Kings Speech 200/1 to win 12 Academy Awards

British movie The King’s Speech leads the way with 12 Oscar nominations and Boylesports.com is offering 200/1 that the Tom Hooper directed blockbuster comes away with a clean sweep of awards.

Twelve Oscar wins would see the film break the record of eleven awards in a year, currently held by 1959 film Ben-Hur, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King and the mega-money hit, Titanic.

The film is 2/1 to win the Best Picture award whilst Colin Firth, who received glowing reviews for his role in the film, is considered a near certainty to win Best Actor at 1/20.

Hooper is at 8/1 to win the Best Director award, with Geoffrey Rush at 11/2 to win Best Supporting Actor and Helena Bonham Carter at 9/2 to win Best Supporting Actress.

A five-award combination of Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress for The King’s Speech is available at 100/1, with a clean sweep of 12 Academy Awards at 200/1.

But despite the nominations, Boylesports.com is betting on some strong competition for the film from The Social Network, which is the 1/4 odds-on favourite to win the Best Picture award and the man behind the film, David Fincher, is 1/14 to pick up the award for Best Director.

“The King’s Speech has taken the early headlines with 12 nominations but we think that the record is a massive ask,” said Boylesports.com Public Relations Executive, Nicola McGeady.

“With some stiff competition from the likes of The Social Network, The Fighter and Black Swan, those sought-after golden statuettes could be spread out amongst quite a few films this year.”

‘The King’s Speech’ Specials:

Best Picture: 2/1
Best Actor: 1/20
Best Director: 8/1
Best Supporting Actor: 11/2
Best Supporting Actress: 9/2
To win all five: 100/1
To win 12 Oscars: 200/1

Battlestar Galactica Online combat game to launch exclusively on Syfy.com for a 30-day period

Bigpoint (www.bigpoint.com) – the global market leader in browser-based massively multiplayer online games (MMOGs) – today released the first official gameplay trailer for the upcoming tactical space combat MMOG Battlestar Galactica Online (http://battlestar-galactica.bigpoint.com/), one of the most ambitious browser-games ever developed. The trailer (ftp://ftp-anonymous-pub.bigpoint.net/Battlestar%20Galactica%20Online/) showcases the game’s stunning graphics and fast-paced action, and features Bear McCreary’s original score from the series.

Featuring never-before-seen in-game footage of Battlestar Galactica, Cylon Basestars, Raiders, Vipers, and fleet formations, the gameplay trailer highlights space combat. Built with the Unity development platform, Battlestar Galactica Online aims to set new technical and artistic benchmarks for 3D browser games. When the game launches in the United States, it will be available exclusively on Syfy.com for a 30-day period.

Currently in private beta for select players in Europe and North America, Bigpoint is planning to launch the open beta in Q1. Bigpoint released the game’s cinematic trailer last year. Battlestar Galactica Online is licensed through Universal Partnerships & Licensing on behalf of NBC Universal Television Consumer Products Group.

Battlestar Galactica Online is based on the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award-winning television series “Battlestar Galactica,” which aired for four seasons on Syfy. In the game, humans and Cylons are in a constant struggle to control the universe. A blend of tactical space combat, exploration, and mission-based gameplay will provide a diverse experience. Assets from the television production have been integrated into the game to deliver an authentic experience. With beautiful graphics and innovative gameplay, Battlestar Galactica Onlinewill set a new standard for browser-based MMOGs. The game is being developed by Artplant (http://artplant.no), a Norwegian studio that specializes in MMOGs.

King's Speech Set To Cost Bookies Record Multi-Million Pound Payout!

Colin Firth is 1/20 to win the Best Actor Oscar with William Hill and the King's Speech is 7/4 to win Best Film.

"British punters are showing the bias by piling in on the King's Speech and if it sweeps the boards then we will be taken to the cleaners," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.

William Hill Bet

Best Film Oscar: 1/3 Social Network, 7/4 The King's Speech, 20/1 True Grit, 20/1 The Fighter, 40/1 Black Swann, 40/1 Inception, 40/1 Winter's Bone, 50/1 The Kids Are All Right, 66/1 Toy Story 3, 80/1 127 Hours 

Best Actor Oscar: 1/20 Colin Firth (The King's Speech), 12/1 James Franco (127 Hours), 12/1 Jesse Eisenberg (The Social Network), 25/1 Jeff Bridges (True Grit),  25/1 Javier Bardem (Biutiful)

Best Actress: 1/9 Natalie Portman (Black Swan), 5/1 Annette Benning (The Kids Are All Right), 20/1 Jennifer Lawrence (Winter's Bone), 25/1 Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), 33/1 Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine),

Best Director: 1/16 David Fincher (The Social Network), 8/1 Tom Hooper (The King's Speech), 20/1 Ceon Brothers (True Grit), 20/1 David O Russell (The Fighter), 25/1 Darren Afonofsky (Black Swann)

Best Supporting Actress: 8/15 Melissa Leo (The Fighter), 7/2 Hailee Steinfeld (True Grit), 9/2 Helena Bonham Carter (The King's Speech), 12/1 Amy Adams (The Fighter), 12/1 Jacki Weaver (Animal Kingdom)

Best Supporting Actor: 1/16 Christian Bale (The Fighter), 5/1 Geoffrey Rush (The King's Speech),  33/1 Jeremy Renner (The Town), 40/1 Mark Ruffalo (The Kids Are All Right), 40/1 John Hawkes (Winter's Bone)

Globe Education and the British Film Institute celebrate Sven Gade’s Hamlet

Screening with live music at BFI Southbank, Thursday 27 January

  

Globe Education’s season of events for Spring 2011 opens on Thursday 27 January with a rare screening of a 1920 silent film version ofHamlet directed by Sven Gade. Held in partnership with the BFI (British Film Institute) and supported by the German Embassy, the screening will be the London premiere of a new print of the film, and will feature a live, improvised piano accompaniment.

