The
Oscar race turned into a wild scramble on Tuesday, as “The King’s Speech” took the biggest number of
nominations, “True Grit” surged into second position, and “The Social Network,” which had seemed a front-runner, was matched by “Inception,” followed closely by “The Fighter,” in gathering
nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards. “The King’s Speech,” about friendship and speech therapy, garnered 12 nods, including best picture, best director (for Tom Hooper) and best actor (for Colin Firth as a stammering King George VI). The film had just won top honors from the Producers Guild of America over the weekend, and emerged as the leader in an unusually competitive pack of contenders for the best picture
Oscar.In the morning’s biggest surprise, “True Grit,” a western remake from the filmmakers Joel and Ethan Coen, followed with 10
nominations, including best picture, best director for the Coens, and a best actor nomination for Jeff Bridges, who won the acting award last year for “Crazy Heart.”
“True Grit” has been an audience favorite since its release in late December but had barely registered in the panoply of pre-
Oscar awards and was recognized not at all at the Golden Globes last week.
By contrast, “The Social Network,” an unauthorized look at the Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg, dominated the early awards, but slipped somewhat in the
Oscar nominations. It secured eight of those on Tuesday, including best picture. David Fincher was nominated for his directing, Aaron Sorkin for the script and Jesse Eisenberg for starring as Mr. Zuckerberg.
“Inception,” a twisted tale of layered dreams, similarly had eight
nominations, including best picture, but did not win a best director nomination for Christopher Nolan. The seven
nominations for “The Fighter,” a boxing drama, included best picture, best director for David O. Russell and a best supporting actor nod for Christian Bale, but did not include a best actor nomination for Mark Wahlberg
In a twist that will require some tap-dancing on
Oscar night, Feb. 27, one of the ceremony’s hosts, James Franco, was nominated as best actor for his work in “127 Hours,” based on the true story of a trapped outdoorsman who must sever his own arm to escape. The movie was also nominated for best picture. Mr. Franco’s co-host for the evening is Anne Hathaway, another young star, who was featured in “Love and Other Drugs” — a contender that was shut out on Tuesday.
“One of the reasons I agreed to host was to take my mind off the
nominations — I have a reason to show up and not think about winning anything,” said Mr. Franco by telephone from Yale University, where he recently began a doctoral program in English. “At the moment,” he added with a laugh, “I’m really just worried about making sure I’m on time for class.”