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The PG-13 version of The King’s Speech to be Released April 1

Damon Houx — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 19:26:33 +0000

In an attempt to squeeze the last few coins out of the domestic box office of the Academy award-winning film The King’s Speech, The Weinstein Company will put out a PG-13 cut of the film which changes the four letter words that got the film rated R. The sanitized version will come out April 1 on 1000 screens and will be the only version in theaters. The film won Best Picture, and won Oscars for director Tom Hooper and star Colin Firth, and got co-stars Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter nominated.

There was a time when other R rated films that became phenomenons were recut, most notably Saturday Night Fever, but this is the first instance of this sort of recutting in a long while. For the most part – for the last ten years – the studios have favored putting out director’s cuts or “Unrated Versions” on DVD and Blu-ray, but no notable censored versions after the fact.

The news of this may bring some new audiences to the theater, or perhaps there’s some younger audience members denied by theater staff from seeing the Oscar winner. Mainly, this puts the film back in theaters with a new ad campaign after its long run was nearly over, and may generate a couple extra million theatrically for the stunt.

Regardless, the film is coming out on DVD and Blu-ray on April 19, so it should be out of theaters after three weeks. As there will be a DVD in that time this alternate version will never again be available, unless it proves so successful the studio feels the need to put out a new home video edition.

In the original cut, Colin Firth’s King George VI is warming up to speak and says the word “fuck” repeatedly. This word has been replaced with “shit.” As I understand, the rules from the MPAA are that a PG-13 film can have a use of the word “fuck” but no more than three. There are also rules about intent – if you direct the use at someone (“fuck you”), it’s an automatic R. The arbitrariness of this rule has never been clearer.

Do the MPAA rules make sense on this one?

Colin Firth To Star In Park Chan-wook’s ‘Stoker’

Travis Woods — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 18:18:08 +0000

Well, Colin Firth has selected his first post-Best Actor Oscar role, and it’s something of a surprise—he will star in Stoker, the first English-language film directed by South Korean director Park Chan-wook (the man beyond the wild brilliance of the Vengeance Trilogy—Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, Oldboy and Lady Vengeance). And, because it’s 2011 and all films must now be comprised of at least 23% undead material, it looks like Firth is playing a vampire.

According to /Film:

“Firth will star alongside fellow Oscar-winner Nicole Kidman and Alice in Wonderland herself, Mia Waskiowska, in the story of a girl and her mother who, after the death of the father, reunite with his mysterious brother. Kidman is the mother, Waskiowska is the girl and Firth would be the mysterious uncle, who is rumored to be a vampire. Hence the Bram Stoker-influenced title.”

While one’s initial reaction to yet another vampire flick may be one of disdain or cynicism, that’s not a bad cast, and anyone who has seen his work knows that Park Chan-wook is behind some of the most visually inventive and complex films in recent memory. And the fact that the script, “written by Prison Break star Wentworth Miller, showed up on the 2010 Black List,” doesn’t exactly hurt its chances, either. Cautiously optimistic about this one.

Oscar Winner 2011: Best Actor – Colin Firth

Krystal Clark — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:32:29 +0000

The winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Actor is Colin Firth for The King’s Speech. The actor was the front runner in the category this year and previously won the Golden Globe for it. During his speech, he joked that his career had peaked and he was getting a strange feeling in his stomach that might make its way to his legs in the form of dance moves. He thanked the director, screenwriter, and Harvey Weinstein, whom he’s worked with for the past 20 years.

See who he beat out…

The nominees for Best Actor were:

Javier Bardem, Biutiful
Jeff Bridges, True Grit
Jesse Eisenberg, The Social Network
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech
James Franco, 127 Hours

The choice here was pretty obvious. After last night years nomination for A Single Man we knew it was only a matter of time before the Academy finally buckled down and gave Firth his just desserts. He seemed genuinely nervous and humble during the speech. It’s always nice to see actors show true shock and emotion, even though he has swept this category at every other awards show.

Congrats to Colin Firth! You deserve it.

What do you think of this year’s winner for Best Actor?

Cameron Diaz Joins Colin Firth in Gambit

Krystal Clark — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 21:33:20 +0000

Over the past year, Ethan and Joel Coen, along with director Michael Hoffman have been developing a remake of the 1966 film Gambit. We know a lot of you were probably thinking of the famous X-Men character when you read the title, but alas, it’s not him. He may not be a mutant, but this Gambit is also a thief, and he’ll be played by Oscar hopeful Colin Firth. Deadline is reporting that the female lead, which was previously played by Shirley MacLaine, has been filled with Cameron Diaz.

