Thompson on Hollywood

A Tale of Two Speeches, President Obama vs. King George VI

King George VI vs. President Barack Obama. The Huffington Post pegs both men's speeches against one and other and considers how they fared:"President Obama is facing a very hostile House of Representatives, and a country that is torn on the efficacy of his presidency, though they all knew he could speak. Firth (as King George) faced a unified nation, but a country torn on the efficacy of his speech. Oh, and a swarming enemy that was invading his little island. Both oversaw what could be considered empires at their crossroads. Here's a basic scorecard between the two."Here is the scorecard, King George VI's speech, a clip from the film (which Weinstein Co. may trim for a PG-13) and Obama's State of the Union, below:

By Sophia Savage
|
January 27, 2011 2:07 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Nominations Led by King's Speech with 12; Winter's Bone Makes Top Ten, Bardem Lands Actor Nod

With the announcement of the Oscar nominations, momentum shifts toward The King's Speech, which led the fray with twelve nominations, including best picture, actor, supporting actor and actress, director and original screenplay. The Coen brothers western True Grit followed with ten nominations, including picture, actor, supporting actress, director and adapted screenplay. Producer Scott Rudin is grinning as he produced both True Grit and The Social Network, which earned eight nominations, including picture, actor, director, and original screenplay. Chris Nolan's Inception also earned eight, but while the writer-director landed a nomination for original screenplay (his second), he didn't get director, which is a sign that the film was not in the top five of the ten slots, and is unlikely to land best picture. Ben Affleck's The Town was shut out of contention except for Jeremy Renner, last year's discovery for The Hurt Locker, who nabbed his second nomination.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 25, 2011 2:04 AM
|
9 Comments

Oscar Watch Exclusive: Tom Hooper Talks Directing Style in The King's Speech

In a wide-ranging discussion about his directing approach on The King's Speech, Tom Hooper talks (in the video below) about framing star Colin Firth in wide-lens close-ups so that there was "nothing between him and the character." He mentions one of the visual themes in the film was finding "a visual analogue to stammering which became about framing Colin in relationship to negative space."

By Anne Thompson
|
January 20, 2011 4:17 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Golden Globe-Winning Actors: What's Next for Portman, Firth, Leo, Bale, Bening, Giamatti

Heat rises when an actor enters the awards fray. Look at how Helen Mirren (The Queen), Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) and Melissa Leo (Frozen River), particularly, parlayed Oscar attention into serious careers. Take a look at the slates (including soon-to-be-released, rumored, in-production and in-development projects) lined up for this year's Golden Globe-winning actors Natalie Portman, Colin Firth, Melissa Leo, Christian Bale, Annette Bening and Paul Giamatti. We start off with Portman, who has so much lined up that she risks overexposure:

By Sophia Savage
|
January 19, 2011 6:35 AM
|
0 Comments

BAFTA Nominations Analysis: The King's Speech Reigns

The BAFTA Awards, the British equivalent of the Oscars, have announced their nominations, dominated, natch, by Tom Hooper's The King's Speech with fourteen. The film presumably has already made a strong showing on Oscar ballots which were due last Friday.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 18, 2011 5:30 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

The Social Network Scores Top Awards at Golden Globes, Gervais Ignites Uproar

The Social Network is sweeping all the awards shows. The film won best drama, director, screenplay and score at the Golden Globes Sunday night. The King's Speech won the expected award for best actor drama Colin Firth, but could have used a best drama win going into the real Oscar race for best picture.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 17, 2011 3:56 AM
|
5 Comments

More:

Golden Globes: Best Actor Drama Goes to Firth

Colin Firth is the expected winner as he continues to chalk up wins for his role as a stuttering King George VI in The King's Speech. Firth's momentum going forward toward the Oscars is probably too strong to beat.

By Anne Thompson
|
January 17, 2011 3:46 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Alliance of Women Film Journalists Nominees

The Alliance of Women Film Journalists has posted its nominees for the 2010 AWFJ EDA Awards (full list is below). Nominated for Best Film are Black Swan, Inception, The King's Speech, The Social Network and Winter's Bone. Oddly, The Kids Are All Right received 16 nominations-- but not best picture. Helen Mirren (RED) got five.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 22, 2010 11:23 AM
|
2 Comments

Brits Weigh In: King's Speech, Another Year Lead London Critics

Don't underestimate the Brit factor when it comes to Oscar influence. There are many Brit voters in the Academy. The London Critics Circle just gave boosts to two Brit films, The King's Speech (seven nominations, including Film of the Year, Brit film of Year and Actor of the Year, Colin Firth) and Another Year (six, including British Director, Mike Leigh, British Actress, Lesley Manville and British Actor, Jim Broadbent). The Social Network nabbed five noms, while Brit debut featureThe Arbor got four, along with Joel and Ethan Coen's True Grit. Full list below.

By Anne Thompson
|
December 21, 2010 5:08 AM
|
0 Comments

More:

Oscar Talk: Predicts Post-Critics Groups, Globes, SAG

Does Blue Valentine or Another Year or Biutiful still have a shot? Will Winter's Bone or The Town make it onto the Oscar Ten? In Contention's @KrisTapley and @GuyLodge and I read the Oscar tea leaves in the wake of the critics votes, Golden Globes, and SAG nominations. We explain why critics' fave The Social Network isn't necessarily a shoo-in for best picture. And why the SAG Awards count more than the Golden Globes in the Oscar race, and why the HFPA didn't nominate How Do You Know? as a comedy. The guys like Tron: Legacy and Daft Punk a lot more than I do, that's for sure.