In addition to The Story of Edgar Sawtelle, Les Miserables and Queen of the East, Hooper is said to be interested in rescuing an adaptation of the novel Tulip Fever from turnaround. This wouldn’t be the first attempt to bring the novel to screen. In fact, a few have tried and failed including Shakespeare In Love writer Tom Stoppard and director John Madden.

A period love story about a bored wife who falls for the painter hired to create her portrait, this is considered a shoe-in for a win. Especially if Hooper can get Stoppard’s script. If there’s one thing the Academy loves, it’s these Victorian pornos. (Deadline)

Academy Award winning links:

The Nine Most Scathing Reviews of the 2011 Academy Awards (MovieLine)

The Draft Combine is Riveting (BarstoolSports)

Charlie Sheen: Winner (HolyTaco)

James Franco Wants to Stage a Real Gang Fight (FilmDrunk)

Lady Gaga Does a Lot of Things Drunk (CelebJihad)

If”Breaking Bad” Was On ABC (Unreality)

Gary Cole Returning to “Chuck” (TVSquad)

The Charlie Sheen Charm Offensive (PopEater)

The Dangers of Emo Hair (Smosh)

The 25 Worst-Dressed Video Game Characters (Ranker)

Escalator Malfunction Causes Avalanche of People (BroBible)

Mike Tyson: Fight or Flight (Maxim)

The 10 Lowest-Grossing Best Pictures of All Time (Pajiba)

New Farrell Brothers Sequel Really Sounds Dumber (NextMovie)

Three Reasons Why You Should Always Cheat in an MMA Fight (CagePotato)

Negotiating in the 21st Century (MadeMan)

‘Gears of War 3′ Preview (GameFront)

Soccer Player Kicks injured Owl off Field (TuVez)

Best Motion Picture of the Year Winner: The King’s Speech (2010) – Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin

Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Winner: Colin Firth for The King’s Speech (2010)

Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Winner: Natalie Portman for Black Swan (2010)

Best Achievement in Directing Winner: Tom Hooper for The King’s Speech (2010)

Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures, Original Song Winner: Toy Story 3 (2010) – Randy Newman(“We Belong Together”)

Best Achievement in Editing Winner The Social Network (2010) – Kirk Baxter, Angus Wall

Best Achievement in Visual Effects Winner: Inception (2010) – Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley, Pete Bebb Paul J. Franklin

Best Documentary, Features Winner: Inside Job (2010) – Charles Ferguson, Audrey Marrs

I admit to being disappointed that The Social Network didn’t bring home any major awards, but this will almost certainly be a case of a “loser” being remembered much longer than the winner. When was the last time you watched Shakespeare in Love? (via IMDb)

The King’s Speech is expected to clean up this Sunday at the Oscars and in turn, Harvey Weinstein would like the film to clean up at the box office. A PG-13 version of the film will be hitting theaters soon to draw in the tweens. They just looooove Colin Firth.

The film is pretty clean overall save for one scene where Firth issues a frustrated, expletive-filled outburst that would make Kurt Sutter blush. In this re-edit, that has gone bye-bye against the wishes of director Tom Hooper. Next thing you know, they won’t let him cast Andrew “Dice” Clay in his adaptation of Les Miserables. (THR)

Not to worry, Hoopertarians. The acclaimed director is considering a different big project: a new film version of the hit Broadway musical Les Miserables. It’s not just a poster in you high school music teacher’s classroom. Les Mis is a not-a-laugh-a-minute show about an ex-convict and other French folks who do a lot of struggling in the 1800s. Judging from the time period alone, it seems more like Hooper’s thing. (Collider, 24 Frames)

There was no overlap though, as Snookered shot in August of 2008, and The King’s Speech was shot in 2009. Imagine the extra stammering that would have come out of Colin Firth if he’d walked onto set and accidentally interrupted a crucial Snookered money shot. It would have cost Jonno a Goscar!* Astonishing (and safe for work) proof is below. (Movieline)

*Gay porn Oscar

“Stanhope was an explorer in the early 19th century, described by Seidler as ‘a female Lawrence of Arabia,’ who began as the hostess for her uncle, Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger. After Pitt’s death in 1810, Stanhope, then aged 34, travelled through the Middle East, generally refusing to wear a veil, and sometimes disguising herself as a man as a result. Settling out there, she led occasional treasure-hunting expeditions, and became a powerful, well-respected figure, known as ‘Queen Hester,’ in what is now known as Lebanon, giving sanctuary to refugees, and believed that her destiny was to be the bride of a new Messiah.”

