'The King's Speech' Gets 12 Oscar Nominations

BEVERLY HILLS (CBS/AP) — The British monarchy saga "The King's Speech" leads the Academy Awards with 12 nominations, including best picture and acting honors for Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush.

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Also nominated for best picture Tuesday were the psychosexual thriller "Black Swan"; the boxing drama "The Fighter"; the sci-fi blockbuster "Inception"; the lesbian-family tale "The Kids Are All Right"; the survival story "127 Hours"; the Facebook chronicle "The Social Network"; the animated smash "Toy Story 3"; the Western "True Grit"; and the Ozarks crime thriller "Winter's Bone."

"True Grit" ran second with 10 nominations, including acting honors for Jeff Bridges and Hailee Steinfeld.

The Feb. 27 Oscars set up a best-picture showdown between two favorites, "The King's Speech" and "The Social Network." "The Social Network" won best drama at the Golden Globes and was picked as the year's best by key critics groups, while "The King's Speech" pulled an upset last weekend by winning the Producers Guild of America Awards top prize, whose recipient often goes to claim best picture at the Oscars.

"This story has struck such a rich resonant chord with audiences of all ages, which is very exciting -- to have your work honored by your industry peers is even better," Rush said in a statement.

The favorites in the male-acting categories both were nominated, Globe winners Firth as best actor for "The King's Speech" and Christian Bale as supporting actor for "The Fighter."

The best-actress field shapes up as a two-woman race between Annette Bening for "The Kids Are All Right," who won the Globe for actress in a musical or comedy, and Natalie Portman for "Black Swan," who received the Globe for dramatic actress.

The supporting-actress Oscar could prove the most competitive among acting prizes. Melissa Leo won the Globe for "The Fighter," but she faces strong challenges from that film's co-star Amy Adams and 14-year-old newcomer Steinfeld, who missed out on a Globe nomination for "True Grit" but made the cut for supporting actress at the Oscars.

"The Social Network" casts Jesse Eisenberg as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who's depicted as an interpersonal lout in one-on-one relations but a genius for the masses, creating an online hangout where half a billion people now keep connected with friends.

"The King's Speech" stars Firth as Queen Elizabeth II's father, the stammering George VI, who reluctantly came to the throne after his brother abdicated in 1936, a terrible time for a stuttering monarch as British subjects looked to their ruler for inspiration via radio as World War II approached.

The two films represent a showdown between classy, traditional Oscar bait and edgy, youthful, up-to-the-minute drama.

With its aristocrats, statesmen and perilous times, "The King's Speech" is a throwback to the majestic, eye-filling costume pageants that dominated film awards in Hollywood's earlier decades. Its nominations also include best director for Tom Hooper and supporting-acting slots for Bonham Carter as the king's devoted wife and Rush as his wily speech therapist.

"The Social Network" is an immediate story, set not in palaces but college dorm rooms, cluttered start-up space and anonymous legal offices where Zuckerberg battles former associates over the proceeds of his invention.

David Fincher is the best-directing favorite for "The Social Network" after winning that prize at the Globes.

"My recommendation to anybody who wants to get an Oscar nomination is, work with David Fincher. It was just a triumph of teamwork," Aaron Sorkin, nominated for best adapted screenplay for "The Social Network," said on ABC's "Good Morning America."

Along with Firth and Eisenberg, best-actor contenders are Javier Bardem as a dying father in the Spanish-language drama "Biutiful," which also is up for best foreign-language film; Bridges as boozy lawman Rooster Cogburn in "True Grit," a role that earned John Wayne an Oscar for the 1969 adaptation of the Western novel; and James Franco in the real-life tale of a climber trapped in a crevasse after a boulder crushes his arm in "127 Hours."

Bening was nominated for best actress as a lesbian mom whose family is thrown into turmoil after her teenage children seek out their sperm-donor father in "The Kids Are All Right." Portman was nominated as a ballerina losing her grip on reality in "Black Swan."

Other best-actress nominees are Nicole Kidman as a grieving mother in "Rabbit Hole"; Jennifer Lawrence as a teen trying to find her missing father amid the Ozark Mountains' criminal underbelly in "Winter's Bone"; and Michelle Williams as a wife in a failing marriage in "Blue Valentine."