The original Gambit centered on a cat burglar who tries to rob a billionaire of his priceless statue and enlists the help of a waitress who is a dead ringer for the victim’s late wife. While the burglar has carefully planned the job in his head, the execution is complicated by his relationship with his pretty accomplice.

The remake will have Firth playing a London art curator who plans to con a wealthy collector into buying a phony Monet painting. He enlists a Texas steer roper (Diaz) to pose as a woman whose grandfather liberated the painting at the end of WWII.

Hmm, the plots seem close enough. Gambit will mark the first time in 25 years that the Coen brothers have written a script for a film that they won’t also direct.

What do you think of Diaz and Firth teaming up?

No Strings Attached To Win Weekend Box Office

Scott Schachter — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 19:40:47 +0000

Last weekend’s box office winner The Green Hornet will find itself sliding to the number two spot because Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman’s No Strings Attached should have enough steam to plow the competition. Moviegoers will find themselves catching up with last weekend’s Golden Globe winners as well as leftover holiday fare such as Little Fockers and Tron Legacy. All in all it should be an interesting weekend at the theater.

And now on to our predictions…..

# 1 No Strings Attached

Riding the wave of her Golden Globe win and future Oscar Nomination, arrives Portman and Kutcher’s No Strings Attached, which should land itself at the top spot this weekend. Portman is untested when it comes to romantic comedies, as most of the box office weight will rely heavily on Kutcher whose forays into the genre have seen varied success with first weekend openings as high as $22.5M for Guess Who? to a low of $ 7.5M for A Lot Like Love. Add in an uneven marketing campaign with trailers that consistently changed from week to week and No Strings Attached should find itself with a modest yet successful opening.

Our Prediction: $16-17M Opening Weekend Box Office.

#2 The Green Hornet

With a solid opening weekend, good audience feedback via Cinemascore, and a lack of any real direct competition The Green Hornet should come in second place this weekend. The real big question is whether Hornet will hold up well in the upcoming weeks to become a true blockbuster OR perform like the ill-fated Daredevil. Only time will tell.

Our Prediction: 15M Weekend Box Office.

# 3. True Grit

Continued word of mouth, small week to week declines and probable Oscar nominations will help keep True Grit sitting at the number three spot this weekend. The Coen Brother’s latest has seen its box office soar to new heights and has now opened the possibility of True Grit becoming the first ever $200M grossing film for the directors.

Our Prediction- 9-9.5M Weekend Box Office.

# 4. Black Swan

With a Portman’s Golden Globe win for best actress, possible Oscar nominations, and an ever increasing box office take, look for Black Swan to land at number four this weekend as it moves closer to becoming the first $100 million grosser Darren Aronofsky’s career.

Our Prediction: $8.5-9M Weekend Box Office.

# 5. The Kings Speech

With a Golden Globe win for Best Actor with Colin Firth, likely Oscar nominations, and a successful expansion last weekend look for The King’s Speech to hold steady at number five.

Our Prediction: $8.5M Weekend Box Office Take.

# 6. The Dilemma

With a weak debut opening, moviegoers catching up on recent award season films, The Dilemma should see its gross cut in half to land at number six.

Our Prediction: $8-8.5M Weekend Box Office.

# 7. The Fighter

The Fighter is riding high on awards momentum with wins for both Melissa Leo and Christian Bale from this past weekend’s Golden Globes. Factor in likely Oscar nominations, and strong weekend-weekend holds, The Fighter should land itself at the number seven spot.

Our Prediction: $5-5M Weekend Box Office

The Rest Of The Top Ten….

# 8. Yogi Bear

Our Prediction: $4M Weekend Box Office.

# 9 Little Fockers

Our Prediction- $3.8-4M Weekend Box Office.

#10. Tron

Our Prediction:$3M Weekend Box Office

Who do you think will dominate this weekend?

2011 Golden Globes – Best Actor – Colin Firth

Krystal Clark — Mon, 17 Jan 2011 03:50:19 +0000

The Best Actor in a Drama trophy went to Colin Firth at the 68th Annual Golden Globes. The actor picked up the award for his performance as King George VI, in The King’s Speech. While on stage he spoke about going through a bit of a midlife crisis, and how winning for Best Actor is the only thing keeping him off a Harley Davidson.