No director attached yet, but this news originally came from Tom Hooper, who mentioned this was King’s Speech screenwriter David Seidler‘s next project. So the speculation is that Hooper will be directing too. Whenever these two wild and crazy guys get together, it’s fireworks, so here’s hoping. (via The Playlist)

The film portrays her father, King George VI, as an uptight stutterer who eventually goes on a ridiculous swearing binge. Up until now, nobody on Team King’s Speech — Colin Firth, director Tom Hooper — knew what the subject of the hidden track on “Abbey Road” thought of their film. Now they know, because The Sun reports:

“[S]he found it moving and enjoyable. She was clearly amused by some of the lighter moments.”

The Queen is also a documented Nintendo fan, so I’m sure she’s greatly anticipating “The King’s Speech: Stutter Busters” for Wii. It comes with a phonograph peripheral.

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg was also as-gracious-as-can-be-expected about his biopic The Social Network, even appearing on SNL with star Jesse Eisenberg, pretending to be cool about everything. Damn it, why aren’t these people more outraged about Hollywood taking liberties with their lives? Back in the good old days, if William Randolph Hearst didn’t like your movie about him, he would bury your film in the papers and attempt to buy all the negatives so he could burn them. Now that’s what I call a kickass reaction to a biopic. (TheWrap)

How do you make one of the year’s greatest films even better? Simple! Remove any words that might offend fat middle-age housewives. At least that’s what Harvey Weinstein has in mind. The producer hopes to release an edited version of The King’s Speech in order to secure a PG-13 rating and (hopefully) a larger showing at the box office. Personally, I don’t hear a lot of kids between the ages of 13 and 16 clamoring to see films about early 20th Century British royalty, so I don’t really understand why it needs a PG-13 rating. Then again, I sleep on an old air mattress, and Harvey sleeps on a bed made of gold bricks and delicious lox, so I’m assuming he knows a little more than I do when it comes to making a profitable movie.

It’s easy to see why people (specifically, Tom Hooper, the film’s director) are worried about this move. Anyone who’s ever seen a film dubbed for television knows what this type of editing can do, and it’s not pretty. Case in point, the following nine examples!

Ghostbusters

Ghostbusters is a great film, but we can’t have it ruined by such foul language. What’s a good word to replace “dickless?” I know: “Wally Wick!” It’s perfect! In the immortal words of Tim and Eric, “Great Job.”

Scarface

If someone is willing to sit through Scarface, a movie about a psychotic Cuban gangster, why in hell would they give a flying f*ck about hearing the word “f*ck.” They probably don’t. But the sponsors do, which is the same reason I just used a “*” instead of typing out the whole word.

The Usual Suspects

“Give me the keys, you dirty c*ck sucker” vs. “Give me the keys, you fairy godmother.” Personally, I find the second phrase more offensive. At least “c*ck sucker” doesn’t imply I’m female. “Fairy godmother” does. I’m all man, god damn it!

Casino

This is another film that I simply can’t believe they bothered to dub. The whole movie is curse words and violence. Seeing the dubbed version is like watching the no-sex porn parodies, except a lot less funny.

Snakes on a Plane

This dub job is a joke, but then again, this whole movie was a joke, so I really don’t see the harm.

Die Hard 2

The “yippie kai yay” part sounds familiar, but who the hell is Mr. Falcon? If they’d been committed to the dub, they would have at least dubbed “Falcon” over the bad guy’s name earlier in the film.

Pulp Fiction

You take the curse words out of this film, and it really loses its luster. But when you take the brutal man-on-man forced sodomy away, it completely loses its soul. For shame, Bravo. For shame.

The Departed

I’m not sure what’s more annoying: the dub job, or the forced Irish accents. Just kidding! It’s obviously the Irish accents.

