Another quickie – This time it’s Tom Hooper discussing how much more enjoyable the ceremony is without the pressure of a nomination, and talking about Les Miserables. (see all our BAFTA coverage including the full winners list and other interviews here).

I presume you get invited to these forever now that you’re a winner.

‘I know. I’m presenting this year, but it’s amazingly relaxed. I can’t tell you the difference between last year. There’s a lack of stress arriving in the car, but it’s obviously nice to be here having won last year, that’s the nicest way to do it.’

Presumably though last year it was almost a foregone conclusion.

‘Not from where i was, and not at this stage in the year. In fact, when I started I never thought I could win the Oscar, so in a way the pressure mounts the more it’s possible rather than decreases.’

And obviously back in the saddle this year with Les Mis.

‘Yeah, I start shooting in five weeks time in Pinewood Studios with Hugh Jackman, Russel Crowe, Anne Hathaway, Sascha Baron-Cohen, Helena Bonham-Carter, Amanda Seyfried and Eddie Redmayne. It’s an outrageously wonderful cast.’

Anyone you’ve not cast in it?

‘Unfortunately Victor Hugo didn’t write enough parts to get every wonderful actor, but I’ve got a few’

At the start of this year it was being touted as a 2012 release, but there have been rumours that it will slip to 2013. Is there any truth in that?

‘We’re still looking to make the December date. Because it’s very tight we’re all being careful about it, but we’re still on the December date’.

2011 was such a good year for film, and the British Film Institute have released the year’s final tally at the box office that reflect just how good a year it was. The figures show an increase of 5% from 2010, taking a total of £1.04bn., marking the first time the UK box office has surpassed the £1bn.-mark.

The year saw a release of so many great films, judging from both critical and commercial measures, including the likes of The King’s Speech, Fast Five, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, The Inbetweeners, and of course, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2, which was the year’s most successful film across the world, taking £73m. at our box office, and a total of $1.3bn. from cinemas around the globe.

The total number of tickets sold was also up 1.4% from 2010 to 171.6 million, and the independent British film industry also had its best year to date in terms of market share, recording a figure of 13.5%.

The BFI note that the strong performance last year was fuelled both by independent British films like The Inbetweeners as well as blockbusters made in the UK with British talent, crew, and services, like the Harry Potter finale and Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows (though Robert Downey, Jr. is of course an American in the lead, but that’s neither here nor there, because he’s so damn cool).

The report notes that the year also saw a drop in the number of films made, however, reduced from 262 in 2010 to 169 last year, a drop of roughly 35.5%.

“It’s still a challenging time for filmmakers trying to raise finance to make independent British films in this tough economic climate,” said the BFI’s Amanda Nevill.

“As we enter 2012, many challenges remain but today’s figures clearly show that keeping audiences at the heart of everything we do will help the British film industry to enjoy even greater success in the future and continue to be an important contributor to the UK economy.”

The BFI’s director general, Liz Bales, added further,

“It’s great to see film fans’ enthusiasm for the fantastic creative output of the British film industry… The BFI figures provide further evidence that the overwhelming majority of people are willing to pay for film, TV and video content.”

Though there has been talk of the Olympics this year providing competition for the box office this summer, I’m remaining hopeful and optimistic that it won’t have a significant negative impact. The Olympics will be running from 27^th July to 12^th August, during which time the main films currently scheduled for release include Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax, which should be able to draw a strong young audience along with their parents; Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter, which should pull the teen and young-adult audience; Seth MacFarlane’s feature debut, Ted, which is going to be awesome; and Step Up 4 at the tail-end of the Olympics, which will no doubt draw teens and fans of the earlier franchise.

Provided it does well (which everyone’s expecting it to), The Amazing Spider-Man will probably also be in cinemas at the start of the games, with its release on 4^th July. And of course The Dark Knight Rises will be hitting cinemas a week before the Games kick-off on 20^th July, and I’ll take the Nolan brothers’ conclusion to their Batman trilogy over the Olympics any day of the week, and I’m sure there’ll be plenty of others who’d do the same.

So here’s to hoping that this time next year, we’ll be bringing you a similar report saying that 2012 has been even better than 2011 was, getting even further past the £1bn.-mark, which will hopefully become a benchmark in the years to come.

Source: BBC, who note that the figures account for UK cinemas, not including the Republic of Ireland.

Well no, since you asked. But that doesn’t mean they aren’t deeply flawed.

The Oscars are the high watermark of film recognition. The red carpet trampling, lovvie love-a-thon that is the motion picture awards season starts in earnest with the Golden Globes in early January and extravagantly culminates every year in late February with the Academy Awards in which apparently “everyone is just thrilled to be nominated!” but in actuality hopes are realised, dreams are shattered and the presenters are almost constantly underwhelming. When it comes to the big night though it can all seem like a bit of game. A cynical, industry driven game in which awards are doled out by the sensibility load and Martin Scorsese can win an Oscar through sheer bloody minded persistence (and a superlative body of work of course).

The awards themselves essentially boil down to the artistic whims of a group of voters who are predominantly older, whiter and male-er than your typical movie audience, and your typical movie audience they most definitely aren’t. The 6000 members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences are a venerable bunch of industry professionals who once inducted are placed into their various pigeonholes of expertise. Actors, directors, cinematographers and writers all have their place to name a but a few with the experts in each category having more sway when it comes to the tricky business of voting. In the first round directors nominate the work of directors, writers of writers and so on with each member providing a list of their top five choices. These feed the candidates for the second round of voting to the Academy as a whole who then all submit their top fives in most categories. The exception is of course the be-all and end-all award of Best Picture which everyone votes for.

Oscar voters are people sustained and venerated by their own artistic endeavours and as such they won’t be voting for any hack produced hokum any time soon. Added to this we don’t get many surprises either. We get them plumping for the worthy over the cinematic (think the choice of The Help over Tinker Tailor), the traditional over the innovative (War Horse over Drive), the heroic underdog over the perverted sex-addict (Brad Pitt’s average display in Moneyball over Michael Fassbender’s powerhouse performance in Shame). Way back when in 1989 we got the starkest manifestation of this we could ever wish for with the triumph of the comfortably middle class over the radical and intelligent with Driving Miss Daisy winning best picture over Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing – a film that set the tone of black-centric cinema for a decade to come and wasn’t even nominated. A case like that more clearly than anything shows how the mass appeal of the facile and one-dimensional can almost always triumph over the confrontational and original. This may seem like I am throwing The Help and Driving Miss Daisy together into some sort of race rights for dummies cadre and it kind of seems like I am. But Driving Miss Daisy cleaned up at the Oscars so of course it’s brilliant. Of course it is! Anyone who says otherwise is stupid, or a Hollywood Foreign Press member. So both.

Speaking of which when you compare the Oscars to the Golden Globes our gold plated, statuesque friend comes out smelling of roses. The Golden Globes are the sort of unashamed silly affair that keeps re-hiring a presenter to hilariously lampoon their inadequacies in some sort of devil’s pact for viewers. It’s like someone building a house on a cliff using stone from the cliff face. At some point the Golden Globes, I mean house, ahem, will collapse and all of the viewers will leave and Ricky Gervais will have to find somewhere else to live out the creative death of his career.

What the Golden Globes do have over their more respected counterparts however is timing. If something wins at the Globes it’s often a good indicator for things to come. By the time the Oscars swing round films like The Artist will have won so many awards that they’ll we struggling for something to say other than “OMG OMG OMG OMG the Oscars are the best it’s been my dream blah blah blah” that we’ve heard all before. There’s none of the surprise that there should be for indie flicks like The Artist when they win a huge award as their expectations are already so high come February that a Best Picture victory will seem more like a relief than anything.

So why will I be staying up into the wee hours of the morning waiting to get my Oscar fix for yet another year? Well it’s because they are just so bloody important and despite everything that I’ve said up until this point they still hold the requisite amount of artistic integrity.

More often than not the Oscars get it vaguely right and if they don’t it’s not usually that bad (apart from the Academy’s complete disregard for Senna this year which is ridiculous beyond parody). Yes, last year The Social Network should have walked off with Best Picture never to be refuted but that on the night it went to The King’s Speech wasn’t terrible. The Social Network would’ve been (and had been) a success irrespective of awards attention but The King’s Speech, high on the Oscar buzz it was getting – and Colin Firth’s repeated walk-ons at every awards show imaginable – carried the film through its January and February release period to a humongous (and thoroughly deserved) box-office. That an artfully inclined arthouse flick about a king with a speech impediment made $400 million worldwide is testament to the power of Oscar buzz. Without the Oscars such deserving films would get much less mainstream attention and I think cinema would be poorer for it.

Recently this also proved true for Slumdog Millionaire, The Hurt Locker, 127 Hours, Juno, Little Miss Sunshine, Brokeback Mountain and the masterful Sideways to name but a few. Oscar buzz is the real force behind the Oscars. What happens on the night happens and will be raked over in movie posters for eons to come but the real relevance of the Academy Awards is in the bridge they build between the artistic medium of film and the mainstream engine of the film industry.

If you love films and hate to see the wrong things getting top recognition come awards night then yes it may seem like the Oscars are losing their relevance, but as an industry force they are nevertheless a force for good. Even if we do have to put up with the occasional give me a bloody Oscar already! film like I Am Sam (featuring the now famous Sean Penn going ‘full retard’ performance) or Seven Pounds (in which Will Smith begs for an Oscar so hard that I’m surprised he didn’t actually grab his nearest box jellyfish and jump into a bathtub for attention come nominations), ultimately they bring (albeit a small selection of) lesser known gems to the masses.