See who he beat out below…

Best Actor (Drama)
Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network)
Colin Firth (The King’s Speech) – Winner
James Franco (127 Hours)
Ryan Gosling (Blue Valentine)
Mark Wahlberg (The Fighter)

Also winners in the Best Actor Categories:

Best Actor (Musical or Comedy)
Johnny Depp (Alice in Wonderland)
Johnny Depp (The Tourist)
Paul Giamatti (Barney’s Version) – Winner
Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)
Kevin Spacey (Casino Jack)

Best Actor in a Television Series, Drama
Steve Buscemi, “Boardwalk Empire” – Winner
Bryan Cranston, “Breaking Bad”
Michael C. Hall, “Dexter”
Jon Hamm, “Mad Men”
Hugh Laurie, “House”

Best Actor, TV Series Comedy
Alec Baldwin, “30 Rock”
Steve Carrell, “The Office”
Thomas Jane, “Hung”
Matthew Morrison, “Glee”
Jim Parsons, “The Big Bang Theory” – Winner

Best Actor in a Mini-series or Made-for-TV Movie
Idris Elba, Luther
Ian McShane, Pillars of the Earth
Al Pacino, You Don’t Know Jack – Winner
Dennis Quaid, “The Special Relationship”
Edgar Ramirez, Carlos

For More on The King’s Speech:

What do you think of tonight’s Best Actor winners?

Colin Firth in Talks to Star in Gambit Remake

Krystal Clark — Mon, 13 Dec 2010 20:58:57 +0000

The King’s Speech star Colin Firth is looking for a new gig and he might find one with the Coen brother’s scripted remake of Gambit. According to Deadline, he’s in talks to star in the film which will be directed by Michael Hoffman. Oscar winner Michael Caine and Shirley MacLaine starred in the original version from 1966.

Gambit centers on “a cat burglar who tries to rob a billionaire of his priceless statue and enlists the help of a waitress who is a dead ringer for the victim’s late wife. While the burglar has carefully planned the job in his head, the execution is complicated by his relationship with his pretty accomplice.” The film will mark the first time in 25 years that the Coen brothers have written a script that they won’t also direct.

In the remake Firth will obviously take over the role that originated with Caine. We’re not sure who will play the female lead. What actress has the charisma, beauty, and screen presence that MacLaine had in the sixties?

The producers are looking to begin filming on Gambit in London and Texas before the summer.

What do you think of Firth starring in Gambit? Is it a good fit?

The King’s Speech Wins Big At British Independent Film Awards

Laura Aguirre — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 22:41:02 +0000

The King’s Speech dominated the 13th Annual British Independent Film Awards Sunday night winning in six major categories. Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter won for their acting roles. David Seidler won for writing the Best Screenplay, and the movie itself won Best British Independent Film. Ms. Carter was also honored with a lifetime achievement award. Check out the night’s other big winners…

Carey Mulligan won again this year for her performance in Never Let Me Go (also starring Keira Knightly and Andrew Garfield). Last year she took home the award for her performance in An Education, very impressive. Gareth Edwards was named Best Director for Monsters. The part road-trip, part alien-adventure (and romantic) film was Edward’s directorial debut.

Here’s the complete list of winners and nominees:

Best British Independent Film: The King’s Speech
Nominated:
Four Lions
Kick-Ass
Monsters
Never Let Me Go

Best Director: Gareth Edwards – Monsters
Nominated:
Mike Leigh – Another Year
Matthew Vaughn – Kick-Ass
Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech
Mark Romanek – Never Let Me Go

The Douglas Hickox Award for Best Debut Director: Clio Barnard – The Arbor
Nominated:
Debs Gardner Paterson – Africa United
Rowan Joffe – Brighton Rock
Chris Morris – Four Lions
Gareth Edwards – Monsters

Best Screenplay: David Seidler – The King’s Speech
Nominated:
Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell, Christopher Morris – Four Lions
Jane Goldman & Matthew Vaughn – Kick-Ass
William Ivory – Made In Dagenham
Alex Garland – Never Let Me Go

Best Actress: Carey Mulligan – Never Let Me Go
Nominated:
Manjinder Virk – The Arbor
Ruth Sheen – Another Year
Andrea Riseborough – Brighton Rock
Sally Hawkins – Made In Dagenham

Best Actor: Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
Nominated:
Jim Broadbent – Another Year
Riz Ahmed – Four Lions
Scoot McNairy – Monsters
Aidan Gillen – Treacle Jr

