Oscar Hopes: Firth Enjoys Awards 'Buzz'

12:56am UK, Sunday December 26, 2010

Lucy Cotter, entertainment correspondent

Colin Firth is gearing up for the awards season with his new film The King's Speech and is keeping his fingers crossed for the Oscars this year.

The film is about George VI's battle with his stammer

The actor who was nominated for his role in A Single Man last year lost out to Jeff Bridges who won the Best Actor gong for a Crazy Heart.

However, Colin's in a seriously strong position this year starring as King George VI in Tom Hooper's film, The King's Speech.

The film has already won awards at the Toronto film festival and the Independent film awards as well as topping the Golden Globe list which is historically seen as a precursor to the Oscars.

"Keep your fingers crossed, we need to get some nominations first. It could all end here but (at the moment) I'm enjoying the buzz."

The film is the story of King George VI's battle with his stammer and his relationship with his speech therapist Lionel Logue, played by Geoffrey Rush.

To discover all this stuff was like finding the dead sea scrolls. No-one had ever seen (this material), no member of the Royal family, no-one and we were able to weave some of the words into the script.

Colin Firth, on notes from the King's voice coach

The backdrop to the story is the abdication of Edward VIII and Wallis Simpson and the outbreak of World War II.

Colin says the two actors got on famously and he felt the film had something special from the beginning.

"It just had tremendous life to it and Geoffrey made me laugh a lot as did Helena (Bonham Carter) it had something that had all kinds of ways of delighting people."

Filming was made easier when Lionel Logue's grandson was found and presented his grandfather's diaries which had unseen information about his unique and intimate relationship with the King.

"To discover all this stuff was like finding the dead sea scrolls. No-one had ever seen (this material), no member of the Royal family, no-one and we were able to weave some of the words into the script."

Co-star Helena Bonham Carter plays the Queen Mother

David Seidler wanted to write the script for the film many years ago but there was a delay.

"David wrote to the Queen mother to ask for her blessing. He'd struggled with a stammer as a child, so this was a very personal story for him.

"He'd listened to the broadcasts of King George V1 and they'd inspired him like a lot of people with a stammer.

"The Queen Mother said: 'Please don't (write it) in my lifetime - it's all too painful'. I don't think he expected her to live till she was 186 but he respected her wishes. He wrote the piece when he was in his seventies. And if you talk about luck - if he'd done it any sooner I'd have been too young to play the role."

The King's Speech is out ON January 7.