So come February the 26^th 2012 I’ll be sitting down to watch 4 hours worth of film industry back patting, self indulgent montage and lots and lots of hysterical speeches. But I don’t think I’d have it any other way. Oh and Billy Crystal’s back. Which is nice.

We got the first UK trailer for Oranges and Sunshine, director Jim Loach’s feature debut, back in February ahead of its April release here, and it was incredibly touching.

The film’s release in the US is not until next month, and so we now have a new US trailer to enjoy, courtesy of Thompson on Hollywood, before it comes out in time for the awards season next year.

“Synopsis: Oranges and Sunshine tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals of recent times: the deportation of thousands of children from the United Kingdom to Australia.

Almost single-handedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and drew worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. Children as young as four had been told that their parents were dead, and been sent to children’s homes on the other side of the world. Many were subjected to appalling abuse. They were promised oranges and sunshine: they got hard labour and life in institutions.”

The film is based on a true story, with Rona Munro adapting Humphreys’ memoir, Empty Cradle, for director Jim Loach, son of renowned Irish director Ken Loach. His father’s talent has been very well recognised, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2006 for his film, The Wind that Shakes the Barley. It looks like it’s now his son’s turn to impress, with Oranges and Sunshine being very well received already. It’s been produced by Camilla Bray, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman, the last two of which are Oscar winner for their producing roles on The King’s Speech. That was a film that did incredibly well in America, winning four Academy Awards earlier this year, so here’s to hoping some of that success will rub off on Oranges and Sunshine.

Emily Watson (Angela’s Ashes) leads in what looks like a brilliant performance from her, with Hugo Weaving (The Lord of the Rings) and David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings) supporting. I personally think our own UK trailer is slightly better than this new US version, but it is nonetheless a brilliant trailer that gives us a great feel for the film. I really regret missing this when it came out back in April, but thankfully it has already been released here on DVD, so if you missed it too, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get hold of if you like what you see.

It’s easy to become blinded by the shine from its multiple awards but the Blu-ray and DVD release of The King’s Speech is an opportunity to enjoy Tom Hooper’s excellent film again, and it’s an opportunity well worth taking.

The film tells the story of the ascension of King George VI to the throne and the painful maturation of the man’s public persona and its key ingredient, the voice of a King. The central relationship between Firth’s King George and Geoffrey Rush’s unorthodox Australian speech leads the film from the 1925 closing speech of the British Empire Exhibition to the rousing speech to the nation on the outbreak of War. It is a rich tale, told with impeccable pacing, focus and is something of a triumph for a relatively low budget British independent film.

It may have been decried as Oscar bait on its release, a label as unfair as it was prophetic, but there is something undeniably classic about Hooper’s film with an affecting and rich central performance from Colin Firth. The choices Hooper made with the composition and layering of the speech therapy sessions do as much for the film’s momentum as the crippling moments of public speaking, and the use of silence is pitch perfect and Hooper has spoken about his collaboration with composer Alexandre Desplat which resulted in Firth’s vocal performance having the space to breathe, to be heard.

Their is a line through Hooper’s work in which a public figure and a private relationship play out, his Damned United and TV series Longford and John Adams both played with the notion of discovering a public voice and in The King’s Speech the theme finds its most accomplished execution. We feel emotionally charged and viscerally attuned to the savage expectation, both from commoner and King, of the importance of ‘the voice’ and there is a tangible sense of helplessness in Firth’s King and  Hooper’s skill is in relaying the human aspect of the pomp and circumstance; we all feel the same as our words hit the air.

The director’s commentary has Hooper his usual generous self, and the construction of character and his famous ‘triangle of man-love’ between him and Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush is not only great fun but illuminates the on-screen relationship. The real history behind the film is given its due and the DVD and Blu-ray is bolstered with these additions but the jewel here is the rarest of beasts: an Oscar-winner that is worthy of the hype surrounding it, and is even more satisfying on a second watch. Firth arguably did better work with Tom Ford’s A Single Man but here he has to lead us through a far wider world and the reason it works it because Hooper never lets us forget who the man is. In moments of crises Hooper kicks in with a very shallow depth of field and Firth seems increasingly lost in his own prison. To be the most public person in the country and still be completely alone is a hard trick to pull off as an actor and for a director, but Hooper and Firth manage it flawlessly.

The supporting cast is exceptional, Hooper shows his playful side by casting I Claudius actor Derek Jacobi and in Jennifer Ehle he reunites the Darcy and Lizzie of the BBC’s iconic Pride and Prejudice, and it’s churlish to suggest that this film is an automatic Oscar winner and the performances and direction are not worthy of the praise it’s received. Hooper allows the film’s central story to be peppered with small moments as the bedtime story with the Princesses and the embittered interplay between Firth’s George VI and Guy Pearce’s irascible Edward VIII, never drawing our eye away from the story, embellishing it and rewarding us with a solid and inspirational piece of work that will stand with the best of British film for years to come.

Film ****~ (4/5)

Disc ***~~ (3/5)

• Commentary with director Tom Hooper
• An inspirational story of an unlikely friendship – The making of The King’s Speech
• Filmed Interview with Mark Logue
• Speeches from the real King George VI
• Production sketches from Academy Award® nominated Production designer Eve Stewart
• Production stills and Behind the Scenes photo gallery

Here’s the second of our regular new edition, The Big Picture – May Edition. This rather nice informative video gives you all the information you’re going to need about what you should be watching at the cinema. Believe it or not, it’s May already and with all these national holidays we have loads of time to get to the cinema! The Big Picture is five minutes long and is your one stop guide (other than HeyUGuys of course!) into all you need to know about film.

The Big Picture is written, produced and presented by our friend  Simon Thompson in association with DMS.

In the May edition, we get to see previews of Take Me Home Tonight, Priest, Thor, Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,  The Hangover Part II,  X-Men: First Class as well as looking at their DVD & Blu-ray pick of the month which this month is The King’s Speech which we are giving away here. We also get a little look at the Thor press conference.

To mark the release of The King’s Speech, available on DVD and Blu-ray 9 May, we have teamed up with Momentum to give three lucky readers the chance to get their hands on a Blu-ray copy of the award-winning film!

Toast of this year’s Academy and BAFTA Awards, The King’s Speech is the cinematic phenomenon of the year. Starring Colin Firth, Helena Bonham-Carter and Geoffrey Rush, the film is now set to become the must-have home entertainment release of 2011. Based on the true story of King George VI’s epic journey to overcome immense personal difficulties on his way to the throne, The King’s Speech deftly explores the touching and intricate personal relationship between a reluctant King and his unconventional speech therapist, Lionel Logue.

To be in with the chance of winning this fantastic prize, all you need to do is answer this simple question using the form below:

In the King’s Speech, King George VI is played by which actor?

1. Colin Firth
2. Brad Pitt
3. Hugh Grant

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 9th May 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

Tom Hooper’s film has waltzed through awards season winning accolades for its stars, directors, screenwriters and the film itself, and in order to capitalise on this success the film has been re-edited in the States, taking out the more offensive language and gaining a new, box-office friendly PG-13 rating.

The debate will rage on and on, but this new poster, found by our friends at Best For Film, sets the new tone nicely.

Which immediately richochets off of the cultural consciousness and suggests this moment from a true family classic,

The moments which affected me most in Tom Hooper’s film were the bedtime story with the princesses, or the quiet beakdown before the storm – and it has a huge heart. I’m also extrememly pleased that more people will be enticed into seeing the film, but I can’t help but feel Tom Hooper and David Seilder’s film has been compromised in order to make money.

Offensive language and censorship is a big part of cinematic culture and we are seeing boundaries shift back and forward for social or economic reasons and new version of The King’s Speech will make even more money and prove that re-editing a film is a viable commerical option, even if it plays merry hell with artisitic integrity.

And if you’re really annoyed just make a slight adjustment to the poster when you see it.

Let me begin by saying that I do not read The Daily Mail, I do not vote BNP and I certainly do not believe in unwarranted censorship. This is not some scare-mongering piece of propaganda which illegitimately claims that Kick-Ass promotes paedophilia, Machete sponsors racism and Childs Play 3 will turn your children into knife-wielding murderers, it is simply a timely meditation on whether the 12A certificate is still valid.

Since its inception as a means of bridging the gap between PG and 12, for films such as The Lord of the Rings and Spider-Man, which – although sporting mature elements – were hardly unsuitable for younger children, the 12A rating has boomed in recent years, permitting the Star Wars saga and Harry Potter franchise to pursue darker territory without fear of a box office crippling 15 rating. While there is often no issue with the BBFC’s decisions, every so often there are films which find their way on-screen to controversial reception.

Now, I am not a parent by any stretch of the imagination, but I will be old one day and need to know that my wrinkled shell will be in good hands. What is important to note is that potentially anyone of any age can watch a 12A movie, providing that they are accompanied by an adult. Although the BBFC proclaims not to recommend that children under the age of 12 choose to view the movie, their jurisdiction is limited by general ignorance. Most people have never even heard of the British Board of Film Classification, its IMDb equivalent an embarrassingly prude outlet for religious extremism which will never be taken seriously in this day and age. As such, the 12A rating is treated just like PG, parents being lead to the cinema by their savvier children – often having done little to research the film of choice and its content.