The Big Lewbowski

This is one example where watching the dubbed version might actually be funnier than the original. And if kids happen to be watching, they’ll learn a valuable lesson about not finding a stranger in the Alps.

Anyway, this wouldn’t be an unprecedented move from Weinstein, who also released Roberto Begnini’s Life Is Beautiful dubbed into English in order to expand its American appeal. This is a new low, although perhaps the MPAA is somewhat to blame as well – didn’t Titanic manage a PG-13? And it had nudity! (via Vulture)

The DGA Awards bestowed top honors to King’s Speech director Tom Hooper and “Boardwalk Empire” director Martin Scorsese. The ceremony was hosted by Carl Reiner and was probably really, really exciting.

SAG winners include The King’s Speech for Best Picture, Colin Firth for Best Film Actor, Natalie Portman for Best Film Actress, Steve Buscemi for Best Actor in a Television Drama, and Betty White for Best Actress in a Comedy Series That Nobody Watches. The ceremony also honored Ernest Borgnine with a Lifetime Achievement award and it was probably really, really exciting.

Full list of winners:

2011 DGA Award Winners

OUTSTANDING DIRECTORIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN FEATURE FILM

Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech (The Weinstein Co.)

MOVIES FOR TELEVISION AND MINI-SERIES

Mick Jackson, Temple Grandin (HBO)

DRAMA SERIES

Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire (HBO)

COMEDY SERIES

Michael Spiller, Modern Family (ABC)

DOCUMENTARY

Charles Ferguson, Inside job (Representational Pictures, Sony Pictures Classics)

MUSICAL VARIETY

Glenn Weiss, 64th Annual Tony Awards (CBS)

DAYTIME SERIALS

Larry Carpenter, One Life to Live, “Episode #10,687″

REALITY PROGRAMS

Eytan Keller, The Next Iron Chef, “Episode #301″ (Food Network)

COMMERCIALS

Stacy Wall (Imperial Woodpecker)

CHILDREN’S PROGRAMS

Eric Bross, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf (Nickelodeon)

2011 SAG Award Winners

MOVIES

Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
The King’s Speech

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
Melissa Leo, The Fighter

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
Modern Family

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series
Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
Betty White, Hot in Cleveland

Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack

Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Miniseries
Claire Danes, Temple Grandin

Screen Actors Guild Awards 47th Annual Life Achievement Award
Ernest Borgnine

“The British numbers are huge because the rating lets families see the movie together,” said Weinstein. “Tom and I are trying to find a unique way to do this that keeps his vision of the movie.”

But that still doesn’t deal with the issue of actually getting teenagers interested in seeing the film. I suggest Weinstein pays Lil Wayne to develop a stutter. (LA Times)

All of Hollywood woke up early today to find out the nominees for the 2011 Academy Awards. Except for M. Night Shyamalan. He’s going to sleep in. And then eat some waffles that he later discovers are ghosts.

Without further ado, here are the nominees that will have to struggle to keep eye contact with co-host Anne Hathaway.

Best Picture

‘Black Swan’

‘The Fighter’

‘Inception’

‘The Kids Are All Right’

‘The King’s Speech’

‘127 Hours’

‘The Social Network’

‘Toy Story 3′

‘True Grit’

‘Winter’s Bone’

Best Director

Darren Aronofsky, ‘Black Swan’

David O’Russell, ‘The Fighter’

Tom Hooper, ‘The King’s Speech’

David Fincher, ‘The Social Network’

Joel and Ethan Coen, ‘True Grit’

Best Actor

Javier Bardem, ‘Biutiful’

Jeff Bridges, ‘True Grit’

Jesse Eisenberg, ‘The Social Network’

Colin Firth, ‘The King’s Speech’

James Franco, ‘127 Hours’

Best Actress

Annette Bening, ‘The Kids Are All Right’

Nicole Kidman, ‘Rabbit Hole’

Jennifer Lawrence, ‘Winter’s Bone’

Natalie Portman, ‘Black Swan’

Michelle Williams, ‘Blue Valentine’

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale, ‘The Fighter’

