'The King's Speech' heads Oscars list

The broadening of the Hollywood Academy Awards for best film to 10 has swept up all the hot favourites, with The King’s Speech leading the list of nominees.

The British royal family drama about King George VI and his speech therapist was named in 12 categories when the 2011 Oscar nominations were announced in Beverly Hills, California, this morning.

They include best actor and best supporting actor for Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush respectively, best director for Tom Hooper, best original screenplay for David Seidler and best supporting actress for Helena Bonham Carter, who plays Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother).

The next most nominated film was True Grit, a new version of the Charles Portis western novel, which was first filmed with John Wayne in 1969. The Coen brothers’ adaptation has garnered 10 nominations, including nods for stars Jeff Bridges and 14-year-old Hailee Steinfeld.

True Grit has its New Zealand release on February 3, while another top 10 best film nominee, 127 Hours, is due out a week later.

Two other critical and box office successes, Inception and The Social Network, each scored eight nominations. The 83rd Annual Academy Awards will be held on February 27 (Feb 28, NZ time).

The main category nominees are:
Best Picture
Black Swan
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky, Black Swan
David O. Russell, The Fighter
Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech
David Fincher, The Social Network
Joel and Ethan Coen, True Grit

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

Best Actress
Annette Bening, The Kids Are All Right
Nicole Kidman, Rabbit Hole
Jennifer Lawrence, Winter’s Bone
Natalie Portman, Black Swan
Michelle Williams, Blue Valentine

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale, The Fighter
John Hawkes, Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner, The Town
Mark Ruffalo, The Kids Are All Right
Geoffrey Rush, The King’s Speech

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams, The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo, The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld, True Grit
Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom

Best Foreign Film
Mexico - Biutiful
Greece - Dogtooth
Denmark - In a Better World
Canada - Incendies
Algeria - Outside the Law

Best Original Screenplay
Another Year
The Fighter
Inception
The Kids Are All Right
The King’s Speech

Best Adapted Screenplay
127 Hours
The Social Network
Toy Story 3
True Grit
Winter’s Bone