"King's Speech'"gets royal treatment at Oscars

By Dean Goodman

BEVERLY HILLS, California | Tue Jan 25, 2011 4:37pm EST

BEVERLY HILLS, California (Reuters) - "The King's Speech" reigned supreme in Hollywood on Tuesday as Oscar voters bestowed 12 nominations on the British drama, including best picture, actor and director.

The film, revolving around wartime monarch King George VI's struggle to overcome a crippling stammer, led a field packed with commercial and critical hits.

"True Grit," a Western remake about a young girl's brave quest to track down her father's killer, received 10 nominations despite performing poorly in key critics awards. The film's writers/directors/producers, Joel and Ethan Coen, accounted for three of those nominations.

The Facebook drama, "The Social Network," the early favorite during awards season, received eight nominations, tying with the groundbreaking sci-fi thriller "Inception," one of 2010's biggest movies.

All will vie for best picture, a 10-film field rounded out by "Black Swan," "The Fighter," "The Kids Are All Right," "127 Hours," "Toy Story 3" and "Winter's Bone."

Initial consensus among critics indicated a tight race for the top prize between Columbia's "Social Network" and Weinstein Co's "King's Speech," with Paramount's "True Grit" a possible spoiler.

The films' respective studios will ramp up their campaigning in the lead-up to the 83rd annual awards show on February 27. Actor Kevin Spacey, a "Social Network" executive producer, said talk of a bitter contest was "a silly conversation."

"You guys like the horse race. I enjoy the work," he told Reuters.

INDIE DRAMA 'WINTER'S BONE' SURPRISES

As in recent years there was little surprise or controversy among the leading contenders.

Perhaps the most notable omission was that of "Inception" director Christopher Nolan, despite universal acclaim for his bold vision setting a heist thriller in the subconscious.

"As any of the other people on 'Inception' will tell you, our job would not have been possible without Chris' amazing vision," said Guy Hendrix Dyas, the film's Oscar-nominated production designer.

Observers were pleasantly surprised by the four nominations for the indie film "Winter's Bone," a gritty murder-mystery that earned just $6 million during its limited release at the North American box office and is out on DVD.

Awards season favorite Colin Firth was nominated for his lead role in "The King's Speech" as the father of the current monarch, Queen Elizabeth.

His co-stars were also nominated for their supporting roles in the Weinstein Co. release: Helena Bonham Carter, as George's wife, the future Queen Mother; and Australian actor Geoffrey Rush as the king's unorthodox speech therapist.

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Oscar extends warm welcome to newcomer nominees

By Jill Serjeant

LOS ANGELES | Tue Jan 25, 2011 5:23pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Child star Hailee Steinfeld hit the jackpot with her first feature film, Australia's Jacki Weaver had to wait 40 years and Jesse Eisenberg joined the elite club of Oscar nominees on Tuesday by bringing to life the publicity-shy creator of Facebook.

Oscar's red carpet will be brimming with newcomers in February as eight of the 20 actors nominated for the movie industry's highest honors are first timers. And in close-knit Hollywood, three of the five directors competing for an Academy Award this year are also new arrivals.

"I grew up watching the (Academy) awards and never thought this would be my reality," said an elated Darren Aronofsky, nominated for directing the ballet thriller "Black Swan".

"I'm pretty freaking happy! The dog jumped over the moon. It's a very competitive year, especially for directors," said David O. Russell, another first-time director nominee for the true life boxing drama "The Fighter".

Britain's Tom Hooper, 38, better known for directing TV dramas, also makes his first trip to the Academy Awards on Feb 27, courtesy of front-runner "The King's Speech".

Proving some stars really are born overnight, Hailee Steinfeld is getting her first taste of Oscar glory at age 14, playing vengeful Mattie Ross in western "True Grit".

The California teenager had shot only a handful of commercials and TV roles before being chosen for "True Grit" from thousands of young actresses in a nationwide search.

Steinfeld said she was asleep when she was nominated for best supporting actress at dawn on Tuesday.

"I woke up to hear my parents screaming in the other room. It's very, very surreal. when I woke up I thought, I've got to be dreaming. This is crazy," she told Reuters.

EISENBERG, LAWRENCE, FRANCO

Eisenberg, who earned a nod playing Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg in "The Social Network", said he took the role because "the script was wonderful. The character was endlessly fascinating -- a very frightened and frightening character."

Unknown a year ago, "Winter's Bone" actress Jennifer Lawrence, 20, found herself in the company of veterans Nicole Kidman, Natalie Portman and Annette Bening. Lawrence plays a teenager facing eviction who journeys through her drug-infested community to find her missing father in the low-budget drama.

"Spider-Man" star James Franco barely had to move to win the first Oscar nomination of his 13-year career. Franco, 32, plays a man trapped for days in a canyon with his armed pinned against a rock after a climbing accident in "127 Hours".

Actors Christian Bale and Mark Ruffalo are also newcomers in their respective roles as a drug addicted boxer in "The Fighter" and a sperm donor dad in "The Kids Are All Right."

Weaver, 63, may be a household name in her native Australia, but she is finally finding fans in Hollywood thanks to her part as the tough matriarch of a Melbourne crime family in the low-budget movie "Animal Kingdom".

"I'm elated to the point of euphoria. I feel like I'm in a walking dream. I'm so relieved that all those millions of Australians that wanted me to get this nomination aren't disappointed. Happy Australia Day," Weaver said of her best supporting actress nod.

(Reporting by Jill Serjeant; Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

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Doctor pleads not guilty in Michael Jackson's death

LOS ANGELES | Tue Jan 25, 2011 1:43pm EST

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Michael Jackson's personal physician declared "I am an innocent man" as he pleaded not guilty to a charge of involuntary manslaughter on Tuesday, two weeks after he was ordered to stand trial for his role in the pop star's 2009 death.

The judge presiding over the case against Dr. Conrad Murray also set a trial date for March 28 and scheduled a hearing for February 7 on a number of procedural issues, including a possible decision on whether television coverage of the trial will be allowed.

The 57-year-old cardiologist, who had his license to practice medicine suspended as a condition for his bail, faces up to four years in prison if convicted.

Murray was with the pop singer when he died at age 50 at a rented Los Angeles home on June 25, 2009, from what coroners ruled was an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol and a cocktail of sedatives.

The doctor was ordered to stand trial earlier this month after a six-day preliminary hearing in which witnesses testified that Murray was slow to call for help on the morning of Jackson's death, and that he tried to hide evidence of propofol in the singer's bedroom.

Defense lawyers have suggested that the "Thriller" singer may have injected himself with the fatal dose of propofol, which he was using as sleep aid while rehearsing for a series of planned comeback concerts in London.

Involuntary manslaughter, to which Murray pleaded not guilty, is defined as unintentional killing without malice and is a lesser charge than murder.

"Your honor, I am an innocent man. I therefore plead not guilty," Murray told Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor.

Lawyers told the judge the trial could last four to eight weeks.

Although Murray was ordered to be in court when jury selection is due to begin on March 28, he is excused from attending the February 7 pretrial hearing unless he wishes to be present.

"Dr. Murray still has a medical license in Texas and Nevada, and he's going to keep treating patients until that changes," his lawyer Ed Chernoff said.

Chernoff told reporters that Murray looks forward to presenting his side of the story but said his legal team has not decided whether the doctor will testify in his own defense.

(Reporting and writing by Steve Gorman; editing by Will Dunham)

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