John Hawkes, ‘Winter’s Bone’

Jeremy Renner, ‘The Town’

Mark Ruffalo, ‘The Kids Are All Right’

Geoffrey Rush, ‘The King’s Speech’

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams, ‘The Fighter’

Helena Bonham Carter, ‘The King’s Speech’

Melissa Leo, ‘The Fighter’

Hailee Steinfeld, ‘True Grit’

Jacki Weaver, ‘Animal Kingdom’

Cinematography

Matthew Libatique,’Black Swan‘

Wally Pfister, ‘Inception’

Danny Cohen, ‘The King’s Speech’

Jeff Cronenweth,’The Social Network‘

Roger Deakins,’True Grit‘

Best Animated Feature Film

‘How to Train Your Dragon’

‘Illusionist’

‘Toy Story 3′

Best Foreign Film

Mexico – ‘Biutiful’

Greece – ‘Dogtooth’

Denmark – ‘In a Better World’

Canada – ‘Incendies’

Algeria – ‘Outside the law’

Best Original Screenplay

‘Another Year’

‘The Fighter’

‘Inception’

‘The Kids Are All Right’

‘The King’s Speech’

Best Adapted Screenplay

‘127 Hours’

‘The Social Network’

‘Toy Story 3′

‘True Grit’

‘Winter’s Bone’

Best Art Direction

‘Alice in Wonderland’

‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part I’

‘Inception’

‘The King’s Speech’

‘True Grit’

Best Costume Design

‘Alice in Wonderland’

‘I Am Love’

‘The King’s Speech’

‘The Tempest’

‘True Grit’

Best Original Score

‘How to Train Your Dragon’ John Powell

‘Inception’ Hans Zimmer

‘The King’s Speech’ Alexandre Desplat

‘127 Hours’ A.R. Rahman

‘The Social Network’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Best Documentary

‘Exit through the Gift Shop’ Banksy and Jaimie D’Cruz

‘Gasland’ Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic

‘Inside Job’ Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs

‘Restrepo’ Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger

‘Waste Land’ Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Best Film Editing

‘Black Swan’

‘The Fighter’

‘The Kings Speech’

‘127 Hours’

‘The Social Network’

Best Makeup

‘Barney’s Version’

‘The Way Back’

‘The Wolfman’

Best Sound Editing

‘Inception’

‘Toy Story 3′

‘TRON: Legacy’

‘True Grit’

‘Unstoppable’

Best Sound Mixing

‘Inception’

‘The King’s Speech’

‘Salt’

‘The Social Network’

‘True Grit’

Animated Short Film

“Day & Night”

“The Gruffalo”

“Let’s Pollute”

“The Lost Thing”

“Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Jouney Diary)”

Live Action Short Film

“The Confession”

“The Crush”

“God of Love”

“Na Wewe”

“Wish 143″

Visual Effects

“Alice in Wonderland”

“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1″

“Hereafter”

“Inception”

“Iron Man 2“

In this week’s column we’ll take a look at the Oscar prospects of T-t-he K-k-k-ing’s S-p-p-peech. And now that I’ve gotten that easy gag out of the way let us get down to brass tacks. On the surface, The King’s Speech seems to have it all: It’s a Weinstein-produced critical favorite, a period drama starring British Commonwealth actors, a smash hit on the art house circuit (carrying the highest per screen average of 2010) concerning one man’s struggle to overcome a disability in order to achieve greatness — and it even has anti-Nazi subtext.  All of this makes The King’s Speech a shoe-in to sweep the Oscars… in the year 1993. But unfortunately we’re on the other side of the Y2K Virus. “Twin Peaks” is off the air and The Spin Doctors are no longer touching the hearts and minds of a generation with anthems like “Little Miss Can’t Be Wrong.” Will Academy members give in to nostalgia and cast their votes for a film tailor-made for the Clinton years? Or will they favor decidedly more 21^st century fare such as The Social Network?

