'King's Speech' and 'Social Network' Are Oscars Favorites for Movie of the Year

"The King's Speech" and "The Social Network" have emerged as clear Oscars favorites for movie of the year in the first serious odds chart of the upcoming awards season. Experts at top awards show website GoldDerby have ranked their top picks and have suggested "The Social Network" and "The King's Speech" will fight it out for the Best Picture honor in February 2011.

The GoldDerby editors have Colin Firth's "The King's Speech" as the film of the year, just ahead of "The Social Network" and James Franco's gripping new survival movie "127 Hours". They have Firth as the favorite to win Oscar gold as Best Actor, ahead of James Franco ("127 Hours") and 2010 winner Jeff Bridges ("True Grit"), while Natalie Portman is favored as the Best Actress ahead of Annette Bening ("The Kids Are Alright") for her portrayal of a ballet dancer in "Black Swan".

The editors have given "The Fighter" 's Christian Bale the edge over Geoffrey Rush ("The King's Speech"), Mark Ruffalo ("The Kids Are Alright") and Sam Rockwell ("Conviction") in the Best Supporting Actor category, while Helena Bonham Carter's portrayal of Queen Elizabeth in "The King's Speech" leads the Best Supporting Actress list, ahead of Barbara Hershey ("Black Swan") and Miranda Richardson ("Made in Dagenham").

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on January 25, 2011. The ceremony takes place at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on February 27, 2011.

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