'The King's Speech' named fan favorite at festival

[September 20, 2010]  TORONTO (AP) -- "The King's Speech" was crowned the fan favorite at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, a possible precursor to an Academy Award nomination.

The British/Australian film is a critically acclaimed portrait of a stammering monarch preparing for war. It stars Colin Firth as King George VI, Geoffrey Rush as his Australian speech therapist and Helena Bonham Carter as the Queen Mother.

It won the Cadillac People's Choice Award as the most popular film. The festival itself doesn't give out awards, but there are a few awards from sponsor companies.

The film festival's director, Piers Handling, predicted Oscar nominations for the three leads and a possible best picture slot for Tom Hooper's film, noting it garnered steady attention throughout the 11-day movie festival that ended Sunday.

"So many people were talking about that film during the festival," said Handling, noting that previous audience-pleasers including "Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire" and "Slumdog Millionaire" went on to multiple Academy Award nominations.

The Toronto International Film Festival is a prime launching place for big Hollywood movies and Academy Awards contenders. Unlike such festivals as Cannes, Venice and Sundance, Toronto is a noncompetitive event where filmmakers are not up against one another for prizes.

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Online:

Toronto International Film Festival: http://tiff.net/

[Associated Press]

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