Like previous Oscar winners Schindler’s List, A Beautiful Mind, and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The King’s Speech is based on true events. Specifically the struggle of King George VI to overcome his speech impediment in order to become a more effective figurehead of Britain’s archaic and mostly powerless monarchy.  The King is forced to enlist the help of an Australian speech therapist, here played by an actual Australian, Geoffrey Rush.  Rush of course is no stranger to the Academy’s night of razzle-dazzle, having taken the Best Actor shiny gold dude for his performance in Shine, in which he played a man struggling to overcome a disability in order to achieve greatness… sound familiar? If it were swathed in flannel, sporting a soul patch and carrying a dog-eared copy of On The Road under its arm, The King’s Speech couldn’t be more of the 1990s. And while this might work against it come Oscar time, it does serve to remind us of that there was once a time when films were made for adults, and when “independent film” meant more than just casting Michael Cera and slapping a hand-drawn font on the poster. Colin Firth’s performance as the titular tongue-tied sovereign is nuanced, human and undoubtedly Oscar-worthy. But then that’s why Hollywood leaves its dramatic heavy lifting to Brits; British actors tend to be classically trained professionals, whereas American actors tend to be narcissistic pretty kids with IQs low enough to eliminate other professional options and trust funds large enough to afford apartments in Hollywood. Especially after getting snubbed last year for his Oscar-deserving performance in A Single Man, I have little doubt that Firth will take this year’s gilded doorstop for Best Actor. But will The King… get the Best Picture crown? Let us consult the runes.

RETARD STRENGTH (5/5): Of all this year’s likely Oscar contenders, only The King’s Speech boasts a bonafide gimp.  Sure, Jessie Eisenberg’s character in The Social Network seemed to have a touch of the Asperger’s and 127 Hours’ protagonist, by cutting off his own arm, gained some self-inflicted retard strength.  But only George VI would’ve taken the short bus to school. More importantly, he overcomes his handicap in order to better himself. As far as the Academy’s concerned, its not enough to simply be a tard; otherwise Keanu Reeves would win Best Actor every year. The tard’s tardedness must serve as an obstacle (or “tardstacle”) which the tard conquers by film’s end, as is the case with Colin Firth’s mouth-tarded monarch.

SOCIAL RELEVANCE (4/5): While a film set 75 years ago concerning turn-of-the-LAST-century class divides and a royal family that’s since been relegated to tabloid fodder might not seem particularly relevant to movie goers circa 2011, there is a contemporary subtext to The King’s Speech that should not be ignored. King George VI was not working to overcome his speech impediment in order to pursue a voice over career, or to be a contestant on “Jeopardy,” or to give his mistress better phone sex; he was doing it be a more effective leader. We Americans would do well to remember, in these potentially-apocalyptic times, that a leader’s greatest strength is often his or her ability to speak clearly, succinctly and intelligently.  What we don’t need are more leaders who babble incoherent yokel-approved catch phrases using broken English and faux redneck accents. In other words, while you may not grasp all of our President’s fancy talk — what with them big words and stuff – there’s a reason he’s the goshdurn leader of the free world and not working the Stuckey’s night shift like you.

EPICOSITY (3/5):  Okay, The King’s Speech is not exactly epic.  It is well shot and directed, but does carry some of the same cinematic flatness as the Merchant Ivory powdered wig dramas of ye olde. However Alexandre Desplat fancies things up a notch with an excellent orchestral score reminiscent of the work he did for 2006′s similarly royal The Queen. In fact it won’t surprise me if Desplat winds up beating out Trent Reznor‘s bleeps and bloops for Best Original Score.

UPLIFT (5/5):  Not only does King George VI conquer his stutter and give a speech that rallies his subjects against an evil tyrant with a Michael Jordan mustache (and if cinema has taught us anything, it’s that Nazis = bad), he’s able to befriend a lowly Australian whom he views as, if not an equal, then at least a human.  Which is more than could be said of me with regard to Australians.

BONUS POINTS (1): BRITISHNESS : Hallo Gubna! Like a middle-aged bachelorette who owns too many cats and reads too many Jane Austen novels, there are few things Academy voters find more irresistible than English accents. I have to give The King’s Speech an extra point just for its sheer Britishness. It’s like a bag of crips with bad teeth, it’s so British.

