In Contention

Tag: The King’s Speech

  • OSCAR TALK: Ep. 51 — The new frontrunner, Santa Barbara tributes and panels, potential Oscar upsets

    Oscar TalkWelcome to Oscar Talk.

    In case you’re new to the site and/or the podcast, Oscar Talk is a weekly kudocast, your one-stop awards chat shop between yours truly and Anne Thompson of Thompson on Hollywood. The podcast is weekly, every Friday throughout the season, charting the ups and downs of contenders along the way. Plenty of things change en route to Oscar’s stage and we’re here to address it all as it unfolds.

    It’s been a little over a week since last we left you, and to say the least, plenty has happened in that stretch. We’re both back in Los Angeles after some festival bouncing and have a number of things to chew on so let’s see what’s on the docket today…

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  • Phase two campaign messages give it their best shot

    I’ve been, unintentionally, taking note of the various tactics this year’s Best Picture hopefuls have been using as phase two barrels ahead and members have ballots in hand.

    The smartest stroke, I think, was The Weinstein Company following up the “Some Movies You See, Others You Feel” campaign with a “Find Your Voice” push for “The King’s Speech.” It’s obviously two-fold.  Yes, it indicates the narrative of the film, but it also works wonderfully in a “don’t let anyone tell you what to vote for” kind of way.

    Meanwhile, Sony is perhaps reaching a bit to find its own campaign voice for “The Social Network,” as “One Movie Connects Us All” is a bit faux-profound.  Show of hands of who’s mother isn’t on Facebook?  But that making-of documentary (which is available online, on demand and came in disc form in the trades this week) was certainly a smart play.

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  • THE LONG SHOT: It was always you

    “Let me get this straight. The one’s about a precocious computer geek who’s also a bit of an asshole.”

    “Yeah.”

    “And the other’s about King George VI.”

    “Yeah.”

    “And King George VI has a disability.”

    “Well, he has a stutter. I mean, it’s not crippling or anything — ”

    “But it’s an obstacle that needs to be overcome.”

    “Yeah.”

    “And I assume, at the end, he does. And becomes King.”

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  • 2/2 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: ‘Hurt Locker’ producers fire back, ‘Gasland’ smeared, Superstitious Harvey

    • “The Hurt Locker” producers finally respond to last year’s law suit, and how. [Hollywood Reporter]

    • SMEAR ALERT: The oil and gas industry has the gall to send a letter to AMPAS urging them to steer clear of the Oscar-nominated documentary “Gasland.” [New York Times]

    • Lisa Schwarzbaum shallowly attributes the dramatic success of two scenes in “The King’s Speech” to classical composers, rather than Tom Hooper’s directorial choice to use them in said scenes. [Entertainment Weekly]

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  • Relatability

    I was talking recently with an Academy member who shall remain nameless and “The King’s Speech” came up.  This is what you’d definitely call a “steak eater” voter, if you will, part of a below-the-line branch, real rank and file type with zero connection to the film.  I thought I’d share his feelings on the movie because I think they might offer some insight for those wondering how or why the film is resonating so much:

    I watched that movie and it made me understand why I love movies.  I don’t know, humanity, I guess, man.  Trusting in another human being and your most vulnerable f***ing thing that you’re the most terrified of and give it to somebody else?  I mean, I come from recovery.  I’ve been sober for 26 years.  The idea to say, “Please help me,” is the transformation of a lifetime if you’re willing and can ever get to that place.  For me that movie resonated in so many f***ing ways.  I came away going, “Well, that’s my movie.  F*** everything else.”

    Sure, it’s a specific guy’s thought process.  But there is nuance built into that heart/head, see/feel debate raging in this year’s race, and I think these comments do a nice job of illuminating some of that.

    [Photo: The Weinstein Company]

  • SANTA BARBARA: Rush toasted with Montecito Award, ‘King’s Speech’ cast receives ensemble honor

    Last night saw Santa Barbara’s tribute to “The King’s Speech” star Geoffrey Rush.  Looking suave with a cleanly shaved head (for his current role on stage in “Diary of a Mad Man”), Rush held court with trademark affable humor and tales of his comparatively brief Hollywood career thus far.

    I Tweeted this and that from the tribute, but more than anything I was reminded again how much I loved the criminally underrated “The Tailor of Panama.” Discussion naturally flowed from “Shine” to “The King’s Speech” and all points in between, an engrossing reminder of just how rich Rush’s work is no matter the role.