Best Supporting Actress: Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
Nominated:
Lesley Manville – Another Year
Rosamund Pike – Made In Dagenham
Keira Knightley – Never Let Me Go
Tamsin Greig – Tamara Drewe

Best Supporting Actor: Geoffrey Rush – The King’s Speech
Nominated:
Kayvan Novak – Four Lions
Guy Pearce – The King’s Speech
Bob Hoskins – Made In Dagenham
Andrew Garfield – Never Let Me Go

Most Promising Newcomer: Joanne Froggatt – In Our Name
Nominated:
Manjinder Virk – The Arbor
Andrea Riseborough – Brighton Rock
Tom Hughes – Cemetery Junction
Conor McCarron – Neds

Best Achievement in Production: Monsters
Nominated:
The Arbor
In Our Name
Skeletons
Streetdance 3D

Raindance Award: Son Of Babylon
Nominated:
Brilliant Love
Jackboots On Whitehall
Legacy
Treacle Jr

Best Technical Achievement: Monsters – Visual Effects – Gareth Edwards
Nominated:
The Arbor – Sound – Tim Barker
Brighton Rock – Cinematography – John Mathieson
The Illusionist – Animation – Sylvain Chomet
The King’s Speech – Production Design – Eve Stewart

Best Documentary: Enemies of the People
Nominated:
The Arbor
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Fire In Babylon
Waste Land

Best Foreign Film: A Prophet
Nominated:
Dogtooth
I Am Love
The Secret In Their Eyes
Winter’s Bone

What do you think of this year’s big winners?

The King’s Speech: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 16:00:19 +0000

There’s not much to say about this film — other than so far, this is the best screenplay, with the best performances in the best film of the year. That’s all! The best piece of advice I can give you is to go and see this film as soon as you possibly can. This film is the whole package, every part of it from the tiny details about driving through fog to the grand speeches given by a King declaring WWII to the necessary comedic swearing that helps the Kind overcome his stutter — everything in this film is perfectly executed. Colin Firth (read interview), who rightfully was nominated for an Oscar and won a Golden Globe and Independent Spirit Award for his role in A Single Man last year, is set to win that golden statue this year. Don’t let people tell you about this film, go and see it for yourself.

If you still need convincing, find out more about the film below…

Players:

Director: Tom Hooper
Writer: David Seidler (screenplay)
Actors: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter
Original Music by: Alexandre Deplat
Cinematography by: Danny Cohen

The Plot:

The King’s Speech tells the story of the man who became King George VI after his brother for the first time in history abdicated the thrown. Though his journey was not easy, he was a King unable to speak to his people due to a severe speech defect. In order to overcome his problem and deal with the matters at hand (a little thing called WWII) he calls upon the help of a rather unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue. Through a set of unexpected techniques, and as a result of an unlikely friendship, the two are able to boldly lead the country through war.

The Good:

WWII in the Background: Very few films that take place during WWII can have Hitler play a supporting role to a speech impediment, AND have jokes about Hitler’s strong speech play so well. The film is able to balance the severity of the situation with a very honest and realistic perspective. At times they tread on some possibly dangerous ground, but because they handle the topic with such grace, what could be considered rude or offensive is actually quite interesting, important and even at times humorous.
Colin Firth: Not only does he have a stutter, a lisp, an accent different from his, he also has to sound like the real King himself who has a very distinct voice. Not only does Firth give an incredibly compelling emotional performance, but the way he physically transforms himself is beyond impressive. So far, Ryan Gosling might be able to give Firth a run for his money in Blue Valentine, but this is THE BEST performance I’ve seen this year. It’s extremely complex and since his character is a stoic King he has very little room to express himself. A slight grimace or a tonal shift in his voice has to speak volumes and luckily, due to his grasp of the character, it does. He should have won the Oscar last year for A Single Man – if he doesn’t win it this year for this film, I’m going to have to write a strongly worded letter to Mr. Oscar.
Empathy for the King: It’s hard to make people really side with a person they feel is so distant from them. This is one of the best representation of what a King really has to go through that has been put on the screen. It’s on par with The Queen with Helen Mirren. You are able to find empathy for the man beneath the crown and somehow relate to the pressures that he has to face.
Supporting Cast: Geoffrey Rush and Helena Bonham Carter both give stellar performances that help to add to the films chemistry. Rush’s great timing and Carter’s endearing demeanor both help to round who King George VI is and more importantly the people who helped make him the great king he was.
The Score: This was a really beautiful, subtle yet powerful score that once again added to the grace of the film without ever distracting from what was taking place.