TOTAL POWER RANKING (4.5/5):  Based on my power rankings alone, The King’s Speech is a good bet for Best Picture. However zeitgeist does not always defer to objective reason. I’m not sure the strengths of The King’s Speech will be able to trump The Social Network’s hype, and we do live in an age where hype is everything. As good a film as it was, The King’s Speech seems more like a relic from another time.

We're all winners!

Nominations for the 68th annual Golden Globe Awards have been announced, and The King’s Speech leads the pack with seven nods. I guess it’s no surprise that a foreign film is cleaning up at a sham award show put on by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. If I gave a damn what foreigners thought, I’d talk to my friggen maid. She has a degree in Foreign Affairs from USC, and she really keeps up on current events.

Anyway, here’s the full list of nominations. (Deadline)

1. BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a BLACK SWAN
Protozoa Pictures & Cross Creek Pictures & Phoenix; Fox Searchlight Pictures
b THE FIGHTER
Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media; Paramount Pictures and Relativity Media
c. INCEPTION
Warner Bros. Pictures UK LTD.; Warner Bros. Pictures
d. THE KING’S SPEECH
See-Saw Films and Bedlam Productions; The Weinstein Company
e. THE SOCIAL NETWORK
Columbia Pictures; Sony Pictures Releasing

2. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a. HALLE BERRY, FRANKIE AND ALICE
b. NICOLE KIDMAN, RABBIT HOLE
c. JENNIFER LAWRENCE, WINTER’S BONE
d. NATALIE PORTMAN, BLACK SWAN
e. MICHELLE WILLIAMS BLUE VALENTINE

3. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
a. JESSE EISENBERG, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
b. COLIN FIRTH, THE KING’S SPEECH
c. JAMES FRANCO, 127 HOURS
d. RYAN GOSLING, BLUE VALENTINE
e. MARK WAHLBERG, THE FIGHTER

4. BEST MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. ALICE IN WONDERLAND
Walt Disney Pictures; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
b. BURLESQUE
Screen Gems; Sony Pictures Releasing
c. THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
Antidote Films, Mandalay Vision, Gilbert Films; Focus Features
d. RED
di Bonaventura Pictures; Summit Entertainment
e THE TOURIST
GK Films; Sony Pictures Releasing

5. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. ANNETTE BENING, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
b. ANNE HATHAWAY, LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
c. ANGELINA JOLIE, THE TOURIST
d. JULIANNE MOORE, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
e. EMMA STONE EASY A

6. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE – COMEDY OR MUSICAL
a. JOHNNY DEPP ALICE IN WONDERLAND
b. JOHNNY DEPP THE TOURIST
c PAUL GIAMATTI BARNEY’S VERSION
d. JAKE GYLLENHAAL LOVE AND OTHER DRUGS
e. KEVIN SPACE CASINO JACK

7. BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
a. DESPICABLE ME
Universal Pictures, Illumination Entertainment; Universal Pictures
b. HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON
DreamWorks Animation; Paramount Pictures
c. THE ILLUSIONIST
Django Films, Ciné B and France 3 Cinéma; Sony Pictures Classics
d. TANGLED
Walt Disney Animation Studios; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
e. TOY STORY 3
Disney * Pixar; Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

8. BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
a BIUTIFUL (MEXICO/SPAIN)
Menageatroz, Focus Features International; Roadside Attractions
b. THE CONCERT (FRANCE)
An Oï Oï Oï Productions, Les Productions Du Tresor, France 3 Cinema, Europacorp, Castel Films, Panache Productions, RTBF (Belgian Television), BIM Distrubuzione Co., Canal +, Cinecinema and France 3; The Weinstein Company
c. THE EDGE (RUSSIA)
(Kpaй)
Teleshow/Rock Films; Central Partnership (Russia)
d I AM LOVE (ITALY)
(LO SONO L’AMORE)
First Sun; Magnolia Pictures
e. IN A BETTER WORLD (DENMARK)
(Hævnen)
Zentropa Entertainment; Sony Pictures Classics

9. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
a. AMY ADAMS THE FIGHTER
b. HELENA BONHAM CARTER THE KING’S SPEECH
c. MILA KUNIS BLACK SWAN
d. MELISSA LEO THE FIGHTER
e. JACKI WEAVER ANIMAL KINGDOM