Many were shocked when The Hole (in 3D) turned out to be scary, though how anyone could have expected less from Joe Dante is beyond me. Rather than suggesting you should wrap your children in cotton wool and Disney merchandise – I think children have a right to be scared senseless every once and a while – I nevertheless think that is a decision that should not be made lightly. A 12 rating wouldn’t prevent clueless parents from allowing their children to watch a film upon its eventual release on DVD or Blu-ray, but whether or not it is permissable to have your six year old throw up in a crowded auditorium is a different matter entirely.

If my psychology degree has taught me anything (and, believe me, I do not have any delusions of authority), it is that films do not brain-wash children. Indeed, the very fact that the bad guy normally loses is probably enough to ensure that your reinforcement-susceptible child is not going to try to take over the world. However, my concern doesn’t lie with violence, or the ridiculous dread that your child might be subjected to some kissing or a wayward wardrobe malfunction; my concern is language.

At 12 I imagine everyone has been subjected to the full spectrum of swear words – not a comment on society so much as a generalisation from my own childhood experiences. While I didn’t shout them at old people, spray-paint them onto puppies or even know precisely what each one meant, I was certainly well aware of them. At 6, however, I was not, and shouldn’t have been. Now, I realise that everyone is different, and that other societal parameters might prevent children from effing and blinding, but the BBFC must accept the importance of swearing or it wouldn’t have outraged Nigel Cole by slapping his Made in Dagenham with a 15 certificate.

The controversy peaked when The King’s Speech, which contained a similar degree or swearing – namely through its use of the word “fuck” – escaped with a comparatively lenient 12A rating. With censor David Cooke having insisted that no film with in excess of half-a-dozen “fucks” uttered could ever receive a 12 certificate, it is difficult to understand why The King’s Speech got off so lightly. One argument posed suggested that when swearing is used comically, it is more acceptable than when it is used aggressively. I find it difficult to understand how such a distinction warrants any sensible consideration – nor how the number of utterences has any sway when it comes to actual classification process. Either it is OK for children of all ages to be subjected to profanity by government endorsed bodies or it is not, whether a character swears once or once every other word.

It is not just The King’s Speech either: Drillbit Tailor is full of shit, as is 27 Dresses, while Ghost Town is one big f***ing joke. With a spokesperson for the BBFC telling the Telegraph that “the use of the f-word up to four times in a 12A film is considered acceptable”, having consulted extensively with the public, the official stance seems strangely at odds with a separate poll carried out by The Sunday Telegraph which suggested that the majority of people (56%) believed the “f” word should never be broadcast at all. Just to clarify, I like swearing, however when the guidelines are clearly as subjective as they are, the question is whether the 12A certificate is still valid as an age rating.

I know this might seem petty, and a completely moot point when parents can subject their children to whatever they wish in the privacy of their own homes, but the bog-standard 12 certificate has survived valiantly on home entertainment. While it might be good for box-office, the growing tendency for more adult material to grace 12As are quite shocking. Whether characters are freely outing Santa Claus as a lie, boring children with grown-up talk or spouting everybody’s favourite “f” word, recent movies have shown little sensitivity in their choice of material.

What three-year-old cares about one dead man’s speech impediment? What child is going to sit through all sixteen hours of the last Pirates of the Caribbean instalment? What infant is ready for the trauma of having to watch Fred: The Movie? Worse than having to watch Avatar with someone’s confused offspring chattering in the background, and worse than the dilution of 15 movies in pursuit of a more lucrative rating (Sucker Punch, anyone?), the 12A rating has become a contradiction of requirements and increasingly insensitive to the material it inflicts on such a broad audience. As an arguably arbitrary extension of the PG rating, and boasting at least one example of double standards, perhaps we should return to simpler times and bring the 12 rating back to cinemas before the line is blurred further and the harder ratings get any ideas of their own.

Maybe Nigel Cole should move to America. Having expressed his dismay at the BBFC’s apparent double standards when it comes to the treatment of profanity, Cole couldn’t quite grasp how the swearing in his own Made In Dagenham had earnt it a 15 rating, while The (similarly sweary) King’s Speech escaped with a measly 12A.

America’s MPAA were less lenient, however, lumbering the movie with a hard R-rating on account of the naughty language. Worried about the impact this decision might have on the film’s box office, the Weinstein Co. have opted to release a new PG-13 in the hopes of attracting a wider audience – the new cut set for release in 1,000 screens.

While such a re-release would usually have to wait 90 days from when the old version was pulled from cinemas, however, THR are reporting that ex-MPAA chair Bob Pisano and NATO president John Fithian have signed a waiver which will allow the PG-13 version to be released in quicker succession – a decision which pleased TWC’s president of theatrical distribution – Eric Lomis – greatly.

“We are thankful to the MPAA for their wisdom and swift action in approving the release of The King’s Speech PG-13 version.”

With the Weinstein Co. preparing to head a marketing campaign to explain the changes to America’s movie-going public, the new version will feature a number of muted “fuck”‘s, and a few instances in which “shit” has been substituted in instead.

Do you know the “f” word? Shit? Of course.

Internal industry politics and sentiment are always a decisive factor in the Oscar beauty contest, and must always be accounted for (despite the assertions by many that Mickey Rourke would win for The Wrestler a few years ago, I was certain he wouldn’t as he pissed a lot of people off in the early years of his stardom). After a stretch of some years in which darker films have received a lot of accolades (The Hurt Locker, No Country For Old Men, and The Departed), my guess is that the AMPAS voters will go lighter, making for a more predictable Academy Awards shows.

With no further blather then (keeping my speech SHORT!), here’s how I think it will play out on Sunday evening for the top awards (note that these are my predictions, not a consensus of the HeyUGuys contributors):

Writing (Original Screenplay): One would hope the Academy voters would be generous enough to give it to Christopher Nolan’s challenging and demanding script for Inception, but I think that the film is too cerebral (and thus confusing) for many of them. I admire Inception, and what it represents (a studio spending a huge amount of money on an art house heist movie), but don’t love it as it felt it was too coldly mechanical much of the time. I think this is one of several major awards that are going to go to The King’s Speech.

Writing (Adapted Screenplay): Aaron Sorkin’s superb script for The Social Network, an adaptation of Ben Mezzrich’s ‘The Accidental Billionaires’, is a shoe in; if it wasn’t in the running I would think the Coen’s sublime adaptation of Charles Portis’ ‘True Grit’ would grab the brass ring (‘Fill your hand you son-of-a-bitch!’).

Actress in a Supporting Role: It’s Melissa Leo’s to lose. She is nominated for her turn as a vile matriarch in The Fighter, but Leo’s statuette will also be the Academy’s acknowledgment of all great work she has done previously (including her Best Actress nominated turn in 2009′s Frozen River). Jacki Weaver delivers a performance of almost Shakespearean majesty as another evil mutha in Animal Kingdom, and I’d vote for her, but I don’t think many actual voters will have watched this very downbeat Australian crime drama; if they have cued up their screeners she could be a dark horse surprise however, as she is truly amazing.

Actor in a Supporting Role: I would absolutely love to see John Hawkes win for his hillbilly hard-ass Teardrop in Winter’s Bone; his chilling roadside standoff with lawman Garrett Dillahunt, conducted entirely via a wing mirror, is one of the most heart-stoppingly intense scenes I watched in the past year. However, I think sentimentality will rule the day here as well, and Geoffrey Rush will win for The King’s Speech. And I think Andrew Garfield should have been nominated for The Social Network rather than Mark Ruffalo for the lightweight The Kids Are All Right.

Actress in a Leading Role: Natalie Portman for The Black Swan. The Academy often favors performances that involve a lot of overt heavy lifting, and her fragile ballerina who suffers a mental breakdown is the heaviest by far of the nominated performances in this category. My vote is for Jennifer Lawrence as the determined teenage detective Bree in Winter’s Bone, but alas, it’s not to be.

Actor in a Leading Role: Colin Firth for The King’s Speech, of course; Firth’s emotionally strangled upper class Englishman, his stock in trade, is unstoppable this year. I wish Jesse Eisenberg would nab it for his riveting portrayal of Mark Zuckerberg in the best American film of 2010, but he won’t. Javier Bardem was tremendous and heartbreaking in Biutiful, but this isn’t a heartbreaking and downbeat year for Oscar.

Directing: David Fincher for The Social Network. The Academy will acknowledge Fincher, arguably the greatest director of his generation, for his work on this masterful film and his influential earlier works like Seven, Fight Club and Zodiac.

Foreign Language Film: Bardem’s excellent work will be acknowledged here: Biutiful will take it.

Documentary Feature: Banksy’s the man: Exit Through the Gift Shop. The lefties could surprise me though; Matt Damon may rally the troops and Inside Job could take it, but I’m doubtful.

Animated Feature Film: Three words (ok, two words and a number): Toy Story 3.

Best Picture: The King’s Speech. I enjoyed this film as much as anyone else, but never shook off the feeling that I was watching a BBC drama that had been elevated to the level of a theatrical feature. There’s really nothing much that’s cinematic about it, unlike Inception orThe Black Swan or The Social Network or the lovely to look at True Grit (here’s hoping Roger Deakins nabs the Cinematography award).  But, as America struggles to find its way forward and out of its social, political and economic morass, a film about overcoming severe personal adversity, starring a stuttering royal and his eccentric ‘advisor’ set in the quaint England of the not too distant past, is just the sort of feel good fare that voters will embrace as an escapist antidote.