The Bad:

The Trailer: DON’T watch the trailer for this film. Trust me, this might be the best package you see all year – its got it all and the trailer ruins some of the best moments in the film.

Overall:

Best film of the year all around. Go see it!

Rating: 10/10

The King’s Speech in theaters November 26th!

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

Interview: Colin Firth Talks The King’s Speech

Mali Elfman — Thu, 25 Nov 2010 01:00:04 +0000

What I believe is sure to be Colin Firth’s Oscar winning film, The King’s Speech (read review) impresses on all levels and so far is the film of 2010. The cast is led by Firth (who should have won an Oscar last year for his role in A Single Man) as King George the VI, a King with a speech impediment who has to turn to the extravagant speech therapist Lionel Logue played by Geoffrey Rush and his wife, Queen Elizabeth played by Helena Bonham Carter. Firth and his supporting cast all put in equally phenomenal performances that will stay with you for some time to come.

The film won the top prize at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival and has many more awards on its way. We were lucky enough to have a chance to speak with Firth about his performance in the film, taking on such a challenging role, the obstacles the film is facing with the important albeit foul language in the film and much more…

Taking on a Speech Impediment:

Have you ever known anyone with stuttered and did you relate any of your performance to any real life experiences?

Colin Firth: I grew up with people who stammered. There seemed to be more then than there are now, I wonder if there any any figured on that. I certainly knew people who did, yeah.

Did you know about the King’s stammer prior to this film or any of the events surrounding it?

Firth: I knew about it, and that’s it. All I knew was that he had a stammer.

Beyond the stammer is the issue about friendship and isolation, how could you relate to that as a person who is famous.

Firth:It’s funny to say about a story about a member of the Royal Family when none of us our members of the Royal Family or could possibly know what that’s like. Most of us were not around in 1937. There are all these things you could say – how could it possibly be universal? But I think, what [the film has] done, is taken an issue that applies to absolutely everybody and used this convention to heighten those things. Isolatiion is universal. It doesn’t matter how close you are to your family, how many good friends you have, how perfect your marriage is — and most people are not ticking all those boxes. There’s some level on which you which you can’t be reached – we can’t get inside each other’s minds, hearts and souls. This is taking that reality, that truth and making a very extreme case out of it. If men protect themselves behind certain reserves against intimacy, let’s take a man who not only does that – he’s protected by high walls, titles, protocols, and make a therapist work through all those things, you could almost look at them as metaphors for barriers we all put up.

In the film it shows how he overcome his stutter…

Firth: He didn’t overcome it. And I don’t think the film shows him overcoming it. I think it shows him having an arrangement with it. Where he’s not going to let it stop him from doing his job. You know, that last speech you still see him fighting, he has to have his therapist right there. He fights for every word.If you listen to the cadence (in his speech) it’s a struggle, he has to break it up. That’s the point! He was never cured – I tried to follow the cadences to some extent of the real speech. Some were more fluent than others, but you hear them very measured and broken up. You hear him going through three syllables ending on up phrases and then finding a down phrase and getting blocked again – that’s a fight. Everyone who’s sitting listening to it, The Queen, Churchill and the rest are on the edge of their seat til the end. So, he overcomes the debilitating fear of it – but he doesn’t overcome the fact that he’ll always have the obstacle.

Taking on The Royal Family:

Have you met any members of the Royal Family?

Firth: Not meaningfully. There are certain events in which you might find yourself shaking hands with a member of the Royal Family but it’s nothing that gives you any clue of about what it’s like to be that person, apart from watching peoples behavior around them.

When was that?

Firth: I was at an event where Prince Charles, who is very gracious with the people he meets, was being ushered around by his private secretary. And he was trying his best to give as much of his focus and interest –he’d known quite a lot about the people he was speaking to – but the private secretary would be making sure he didn’t get too long with that person because there was somebody else in line, and he’d make sure that was very carefully marshaled. It was interesting to see people who are otherwise composed, would actually claim not to be impressed by royalty, suddenly completely transforming and becoming very nervous. And you realize that if you are a member of the Royal Family you’re surrounded by people like that all the time and it’s probably how you see the human race.

How much of this role were you able to bass off real people or real events?

