LONDON (AP) — Intense war drama “The Hurt Locker” and blockbuster sci-fi spectacle “Avatar” squared off Sunday at the British Academy Film Awards — a curtain raiser for their Academy Awards battle in Los Angeles next month.

British coming-of-age drama “An Education” was also a favorite for the London prizes, attended by a mix of homegrown celebrity and Hollywood imports.

Kate Winslet, Colin Firth, Audrey Tautou, Quentin Tarantino, Vanessa Redgrave and “Twilight” stars Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart all walked the red carpet before the ceremony at London’s Royal Opera House, with Prince William on hand to add real royalty to showbiz aristocracy.

The prince, wearing a traditional Saville Row suit, received huge cheers and stopped to chat with waiting fans and have his picture snapped outside the opera house.

William is scheduled to present a lifetime achievement award to Redgrave during the show. He also was announced as the new president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, which presents the awards — a role once held by his grandfather, Prince Philip.

In his acceptance speech, William joked that his predecessor, Richard Attenborough “warned me to keep this brief, otherwise Mickey Rourke might wrestle me off the stage” — a reference to the actor’s best-actor victory last year with “The Wrestler.”

Rising star Carey Mulligan, best-actress nominee for “An Education,” turned heads in a sweeping monochrome floral dress by Vionnet.

She described the experience of being awards nominated as “like being punched — nicely.”

Best actor contender Jeremy Renner, who plays a driven bomb-disposal expert in “The Hurt Locker,” also is enjoying new celebrity after a career of supporting roles.

“I’m normally the guy that dies early on,” he said.

“Avatar,” ”An Education” and “The Hurt Locker” all have eight nominations, including best picture. “Avatar” director James Cameron and “Hurt Locker” director Kathryn Bigelow, former spouses turned awards-season rivals, are competing for best director.

The two directors, who were married from 1989 to 1991, are also going head to head at the March 7 Oscars, where their films have nine nominations apiece.

The British awards, known as BAFTAs, are considered an important indicator of likely Oscar success. Last year, Danny Boyle’s underdog picture “Slumdog Millionaire” won seven BAFTAs, including best film — and it went on to win eight Oscars.

The “Avatar”/”Hurt Locker” battle seems like a David-and-Goliath story. Cameron’s last feature, “Titanic” won 11 Oscars, including picture and director. “Avatar” is a global phenomenon that has taken more than $2 billion at the box office.

“Hurt Locker,” the intense story of a bomb-disposal team in Iraq, has made about a hundredth that much — but Britain loves an underdog.

Mulligan, 24, is favored to take the best-actress prize for “An Education.” Mulligan made a career breakthrough — and gained an Oscar nomination — for her performance as a smart schoolgirl having a sobering romance with an older man in 1960s London.

South African alien thriller “District 9″ is up for seven awards, while Tarantino’s “Inglourious Basterds” and Jason Reitman’s “Up in the Air” each have six nominations.

The best picture nominees are: “Hurt Locker,” ”Avatar,” ”An Education,” ”Up in the Air” and “Precious: Based on the Novel ‘Push’ by Sapphire.”

As well as Cameron and Bigelow, the director nominees are Neill Blomkamp for “District 9,” Lone Scherfig for “An Education” and Quentin Tarantino for “Inglourious Basterds.”

The best actor race pits George Clooney, for “Up in the Air,” against “The Hurt Locker”’s Renner, Jeff Bridges for “Crazy Heart,” Firth for “A Single Man” and Andy Serkis for his portrayal of musician Ian Dury in “Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll.”

Meryl Streep received her 13th BAFTA nomination for “Julie & Julia.” The other best-actress nominees are Mulligan, Audrey Tautou for “Coco Before Chanel,” Irish actress Saoirse Ronan for “The Lovely Bones” and Gabourey Sidibe for “Precious.”

Nominees for outstanding British film are “An Education”; “Fish Tank”; “In the Loop”; “Moon” and “Nowhere Boy.”

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Associated Press Writer Chelsea Arnold contributed to this report.

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