Adapted flicks are a hit!

The King's Speech", "The Social Network", "Conviction", "127 Hours" all have something in common.

Not only were these the biggest hits in 2010, bagged the top honours at all the award shows, but they all were inspired from real people or real life events. This formula of adapting movies from the real have been very successful in cracking the box office jackpot. In the past too, it can be seen that the movies that had won the top awards in Hollywood, mainly the Oscars were generally based on real life people and actual events. Be it "The Aviator", "Erin Brockovich", "A Beautiful Mind", "The Hours", "Ray", "Capote", all have gone ahead and bagged the Academy Award for the Best Motion Picture. Actors in Hollywood too swear by these real life inspired roles as it always brings to their kitty an Oscar. While Reese Witherspoon made it big with "Walk The Line" for portraying singer June Carter Cash, Julia Roberts finally got her much deserved Oscar for portraying environmental activist Erin Brockovich. Then it was Nicole Kidman who won it for donning a false nose and playing writer Virgina Woolf. Actor Jamie Foxx won the award for essaying blues legend Ray Charles, and Philip Seymour Hoffman won his golden statuette for the portrayal of author Truman Capote. And recently, it was Colin Firth, who bagged the Academy Award for "The Kings Speech". So, we rest our case. If you want the Oscar or are in the mood for some critical acclaim, well, play a real guy!

Real flicks of 2010
Fair Game
Naomi Watts played former CIA agent Valerie Plame, who was ousted by members of the United States

The Social Network
Starred Jesse Eisenberg, it was based on how Facebook came into being, and the lawsuits that followed Mark Zuckerberg.

127 Hours
James Franco played American mountaineer Aron Ralston. During an expedition, Aron was trapped by a boulder for almost five days and had to amputate his own arm.

The Fighter
Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale portrayed the life of boxing legend Micky Ward and his half-brother Dicky Eklund.

Extraordinary Measures
True story of John and Aileen Crowley, who try to find a cure for their two kids who suffer from a rare disease called Pompe.

The Runaways
Based on the relationship between rockers Cherie Currie and Joan Jett from the '70s girl rock band The Runaways.

Secretariat
The movie starring Diane Lane and John Malkovich was based on a horse named Secretariat who had a unbeatable track record of 37 years along with three wins at the Belmont Stakes – the famous American thoroughbred horse race.

Conviction
Hilary Swank played Betty Anne Waters, a single mother who completes her Masters and goes on to study law, in order to save her brother who is wrongly convicted of murder.

The King's Speech
A historical drama on the stuttering problem suffered by King George VI, played by Colin Firth.

I Love You Philip Morris
True story of Steven Jay Russell who escaped from prison four times to be reunited with fellow convict Philip Morris.


Upcoming in 2011
government.

The Rite
This horror flick, based on true events, is a story about a seminary student who goes to Italy for a course in exorcism.

The Fields
Based on the life of screenwriter Harrison Smith and his family who were 'terrorised by unseen presence.'

Non-Disclosure: Haunted
The true story of divorced man who rents a haunted house.

The Way Back
Based on the book "The Long Walk", it is about seven men during World War II, trying to escape a Siberian Gulag camp.

The King's Speech | Movie Review

Story: When Prince Albert (Colin Firth) was called upon to lead the British Empire which comprised almost a quarter of the world in the 1930s, he was unsure whether he could be able to play his role as King George VI. This was primarily due to his awkward stammer which prevented him from delivering the public speeches which were required of him in the changing world order.

Movie Review: The King's Speech deserves all the accolades it won at the Oscars. First, because it is a highly motivational tale of failure and achievement and the singular ability of man to overcome all his limitations with courage and grit. The journey of Prince Albert from a low-on-confidence, self-censorious and stammering B-B-Bertie to King George VI, a leader of the largest nation, is essentially a universal story of struggle and success. It holds many an aspirational lesson for any and everybody who wants to bridge the gap between Being and Nothingness. The King's relentless efforts to conquer his disability and his therapist's consistent motivation are the stuff great endeavours are made of.

