'The King's Speech' leads Oscars field

Tue, 25 Jan, 2011 - 13:53

'The King's Speech', starring Colin Firth and Helena Bonham-Carter, has as expected led the field in the 2011 Oscar nominations, and is up for 12 awards.

Both Firth and Bonham-Carter are also up for individual gongs, Firth in the Best Actor category for his protrayal of stammering King George VI, and Bonham-Carter as Best Supporting Actress for her role as Queen Elizabeth.

Director Tom Hooper has also been given the nod, but faces stiff competition from Darren Aronofsky ('Black Swan'), David Fincher ('The Social Network'), the Coen bros ('True Grit') and David O. Russell ('The Fighter').

Christian Bale also gets the nod for best supporting actor for his role as a boxer-turned-crack addict in 'The Fighter'.

Mike Leigh has a nomination for original screenplay for 'Another Year'.

Danny Boyle and Simon Beaufoy are up for adapted screenplay for rock-climbing film '127 Hours'.

Geoffrey Rush has a best supporting actor nomination for his role as unorthodox speech therapist Lionel Logue in 'The King's Speech'.

Firth is considered a front-runner to land the best actor prize at the ceremony next month for his role as a monarch trying to overcome his stammer on the cusp of the Second World War.

The 50-year-old, who has just won a best actor Golden Globe, has been Oscar-nominated once before. He was in the running for best actor last year for A Single Man but went home empty-handed.

This year, his rivals are Spanish-born Javier Bardem for 'Biutiful', former Oscar-winner Jeff Bridges for the Coen brothers’ western 'True Grit', US actor Jesse Eisenberg for Facebook movie 'The Social Network' and James Franco in '127 Hours'.

In the best actress category, Natalie Portman is considered a shoo-in to win after landing a nomination for her performance as a troubled ballerina in 'Black Swan'.

She is up against Nicole Kidman for her role as a grieving mother in 'Rabbit Hole', and US actresses Annette Bening for comedy drama 'The Kids Are All Right', Jennifer Lawrence for thriller 'Winter’s Bone' and Michelle Williams for the drama 'Blue Valentine'.

Surprisingly, Mila Kunis has been omitted from the nominations despite her performance in ‘Black Swan’ being critically acclaimed and tipped for victory in the Best Supporting Actress category.

In the Best Animated Film category are ‘How to Train Your Dragon’, ‘The Illusionist’ and ‘Toy Story 3’, which is also a potential winner for Best Picture.

The winners will be announced at a star-studded ceremony on February 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, which will be presented by Anne Hathaway and James Franco.

Nominations in leading categories:

BEST DIRECTOR:

Darren Aronofsky

David O. Russell

Tom Hooper

David Fincher

Joel & Ethan Coen

BEST PICTURE (10 nominations):

Black Swan

The Fighter

Inception

The Kids Are All Right