It was a huge night for British cinema, as The King’s Speech racked up a whopping seven British Academy Film Awards, including Best Film.
Colin Firth walked away with the Best Actor nod for his role as the stammering King George VI, while his co-stars Helena Bonham Carter and Geoffrey Rush both took home Supporting acting awards.
Gracious in victory, Firth joked simply that “[he] likes it here”, before going on to reiterate that without the amazing script, and brilliant direction from Tom Hooper, his performance would have been nothing.
On the night it was clear that there really was only one film which was ever going to win big – with even host Johnathan Ross joking that the nominees for each award would be announced, and then the appropriate member of the King’s Speech production team would come to the stage.
Christopher Lee picked up the Fellowship award, as he received a huge standing ovation from the audience, leaving him on the verge of tears .
Elsewhere, David Fincher and Aaron Sorkin won awards for The Social Network – for Director and Best Original Screenplay respectively.
For succeeding in making the highest grossing franchise in cinematic history, the Harry Potter series was awarded an award for Outstanding Contribution to British Cinema, as author J.K Rowling commented simply that she had “made the right choice” allowing producer David Heyman to bring her books to the big screen.
On a night where the biggest and best of British won everything that matters, one has to wonder if a repeat performance will be on the cards come Oscar night. Until then: Long live the King.
James Gordon
Tags: aaron sorkin, bafta, christopher lee, colin firth, david fincher, geoffrey rush, helena bonham carter, king george VI, the kings speech, the social network