Firth: If I were playing a cab driver I’d probably want to hang out with a cab driver or drive a cab and see what it’s like. If I were playing an astronaut, I’d try to meet one. But you don’t get to meet Kings and hang around with them. Your information is secondary. As I said, you can look at the people who are around Prince Charles and say, “Wow, that’s what the world looks like to you.” You never meet a person who’s relaxed, gives you a pat on the back, and says “What’s Up?” No one does that. So you try to accumulate that kind of information. There are a lot of letters, a lot of people who have been close the Royal Family in one capacity or another and we did speak to people in those positions. In the end, you read and you listen and then you just use your imagination.

Can you talk about the monarchy not being able to and the idea of them being so distant in the past, are they more open now?

Firth: I find it very difficult to answer questions about the monarchy because I’m not a royal watcher – some people are. I just don’t know anything about them. An extraordinary moment on the death of Princess Diana – obviously there was an enormous affect emotionally. Then the palace was criticized for not lowering the flag, it took a few days for that to happen. People are emoting all over the place. I don’t know what’s happening in their real lives behind closed doors. They have the right not to exhibit it to the public just like as any other families do. I don’t want to be photographed hugging my kids either – it’s my business and my world.

Somebody made a comment around that time, a columnist, about the nature of “who the British think they are”. This idea of British repression has always been a stereotype, which is qualifiable anyway. I think the English are just as accurately represented by the Rolling Stones as they are by John Major – the Royal Family aren’t even English anyway. Phillip’s Greek, the rest of them are German. They’re immigrants. I’m being a little bit arch there, but we’re all a mixed nation. But, this guy said “we seem to have gone over night to a country who can’t talk about their emotions to a country who cannot stop.” Everybody was like holding each other and hugging each other, and the English have turned into “that”. It’s quite extraordinary how this touchy feely thing can over and “how dare the royalty not be that way!”

Problems with Language:

There have been a lot of problems with the film getting inappropriate ratings, in the UK and in the US…

Firth: We won the battle in Britain! In Britain we have a 12a, a 15 and an 18 which is your. Out here I believe it’s an R rating. Originally in Britain it was a 15, but it’s been dropped to a 12a. There didn’t seem to be much argument about it. It happened right in the middle of the London Film Festival, there’s a warning on the poster saying “there is strong language is a speech therapy context” or something like that.

What do you think is causing the problems in the US?

Firth: This can get really facile. I tried to speak in as considered a way as I could on this subject and I still got a headline that said “Firth Blasts MPAA” – I’m not blasting anybody! This isn’t a non-issue. I get that people don’t want their small children hearing these strong words — I don’t like them. One of the things that the British board said was that it was the fact that it wasn’t in a violent context, it wasn’t directed towards anyone, and it wasn’t in a sexual context. I would add, as a father of small children, that the context I would like to keep them away from is when it’s casually used. I find that as disturbing. I love football – soccer – I love to take them to soccer but I have to wrestle with myself because what they hear are things that would make a sailor blush. And certainly make that scene in the film look like something from The Sound Of Music. I don’t want to deny them the joy of a football game, but you can’t get away from it. It’s a dilemma – I don’t relish those words, I don’t relish my children hearing them. I’m not sitting here judging people who don’t like the words, but frankly, as far as the rest of public opinion is concerned, certainly in our industry, I’d be kicking in a door. Because everyone seems to be in harmony on the subject.

And this is a great film at the heart of it for young people to see, so this must be frustrating for you an the filmmakers…

Firth: Yes it is. I think this is why it’s being used as a bit of a flagship for the cause. Precisely because I think every parent has the right to set down the parameters for their own kids. I don’t want my kids thinking it’s a good way to use language – language is more beautiful than that. It should be more thought about than that. It has more powerful than that. That’s lazy and ugly – but that’s not the case in this movie. It’s not vicious, it’s not sexual, and it’s not lazy – it’s anything but. These are tools, these forbidden words have become momentary tools to get a guy to break out of extreme repression. Then he immediately gets rather sheepish and apologizes. There couldn’t be a more harmless context. It doesn’t teach your kids to sprinkle your language with these words or direct them against people. I would hate to deny kids in that age bracket, or discourage them from seeing a film which has so much to say to people that age.

Tricks Behind the Performance:

What tricks did you use to get into that speech pattern and were you able to drop it at the end of the day?

