Bond foiled again in best picture Oscar mission

"That's a great pity," she told BBC Radio. "I thought Sam Mendes directed it absolutely beautifully. It was a terrific film."

Bookmakers William Hill sent out a press release entitled: "Sky Falls In For Bond At Oscar Shortlist!" while the Independent newspaper wrote in its blog: "British hopes for the first best picture nomination for Skyfall have been dashed."

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Vanity Fair magazine added via Twitter: "Sadly, James Bond was once again shut out of Oscar nominations."

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences might point out that Skyfall in fact fared relatively well, with five nominations including best song for Adele, best score, sound editing, sound mixing and cinematography.

And there will be a special tribute to the franchise at the awards ceremony on February 24.

But Bond has generally faired poorly at the Oscars, winning just two statuettes - sound effects for 1964 film "Goldfinger" and special visual effects for "Thunderball", released in 1965.

The Oscars have tended to overlook major movie franchises, a fact that irked the likes of Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe who criticied the Academy for not recognising the eight-part boy wizard series.

The British media tends to take a parochial approach to the Oscars, viewing them through a patriotic lens and borrowing repeatedly from screenwriter Colin Welland's acceptance speech more than 30 years ago when he won for "Chariots of Fire".

"I'd like to finish with a word of warning," he proclaimed. "You may have started something. The British are coming."

In 2009 and 2011 there were British "invasions", in the form of "Slumdog Millionaire" and "The King's Speech" respectively.

In 2013, the British focus will be on Daniel Day-Lewis, in the running for his third best actor statuette for his portrayal of US President Abraham Lincoln in Steven Spielberg's biopic "Lincoln".

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'Lincoln' premieres during AFI Fest 2012