We came, we saw, they nominated. And all hailed The King's Speech.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences this morning blessed a new crop of stars with the ability to forevermore be introduced as Oscar nominees, and those stars, in turn, are now tripping over themselves to thank the Academy.
Starting with the royal flush of honorees from the most nominated film of them all...
• Colin Firth, Lead Actor, The King's Speech: "Currently celebrating with my colleagues three feet above the ground. Not used to this much joy, or this much champagne at this hour."
• Helena Bonham Carter, Supporting Actress, The King's Speech: "Of course I am thrilled to receive an Oscar nomination. As my 3 -year-old daughter said, 'Yay!' I couldn't put it any better myself."
• Tom Hooper, Director, The King's Speech: "I am absolutely overwhelmed by the 12 nominations for The King's Speech. I am so grateful to the Academy. I am incredibly proud of my extraordinary cast and crew. This is a day I will remember for the rest of my life."
• Michelle Williams, Lead Actress, Blue Valentine: "I am honored to receive this nomination. Making Blue Valentine was unlike any experience I've ever had before, or may ever have again. I share this recognition with Ryan [Gosling] and Derek [Cianfrance] who always brought out the best in me. Thank you to the Academy and to The Weinstein Company for their support of this film."
• Nicole Kidman, Lead Actress, Rabbit Hole: "What an extraordinary journey this film has taken me on! Rabbit Hole has been a labor of love and I'm so thankful to John Cameron Mitchell, David Lindsay-Abaire and the brilliant cast. This nomination reflects all of the heart and soul that these people have put into it and I can't thank them enough."
• Natalie Portman, Lead Actress, Black Swan: "I am so honored and grateful to the Academy for this recognition. It is a wonderful culmination of the 10-year journey with Darren [Aronofsky] to make this film. Making Black Swan is already the most meaningul experience of my career, and the passion shown for the film has completed the process of communication between artists and audience. I am so thankful for the support we have received and I share this honor with the entire cast and crew of the film, especially Darren Aronofsky."
• James Franco, Lead Actor, 127 Hours: "It feels great to be nominated and it is such an honor to be in the company of my fellow nominees. I'm especially proud of Danny Boyle and the whole team behind 127 Hours for their recognition by the Academy. Danny is such a wonderful entertainer and collaborator and to see the film nominated for Best Picture, Score, Screenplay, Song and Editing is thrilling."
• Darren Aronofsky, Director, Black Swan: "I was building Lego with my son and lost track of the time. Then the phone started ringing and I realized it must be good news. I'm incredibly touched and humbled. I grew up watching the awards and never thought this would be my reality. I'm thrilled for Natalie [Portman] who trained tirelessly for a year and then trusted me with her soul and spirit. And I'm so thankful the academy recognized my longtime collaborators Matty, Andy and Scott. They are such focused and committed artists and their work inspired me every day."
• Jeff Bridges, Lead Actor, True Grit: "Yee haw!"
• Mark Ruffalo, Supporting Actor, The Kids Are All Right: "It is with great honor and humility that I receive my Oscar nomination. I have been included with a group of top-notch actors who I respect and admire. I am humbled to be in their presence. I also would like to acknowledge the power of ensemble acting. The kind of acting that happened in this movie does not exist in a bubble. Any honor that I receive must be shared with Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Josh Hutcherson, Mia Wasikowska, the rest of the cast, and of course the inimitable Lisa Cholodenko. Thank you to the Academy. This nomination is a win for Marriage Equality and that is the most I could hope for."
• Javier Bardem, Lead Actor, Biutiful: "I am truly honored for this nomination. And deeply thankful to the Academy members for their trust and support. Also to all of those who showed their support to my work in Biutiful I express my heartfelt gratitude. I am very happy for Alejandro [González Iñárritu] and everyone who has made possible the special movie we made together. It's really a huge honor to have been nominated in a non-English-speaking performance and in the name of all my colleagues in Spain and mine I want to show my gratitude to the Academy for support and a recognition in this nomination for the movie Biutiful."
