Steve Pond writes up the Academy screening of The King Speech:
“The audience loved the film … It played as well as anything I have seen this year,” reported one Academy member who attended the screening at the 1,000-seat Samuel Goldwyn theater, which the member estimated was 85 percent full.
Another person in attendance said that the credits brought “lots of applause” for director Hooper and stars Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Guy Pearce and others, plus “solid applause for the writer, cinematographer, costumes, all down the line.” And when the full cast scroll appeared onscreen, a second round of applause started up.
The turnout appears to be about the same as the attendance for “The Social Network,” which also drew a strong reaction when it screened at the Goldwyn in early October. Members who attended that screening told me that the film was very well received, albeit with some disclaimers that the characters weren’t likeable enough for the film to win.
One Academy member at Saturday’s screening added that “The King’s Speech” had a built-in appeal to what is sometimes seen as a key voting block within AMPAS: “Of course it will get all the English vote.”
I remember stating quite emphatically that the year would NOT turn out to be The King’s Speech vs. The Social Network, but this match seems to be playing out nonetheless. There is still a long way to go and I have always believed that the Best Picture race is not won on screenings but on screenERS. Both films will play well on screener-tv, though some others might not. Black Swan and Inception are both big screen movies. I might add 127 Hours. Toy Story 3, The Kids Are All Right, Winter’s Bone, Get Low should all do well on screener.
Look, I actually got this post up before one of you smart readers added it to our buzz wall.