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Arts and Culture

‘King’s Speech’ Rules in Oscar Race

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Posted on Jan 25, 2011
imdb.com

“King’s Speech” stars Colin Firth, left, and Geoffrey Rush will have to practice their own speeches as Oscar nominees at this year’s awards show.

Score 12 for “The King’s Speech.” Even with the recently retooled Academy Awards format, which includes 10 contenders for best picture, the quirky story of a verbally challenged King George VI nailed a dozen nominations in this year’s Oscar lineup. Other big competitors announced early Tuesday morning include the Coen brothers’ “True Grit” and, predictably, that hoopla-fueled Facebook movie, “The Social Network.”  —KA

The New York Times:

The King’s Speech,” about friendship and speech therapy, garnered 12 nods, including best picture, best director (for Tom Hooper) and best actor (for Colin Firth as a stammering King George VI). The film had just won top honors from the Producers Guild of America over the weekend, and emerged as the leader in an unusually competitive pack of contenders for the best picture Oscar.

In the morning’s biggest surprise, “True Grit,” a western remake from the filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, followed with 10 nominations, including best picture, best director for the Coens, and a best actor nomination for Jeff Bridges, who won the acting award last year for “Crazy Heart.”

“True Grit” has been an audience favorite since its release in late December but had barely registered in the panoply of pre-Oscar awards and was recognized not at all at the Golden Globes last week.

By contrast, “The Social Network,” an unauthorized look at the Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, dominated the early awards, but slipped somewhat in the Oscar nominations. It secured eight of those on Tuesday, including best picture. David Fincher was nominated for his directing, Aaron Sorkin for the script and Jesse Eisenberg for starring as Mr. Zuckerberg.

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RenZo's avatar

By RenZo, January 26, 2011 at 11:10 pm Link to this comment

Firth is certainly on a run. He has a superb agent, excellent connections, incredible talent and good artistic sense. In fact he is becoming the whole show in any new show.
Ahhhh, to be golden again.

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By learn12eng, January 26, 2011 at 5:45 am Link to this comment

learning english online  and english online

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Queenie's avatar

By Queenie, January 25, 2011 at 6:54 pm Link to this comment

Having grown up in a theater family and knowing just what good acting is all about, I have gravitated to British film by instinct. It is vastly superior in almost every way, imho.

I have been researching British film of the 1930’s and 1940’s for the past ten years in preparation for a book about my love affair with it from a viewpoint from one “across the pond”.

One key to their excellence is training. British actors have much more stage work on the whole. And the scripts are more geared to grown ups.

“The King’s Speech” captures the subtlety and humanism inherent in great script, acting and direction. It is not heavy handed as are many U.S. films. It does not shout to get the teen’s attention.

See it and be enthralled.

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