'King's Speech' Wins Best Picture

"The King's Speech" reigned supreme at the 83rd Annual Academy Awards Sunday night, winning four Oscars, including for best picture, best director and best actor.

Directed by Tom Hooper, the British historical drama stars actor Colin Firth as King George VI and Geoffrey Rush as his unconventional speech therapist Lionel Logue. Heading into Sunday's ceremony, "The King's Speech" led the competition with 12 nominations.

Hooper won for best director, and Firth for best actor. "I have a feeling my career has just peaked," Firth said, upon receiving the award

Best original screenplay went to "The King's Speech," written by David Seidler, who spent many years trying to write the screenplay. He could not begin work in earnest until after the death of the Queen Mother in 2002, when he received access to the notebooks of speech therapist Lionel Logue, detailing his treatment of the king.

The ceremony featured few surprise wins, with front runners taking nearly all the major prize categories.

According to a story by Ethan Smith and Michelle Kung at wsj.com,  the telecast was positioned to determine not only if predictions held that "The King's Speech" would be named best picture, but also if the show's producers and backers could successfully court a new generation of viewers.

The Academy enlisted a pair of attractive young actors, James Franco and Anne Hathaway, to host the ceremony.

Read more here.

List of the 83rd Annual Academy Award winners announced Sunday:

• Best Picture: "The King's Speech"
• Actor: Colin Firth, "The King's Speech"
• Actress: Natalie Portman, "Black Swan"
• Supporting Actor: Christian Bale, "The Fighter"
• Supporting Actress: Melissa Leo, "The Fighter"
• Directing: Tom Hooper, "The King's Speech"
• Foreign Language Film: "In a Better World," Denmark
• Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin, "The Social Network"
• Original Screenplay: David Seidler, "The King's Speech"
• Animated Feature Film: "Toy Story 3"
• Art Direction: "Alice in Wonderland"
• Cinematography: "Inception"
• Sound Mixing: "Inception"
• Sound Editing: "Inception"
• Original Score: "The Social Network," Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross
• Original Song: "We Belong Together" from "Toy Story 3," Randy Newman
• Costume Design: "Alice in Wonderland"
• Documentary Feature: "Inside Job"
• Documentary (short subject): "Strangers No More"
• Film Editing: "The Social Network"
• Makeup: "The Wolfman"
• Animated Short Film: "The Lost Thing"
• Live Action Short Film: "God of Love"
• Visual Effects: "Inception"

Must Read:

David Hinckley, New York Daily News: 

Oscars 2011: Anne Hathaway, James Franco fulfill hosting duties, but youthful spark fails to excite.