Feel free to return to this article on Monday and thumb your nose at me for every one I got wrong…if I do get any wrong. As for me, the Oscars are on far too late but I’ll be up early Monday morning with my tea and toast to watch a recording of the show before I look at email or any broadcast television.

Last night saw the Orange BAFTA Awards hit London’s Royal Opera House in Covent Garden and we were at every single bit of the event to bring you as much coverage as we could. Jon was live blogging the event live and you can see the fruits of his labour here, while Colin was on the red carpet getting snaps of the stars as they arrived. I was living it up while attending the awards themselves and the afterparty courtesy of Grey Goose. I’m currently writing this at 5.00am in the morning so I think my report can wait until tomorrow when I’m slightly more awake!

I wanted to bring you these video reports however created by Showbiz 411 for ITN which give you a nice well rounded look at the evening as well as Colin Firth’s acceptance speech for Best Actor in The King’s Speech. The movie won a total of seven awards including Best Film. The Social Network walked away with the Best Director award for David Fincher. Inception walked away with three technical prizes including best sound, production design, and special effects for the Christopher Nolan movie. Tom Hardy who also starred in Inception won the Orange Rising Star award which I personally thought was a great choice but all nominees had done some amazing work over recent.

Below is a round up of the red carpet with interviews from Emma Watson, J.K. Rowling, Amy Adams, Helena Bonham Carter and Darren Aronofsky, the director of Black Swan. We also have a round up of the awards themselves and Colin Firth’s acceptance speech for his award as Best Actor.

Check them out below or click here to view all our BAFTA coverage for 2011.

Red Carpet Video Report and Interviews

Awards Roundup Video

Colin Firth’s Acceptance Speech

HeyUGuys were proud to be invited to the red carpet at the 2011 BAFTA Awards by Orange tonight in London’s Covent Garden tonight to see some great films celebrated and to take a moment to appreciate the wealth of talent making the films honoured tonight.

The King’s Speech lived up to the high expectations it came with, and to see Chris Morris’s Four Lions take home the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer was a highlight. The stars were out in force and we have some images from tonight’s red carpet. These are the first pics we can bring you but be assured that more will follow.

If you missed the awards you can catch up our liveblogging here.

The awards have begun – scroll down for all the updates.

The 64th British Academy Film Awards sponsored by Orange are getting underway in London tonight and we’ll be updating you live from the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden which plays host to the awards, as well as bringing you photos of the red carpet arrivals.

I’ll be updating you on each award as it is announced, let me know what you think in the comments below or by following us on Twitter at heyuguysblog, though we won’t be revealing who won on the twitter feed (for those waiting to play along at home – the BBC are showing the ceremony around 9), so keep hitting refresh to see all the updates right here.

LATEST UPDATE HERE…

21.23 -Sir Christopher Lee’s gracious and warm acceptance speech is the perfect way to end the ceremony tonight. It was an excellent year for The King’s Speech and to have Chris Morris celebrated was something I didn’t expect but was wonderful to see. Ok – some great speeches, some bizarre autocue problems but it was a great night. We’ll have our pictures from the red carpet up soon and then all the fun of the afterparty which is kicking off in a short while.

Thanks to all those who came along and joined us for the fun – hope you enjoyed our coverage. Same time next year?

21.13 – Final award tonight and one very richly deserved. Tim Burton is on stage to present the BAFTA Fellowship to Sir Christopher Lee.

News that Sir Christopher Lee was to be awarded the BAFTA Fellowship was met with a huge wave of endorsement from the public. The man is a icon of cinema, one of the few men whose life and career is known all over the world, and each of you will have your favourite role of his. I had the pleasure of hearing him read Lewis Carroll’s Jabberwocky as part of the promotion for Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland and it was a moment I will never forget.

As he takes to the stage I’ve collected a few videos for you to enjoy – the last one in particular is a treat…

For starters here’s the trailer for The Wicker Man – if you’ve not seen it buy it now…

Here’s some of his Dracula,

Christopher Lee sings!

And here’s the man giving out some very good advice re: Timewarping,

21.11 – So pleased for The King’s Speech – let’s hope it gets people out in their droves to see it again. It’s a worthy winner tonight and the reception for the awards it has won tonight, though unsurprising, was genuine and warm. I spoke with Tom Hooper about the film here, so take a look when you have time for the story behind the film.

21.08 – And the award goes to The King’s Speech crowning what is a great night for Tom Hooper and his team. Sorry about the ‘crowning’ bit there – just preempting the morning’s front pages.

21.07 – The only man who could is on stage to present the BAFTA for Best Film – Mr. Samuel. L. Jackson.

Nominees

•    BLACK SWAN Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver, Scott Franklin
•    INCEPTION Emma Thomas, Christopher Nolan
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
•    THE SOCIAL NETWORK Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca, Céan Chaffin
•    TRUE GRIT Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen, Joel Coen

Many have already called this award for The King’s Speech and it’s an incredibly strong year with perhaps only The Social Network able to interrupt The King’s Speech, but the best thing is that you get to enjoy them all and if the wisdom of crowds is worth anything and the Oscar will end up going to The Social Network then this could be where the two awards divide and Tom Hooper’s film is given the nod. Time’s up – let’s see who wins…

21.03 Colin Firth wins it. As Radiohead have it – No Surprises but the audience cheered for this award more than any other. I think it’s about time to set some sort of campaign for Sir Colin Firth right here. Despite the fact that the result was never in any real doubt it is still gratifying to see Colin Firth up there on stage, he is charming and graceful. Bravo.

21.01 – Amy Adams is presenting the BAFTA for Leading Actor

Nominees

•    JAVIER BARDEM Biutiful
•    JEFF BRIDGES True Grit
•    JESSE EISENBERG The Social Network
•    COLIN FIRTH The King’s Speech
•    JAMES FRANCO 127 Hours

The Colin Firth award for Best Actor will surely go to The King’s Speech. It’s almost a foregone conclusion for the actor to follow up his win last year for A Single Man with the award tonight. It’s a strong line up though with James Franco and Jesse Eisenberg doing amazing work in their respective films. Will we be surprised?

20.59 – The award goes to Natalie Portman for Black Swan. Darren Aronofsky is on stage to collect the award and he is saying some very nice things about her, which is just as well because her performance is stunning.

20.56 – Gerard Butler presents the Leading Actress award, THIS IS BAFTA!

Nominees

•    ANNETTE BENING The Kids Are All Right
•    JULIANNE MOORE The Kids Are All Right
•    NATALIE PORTMAN Black Swan
•    NOOMI RAPACE The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
•    HAILEE STEINFELD True Grit

Many people, though not the UK marketers for True Grit it seems, have Hailee Steinfeld’s name on their lips, and there’s no doubt she’s in great company here. The popular opinion is that Natalie Portman will run away with the award which would be fine with me, as I thought her performance was a career best. Though I can’t argue with the two nominations for The Kids Are All Right it would be nice to have five separate films from which to draw Best Actress, perhaps Made in Dagenham could have been given the nod this time? Anyhoo, time for the envelope to be neatly parted and the chosen name to hit the air.

20.54 – David Fincher wins for The Social Network! Good call – and we get to see Andrew Garfield and Jesse Eisenberg on stage to collect the award.

20.51 – The Sir David Lean award for Best Director, Tilda Swinton graces us with her presence. Hard one to call this award…

Nominees

•    127 HOURS Danny Boyle
•    BLACK SWAN Darren Aronofsky
•    INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper
•    THE SOCIAL NETWORK David Fincher

I loved Tom Hooper’s work on The King’s Speech but I think this will be David Fincher’s year. The Social Network had so much going for it with an amazing script and a fantastic ensemble cast but holding it all together was Fincher whose assured direction made this one of the films of the decade. Christopher Nolan is also getting a lot of love for Inception and Danny Boyle may repeat the success of Slumdog Millionaire with another win. Oh, and Darren Aronofsky did wonderful things with Black Swan. So, hey – we’re all winners!

20.50 – Time to look at The Social Network. It is a fantastic film, but will it best The King’s Speech?

20.48 – The BAFTA is awarded to True Grit – the only film I’ve not seen. There were cheers here in the press room so I’m guessing it’s great.

20.47 – Cinematography awards time.

Nominees

•    127 HOURS Anthony Dod Mantle, Enrique Chediak
•    BLACK SWAN Matthew Libatique
•    INCEPTION Wally Pfister
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Danny Cohen
•    TRUE GRIT Roger Deakins

Danny Cohen did great things in The King’s Speech given the static nature of the action, and I loved Matthew Libatique’s work on Aronofskys Black Swan, and I’ve still not seen True Grit which is unforgivable I know, as Roger Deakins’ work is stunning and I’ve heard that his work with The Coens film was some of his best. I’m all ears for the announcement…

20.45 – Sorkin’s awards haul continues and with good reason as The Social Network wins. I’m a big fan of Sorkin’s work and he’s giving a great and gracious speech. This award was well deserved – I’m guessing the Oscar is next.