• Annette Bening, Lead Actress, The Kids Are All Right: "Four nominations and four kids. I am damn proud!"
• David O. Russell, Director, The Fighter: "It's huge for me. If you have a couple of rough years, it means the world to you to get back up on your feet...My dog must have ESP. I told myself I had to go back to sleep, and then the phone started ringing. I knew it was a good sign."
• Aaron Sorkin, Adapted Screenplay, The Social Network: "It's something worth waking up for. I was mentally preparing myself for not being nominated...I will keep reminding myself I'm the same schmuck I was last night when I went to bed."
• Joel and Ethan Coen, Best Director, True Grit: "Ten seems like an awful lot...We don't want to take anyone else's."
• David Fincher, Best Director, The Social Network: "I'm very grateful and humbled by the nominations for The Social Network. I'm incredibly proud of the work of my wildly talented collaborators in front of and behind the camera—all of whom gave the best of themselves and their talents in service to a film about a groundbreaking American innovation. This directing nomination represents the sum of the work of all of us, and I want to acknowledge the vast contributions to this film of all of my good friends and creative partners. The success of our movie belongs to many people, and this nomination is theirs to share."
• Mark Wahlberg, producer, Best Picture, The Fighter: "It has been such an incredible journey with The Fighter and one that I am grateful to share with David O. Russell, Christian [Bale], Melissa [Leo], Amy [Adams], my fellow producers and the Ward and Eklund families, who are the heart and soul of the film. Thank you to the Academy for this tremendous honor."
• Jeremy Renner, Supporting Actor, The Town: "I am truly overwhelmed with gratitude by this recognition by the Academy this morning. I'm smiling from ear to ear knowing that lightning can strike twice and it feels electrifying. I'm thrilled to be amongst these tremendously talented artists. A big congratulations to all the nominees!"
• Simon Beaufoy, Adapted Screenplay, 127 Hours: "I'm absolutely delighted. No matter how many other nominations a film receives, there's nothing quite like an Academy Best Film nomination to make one proud. It's the gold stamp of approval."
• A.R. Rahman, Best Score and Best Song, 127 Hours: "I'm very honored and humbled to be recognized by the Academy with this nomination. Working with Danny Boyle is such a remarkable experience, and I'm so fortunate to have had the opportunity to collaborate with him again. I'm immensely grateful to Fox Searchlight for their efforts on this incredible film based on the courageous story of Aron Ralston."
• Mike Leigh, Original Screenplay, Another Year: "I'm thrilled to bits."
• Lee Unkrich, director, Best Picture and Animated Feature, Toy Story 3: "It's an incredible honor to be nominated by the Academy. When we began making the first Toy Story, nearly 16 years ago, we never could have imagined the journey on which these films, and these characters, would take us. For Toy Story 3 to be recognized by the Academy as not only one of the best animated films of the year, but also as one of the ten best pictures of the year, is both humbling and overwhelming. I'm speechless; I feel like I've been blasted to infinity and beyond."
• Christian Colson, producer, Best Picture, 127 Hours: "To be nominated for an Academy Award is a highlight in any career and I am delighted for each of our individual nominees and incredibly proud of them all. But more important than individual kudos, this haul of six nominations is a huge stamp of approval from the Academy for the film itself. The picture expands into wide release in North America this weekend—and is rolled out internationally over the coming weeks—and these nominations will encourage audiences all over the world to go and see the film—and in particular James Franco's unmissable performance. This is an incredibly proud and happy day for all of us who worked on the film."
• Andrew Weisblum, Film Editing, Black Swan: "To go from a little movie just struggling to make the schedule, cutting on my laptop, sometimes in a car, to this? I don't think we ever could have imagined this kind of reception or recognition! It speaks to Darren [Aronofsky's]'s ability to bring out the best from his collaborators and I'm so glad that people have enjoyed the film as much as we enjoyed making it."