The film stars Asta Nielsen in the title role as a hero who was born a girl but raised as a boy as part of a dynasty determined to retain the crown in the aftermath of war. Nielsen was one of the greatest stars of the silent era and a role model for Greta Garbo and Marlene Dietrich. Sven Gade’s startling reinvention of the play provides a remarkable exploration of the European psyche in the wake of the First World War.

Describing the film, Patrick Spottiswoode, Director, Globe Education, commented, “Shakespeare without words may seem a contradiction in terms but this London premiere will present one of the finest ever Hamlets on screen - all the more remarkable is that it dates back to 1920 and stars the great actress Asta Nielsen in the title role.”

The film will be played with a live piano accompaniment performed by Neil Brand. A renowned accompanist of silent films, Brand performs regularly at the BFI and has composed the scores for many television, film and theatre productions over the last 25 years.

Commenting on the forthcoming performance, Neil Brand said: “It's always worth remembering that silent film is a time capsule - in this case a glimpse of a theatricality and a cinema stardom which could only be Europe in the 1920s. It is always a privilege to accompany these films, as each time the performance is unique and the audience takes away something different. But when the music prepares the stage for a diva of the quality of Asta Neilsen, the atmosphere in the auditorium becomes electric.”

Describing his preparation for the event, Brand continues, “I've known the film for nearly twenty years and, being aware particularly of the audience's expectations, I will try to make the music walk a very narrow line between the majesty of filmed Shakespeare and the sultry, theatrical Weimar quality of this adaptation and the time it was made.”

The screening is taking place as part of Globe Education’s ‘Shakespeare, Hamlet and Wittenberg’ season, which sees events running throughout the Spring. Other highlights of the programme include a series of lectures in which Professor Ewan Fernie and Dr Adrian Streete will explore the relationship between Shakespeare’s Theatre and the Protestant Reformation. Frank Günther will discuss the art and politics of translating Shakespeare’s plays into German with particular reference to Hamlet. Globe Education’s Read Not Dead series will feature a staged reading of David Davalos’ acclaimed 2008 play Wittenberg which wittily imagines conversations between Luther, Doctor Faustus and Hamlet at the university.

Screening: Sven Gade’s Hamlet (1920)

6.45pm, Thursday 27 January 2011 at BFI Southbank, NFT1

The new print of Sven Gade’s film with live piano accompaniment.

Tickets: BFI Members £7.60 (£5.25 concs); Non-members £9 (£6.65 concs); under 16s £5

Booking: BFI box office 020 7928 3232 (11.30 – 20.30 daily) or www.bfi.org.uk 

Betting on the Razzie Awards

Razzie Awards: You Bet The Last Airbender Is Worst Film 2010 But Will City Girls Get Panning!

 William Hill make the Last Airbender their 6/4 favourite to pick up the dubious honour of worst film of 2010 but it is the Sex In The City quartet who are offered at 1/1 to jointly pick up the worst Actress of the year.

 "There were many different opinions in the office to what was the worst film of 2010 but we had unanimous support for the Sex In The City Girls to pick up worst Actress awards," said Hill's spokesman Rupert Adams.

 William Hill Razzie Awards 2010:

Worst Film: 6/4 The Last Airbender, 2/1 Sex And The City 2, 3/1 Eclipse, 5/1 Bounty Hunter, 10/1 Vampires Suck

Worst Actress: 1/1 The Four Girl (Sex In The City 2), 5/2 Jennifer Aniston (The Bounty Hunter), 7/2 Kristen Stewart (Eclipse), 6/1 Miley Cyrus (The Last Song), 10/1 Megan Fox (Jonah Hex)

Worst Actor: 7/4 Ashton Kutcher (Killers), 2/1 Gerard Butler (The Bounty Hunter), 3/1 Taylor Lautner (Eclipse), 6/1 Robert Pattinson (Eclipse), 10/1 Jack Black (Gulliver's Travels)

Shop assistants in need of assistance

 Staff in some of the UK’s biggest electrical stores lack basic knowledge of the products they’re selling, reveals an undercover investigation by Which?.

The consumer champion visited branches of Comet, Currys, John Lewis and Richer Sounds, plus independent shops, to assess the advice given by staff. The experts found staff regularly gave bad advice, including confusing HD Ready with Full HD TVs.

Only eight of the 154 stores visited were rated as excellent for knowledge of TVs and personal video recorders (PVRs) - none of these were Currys or Comet stores.  Several staff also used “hard sell” tactics when promoting LED TVs over LCD models, although LED is generally more expensive and not always better. 

Peter Vicary-Smith, Which? chief executive, says: 

“Electrical stores have to up their game and train their staff properly.  We trust them to know about the products they’re selling. 

“Unfortunately, big retailers are letting their customers down, offering wrong or misleading advice that could leave people shelling out more money for features or products they just don’t need.”

To see examples of poor advice filmed during follow up visits to the worst performers, visit www.which.co.uk/shopfloor; and to share your experiences, visit the Which? Conversation