20.42 – Julianne Moore is great – and on stage to present the BAFTA for Adapted Screenplay

Nominees

•    127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy
•    THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Rasmus Heisterberg, Nikolaj Arcel
•    THE SOCIAL NETWORK Aaron Sorkin
•    TOY STORY 3 Michael Arndt
•    TRUE GRIT Joel Coen, Ethan Coen

Aaron Sorkin has already won a ton of awards for his adaptation of Ben Mezrich’s The Accidental Billionaires, and rightly so. Fans of his work on The West Wing will have warmed instantly with the rapid fire dialogue bursting with wit and life. Michael Arndt’s  work on Toy Story 3 is also worthy of mention, as it managed to blend seamlessly with the world Pixar created with the first two films, never pandering to fans or dumbing down, instead delivering a script that is as funny and heartwarming as any this year. But I reckon this will be Sorkin’s night.

20.39 – Tom Hardy wins it, but isn’t around to bask in the spotlight. Hardy is clearly a very well loved star – his work in Inception would have inspired people to seek out his other roles. Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy and The Dark Knight Rises are in his future, so we’ll be watching.

20.35 – A Single Man director Tom Ford is on stage, sharp as a razor, for the Orange Wednesday Rising Star Award

Nominees

•    GEMMA ARTERTON
•    ANDREW GARFIELD
•    TOM HARDY
•    AARON JOHNSON
•    EMMA STONE

Though the definition of Rising Star may be a little unclear, as most of the nominees have already risen in my most humble opinion, my feeling is that Tom Hardy has a lot of love out there amongst the fans, who were the ones voting here. Aaron Johnson’s Kick-Ass and Nowhere Boy were impressive and a lot of fun, but I reckon only Andrew Garfield and Hardy have the momentum which will carry them through. Last year Kristen Stewart won, and before that Noel Clarke picked up the award so it’ll be interesting to see who joins them in this select group of winners.

20.34 – On a personal aside here Toy Story 3 is on constant repeat in my house as my two year old has discovered the film, so I can honestly say that even after 214 viewing it’s still a great film.

20.33 – Even Neve Campbell’s announcement of Toy Story 3 had a weary sigh of resignation to it. But who cares – it’s Toy Story 3. And it’s all kinds of awesome. Pixar have never been better and it’s great to see them leading the way in animated films, especially if they push their competitors to do some amazing work too.

20.31 – Back to the awards – Nicholas Hoult and Neve Campbell say Hi! This is the Best Animated Film award…

Nominees

•    DESPICABLE ME Chris Renaud, Pierre Coffin
•    HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON Chris Sanders, Dean DeBlois
•    TOY STORY 3 Lee Unkrich

This is an obvious one – with Lee Unkrich’s film certain to walk away with the award. Closing off one of the most beloved and critically successful cinematic trilogies the third Toy Story film had more heart and charm than the entire output of the other animation studios, and caused grown men to tear up in their millions. New toys!

20.29 – The looooooong Harry Potter love in gives way to a look at another Best Film nominee – Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan. It’s an amazing film.

20.18 – The wonderful Stephen Fry bounds on stage to talk all things Harry Potter for the Outstanding British Contribution award.

What more to say that Harry Potter and The Great British Institution? Casting a spell over audiences for almost a decade,as well as giving writers a slightly feckless cauldron of lazy metaphors to use on these occasions, but with the final film coming our way in a few months its time to look back over the years of magic the various directors and wealth of British talent have given cinema goers.

Everyone loves them some Potter don’t they? Here’s one of the 14,237,102 Harry Potter related videos on the interwebosphere to remind you of why it’s great.

20.14 – The King’s Speech wins the Bafta for Original Screenplay. David Seidler takes the stage and is charming the pants off the crowd. He picked out ‘Captain Tom Hooper’ and is giving a fantastic speech. Which is just right as he wrote it and he’s got a BAFTA and everything.

20.11 – An Education’s team of Rosamund Pike and Dominic Cooper take the stage to present the Original Screenplay award.

Nominees

•    BLACK SWAN Mark Heyman, Andrés Heinz, John McLaughlin
•    THE FIGHTER Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson
•    INCEPTION Christopher Nolan
•    THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT Lisa Cholodenko, Stuart Blumberg
•    THE KING’S SPEECH David Seidler

This is a hard one to call. I was a big fan of Black Swan, and would happily choose it over Inception and The Fighter, but I think David Seidler’s work with The King’s Speech may get the nod tonight. His script gave the trio of Hooper, Rush and Firth great scope to play with the ideas of paternal and regal duty and the complications of fear and family. I had a great time with it so I’m hoping it gets a look in.

20.07 – Geoffrey Rush wins it – success of The King’s Speech continues. Loved his work and the chemistry he had with Colin Firth was amazing to watch.

20.05- Jessica Alba is on stage now. So is the attention of everyone in the room. Best Supporting Actor is why she be there.

Nominees

•    CHRISTIAN BALE The Fighter
•    ANDREW GARFIELD The Social Network
•    PETE POSTLETHWAITE The Town
•    MARK RUFFALO The Kids Are All Right
•    GEOFFREY RUSH The King’s Speech

I would love to see Pete Postlethwaite’s performance in The Town surprise people here tonight. He made a cliched role truly terrifying and elevated Ben Affleck’s film  along with the work of Jeremy Renner. Geoffrey Rush made a great team with Colin Firth and had a lot to do with the success of Tom Hooper’s film. Andrew Garfield was rightly praised in The Social Network, which when combined with his turn in Mark Romanek’s Never Let Me Go points to an amazing year for the actor, but I feel this will be Christian Bale’s night.

20.04 -Tom Hooper is on stage. Lovely man who told me that he wanted to do a Bond film. Hmm. Colin Firth as villain? I’m game.

20.02 – Very, very happy about Chris Morris’s win in the previous category. Reminded of Duncan Jones’ win last year. Great, great talents both.

20.01 – The BAFTA goes to The King’s Speech. No, we’re not shocked either. But it is a brilliant film. Step up Mr Hooper.

19.59 – Why, hello Emma Watson. Present us an award for Outstanding British Film won’t you?

Nominees

•    127 HOURS Danny Boyle, Simon Beaufoy, Christian Colson, John Smithson
•    ANOTHER YEAR Mike Leigh, Georgina Lowe
•    FOUR LIONS Chris Morris, Jesse Armstrong, Sam Bain, Mark Herbert, Derrin Schlesinger
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Tom Hooper, David Seidler, Iain Canning, Emile Sherman, Gareth Unwin
•    MADE IN DAGENHAM Nigel Cole, William Ivory, Elizabeth Karlsen, Stephen Woolley

If The King’s Speech is the obvious choice for Best Film I wonder if the Academy will divert votes to another of the films on the list. As I’ve said I’d love to see Chris Morris take it home for Four Lions, but I loved Mike Leigh’s Another Year, one of his finest. Good to see Made in Dagenham making the cut here too alongside Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours which has a far better chance of winning Best Actor for James Franco than for this film, but hey – what do I know. Let’s find out…

19.55 YES! Chris Morris wins it for Four Lions. Morris isn’t here tonight but here’s a video of him collecting another award so this will have to do.

19.52 – Kevin Spacey turns up on stage doing a Bill Clinton impression to introduce the award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer

Nominees

•    THE ARBOR Clio Barnard (Director), Tracy O’Riordan (Producer)
•    EXIT THROUGH THE GIFT SHOP Banksy (Director), Jaimie D’Cruz (Producer)
•    FOUR LIONS Chris Morris (Director/Writer)
•    MONSTERS Gareth Edwards (Director/Writer)
•    SKELETONS Nick Whitfield (Director/Writer)

For me Chris Morris’s amazing debut Four Lions was a highlight of last year, making good on the years of groundbreaking work on television with his move to the big screen. The Arbor was a very interesting film, which for me lost its narrative strand before picking it up towards the film’s end but with Gareth Edwards’ Monsters and Banksy’s stunning Exit Through the Gift Shop up for the award this is perhaps the strongest category this year and a testament to the talent working in the UK. (I’ve not seen Skeletons, but heard from Bleeding Cool’s Brendon Connelly that it’s great so let’s see if Nick Whitfield upsets the bafta cart). Awards time…

19.47 -Blimey. Helena Bonham Cater wins it. She was great – no doubt about it, I thought it would have been Amy Adams and Lesley Manville. Bonham Carter is a class act. Best speech of the night so far, do tune into the BBC broadcast to see it. I’d love to see Pin-headed Queen. Very pleased to see Tom Hooper’s film getting this award.

19.45 – Everyone say Hello to James McAvoy as he takes the stage to introduce the Best Supporting Actress award

Nominees

•    AMY ADAMS The Fighter
•    HELENA BONHAM CARTER The King’s Speech
•    BARBARA HERSHEY Black Swan
•    LESLEY MANVILLE Another Year
•    MIRANDA RICHARDSON Made in Dagenham

My money is on Lesley Manville’s staggering performance in Mike Leigh’s Another Year, which was painful and truly affecting – while Barbara Hershey in Black Swan didn’t go fully down the Piper Laurie/Carrie avenue, her performance was one of the best she’s given. Lot of love for Amy Adams in The Fighter, and David O. Russell’s film had some amazing work from the actors, with Christian Bale looking certain to pick up the corresponding award in the Best Supporting Actor category. Or will this be the first award which goes to The King’s Speech? Time to find out…

19.43 -Bit of a breather in the slew of awarding here with a look at The Coens True Grit. All the HeyUGuys coverage here. Love the Coens and you should to.