    In a recent interview with The Race’s Tim Appelo (which is, consequently, a great place to start for those who continue to diminish the the directorial attributes of “The King’s Speech”), Tom Hooper had a wonderful take on directing the actor…

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  • 2/1 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Wolverine, Iron Man to present, ‘Superman’ snub “reverse McCarthyism,” Franco’s class

    • Greg Ellwood shrewdly notes potential motive to announcing Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) first as presenters at this year’s Academy Awards. [Awards Campaign]

    • Tom Hooper and Geoffrey Rush respond to the notion of cutting “The King’s Speech” to appease a PG-13 rating. [Inside Movies]

    • “Master Class: Editing James Franco…with James Franco meets on Thursday afternoons weekly.” [Movieline]

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  • OSCAR GUIDE: Best Writing (Original Screenplay)

    The race for Best Original Screenplay is full of worthy competitors this year.  Four Best Picture nominees and the year’s best screenplay period make up the field, and even if there are a few that should have been in the mix, I find it difficult to argue with what squeaked through in the end.

    The writing categories can sometimes be interesting to watch on Oscar night.  The Academy can mix things up, but only within the Best Picture landscape, as these awards have gone to a non-Best Picture competitor just six times in the last 20 years.  Nevertheless, all signs seem to be pointing to one film to dominate the show, and this category is no exception.

    The nominees are:

    “Another Year” (Written by Mike Leigh)
    “The Fighter” (Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson; Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson)
    “Inception” (Written by Christopher Nolan)
    “The Kids Are All Right” (Written by Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg)
    “The King’s Speech” (Screenplay by David Seidler)

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  • OFF THE CARPET: Game over, man

    It’s not really a question anymore, is it?

    I submit that, quite possibly, it never was.  Unfortunately, the shrieking in some quarters this year, under cover of “fighting the good fight,” has led to a mocking at the very notion that any film other than the critics’ champion could win the Oscar for Best Picture.  It’s been unnecessarily nasty in that way.

    At the end of the day, it really goes beyond critics vs. the Academy, though.  It comes down to micro vs. macro, I think.  The critics organizations are a bunch of tiny groups of people.  Get 5,000, 6,000, 10,000 people together, the odds begin to favor “The King’s Speech.” It’s simply the film that survives the scrutiny of a broader spectrum of opinion.  “Most generally agreeable.”  It always was.

    The unfortunate thing now — and if you’re watching, some are already doing an about face on their own positive opinion of Tom Hooper’s film — is that the fallout will be insufferable.  Suddenly “The King’s Speech” will be a blight on Academy history and that talking point will be regurgitated ad nauseam.  It already is.  And that’s just sad, because it’s a very good film that doesn’t deserve to be taken to task in the wake of another film’s failed (and overstated) awards season expectations.

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  • ‘The King’s Speech’ takes top honors at SAG Awards

    Well, if you didn’t get the message after last night’s DGA result, SAG’s Best Ensemble award just underlined it for you — the Best Picture race is over. In the 16 years that the three Guilds have co-existed, only one film has taken the big prize from the DGA, PGA and SAG and not won the Best Picture Oscar — and “Apollo 13” was handicapped by its lack of a Best Director Oscar bid. No such obstacle in this case: “The King’s Speech” has it in the bag.

    So, it seems, do a couple of other folks. It was a highly predictable night, as the de facto frontrunner prevailed in each of the four individual acting categories.

    Colin Firth, of course, continued his march to the Oscar podium with another impeccably wry, self-deprecating speech — “I’d like to thank security for letting me into the building,” he quipped, earning the night’s biggest laugh. With his victory, “The King’s Speech” becomes the first film to take Best Ensemble and a lead acting gong since “Chicago” eight years ago; this time, however, it won’t lose the latter on February 27.

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  • BOX OFFICE: ‘King’s Speech’ goes wide after guild wins

    It looks like “The King’s Speech,” which went much wider this weekend, could quietly become a $100-million grossing movie.  Meanwhile, that re-expansion for “The Social Network” didn’t make much of a dent and it seems increasingly unlikely it’ll cross that mark, leaving “Black Swan,” “Inception,” “Toy Story 3,” “True Grit” and potentially “The Fighter” as the only Best Picture nominees to ultimately get there.

    In more depressing news, “The Way Back” will barely make $3 million when all is said and done.

    (Courtesy: Exhibitor Relations)

  • Tom Hooper wins DGA Award

    Even after “The King’s Speech” surprised at the Producers’ Guild Awards and took a dozen Oscar nominations, I held on to the notion that critical favorite “The Social Network,” a film more in line with the Academy’s recent choices, would emerge victorious on Oscar night.

    However, Kris called it right. When the former film’s comparatively inexperienced director can beat a heavyweight field of Darren Aronofsky, Christopher Nolan and the Davids Fincher and O. Russell to the Directors’ Guild prize — and for a film that’s widely been deemed, rightly or wrongly, an actors’ showcase more than a director’s one — it’s clear the tide has turned. It pains me to say it, folks, but the stammering-royal drama is your Best Picture winner.

