By Mary Elizabeth Gentle
Hollywood’s quest for gold has begun and there are ten films in contention for the top honors at the Academy Awards. Everyone in town from the top studio brass to the star talent to the lowly cube dwellers are trying their best to predict the outcome and root their favorites on. The titles this year are; The King’s Speech, Black Swan, The Fighter, Inception, The Kids are All Right, 127 Hours, The Social Network, Toy Story 3, True Grit and Winter’s Bone.
The British monarchy saga, The King’s Speech, is the front-runner for the best picture award with twelve nominations total. The story centers around Prince Albert (played by Colin Firth) who went onto become King George VI, the father of Queen Elizabeth II. Plagued by a stammer and considered unfit to become King, he engages the help of an unorthodox speech therapist named Lionel Logue (played by Geoffrey Rush) to help him overcome his stammer for a radio address at the start of World War II. The story centers on the friendship formed between the two men. The film has surpassed expectations at the box office and has already won top awards from the Producer’s Guild, the Director’s Guild and the Screen Actor’s Guild, including a Golden Globe for Colin Firth.
The next film at the top of many “Oscar Prediction” lists for best picture would be The Social Network, nominated for a total of eight Academy Awards. The film tells the story of the creation of the world’s largest social networking site by Harvard undergrad Mark Zuckerberg. The story follows the young genius and his friends as they turn a programming phenomenon into a billion dollar success story. It has already been a big winner of many Critics Awards, Film Festivals and it has won David Fincher the best director award at the Golden Globes.
And of course, there is my personal favorite, Toy Story 3. That is not to say I think it stands a chance against top contenders The King’s Speech or The Social Network, but I think that it deserves a mention and a few hopeful wishes. The heartwarming family film tells the continuing story of Woody, Buzz Lightyear and our favorite gang of toys. Little Andy is all grown up and heading off to college and through a bit of a mix up the toys are shipped off to a Daycare Center. Woody and the Gang have to face off with sticky-fingered tiny tots and a gang of toys with an evil teddy bear leader. In the end the Toys have to say good-bye to Andy. It has already won a handful of Best Animated Film Awards.
But, no matter which title is your favorite, the Oscar show promises to deliver another chapter of Hollywood movie making history as it hands out another set of golden statues to the lucky winners. I plan to settle in with my ballot and see just how close I can get to winning the top honors in the office pool!