19.39 – The award goes to Inception. Ok. Obvious choice really. There was some great, great work with the Escheresque landscapes doing a lot. Still reminded me of Heavenly Creatures a touch though – that bit where the garden flourishes before their eyes.

19.38 – Special Effects awards time everyone.

Nominees

•    ALICE IN WONDERLAND Ken Ralston, David Schaub, Sean Phillips, Carey Villegas
•    BLACK SWAN Dan Schrecker
•    HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Tim Burke, John Richardson, Nicolas Ait’Hadi, Christian Manz
•    INCEPTION Chris Corbould, Paul Franklin, Andrew Lockley, Peter Bebb
•    TOY STORY 3 Guido Quaroni, Micheal Fong, David Ryu

It may seem that the more subtle work of Dan Schrecker will be overlooked in favour of Inception or Alice, the former of which certainly played into the anticipation for the film – you’ll remember the first time you saw that famous shot of Paris folding over. The work on Harry Potter was as good as it has ever been but perhaps didn’t offer anything particularly new.

19.36 -Inception won it. Of course it did. Not happy with the plucking of Black Swan so far tonight…

19.35 – Minnie Driver and Sam Claflin take the stage to present the Production Design award.

Nominees

•    ALICE IN WONDERLAND Robert Stromberg, Karen O’Hara
•    BLACK SWAN Thérèse DePrez, Tora Peterson
•    INCEPTION Guy Hendrix Dyas, Larry Dias, Doug Mowat
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Eve Stewart, Judy Farr
•    TRUE GRIT Jess Gonchor, Nancy Haigh

We’re seeing these five films crop up a lot in the design stakes and for my money I loved the work done on The King’s Speech and Black Swan, but I fear they may be overlooked in the wake of Inception.

19.33 – Colleen Atwood wins it. Two for Alice in Wonderland. The costume design was pretty fantastic, such a shame that the film slightly soured my enthusiasm to return to it.

19.32 – Costume Design award time Cloth fans.

Nominees

•    ALICE IN WONDERLAND Colleen Atwood
•    BLACK SWAN Amy Westcott
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Jenny Beavan
•    MADE IN DAGENHAM Louise Stjernsward
•    TRUE GRIT Mary Zophres

It’s times like this I wish we had Clothes on Film on hand to talk knowledgeably about the costume design for the five films here. Black Swan’s muted tones gave the film a great look and in total opposition to the legendary Colleen Atwood’s work for Tim Burton’s Alice.

19.31 -The award is dedicated to (amongst other) Noomi Rapace who is in the audience. ‘Hugs to all of you.’ I’m feeling it.

19.28 – It’s Lisbeth Salander’s night – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo conquers the BAFTAs. Is David Fincher remaking this film in 3D? I guess Dr Kermode would know.

19.26 -Mark Kermode takes the stage to introduce the award for Film Not in the English Language

Nominees

•    BIUTIFUL Alejandro González Iñárritu, Jon Kilik, Fernando Bovaira
•    THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO Søren Stærmose, Niels Arden Oplev
•    I AM LOVE Luca Guadagnino, Francesco Melzi D’Eril, Marco Morabito, Massimiliano Violante
•    OF GODS AND MEN Xavier Beauvois
•    THE SECRET IN THEIR EYES Mariela Besuievsky, Juan José Campanella

Of Gods and Men and I Am Love are in with a good chance here, but The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo juggernaut may be making it’s stop at the Royal Opera House tonight. Biutiful has garnered some decent press but Javier Bardem seems to have be the cause of most of that and he’s up for Best Actor here. Time for the gold mask to get handed over…

19.23 – The BAFTA goes to Alice in Wonderland. Cant argue. The clip they played, of course, contained Helena Bonham Carter. Colleen Atwood got a shout out, and she may win her own for Best Costume Design.

19.22 – The awards are coming thick and fast here – Make Up and Hair now.

Nominees

•    ALICE IN WONDERLAND Valli O’Reilly, Paul Gooch
•    BLACK SWAN Judy Chin, Geordie Sheffer
•    HARRY POTTER AND THE DEATHLY HALLOWS PART 1 Amanda Knight, Lisa Tomblin
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Frances Hannon
•    MADE IN DAGENHAM Lizzie Yianni Georgiou

Black Swan has all the show, while The King’s Speech and Made in Dagenham have the period element to get right. Alice in Wonderland’s vibrant oddness may have caught some of the voter’s attention, but I still can’t warm to Johnny Depp’s psychotic ice-cream sellers pallor, but hey Helena Bonham Carter’s barnet was great fun, so let’s see…

19.21 – The award goes to The Social Network.

19.20 – Next award – Editing.

Nominees

•    127 HOURS Jon Harris
•    BLACK SWAN Andrew Weisblum
•    INCEPTION Lee Smith
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Tariq Anwar
•    THE SOCIAL NETWORK Angus Wall, Kirk Baxter

There’s a good chance Andrew Weisblum will take this for Black Swan, I was blown away by the work done on Aronofsky’s film, though Christopher Nolan’s man of choice Lee Smith may be walking away with it, despite some negative reaction from certain knowledgeable UK bloggers… Fun fact – Lee Smith was the Editor on Robocop 2.

19.19 – Inception wins Best Sound. Hmmm. It’s clear the Academy does not agree with me.

19.18 – Best Sound!

Nominees

•    127 HOURS Glenn Freemantle, Ian Tapp, Richard Pryke, Steven C Laneri, Douglas Cameron
•    BLACK SWAN Ken Ishii, Craig Henighan, Dominick Tavella
•    INCEPTION Richard King, Lora Hirschberg, Gary A Rizzo, Ed Novick
•    THE KING’S SPEECH John Midgley, Lee Walpole, Paul Hamblin
•    TRUE GRIT Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff, Peter F Kurland, Douglas Axtell

It may seem that The King’s Speech has a good chance of picking this one up – given that this aspect is of such import in the story, Colin Firth’s glottal impotence is so fascinating. Black Swan’s seductive, tenebrous tones did much to evoke an incredibly ominous atmosphere so that’s my pick. Let’s see if the Academy agrees with me…

19.16 – Best Short Animation goes to Michael Please for The Eagleman Stag. He takes the stage. Says ‘Crikey.’ Love it.

19.15 – Wright and Kondeatis look so chuffed to be there. Good for them.

19.13 – Winner for Best Short Film is Until the River Runs Red – Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis. I was right about that name then.

19.12 -Next two awards are Best Short Film and Best Short Animation.

Short Film

Nominees

•    CONNECT Samuel Abrahams, Beau Gordon
•    LIN Piers Thompson, Simon Hessel
•    RITE Michael Pearce, Ross McKenzie
•    TURNING Karni Arieli, Saul Freed, Alison Sterling, Kat Armour-Brown
•    UNTIL THE RIVER RUNS RED Paul Wright, Poss Kondeatis

Showing a level of ignorance unbecoming to a film website writer I’ve not seen the nominees for this award so I’ll pick a name from the hat and say Until the River Runs Red because of the name. Yeah, I know…

Short Animation

Nominees

•    THE EAGLEMAN STAG Michael Please
•    MATTER FISHER David Prosser
•    THURSDAY Matthias Hoegg

Continuing my epic failure to see the nominees for this category I will say that I love that these categories exist to be shined upon by Bafta’s big spotlight – stars of the future right here. Just wonder if these will make it to the live broadcast, or will the Beeb deem them superfluous?

19.10 – Much deserved award there – Desplat makes a very gracious speech – Colin Firth is the man’s lucky charm.

19.09 – The award goes to – The King’s Speech.

19.07 – First Award is Best Music – Sir Paul McCartney takes the stage.

Best Music

Nominees

•    127 HOURS AR Rahman
•    ALICE IN WONDERLAND Danny Elfman
•    HOW TO TRAIN YOUR DRAGON John Powell
•    INCEPTION Hans Zimmer
•    THE KING’S SPEECH Alexandre Desplat

It’s clear that there’s a lot of love for Hans Zimmer’s imposing score for Inception, though personally I enjoyed AR Rahman’s work with 127 Hours. I interviewed The King’s Speech director Tom Hooper and we spoke about the collaboration between him and Alexandre Despalt and how the composer sought to use the music in conjunction with the silences to really get the most out of Colin Firth’s performance and it worked wonders. John Powell’s How to Train Your Dragon was also lauded so it’s anyone’s guess…

19.05 – Just a few moments of Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World in the opening montage reminds me to watch that film again.

19.02 – Jonathan Ross makes the obligatory ‘give his right arm’ joke for 127 Hours. Class act.

18.59 – After the Orange Gulliver’s Travels advert a man is breakdancing onstage to The Nutcracker Suite. We’re off!

18.57 – Almost there…

18.51 – Not long now until the ceremony begins. Our man Dave has taken his seat and can see this…

18.23 – Arrivals on the red carpet are slowing and the ceremony is not too far away – keep hitting refresh for all the awards as they happen…

It has been a very strong year for film and British film in particular with debuts from Chris Morris, Gareth Edwards and Banksy offering audiences something exciting and original. The main films in contention are Tom Hooper’s The King’s Speech, David Fincher’s The Social Network and Darren Aronofsky’s sublime psychological thriller Black Swan, but there are many more films looking to be honoured tonight.