10. BEST PERFORMANCE BY AN ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE IN A MOTION PICTURE
a. CHRISTIAN BALE THE FIGHTER
b. MICHAEL DOUGLAS WALL STREET: MONEY NEVER
SLEEPS
c. ANDREW GARFIELD THE SOCIAL NETWORK
d. JEREMY RENNER THE TOWN
e. GEOFFREY RUSH THE KING’S SPEECH

11. BEST DIRECTOR – MOTION PICTURE
a. DARREN ARONOFSKY BLACK SWAN
b. DAVID FINCHER THE SOCIAL NETWORK
c. TOM HOOPER THE KING’S SPEECH
d. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION
e. DAVID O. RUSSELL THE FIGHTER

12. BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE
a. DANNY BOYLE, 127 HOURS
SIMON BEAUFOY
b. LISA CHOLODENKO, THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT
STUART BLUMBERG
c. CHRISTOPHER NOLAN INCEPTION
d. DAVID SEIDLER THE KING’S SPEECH
e. AARON SORKIN THE SOCIAL NETWORK

13. BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE
a. ALEXANDRE DESPLAT THE KING’S SPEECH
b. DANNY ELFMAN ALICE IN WONDERLAND
c. A.R. RAHMAN 127 HOURS
d. TRENT REZNOR, THE SOCIAL NETWORK
ATTICUS ROSS
e. HANS ZIMMER INCEPTION

14. BEST ORIGINAL SONG – MOTION PICTURE
a. “BOUND TO YOU” — BURLESQUE
Music by: Samuel Dixon
Lyrics by: Christina Aguilera, Sia Furler
b. “COMING HOME”

The King’s Speech is a British period piece about the monarchy AND a triumph over disability story, so it’s a sure thing for the Oscars. This is one you’ll actually want to watch anyway and it doesn’t even play like Oscar bait.

Bertie (Colin Firth), son of King George V (Michael Gambon) and Queen Mary (Claire Bloom), suffers from a stammer. His wife Elizbeth (Helena Bonham Carter) finds him a speech therapist, Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Bertie struggles with Logue’s lessons until he eventually has to take his place as King George VI.

This is the Rocky of speech therapy, complete with training montages. Logue’s methods of relieving vocal tension are clever, some almost 36^th Chamber of Shaolin level. Logue makes a good tough love coach in Bertie’s corner too.

The film’s greatest asset is humor. Bertie and Logue are funny and engaging. Their humor is self-deprecating, even when Bertie gets frustrated. This is not the stuffy serious period piece I usually dread reviewing.

Firth’s performance is a careful balance of a realistic portrayal of a stammer, but perfect for dialogue. Don’t keep the audience waiting. Just give it a dramatic pause. It creates suspense. Will he say it? Will it flow? You really see the effort speech patients make. It’s a demoralizing condition and they make a noble struggle, whether it’s Bertie or the little kid in Logue’s waiting room.

Tom Hooper complements the drama with his visual style. He goes in for Raimi angles on Rush and Firth’s faces at pivotal speech moments. Then he leaves an unnatural amount of empty frame space in other scenes. He makes speech visual, so it’s not just talking.

This is the perfect kind of period piece where it’s just old enough to feel exotic but recent enough that it’s not hard to understand. The language is clear, pretty direct and close to modern, just with British accents. The costumes are classy but still look like suits and hats we recognize today as high royal fashion. We recognize the ‘30s era cars from gangster movies so we feel at home in this world.

The family drama of the monarchy was less interesting to me than the speech therapy, but it impacts the speech issue directly so it has to play. That’s just my natural frustration with king and queen movies. When Bertie becomes George VI, the king rules during World War II. That’s something we really “get” in America so we know how important those speeches will be.

The King’s Speech is one of those rare movies that is both important and compelling. Usually when a movie starts out with an important subject, it’s doomed to be pretentious and impenetrable to actual audiences. King’s Speech is relatable and moving. It just happens to also be a true story about a British person of the crown.