Here’s your first look at Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in Tom Hooper’s “The King’s Speech” that is bound for TIFF this September and possibly Oscar love later in the year.
Hooper directed the soccer comedy “The Damned United” that was at TIFF last year and “The King’s Speech,” a Weinstein Company picture, has a November 26 release date which means they’re probably thinking Oscar.
The film boasts an impressive cast of Guy Pearce, Michael Gambon and Geoffrey Rush, but TWC’s Oscar strengths are not what they were during the Weinstein’s Miramax days. In fact, TWC hasn’t released one film yet this year except for “Piranha 3D” which comes out in theaters this weekend (Friday, August 20). And how confident are TWC in the ‘Pirahna’? Well, they’re not screening it for press, infer into that how you like. Will they even have money for an Oscar campaign for “The King’s Speech”? Chances are they won’t sink in a dime until they see how the buzz nets out from TIFF. While we were never huge Colin Firth fans before, the actor was justifiably nominated for his first Oscar for his outstanding turn in a “A Single Man,” but TWC botched that Oscar campaign which otherwise should have lead to multiple nominations. Regardless, here’s the TIFF synopsis for “The King’s Speech,” essentially a historical drama about a King with a speech impediment, which is kind of a funny topic to base an entire film around when you think about it.
The King’s Speech tells the story of the man who would become King George VI, the father of the current Queen, Elizabeth II. After his brother abdicates, George ‘Bertie’ VI (Colin Firth) reluctantly assumes the throne. Plagued by a dreaded nervous stammer and considered unfit to be King, Bertie engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (Geoffrey Rush). Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, Bertie is able to find his voice and boldly lead the country into war.
Written by David Seidler (Francis Ford Coppola’s 1988 film, “Tucker: The Man and His Dream”), “The King’s Speech” is due in theaters November 26 in what we assume will be a limited release.