‘The King’s Speech’: New front-runner?

Posted January 25, 2011 by Max in Awards

"The King's Speech" from Tom Hooper

It would seem that “The King’s Speech” is the new front-runner for The Academy Award of Best Picture. It received 12 nominations this morning including Best Picture, Best Director (Tom Hooper), Best Actor (Colin Firth), Best Supporting Actor (Geoffrey Rush), and Best Supporting Actress (Helena Bonham Carter).

It is by all means a typical Oscar movie. It is a period piece, it has strong performances for all its leads and it even throws in a little bit of WWII/Nazis. I think all the attention it’s getting will certainly make for a much more interesting Oscar Night considering the sweep “The Social Network” has going for it.

As for where my opinion lies, I would still like to believe that “The Social Network” would win best picture if only because it tries to do something different. Sadly, the Academy has snubbed different before when Crash defeated Brokeback Mountain for best picture in the previous decade. I guess anything could happen and that’s what makes it all the more exciting.