But more than the message and the moral of this period fable, it is the performances that make it such an enthralling watch. Colin Firth's rendition of the King who was called upon to script history -- he declared war against Hitler -- is truly monumental. Firth's monarch may have greatness thrust upon him, but he is terribly human: full of frailties, insufficiencies and doubts. England believes I can speak for it, but I have no speech, he poignantly declares, desperately trying to master his stammer. More importantly, he flits between arrogance, rage, insecurity and sensitivity with great finesse and emerges as a warm husband, father, friend and leader. And yes, the all Brit monarch does use the F-word too. As therapy!

Standing up to him is Geoffrey Rush as the failed Australian actor who tries to use his talent as a speech therapist, even as he hopes for a comeback on stage. Geoffrey's Lionel is absolutely endearing, both as a brusque, no-nonsense `doctor' who believes in a democratic relationship with his patients (so what if they are royalty) and as a reliable friend who is for keeps. And between them, the two actors create some magical moments on screen as they share their highs and lows. Equally enticing is Helena Bonham Carter's delineation of the loving wife who stands by her husband, come what may.

The King's Speech may be a historical film, but for cine-buffs hungry for refined cinema, this one may go down as celluloid history: an uplifting document on the human spirit.

Colin Firth to be knighted

Colin Firth may soon be knighted, thanks to his splendid performance in 'The King's Speech'. 

The 50-year-old actor portrayed Queen Elizabeth''s father King George VI in the movie, and the royal family are said to be so impressed with his performance they are considering making him a Sir.

"Colin has been a great ambassador for Britain throughout his career and his sensitive portrayal of King George VI has won him much admiration among the royal family - and of course, the film''s many fans," Contactmusic quoted a source as telling the Daily Mail. 

Although the Buckingham Palace hasn't confirmed the rumour, Firth will learn if he has made the cut the week before the Queen''s Birthday Honours list is announced in June.

A source said, "The Queen loves a good film. ''The King''s Speech'' is close to the bone as it is a portrayal of her family in the 1930s. But she found it moving and enjoyable. She was clearly amused by some of the lighter moments.

The King’s Speech bags four top honours at Oscar awards

After winning seven awards at BAFTAs, The King’s Speech is once again making it big. This time, it shines at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards 2011, which has been held at the Kodak theatre, Los Angeles. The Tom Hooper-directed historical flick was nominated in 12 categories and has managed to receive the top four honours at the Oscar Awards 2011 on Sunday.

Firstly, The King’s Speech has won the top-most honour of Oscars, the Best Motion Picture, beating nine hit movies. Secondly, Colin Firth, who played Prince Albert, Duke of York/King George VI in the film, has bagged the Best Actor gong for his wonderful performance. Thirdly, Tom Hooper has walked away with Best Director award. Finally, David Seidler has received the Best Original Screenplay award.

The King's Speech is a British Historical drama about the King George VI. Though movie got rave reviews, some film reviewers had the accused the movie bosses of twisting some historical events. It has been made the whopping budget of £8 million and it has topped the Box Office records for several weeks with its collections reaching $235,468,702 across the globe.

However, the film The King's Speech has already been screened at several International Film Festivals. Earlier, it has topped the winners list of BAFTA Awards 2011 by bagging seven top awards out of its 14 nominations. It has also bagged one Golden Globe award out of its seven nominations.

Tom Hooper wins best director for ‘The King’s Speech’

Los Angeles, Feb 28 – Director Tom Hooper has walked away with the Academy award for best direction for ‘The King’s Speech’.

Hooper beat Darren Aronofsky (‘Black Swan’), David O. Russell (‘The Fighter’), David Fincher (‘The Social Network’) and Joel Coen and Ethan Coen (‘True Grit’) to win the prestigious award.

‘The King’s Speech’ is the story of King George VI of Britain, his impromptu ascension to the throne and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch become worthy of it. 

IANS

List of top Bafta awards for 2011

London, Feb 14 – A list of some of the winners of the 2011 Baftas awards has been revealed, and it includes British historical drama ‘The King’s Speech’.

According to the official website of the British Academy Of Film And Television Arts, the award for Best Film was given to ‘The King’s Speech’.