Joining Fincher among best-director picks are Darren Aronofsky for "Black Swan"; Joel and Ethan Coen for "True Grit"; Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech"; Christopher Nolan for "Inception"; and David O. Russell for "The Fighter."

The directing category is back to an all-male lineup after Kathryn Bigelow became the first woman to win that prize last year for "The Hurt Locker," which also claimed best picture.

Bale, the star of Nolan's "Batman" franchise, is a strong favorite to win supporting actor as former boxer Dicky Eklund, who helps his half-brother to a title shot after his own career unraveled amid drugs and crime in "The Fighter." The film's star, Mark Wahlberg, missed out on a nomination as Eklund's half-brother, boxer Micky Ward.

Two years ago, Bale's "Batman" co-star, the late Heath Ledger, was on the same awards track as he won a posthumous Oscar for supporting actor for "The Dark Knight."

"The Fighter" offers two sterling supporting-actress performances from Leo as Ward and Eklund's doting but domineering mother and Adams as Ward's tough, defiant girlfriend. Steinfeld, who was just 13 when she shot her debut performance in "True Grit," also is a strong contender as a girl who hires lawman Cogburn to track down her father's killer.

"Toy Story 3," the top-grossing film released in 2010, also is nominated for animated feature and is expected to become the fourth-straight winner in that category from Disney's Pixar Animation, following "Up," "WALL-E" and "Ratatouille." Pixar has won five of the nine animation Oscars since the category was added.

The other animation nominees are "How to Train Your Dragon" and "The Illusionist."

While two of the three animated categories are huge commercial successes, the best-picture race is a mix of big commercial hits and smaller critical darlings, which is what academy organizers wanted when they expanded the competition to 10 films.

Like "Toy Story 3," "Inception" is a blockbuster, coming from director Nolan, whose "The Dark Knight" missed out on a best-picture nomination two years ago, contributing to the decision to double the number of contenders so that acclaimed popular movies would have a better chance.

"True Grit" is the first $100 million Western hit since the 1990s, "The Social Network" climbed to about $95 million in revenue, and "Black Swan" is closing on $100 million. At the other end are "Winter's Bone" with $6.3 million and "127 Hours" with $11 million, respectable returns for lower-budgeted independent films but small change next to big studio productions.

Besides Leo, Adams, Bonham Carter and Steinfeld, Jacki Weaver earned a supporting-actress nomination as a crime family matriarch in the Australian thriller "Animal Kingdom."

Rounding out the supporting-actor field with Bale and Rush are John Hawkes as a backwoods tough guy in "Winter's Bone"; Jeremy Renner as a holdup man in the bank-heist thriller "The Town"; Mark Ruffalo as a sperm-donor dad in "The Kids Are All Right."

The Oscar ceremony will be televised live on ABC from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.

Here's a full list of Oscar nominations:

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

.. Javier Bardem in "Biutiful" (Roadside Attractions)
.. Jeff Bridges in "True Grit" (Paramount)
.. Jesse Eisenberg in "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing)
.. Colin Firth in "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company)
.. James Franco in "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

.. Christian Bale in "The Fighter" (Paramount)
.. John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions)
.. Jeremy Renner in "The Town" (Warner Bros.)
.. Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features)
.. Geoffrey Rush in "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a leading role:

.. Annette Bening in "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features)
.. Nicole Kidman in "Rabbit Hole" (Lionsgate)
.. Jennifer Lawrence in "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions)
.. Natalie Portman in "Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight)
.. Michelle Williams in "Blue Valentine" (The Weinstein Company)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

.. Amy Adams in "The Fighter" (Paramount)
.. Helena Bonham Carter in "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company)
.. Melissa Leo in "The Fighter" (Paramount)
.. Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit"(Paramount)
.. Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom" (Sony Pictures Classics)

Best animated feature film of the year:

.. "How to Train Your Dragon" (Paramount), Chris Sanders and Dean DeBlois
.. "The Illusionist" (Sony Pictures Classics), Sylvain Chomet
.. "Toy Story 3" (Walt Disney), Lee Unkrich

Achievement in art direction:

.. "Alice in Wonderland" (Walt Disney), Production Design: Robert Stromberg, Set Decoration: Karen O'Hara
.. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" (Warner Bros.), Production Design: Stuart Craig, Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Production Design: Guy Hendrix Dyas, Set Decoration: Larry Dias and Doug Mowat
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Production Design: Eve Stewart, Set Decoration: Judy Farr
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Production Design: Jess Gonchor, Set Decoration: Nancy Haigh

Achievement in cinematography:

.. "Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight), Matthew Libatique
.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Wally Pfister
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Danny Cohen
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), Jeff Cronenweth
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Roger Deakins

Achievement in costume design:

.. "Alice in Wonderland" (Walt Disney), Colleen Atwood
.. "I Am Love" (Magnolia Pictures), Antonella Cannarozzi
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Jenny Beavan
.. "The Tempest" (Miramax), Sandy Powell
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Mary Zophres

Achievement in directing:

.. "Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight), Darren Aronofsky
.. "The Fighter" (Paramount), David O. Russell
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Tom Hooper
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), David Fincher
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Joel Coen and Ethan Coen

Best documentary feature:

.. "Exit through the Gift Shop" (Producers Distribution Agency), A Paranoid Pictures Production, Banksy and Jaimie D'Cruz
.. "Gasland", A Gasland Production, Josh Fox and Trish Adlesic
.. "Inside Job" (Sony Pictures Classics), A Representational Pictures Production, Charles Ferguson and Audrey Marrs
.. "Restrepo" (National Geographic Entertainment), An Outpost Films Production, Tim Hetherington and Sebastian Junger
.. "Waste Land" (Arthouse Films), An Almega Projects Production, Lucy Walker and Angus Aynsley

Best documentary short subject:

.. "Killing in the Name", A Moxie Firecracker Films Production, Nominees to be
determined
.. "Poster Girl", A Portrayal Films Production, Nominees to be determined
.. "Strangers No More", A Simon & Goodman Picture Company Production, Karen Goodman and Kirk Simon
.. "Sun Come Up", A Sun Come Up Production, Jennifer Redfearn and Tim Metzger
.. "The Warriors of Qiugang", A Thomas Lennon Films Production, Ruby Yang and Thomas Lennon

Achievement in film editing:

.. "Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight), Andrew Weisblum
.. "The Fighter" (Paramount), Pamela Martin
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Tariq Anwar
.. "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight), Jon Harris
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), Angus Wall and Kirk Baxter

Best foreign language film of the year:

.. "Biutiful" (Roadside Attractions), A Menage Atroz, Mod Producciones and
Ikiru Films Production, Mexico
.. "Dogtooth" (Kino International), A Boo Production, Greece
.. "In a Better World" (Sony Pictures Classics), A Zentropa Production, Denmark
.. "Incendies" (Sony Pictures Classics), A Micro-Scope Production, Canada
.. "Outside the Law (Hors-la-loi)" (Cohen Media Group), A Tassili Films Production, Algeria

Achievement in makeup:

.. "Barney's Version" (Sony Pictures Classics), Adrien Morot
.. "The Way Back" (Newmarket Films in association with Wrekin Hill
Entertainment and Image Entertainment), Edouard F. Henriques, Gregory Funk and Yolanda Toussieng
.. "The Wolfman" (Universal), Rick Baker and Dave Elsey

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):

.. "How to Train Your Dragon" (Paramount), John Powell
.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Hans Zimmer
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Alexandre Desplat
.. "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight), A.R. Rahman
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):

.. "Coming Home" from "Country Strong" (Sony Pictures Releasing (Screen
Gems)), Music and Lyric by Tom Douglas, Troy Verges and Hillary Lindsey
.. "I See the Light" from "Tangled" (Walt Disney), Music by Alan Menken, Lyric
by Glenn Slater
.. "If I Rise" from "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight), Music by A.R. Rahman, Lyric
by Dido and Rollo Armstrong
.. "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3" (Walt Disney), Music and Lyric by
Randy Newman

Best motion picture of the year:

.. "Black Swan" (Fox Searchlight), A Protozoa and Phoenix Pictures Production,
Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
.. "The Fighter" (Paramount), A Relativity Media Production, David Hoberman,
Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), A Warner Bros. UK Services Production, Emma
Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
.. "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features), An Antidote Films, Mandalay
Vision and Gilbert Films Production, Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and
Celine Rattray, Producers
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), A See-Saw Films and Bedlam
Production, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
.. "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight), An Hours Production, Christian Colson, Danny
Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), A Columbia Pictures
Production, Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceßn Chaffin,
Producers
.. "Toy Story 3" (Walt Disney), A Pixar Production, Darla K. Anderson, Producer
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), A Paramount Pictures Production, Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
.. "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions), A Winter's Bone Production, Anne
Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Best animated short film:

.. "Day & Night" (Walt Disney), A Pixar Animation Studios Production, Teddy
Newton
.. "The Gruffalo", A Magic Light Pictures Production, Jakob Schuh and Max Lang
.. "Let's Pollute", A Geefwee Boedoe Production, Geefwee Boedoe
.. "The Lost Thing", (Nick Batzias for Madman Entertainment), A Passion
Pictures Australia Production, Shaun Tan and Andrew Ruhemann
.. "Madagascar, carnet de voyage (Madagascar, a Journey Diary)", A Sacrebleu
Production, Bastien Dubois

Best live action short film:

.. "The Confession" (National Film and Television School), A National Film and
Television School Production, Tanel Toom
.. "The Crush" (Network Ireland Television), A Purdy Pictures Production,
Michael Creagh
.. "God of Love", A Luke Matheny Production, Luke Matheny
.. "Na Wewe" (Premium Films), A CUT! Production, Ivan Goldschmidt
.. "Wish 143", A Swing and Shift Films/Union Pictures Production, Ian Barnes
and Samantha Waite

Achievement in sound editing:

.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Richard King
.. "Toy Story 3" (Walt Disney), Tom Myers and Michael Silvers
.. "Tron: Legacy" (Walt Disney), Gwendolyn Yates Whittle and Addison Teague
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Skip Lievsay and Craig Berkey
.. "Unstoppable" (20th Century Fox), Mark P. Stoeckinger

Achievement in sound mixing:

.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Lora Hirschberg, Gary A. Rizzo and Ed Novick
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Paul Hamblin, Martin Jensen and John Midgley
.. "Salt" (Sony Pictures Releasing), Jeffrey J. Haboush, Greg P. Russell, Scott
Millan and William Sarokin
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), Ren Klyce, David Parker,
Michael Semanick and Mark Weingarten
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter
F. Kurland

Achievement in visual effects:

.. "Alice in Wonderland" (Walt Disney), Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Carey
Villegas and Sean Phillips
.. "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1" (Warner Bros.), Tim Burke,
John Richardson, Christian Manz and Nicolas Aithadi
.. "Hereafter" (Warner Bros.), Michael Owens, Bryan Grill, Stephan Trojanski
and Joe Farrell
.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Paul Franklin, Chris Corbould, Andrew Lockley
and Peter Bebb
.. "Iron Man 2" (Paramount and Marvel Entertainment, Distributed by Paramount), Janek Sirrs, Ben Snow, Ged Wright and Daniel Sudick

Adapted screenplay:

.. "127 Hours" (Fox Searchlight), Screenplay by Danny Boyle & Simon Beaufoy
.. "The Social Network" (Sony Pictures Releasing), Screenplay by Aaron Sorkin
.. "Toy Story 3" (Walt Disney), Screenplay by Michael Arndt, Story by John
Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich
.. "True Grit" (Paramount), Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen
.. "Winter's Bone" (Roadside Attractions), Adapted for the screen by Debra
Granik & Anne Rosellini

Original screenplay:

.. "Another Year" (Sony Pictures Classics), Written by Mike Leigh
.. "The Fighter" (Paramount), Screenplay by Scott Silver and Paul Tamasy & Eric
Johnson, Story by Keith Dorrington & Paul Tamasy & Eric Johnson
.. "Inception" (Warner Bros.), Written by Christopher Nolan
.. "The Kids Are All Right" (Focus Features), Written by Lisa Cholodenko &
Stuart Blumberg
.. "The King's Speech" (The Weinstein Company), Screenplay by David Seidler

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