{"id":283587,"date":"2011-02-27T05:19:01","date_gmt":"2011-02-27T05:19:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.ghanamma.net\/2011\/02\/27\/kings-speech-seeks-oscars-crown\/"},"modified":"2011-02-27T05:19:01","modified_gmt":"2011-02-27T05:19:01","slug":"kings-speech-seeks-oscars-crown","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ghanamma.com\/2011\/02\/27\/kings-speech-seeks-oscars-crown\/","title":{"rendered":"King’s Speech seeks Oscars crown"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n 27 February 2011<\/span>
\nLast updated at <\/span>00:19 ET<\/span>
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy Tim Masters<\/span>
\n\t\t\t\tEntertainment correspondent, BBC News, in Los Angeles<\/span>
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Will The King’s Speech or The Social Network reign supreme?<\/p>\n

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The final countdown to the Oscars has begun, with The King’s Speech and The Social Network going head to head for the coveted best picture prize.<\/p>\n

The former, which has taken more than $230m (\u00a3142m) at the global box office, has 12 nominations, including a best actor nod for Colin Firth.<\/p>\n

James Franco and Anne Hathaway will host the 83rd Academy Awards, which take place in Los Angeles later. <\/p>\n

Voting by the Academy’s 5,755 members ended earlier this week.<\/p>\n

Outside the Kodak theatre on Hollywood Boulevard, the traditional red carpet is ready for the influx of A-list talent.<\/p>\n

The show’s organisers are aiming at a more youthful edge this year, with 28-year-old Hathaway set to become the youngest host in Oscar history. <\/p>\n


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Franco and Hathaway on preparing to host the Oscars<\/p>\n

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Viewers should not expect them to deliver in-jokes aimed at the celebrity audience, as Ricky Gervais did at this year’s Golden Globes. <\/p>\n

Movie montages have also been scrapped, though the Oscar-nominated songs – omitted from last year’s ceremony – will be making a comeback.<\/p>\n

The evening will see Randy Newman, Mandy Moore and Gwyneth Paltrow performing songs from Toy Story 3, Tangled and Country Strong respectively.<\/p>\n

Britain’s Florence Welch, meanwhile, will sing If I Rise from 127 Hours, which Dido performed in Danny Boyle’s film.<\/p>\n

127 Hours is one of 10 films up for best picture, an award The King’s Speech has been tipped to win by The Hollywood Reporter.<\/p>\n

According to the industry paper, Academy voters – who have an average age of 57 – are more likely to identify with its middle-aged heroes than The Social Network’s youthful, fast-talking cast.<\/p>\n

The latter film has eight nominations in all, as does Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi epic Inception. The Coen brothers’ western True Grit has 10 nods.<\/p>\n

Other films up for best picture include Black Swan, The Fighter, The Kids are All Right and Winter’s Bone. <\/p>\n

The King’s Speech is riding high on a wave of success, having won seven awards at the Baftas and a slew of other prizes. <\/p>\n

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Oscars in numbers<\/h2>\n

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