Will this be the year for The King’s Speech, with Colin Firth, Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush all being nominated for the acting awards, with Tom Hooper up for Best Director, or will Danny Boyle’s 127 Hours repeat the success of Slumdog Millionaire for the director?

We’re currently at the BAFTA awards in London and while we’re waiting for the red carpet to busy itself with nominees and the flashstorm of the paparazzi I wanted to show you these lovely works of art which are part of the BAFTA brochure for this year’s ceremony.

The five Best Film nominees are all given this amazing treatment with The King’s Speech piece standing out particularly. I can’t find out who designed these, though I’ll endeavour to update the post when the awards are over but for now here are the five pictures which set the tone for the night perfectly. You can check out the whole brochure here.

I’ll be updating live from the awards tonight so look out for the post when it goes up and keep your finger on the refresh button to learn all the news as it happens.

In the meantime, images are below so get clicking…

Last night HeyUGuys had the pleasure of attending the 31^st London Critics’ Circle Film Awards.  Hosted at the BFI Southbank, it was a great evening, featuring talented names aplenty all supping from complimentary miniature bottles of Moët served up classily with bendy straws.

It might not have the same profile as this weekend’s BAFTA ceremony, but with its awards voted for by more than 120 members of the London Circle – including critics, broadcasters and writers – it’s certainly not an event to be ignored. And with this article, accompanied by our own personal photographs from the occasion (click any image to enlarge), you can feel like you were there.

First to arrive on the red carpet were Lesley Manville, who would pick up British Actress of the Year for her performance in Mike Leigh’s Another Year, and actor Thomas Turgoose, nominated for Young British Performer of the Year for his part in The Scouting Book For Boys. Though it turned out that Turgoose was to miss out on this occasion (the award going to Conor McCarron for his role in NEDs), he was more than happy to discuss his upcoming work with us.

Known for his collaborations with director Shane Meadows, we inquired as to whether Thomas had any news on the latest This Is England sequel, this time set in 1988. “It’s like a Christmas special,” the actor revealed, giving a nice hint at when we can expect to see it on air, “But I’m not allowed to say what happens in it! Literally only about seven people have the script at the moment, but I think you can expect some surprises. In fact, you should definitely expect some pretty major surprises. It’s going to do well, I think.” What a tease!

But with all Turgoose’s projects to date being set in familiar English territory, would the actor ever consider the move across the pond? “No, definitely not. Well, to be fair, I guess I’d consider it if it was a good offer, but I still live in Grimsby at the moment – I’ve never been to America. I won an award at Tribeca once, Robert De Niro’s festival, but I had to do my maths exam!”

Shortly after Thomas left us, a wave of excitement rippled through the autograph hunters on the other side of the carpet. “Danny!”, the shouts came, “Danny who?”, we wondered, flicking through our list of attendees. Turning around, it soon became apparent than one certain Mr Danny Boyle (nominated for British Director of the Year for 127 Hours) had apparently sneaked into the ceremony unannounced, using a back entrance and avoiding the pomp of the red carpet. Dressed casually in jeans and a zip-up jumper, he posed for some publicity shots with a bottle of Moët before making his way back inside.

Next to come our way was Gareth Unwin, co-producer of The King’s Speech.  Speaking about the film, he had nothing but praise for how his colleagues approached the screenplay. “We always knew the script had humour,” Unwin explained, “but it wasn’t until Colin and Geoffrey started vibing off each other on set that we realised we had this kind of comedy bromance in the making.  If you watch the film, I think there’s this wonderful ebb and flow between high drama and real humour, which Tom Hooper manages wonderfully.”

The film’s screenwriter David Seidler followed soon after and expressed how grateful he’d been to hear about those audience’s that burst into spontaneous applause at the end of their screenings. “When it started happening in America, at the film festivals, I was really blown away by it,” he shared. “And when we were at Toronto and two thousand people stood as one and applauded, I completely lost it. I disgraced myself – tears rolling down my face – and then they put a spotlight on me!” Clearly overwhelmed by the sheer amount of praise the film has been drawing, Seidler added; “I keep on looking over my shoulder waiting to see the guy who really wrote it! I’m waiting for the alarm clock to go off and to realise that it’s all been a dream.”

When asked about the current situation regarding the film’s American certificate battle, the writer responded that “the film would have to be re-cut anyway eventually for aeroplane use and for television, so that was always going to happen.” Speaking honestly, Seidler added that he thought that “the possible error of judgement was to talk about it before the Oscars, amongst the general public. Harvey Weinstein’s a very bright man, he loves film and he’s a great marketer, but I think announcing it this early was not one of his best ideas.”

With Colin Firth being whisked past before we got a chance to lunge in with any questions about the upcoming Gambit remake, the only thing we did manage to overhear at this point was the Sunday Mirror attempting to grab an exclusive scoop of Colin’s favourite party trick. “I don’t have any party tricks, I’m afraid. I’ll have to get back to you on that one!” Drat. Though after winning his award, the star did later reveal to the News of the World that he’d been having a little jam on his guitar just the day before. Asked whether he’d ever like to set up his own band, Firth grinned as he replied; “Who says I haven’t?” King George VI rocking a six string? You heard it here first! And there’ll be more from Mr Firth later on.

Incidentally, Mrs Firth – better known as Livia Giuggioli – dazzled many of the press with an eye-cathing Henrietta Ludgate structured dress and multicoloured heels. For pictures, see the gallery at the end of this article.

With Aaron Sorkin also slipping through our fingers on the red carpet (don’t worry, we got a hold of him later on), it was time to head inside to the Winner’s Room, where we were visited by the successful gong collectors after they had received their awards.

Among the first to join us was Olivia Williams, picking up the award for British Actress in a Supporting Role for her performance in The Ghost. Williams had no trouble relating what had first drawn her to the project. “Well, there’s the obvious attraction of being married to Pierce Brosnan and shagging Ewan McGregor,” the actress quipped, much to the delighted agreement of the female attendees, “but there’s also the attraction of getting to work with the greatest living auteur, possibly the greatest ever auteur, Roman Polanski. I’m still looking for the down side.”

Sharing her experience of Polanski’s directorial style, Williams suggested that the director was frank, but fair. “He tells you what he wants you to do and if you don’t do it right then you go back and do it again. But he’s always right, so if you don’t do what he tells you, you’re a fool. He’s the master of suspense and it was an honour to work with him.”

Speaking to us after receiving her award for British Actress of the Year for her part in Mike Leigh’s Another Year, Lesley Manville paid tribute to to the other actresses in the film, including Ruth Sheen who she was nominated against. ”There have been some great parts for women this year,” Manville told us, “and especially women over 40, which I think is a good move.”

Relating her fondness for Leigh, whom the actress has worked with on six occasions, Manville said; “he’s great director. The work you do with him so collaborative. You really do get asked to work with him and create the characters from scratch. With Another Year, I think he’s made a great film about the human condition and how difficult it is for all of us to try and form those relationships that can last throughout a lifetime.”

Next came the return of the man of the moment, Colin Firth, fresh from receiving his prize for Actor of the Year.  It is the second year in a row that Firth has won the award having won last year for his role in A Single Man. Speaking in a similar vein to screenwriter David Seidler, Firth suggested the response to the film had been humbling, explaining that “to hear that people are actually standing up or clapping or expressing a personal response is probably as good as it gets.”

Going on to praise the validity not only of the Critics’ Circle, but every audience, Firth commented that “films like this depend entirely on what people say about them. They don’t depend on the money because there wasn’t much, they don’t depend on a big studio machine or a big financial apparatus.” Asked about reports that the Queen has both watched and enjoyed the film, he said that “it means a very great deal to me if that is the case.”

But despite the success of The King’s Speech, it was The Social Network that came out on top, winning Film of the Year. Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin was on hand to claim all four of the film’s awards – including his own for Screenwriter of the Year. “Andrew [Garfield] won tonight, David Fincher won tonight,” Sorkin summarised, “but of course the one we’re most proud of is the one we all won together.”

The key to the film’s success, Sorkin suggested, is the number of ways it can be interpreted. “I think if you line up ten people and ask them what they just saw after seeing The Social Network, you’re going to get ten different answers,” he said, “One of those answers is going to be that old media was sticking it to new media. Now, that certainly wasn’t my intention, but I don’t think it’s any less valid to take away than any of the other nine.”

When we asked him if he ever felt weary during the writing process as to how audience’s would take to a project about the founding of Facebook, Sorkin gave us an insight into his process. “I try to write what I like, what my friends would like and what I think my father would like. After that you keep your fingers crossed,” he explained. “I think if you try to write for what you think everybody’s going to like, that’s a good recipe for a bad movie.” Not wishing to take all the credit, however, Sorkin suggested that there were still “about a hundred different ways to make this movie badly. David [Fincher] managed to avoid every cliché.”

But before Mr Sorkin left, we seized the opportunity to try and wangle any exclusive news we could about his upcoming HBO series, which is set to portray the goings on of a cable news network.  ”It’s coming along well,” he shared, “I’ve written the pilot and we’re at the beginning of casting now.” The title? “More As The Story Develops.” And until we find out more, it seems very apt.

