The King's Speech

2011 marked another year when a truth-based film won top honors.  The King's Speech, in competition with Inception, Black Swan, True Grit, and the reality-based The Social Network, among others, chronicled George VI's personal ordeal with stuttering.   In previous years, the Academy has often chosen factual sagas over imagined ones as Best Picture, including Braveheart, Amadeus, Schindler's List, and Patton. sometimes against the percentages.   Gandhi won over E.T.,  A Beautiful Mind bested Lord of the Rings,  Chariots of Fire topped Raiders of the Lost Ark, and  Avatar lost to The Hurt Locker (based on real events).

What may have helped the film win four major awards, including Best Original Screenplay was screenwriter David Seidler's own admonition of being a stutterer. He lived in fear, unable to speak clearly in class, talk with girls, or answer the phone.  (hear an audio interview with Seidler can be heard here).
"I had huge trouble with the 'H' sound, so when the telephone rang, I would break into a cold sweat, because I couldn't say hello," Seidler, 73, said in an interview. He remembers hearing the King valiantly struggle through his famous speeches,  and wishing one day he might overcome his own impediment.

In addition, Best Director winner Tom Hooper and Best Actor winner Colin Firth watched hours of newsreel footage to mold the King George character.  The pair admit to being deeply moved by watching George's 1938 speech, where he clearly can be seen in personal torment addressing the crowd.

As to those bizarre cures and treatments depicted in The King's Speech? Many were true to the era, including rolling around on carpets, sing-song voice exercises, and blasting loud music in headphones (making noise stimulates auditory processing).  In showing a stutterer's delivery, however, the filmmakers chose to bend the truth. According to vocal experts, movie goers probably wouldn't sit still watching a serious stutter victim in real time, since they can be excruciatingly inaudible and get stuck on single words for long periods of time. In other words, showing an acutal stuttering victim in real time could have doubled the length of the film!

It's also worth noting that Winston Churchill and other notable royalty figures of the time were stutter victims.  In fact, Churchill feared his troubled speech would seriously derail his political career.

Another indication as to why The King's Speech garnered both personal and critical acclaim? Audiences love movies about British Royalty.  From Henry the VIII to Elizabeth I to Richard the III, studios have found success mining the history of kings and queens.

Other notable films on British Royalty:

The Queen
The Madness of King George
Henry V (1989)
The Young Victoria
Anne of the Thousand Days
Elizabeth (1998)
Lady Jane
Richard III
A Man for All Seasons