Firth: I got a bit confused in my own speech patterns. There’s very much a cult of actors telling you how deeply immersed they were and what it cost them — But, it’s muscle memory. If you do an exercise often enough, your body will train yourself to do that exercise. If you train yourself to interfere with your rhythm of speech, something in your brain remembers that and follows it – If you’re going around trying to promote A Single Man it sometimes come to haunt you. And it did, that’s not a stammer – that’s my mind playing tricks on me. That’s not a real stammer, I spoke to the head of the British Stammering Association a couple weeks ago, and he told me that the research shows now that there’s a strong neurological component. It’s not a psychological problem, there’s something happening in the brain. It’s physical. I asked if that meant that [the therapist in the film] is on the wrong track? He said “well no, because the therapy helps you come to an accommodation with the problem” – you learn not to be crushed by it, not to be disabled by it. You can find a way forward. There are wonderful, great actors who fought stammering…

James Earl Jones.

Firth: Yes! And there are a lot of others we could name. Politicians – Churchill has speech problems, really severe ones, which he says in the film. Not to mention writers, Lewis Carroll, Somerset Moore. If you’ve lost the use of your legs, or you’ve lost your legs, the people who give us the inspiring and heroic stories are the people who triumph over it – not by getting their legs back but by living their life that makes a virtue of what they’ve got and that’s why we’re so moved by it.

Can you talk about your process and how you came to that?

Firth: I cannot. I don’t know how to answer it. It was such an incremental process. In conversations with Tom, conversations with David Sidler, our writer who spent his childhood battling a stammer and still says it’s not completely gone. But, to listen to the way he talked about it and then to talk to Tom about how it can work in the context of a film… we’ve got a certain limited amount of time, scenes that have to have a certain pace. And we also have to judge it so that people can experience the agony of the stammer. Not just him – the people who are rooting for him. How do you do that in a way the people share that, but that it’s not so uncomfortable that the film becomes unwatchable or the pace grinds to a halt.

It was nice that certain scenes were left to just play and allow the stutter to take its time. How were those scenes for you?

Firth: My first scene was the first scene with Logue [Rushes character] and it was an amazing baptism of fire, really. I hadn’t really tried it out, we’d had three intense weeks of rehearsal where we were sitting there, Geoffrey, Tom Hooper, David Sidler, and myself honing that script. Really, really, really challenging every beat, finding what could be got out of it at its maximum, where the humor was to be highlighted… but I couldn’t sit in my own clothes in a hotel room with a script in my hand, really trying to go there. Film doesn’t really allow for that kind of rehearsal in my experience. It wasn’t until Tom put a camera on me, in that room that I thought, “I’m on, this is it now.”

And it’s a very interesting thing how he shot it. He just decided he was going to make a huge commitment. You’d normally, I would think, start with a master shot. You’ve established everything, then refine things – he started with a mid-shot, just a single of me. And played an entire 10 minute scene. It’s interesting, Tom will tell you, he committed to his cinematic style then and there. He had kept his options open up until that point. At the end of that day we thought, that’s 10 percent of the movie we just did. He said that at the end of that day. It’s rare that you have a scene long enough to say, we’ve got 10 weeks to go and we just shot 10 percent of this movie.

You can’t break the convention – you can’t suddenly say, “I’ll do soft focus and dark lighting”. In a way it was the same with me – I laid a character down, and it was wonderful to have that much of a run at it. It was like doing live theatre. And to have Geoffrey Rush and have his energy and his humor to bounce off gave me so much for nothing. What seemed to be an immense mountain to climb felt incredibly easy because I was in the hands not only of a director like that but an actor who energized me in every way I needed.

What’s next for you?

Firth: I’m doing a movie called Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy – it’s a wonderful, wonderful novel which was a legendary, brilliant television series in the 1970’s. I am playing a spy

And the big “O” Question:

You should have won an Oscar last year and this year everyone is saying that you’ll be winning an Oscar come next year? Would it be gratifying to get that kind of attention for this performance?

Firth: It’s gratifying to get attention for a performance. I’m not going to wish any of it away, talk as big as you like. I welcome all of it. But, the film has to come out. And all I can say about it right now is that if people are talking like that from the festivals and the few people who’ve seen it already, it’s a wonderful start. It’s code for it’s a really good movie, at the moment, I completely welcome it.

Make sure to check out Colin Firth in The King’s Speech starting this Friday, November 26th before he wins all the awards he has coming his way!