    That said, I’m not willing to hand Hooper an accompanying Best Director Oscar just yet. Although the Academy and the Guild have parted ways in this category just six times in 64 years, their last such disagreement strikes me as a pertinent one.

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  • WEEKLY WRAP: Nomination week

    • In case you’ve just emerged from a coma, “The King’s Speech” led the Oscar nominations on Tuesday with 12 bids.

    • “The King’s Speech” was also the surprise winner at the Producers’ Guild Awards, drastically shaking up the Best Picture race.

    • In the wake of these developments, Kris adjusted his winner predictions accordingly.

    • In a special mid-week edition of Oscar Talk, Guy and indieWIRE’s Peter Knegt joined Kris and Anne to break down the nominations.

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  • Predict the DGA winner

    I nearly forgot tomorrow brings the DGA awards.  I thought they were next weekend.  Anyway, I guess this can be your place to offer up predictions.  I’ll say this, though.  I don’t think David Fincher has this in the bag.  At all.  Ballots were due in today, by the way, which means the Oscar nominations could have an impact.  Maybe last minute voters want to spring for Christopher Nolan after he was unceremoniously snubbed by the Academy?

    Fincher’s dominance in the critics awards circuit is unmistakable.  But now you’re talking about 10,000 people rather than a 30-person media organization (and, in most cases, much smaller than that).  “Inception” is a populist film, but so, too, is “The King’s Speech.” And I think I’m just brazen enough to predict Tom Hooper to win.

    Yep, I am.  I think Darren Aronofsky deserves it above all comers, but that’s unlikely.  And Fincher would be my second pick.  He could well win, and “The Fighter” could take the SAG ensemble prize, blowing the race wide open (for some).  But no, I’m going to put my chips on a sweep for “The King’s Speech” that started with PGA, will continue tomorrow night and keep going through Sunday with an ensemble win.  What about you?

    [Photo: Fox Searchlight Pictures]

  • TECH SUPPORT: Analyzing the nominees

    So the 83rd Annual Academy Award nominations were finally announced this week, and I did fairly well in handicapping the nominees. Outside of Best Sound Mixing, I never missed more than one nominee in a category. Unfortunately, there were no categories where I scored 100% (apart from Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay). Oh well.

    The massive overall tally for “The King’s Speech” resulted from a plethora of nominations in the crafts fields. “True Grit” and “Inception” got all but one plausible tech nomination (with one very notable exception for each, discussed below). “TRON Legacy”’s tally, on the other hand, has got to be considered a disappointment as must, to a lesser extent, those of “Black Swan” and “127 Hours.” The complete shut-out for “Shutter Island” was also somewhat of a surprise, but other branches saw fit to make Oscar nominees of some unlikely titles.

    Regardless, it was nice to see many deserving crafts artists get their due. With the throat-clearing out of the way, I’ll now give short reactions to – and previews of – each below-the-line field.

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  • Predict the SAG winners

    This weekend completes the trio of Guild awards with the most bearing on the Best Picture race, as the Directors’ Guild of America and the Screen Actors’ Guild dish out their prizes on Saturday and Sunday, respectively.

    Following the Producers’ Guild’s surprise coronation of “The King’s Speech” last week, the next two days could help level the race — most are favoring “The Social Network” to fight back with a DGA gong, but the SAG Awards are more of a wild card.

    A couple of SAG categories, of course, barely require discussion. In the lead acting races, there’s no reason whatsoever to suspect that Colin Firth and Natalie Portman won’t continue their joint march to the Oscar podium on Sunday. (If Annette Bening were to pull off a shocker, she’d be the first two-time Best Actress winner in the 17-year history of the awards, which somehow makes it seem even less likely.)

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  • 1/28 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Puig hearts Bardem, eclectic slate of tune nominees, Bettany’s ‘Speech’ regret

    • Claudia Puig writes a love letter to “Biutiful” star (and Best Actor nominee) Javier Bardem. [USA Today]

    • Geoff Boucher and Rebecca Keegan note the eclectic flair of this year’s Best Original Score nominees. (More on those later). [The Envelope]

    • The Coen brothers: the cartographers of cinema. [The Guardian]

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  • 1/27 OSCARWEB ROUND-UP: Franco on Gervais, Weinstein may cut ‘King’s Speech’ for PG-13, Gurus like it to win

    • Steve Pond offers up some random observations of the Oscar nominations announcement. [The Odds]

    • James Franco weighs in on Ricky Gervais’s hosting job at the Golden Globes. [MTV Movies Blog]

    • “Unusual number of Oscar nominees feature severed extremities, oral sex.” [The Race]

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