadway in Mrs. Warren's Profession) and Tilda Swinton (for "I Am Love," who was once a stage regular). Those mentioned for possible Supporting Actress nominations include Geraldine James (for "Made in Dagenham," who has appeared regularly on the London stage), Lesley Manville (for "Another Year," last seen on the London stage in Six Degrees of Separation at the Old Vic), Olivia Williams (for "The Ghost," who is soon to star in Neil LaBute's In a Forest Dark and Deep, beginning performances at the Vaudeville Theatre March 3), Rebecca Hall (for "The Town," who is about to star as Viola in her father Peter Hall's new National Theatre production of Twelfth Night, beginning performances Jan. 11) and Rosamund Pike (for "Made in Dagenham").

For the entire longlist, visit www.bafta.org/awards.