So, there you have it – the London Critics’ Circle Film Awards – done and dusted for another year! Click here to read a full list of the night’s nominees/winners and please feel free to look at the remainder of the night’s photos in the gallery below, including appearances by Will Poulter, Dexter Fletcher and winner of the Outstanding Contribution to Film award, Kristin Scott Thomas.

See you next year!

Tonight saw the fall of the 31st Critics’ Circle Film Awards, which was held for the first time at London’s BFI Southbank. Our full report will be online later today with all the red carpet gossip and winner’s reactions. Want to see Danny Boyle advertising Moët, hear about Aaron Sorkin’s upcoming HBO series, or find out whether Colin Firth has a favourite party trick? Then don’t miss out!

To whet your appetite in the meantime, though, we can now give you a full list of all the night’s winners. It was The Social Network and The King’s Speech which came out on top, grabbing four and three awards respectively, with Another Year, NEDs and Monsters also scooping rewards for their British talents.

The list below shows winners in red whilst blue text indicates the “Runners Up” as ruled by the critics board, so you can know who came close.

BREAKTHROUGH BRITISH FILM-MAKER

• Banksy- Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Clio Barnard – The Arbor **Runner Up**
• J Blakeson – The Disappearance of Alice Creed
• Gareth Edwards – Monsters **Winner**
• Chris Morris – Four Lions

YOUNG BRITISH PERFORMER OF THE YEAR

• Jessica Barden – Tamara Drewe **Runner Up**
• Conor McCarron – NEDs **Winner**
• Will Poulter – The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader
• Saoirse Ronan – The Way Back
• Thomas Turgoose – The Scouting Book For Boys

BRITISH ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• Helena Bonham Carter – Alice in Wonderland
• Christine Bottomley – The Arbor
• Minnie Driver – Barney’s Version
• Rosamund Pike – Made in Dagenham **Runner Up**
• Olivia Williams – The Ghost **Winner**

BRITISH ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

• David Bradley – Another Year **Runner Up**
• Pierce Brosnan – The Ghost
• Andrew Garfield – The Social Network **Winner**
• Tom Hardy – Inception
• Peter Wight – Another Year

BRITISH ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

• Helena Bonham Carter – The King’s Speech
• Lesley Manville – Another Year **Winner**
• Rosamund Pike – Barney’s Version
• Ruth Sheen – Another Year
• Tilda Swinton – I Am Love **Runner Up**

BRITISH ACTOR OF THE YEAR

• Riz Ahmed – Four Lions
• Christian Bale – The Fighter **Winner**
• Jim Broadbent – Another Year **Runner Up**
• Colin Firth – The King’s Speech
• Andrew Garfield – Never Let Me Go

ACTRESS OF THE YEAR

• Annette Bening – The Kids Are All Right **Winner**
• Jennifer Lawrence – Winter’s Bone
• Natalie Portman – Black Swan **Runner Up**
• Noomi Rapace – The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
• Hailee Steinfeld – True Grit

ACTOR OF THE YEAR

• Jeff Bridges – True Grit
• Jesse Eisenberg – The Social Network
• Colin Firth – The King’s Speech **Winner**
• Ryan Gosling – Blue Valentine
• Edgar Ramirez – Carlos **Runner Up**

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM OF THE YEAR

• Dogtooth
• I Am Love **Runner Up**
• Of Gods and Men **Winner**
• The Secret in Their Eyes
• Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

SCREENWRITER OF THE YEAR

• Lisa Cholodenko & Stuart Blumberg – The Kids Are All Right
• Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – True Grit
• Chris Morris, Sam Bain, Simon Blackwell & Jesse Armstrong – Four Lions
• David Seidler – The King’s Speech **Runner Up**
• Aaron Sorkin – The Social Network **Winner**

BRITISH DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Clio Barnard – The Arbor
• Danny Boyle – 127 Hours
• Tom Hooper – The King’s Speech **Winner**
• Mike Leigh – Another Year **Runner Up**
• Christopher Nolan – Inception

DIRECTOR OF THE YEAR

• Darren Aronofsky – Black Swan **Runner Up*
• Joel Coen & Ethan Coen – True Grit
• David Fincher – The Social Network **Winner**
• Christopher Nolan – Inception
• Apichatpong Weerasethakul – Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives

BRITISH FILM OF THE YEAR (THE ATTENBOROUGH AWARD)

• 127 Hours
• The Arbor
• Another Year **Runner Up**
• The King’s Speech **Winner**
• Monsters

FILM OF THE YEAR

• Black Swan
• The Kids Are All Right
• The King’s Speech **Runner Up**
• The Social Network **Winner**
• Toy Story 3

And finally, the Critics’ Circle named their TOP 10 FILMS OF 2010 as follows:

1. The Social Network
2. The King’s Speech
3. Black Swan
4. Toy Story 3
5. The Kids Are All Right
6. Another Year
7. True Grit
8. Inception
9. I Am Love
10. Winter’s Bone

And that just about wraps it up for the night’s accolades. Let us know what you think of the winners and don’t forget to check back later on for our full report of the evening’s event, complete with pictures and words from the guests themselves.

The King’s Speech is in cinemas nationwide and to celebrate this we’re giving you the chance to win a King’s Speech Notebook, Tote bag, Mug and a bookmark. We’ve been given three sets to give away so scroll down for more info.

THE KING’S SPEECH is based on the true story of Queen Elizabeth II’s father and his remarkable friendship with maverick speech therapist Lionel Logue.   Fascinating, moving and often humorous it charts the personal relationship that developed between England’s reluctant King George VI, plagued by a nervous stammer, and his irreverent Australian speech therapist.

As the second son of George V, Prince Albert “Bertie” was not expected to ascend to the throne, but when his brother Edward abdicates to marry American Wallis Simpson, Bertie, as his successor, is crowned King George VI.

George becomes King as radio is taking off as a mass medium and the Second World War looms.  Thrust into the international spotlight he must speak not only to the nation but to the people of the British Empire, across the world.  His wife, Queen Elizabeth – the future Queen Mother – is tireless in her belief in him.  Having tried all the traditional doctors she engages unorthodox outsider, Logue, to help him find a voice that can inspire a nation on the brink of war.

BAFTA winner Colin Firth (A Single Man, Mamma Mia!) stars as Prince Albert, alongside his Shakespeare in Love colleague, Oscar® winner Geoffrey Rush (Pirates of the Caribbean, Shine), as speech therapist Lionel Logue. The multi-award-winning cast includes Helena Bonham Carter (Harry Potter, Sweeney Todd) as Queen Elizabeth (later the Queen Mother), with Guy Pearce (The Hurt Locker) as the abdicating King Edward VIII, Derek Jacobi (Gosford Park) as the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Cosmo Lang, Timothy Spall (The Damned United) as Winston Churchill, Jennifer Ehle (Pride and Glory, Pride and Prejudice) as Logue’s wife Myrtle and Michael Gambon (Harry Potter) as King George V.

To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, all you have to do is answer the following question using the form below:

Who directed the movie, The King’s Speech?

The small print:

• Open to UK residents only
• Only one entry per household will be counted
• The competition will close 15th February 23.59 GMT
• The winner will be picked at random from entries received

The usual T&Cs can be found here. Good Luck!

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED

The Weinstein Company have a forth instalment of their enormously popular horror franchise Scream on the way, so why not return to the spoof spin-off that has made them a another bucketload of cash too!

For those out there who already bemoan the lack of originality in Tinseltown, and are less than excited at the prospect of Scream 4 heading to the multiplexes soon, an announcement has cropped up on Facebook (and reported by ComingSoon) that the brothers Weinstein are planning a Scary Movie 5.

Oh geez! That series of films may have made a very healthy profit for the company in the past (a whooping $800 million worldwide in fact), but this really does smack of creative bankruptcy. Even Scream 4 feels like a completely unnecessary venture, so the idea of returning to its half-assed parody once again is just depressing.

Hasn’t the success of their big Oscar hope The King’s Speech been enough of a tell-tale sign that there is a big audience out there who are hungry for original, quality product?

What are your thoughts on this potential fifth outing? Is it time to put both franchises to sleep for good?

The King’s Speech is currently the toast of Hollywood. Director Tom Hooper has just won the Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Feature Film at the 63rd annual Director Guild of America Awards, and the film, so far, has grossed $72.2m domestically.

If it sweeps the boards at this year’s Oscars, it’s already impressive box office will undoubtedly lift the film past the magic $100m mark, although it looks like the The Weinstein Co have a plan to reach that amount sooner than that.

Harvey Weinstein wants to create a PG-13 version for a younger audience who are currently limited from seeing the film due to the numerous uses of the f-word. The R (Restricted) rating it has currently been awarded requires that under 17’s need to be accompanied by a parent or adult guardian. Weinstein gained a level of notoriety in the past with his insistence in cutting some of the films he acquired (earning him the famous nickname Harvey Scissorhands) but this is the first time he’s expressed interest in doing it, post release.

It does appear that Weinstein will only go ahead if he gets the director’s blessing, but Hooper’s own thoughts on this odd, rather contradictory rating system, would suggest he may not concede:

“The word ‘fuck’ being used in a very humorous therapeutic context — to help a man with a stammer unblock a problem — is considered a threat. Casino Royale, with Daniel Craig having his balls smashed in, tied to that chair with no bottom, doesn’t get an ‘R’. Our (America’s) film censorship is quite bizarre. Violence is acceptable while language is not, no matter the context.”

News via Deadline