Colin Firth was given the Best Lead Actor award for ‘The King’s Speech’ and Natalie Portman got the Best Lead Actress award for ‘Black Swan’.he Best Supporting Actor award was given to Geoffrey Rush, and the Best Supporting Actress award was given to Helena Bonham Carter, both were for ‘The King’s Speech’.

David Fincher took home the Best Director award for ‘The Social Network’.

The Outstanding Debut By A British Writer, Director Or Producer award was given to ‘Four Lions’ Director/Writer Chris Morris.

And the award for Outstanding British Contribution To Cinema was given to the Harry Potter Films. (ANI)

Colin Firth, Natalie Portman win top BAFTA honours

London, Feb 14 – The year 2011 seems to have started on a good note for actors Colin Firth and Natalie Portman as they are sweeping the top honours at most of the award functions and the latest to join the list is British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) awards. 

While Firth walked away for the best actor award for ‘The King’s Speech’, Portman won the best actress for ‘Black Swan’ at a glittering ceremony here Sunday night.

‘The King’s Speech’ saw Firth playing the stammering king. ‘Black Swan’ had Portman playing a young girl ballet dancer who wins the lead in stage musical ‘Swan Lake’ and is perfect for the role of the delicate White Swan – Princess Odette – but slowly loses her mind as she becomes more and more like Odette’s evil sister, Odile, the Black Swan. 

IANS

Colin Firth is Bachchan's Oscar favourite?

Amitabh Bachchan is moved by British actor Colin Firth's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth's father, King George VI in 'The King's Speech'.

Colin Firth, loved for his portrayal of Mr Darcy in 'Pride & Prejudice' and the actor who rendered an impeccable performance in Tom Ford's highly acclaimed 'A Single Man' two years back is Amitabh Bachchan's favourite for this year's Oscars it seems.

The renowned British actor has been nominated at the Oscars in the 'Best Actor' category this year.

The legendary superstar of Hindi cinema, Amitabh Bachchan shared with us, "The King's Speech' is an amazing film. Colin Firth is simply outstanding in his performance! The attention to detail... incredible!"

Big B seems to be cued in to the Oscar-fever this year. He had earlier commented on another Oscar favourite 'The Social Network' too saying, "The Social Network' was a good film but unfortunately most of India does not know internet. Let Hollywood make a film like 'Baghban' ... will they?"

The King's Speech has been nominated for 12 Academy Awards and tells the story of the Queen's father, King George VI, played by Colin Firth, who struggles to overcome a stutter with the help of an Australian speech therapist played by Geoffrey Rush.

Other than Amitabh Bachchan, Queen Elizabeth too was moved by the film when it was shown to her at a private screening.

Queen found ‘The King’s Speech’ ‘moving and enjoyable’

London, Feb 4 – It has emerged that British monarch Queen Elizabeth II is impressed by ‘The King’s Speech’, which is about her late father King George VI. 

The 84-year-old Queen, who is portrayed in the Oscar-nominated film by a child actress, is said to have found it ‘moving’ and ‘enjoyable’, reports The Sun.

She was particularly impressed by lead actor Colin Firth, who plays her father’s battle with a stammer in the build-up to his 1936 coronation.

The monarch was sent two copies of the film shortly before Christmas and she watched it at Sandringham House.

“The Queen loves a good film. The King’s Speech is close to the bone as it is a portrayal of her family in the 1930s,” said a source.

“But she found it moving and enjoyable. She was clearly amused by some of the lighter moments,” the source added. (ANI)

2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards winners list

The King’s Speech and The Fighter have bagged two awards each at the 17th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards, which was held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Sunday, January 30, 2011. Meanwhile, TV drama series Boardwalk Empire also walked away with two gongs.

Colin Firth won the Outstanding Leading Role for his performance in The King’s Speech, while Natalie Portman bagged Outstanding Leading actress for her wonderful acting in Black Swan. Christian Bale's acting in The Fighter fetched him Outstanding Supporting Actor award.

The following is the list of 2011 Screen Actors Guild Awards winners

FILM

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

TELEVISION

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
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Drama Series: Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series: Julianna Margulies, The Good Wife
Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series: Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series: Betty White, Hot in Cleveland
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series: Boardwalk Empire
Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series: Modern Family