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Arts & Entertainment

'The King's Speech,' from the Hamptons to the Oscars

Best Picture winner had its East Coast premiere at the Hamptons International Film Festival.

Just a few months before director Tom Hooper and screenwriter David Seidel stood on the Oscar stage Sunday to accept Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Screenplay, they stood together at the four-screen movie theater in Southampton Village for the East Coast premiere of their film, “The King’s Speech.”

“The King’s Speech,” which won Best Picture on Sunday, kicked off Southampton screenings at the 2010 Hamptons International Film Festival.

Standing before a packed house in the movie theater, Hooper had said he hoped the film would be a contender for the Oscars, but at that time “The Social Network” was all the rage.

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Hooper and Seidler said they wanted to convey the untold story of King George VI and his severe stuttering problem. They said the English people tried to keep it a secret out of embarrassment, but word got out about his speech therapist, Lionel Logue, played in the movie by actor Geoffrey Rush.

Of working with actor Colin Firth, who won the Oscar for his brilliant portrayal of George VI, Hooper said, “Colin’s so much fun and he talks a lot, so it’s a great irony that he plays a man who can’t speak.”

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At the movie’s premiere, Hooper also explained that the English people “are not that accepting of therapy,” so the King’s story was kept a secret.

“In the making of this movie, we dug up archival footage and diaries, and when we first saw the footage of King George stuttering, it brought me to tears, seeing the pain in his eyes, which made us want to do this film and tell his story,” Hooper said.

Seidler joined Hooper at a private after-party for about 50 people at following the Southampton premiere.

Seidler, of Santa Monica, Calif., who joked about being “the oldest person to receive an Oscar” during Sunday night’s awards ceremony, talked about how this project took him years to complete. It also had personal meaning to him.

Seidler admitted that he, too, had grown up stuttering, in his native England and later Great Neck, Long Island, and it was King George VI who inspired him to overcome his obstacle.

“Growing up in London, I listened to him stammering on the radio, and I thought if the king could overcome it, there’s hope for me,” Seidler said. He told of how he wanted to write this movie for 30 years, but when he contacted the royal palace for his research, the Queen Mother said he could only use the diaries kept by Logue, but not in her lifetime.”

“It was painful for her, and she didn’t want to deal with it,” he said. “So I had to wait till after her death to see Lionel Logue’s diaries. Then I wrote the script, using direct quotes from his diaries. It was very exciting.”

He wrote the movie based on actual facts, as accurately as he could piece them together. It was a healing process for Seidler, and he eventually overcame his own stuttering problem.

Also attending the party after the “King’s Speech” in Southampton was Harvey Weinstein, the film’s executive producer.

Attendee Hannah Pakula, the widow of the late director Alan Pakula of East Hampton, said she loved the film. The after-party was hosted by Ann Barish of East Hampton, who is on the Hamptons International Film Festival Board of Directors.

As he left the Southampton theater following “The King’s Speech,” James Lipton, host of “Inside the Actor’s Studio,” predicted it was going to be a contender for the Oscars.

“This is the best film I’ve seen in years,” said Lipton, a Sag Harbor resident who knows more than a thing or two about movies.

“The King’s Speech” was also screened at the London Film Festival in October. It has a limited U.S. release on November 24 and nationwide a month later. Seidler said there were also plans to take it to the Broadway stage.

United Artists Southampton is screening “The King’s Speech” this week through Thursday. Showtimes are 4 and 7 p.m.

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