The King’s Speech Trailer With Colin Firth

Krystal Clark — Thu, 23 Sep 2010 17:49:37 +0000

The King’s Speech is a drama that won the top prize at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. For those of us who didn’t get the opportunity to see an early screening of it, the first official trailer has been released over at Yahoo, and it allows us to get an idea of what all the fuss is about. Check it out…

This period drama follows the young King George VI — the father of the current Queen Elizabeth II — as he reluctantly assumes the throne after his brother, Edward, abdicates. Considered unfit to rule and cursed with a nervous stammer, the unprepared monarch turns to an unorthodox speech therapist, Lionel Logue. The two men form an unlikely friendship as King George finds his voice and leads the country into war against the Nazis.

The cast is led by Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, and Helena Bonham Carter and it looks pretty damn good. Firth is one of my favorite actors so I might be a bit biased, but he has a quality that always makes you want to root for his characters. Rush and Carter also look engaging, which makes this premiere Oscar bait.

The King’s Speech hits theaters on November 24th.

What do you think of the first trailer for The King’s Speech?

A Single Man: Movie Review

Mali Elfman — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 20:29:20 +0000

Get ready for an an award winning film. First time director Tom Ford’s film A Single Man is a refreshing reminder of what going to the theaters should be like. Surprising, heart-warming, depressing, thought-provoking and above all interesting. The film is as beautiful on the surface as it is touching at its core. Not to be confused with the Cohen Brother’s A Serious Man (which is a very different, and good film), A Single Man is a story about a teacher in the 60’s who loses his lover in an accident and is left in a world that he no longer wishes to be a part of. Lets take a look…

The Players:

Director: Tom Ford
Writer: Tom Ford (screenplay) and Christopher Isherwood (novel)
Starring: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult
Cinematography: Eduard Grau
Music: Abel Korzeniowski
Costumes: Arianne Phillips

The Good:

The Visuals: The literally pop off the screen, set the tone and enliven the audiences senses. From the use of dramatic colors to black and whites, the color palate, the lighting, the costumes, everything that went into the overall look was risky, bold, and completely awe-inspiring.
Colin Firth: The man can communicate so much with so little. Although he can, and does, go big and dramatic at times, it’s the small moments that make this performance one of the best I’ve seen all year. From the twitch of a pinky to the a small nod, he is able to covey an array of emotions in such a simple and effective way. This is truly one of his best performances to date.
Supporting Cast: I could list every actor in this film, they were all amazing. Nicholas Hoult, Matthew Goode, and the stunning Julianne Moore all gave performances that were full of life, love, and pain. Every single one of them stood out in their own way, in their own moment, and hopefully none of their efforts will be soon forgotten come Award Season.
The Script: The story plays with cliches but manages to avoid them in an interesting way. You know what’s coming (kind of) but you don’t really care because it’s not about the end result it’s about how you get there and all the interesting things that happen along the way that may or may not knock you our main character off course.
The Humor: The film could easily have been quite dreary and depressing, but luckily Ford managed to find some the lighter moments in the midst of the drama and thereby giving the audience a chance to breath or even laugh during some of the darkest moments.
The Layers: The characters in the film, although larger than life, acted and responded like real people, with real pasts, who have decades of background behind them and in doing so, it made the audience feel as if we were simply peaking in to their lives for a moment. With the careful mixture of humor, brilliant acting and amazing script, this is one of the most layered and interesting films of the year.
Topic of Homosexuality: I love a film about gay men that is un-apologetically gay and despite it being a main topic in the film it doesn’t define it. The film is about two gay lovers but that’s just something about it, there is SO much more to take in and I think this film is a real step forward in how homosexual love stories should be treated in film – like they belong.
Directing: From the choice of casting to the subtle camera movements, there were a number of amazing decisions made in this film, especially for a first time director. When making a film, so much can go wrong, it’s so refreshing to see it all go right.

The Bad:

It’s a bit too “artsy” for some but I didn’t have a problem with it. Overall I thought it was brilliantly well made with a number of great decisions by a first time director.

Rating: 9.5/10

Overall:

It’s a beautiful smart film, well acted from start to finish, that comes together perfectly and leaves you entranced. Basically… go see it!

ScreenCrave.com » Colin Firth

The PG-13 version of The King’s Speech to be Released April 1

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Players:

The Plot:

The Good:

The Bad:

Overall:

Rating: 10/10

Photo Gallery:

Trailer:

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Interview: Colin Firth Talks The King’s Speech

Taking on a Speech Impediment:

Taking on The Royal Family:

Problems with Language:

Tricks Behind the Performance:

And the big “O” Question:

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A Single Man: Movie Review

The Players:

The Good:

The Bad:

Rating: 9.5/10

Overall:

Trailer:

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