LONDON, Nov 1, (Agencies): “The King’s Speech,” starring Colin Firth as King George VI struggling to overcome a debilitating stammer, leads the field at the British Independent Film Awards this year with eight nominations.
The movie, also been tipped to feature prominently in the race for cinema’s top prizes the Oscars, has been shortlisted for best British independent film, best director (Tom Hooper), best actor (Firth), best supporting actor (Geoffrey Rush and Guy Pearce) and best supporting actress (Helena Bonham Carter).
Alien-themed “Monsters” is one of three films with six nominations each, including four for first-time feature director Gareth Edwards — best British independent film, best director, best debut director and best technical achievement.
Joining it with six nominations are “Never Let Me Go,” based on the novel by Kazuo Ishiguro, and “The Arbor,” a portrayal of the late British playwright Andrea Dunbar.
“Four Lions,” an edgy comedy about a group of young Muslims preparing to blow themselves up at the London marathon, was shortlisted five times while “Another Year,” “Made in Dagenham” and “Brighton Rock” all received four nominations apiece.
Winners of the awards, sponsored by Moet & Chandon champagne, will be announced on Dec 5.
Following are the nominees in the main categories.

Best British independent film - Four Lions; Kick-Ass; The King’s Speech; Monsters; Never Let Me Go
Best director - Mike Leigh/Another Year; Matthew Vaughn/Kick-Ass; Tom Hooper/The King’s Speech; Gareth Edwards/Monsters; Mark Romanek/Never Let Me Go
Douglas Hickox Award (best debut director) - Debs Gardner Paterson/Africa United; Clio Barnard/The Arbor; Rowan Joffe/Brighton Rock; Chris Morris/Four Lions; Gareth Edwards/Monsters
Best actress - Manjinder Virk/The Arbor; Ruth Sheen/Another Year; Andrea Riseborough/Brighton Rock; Sally Hawkins/Made In Dagenham; Carey Mulligan/Never Let Me Go
Best actor - Jim Broadbent/Another Year; Riz Ahmed/Four Lions; Colin Firth/The King’s Speech; Scoot McNairy/Monsters; Aidan Gillen/Treacle Junior
Best supporting actress - Lesley Manville/Another Year; Helena Bonham Carter/The King’s Speech; Rosamund Pike/Made In Dagenham; Keira Knightley/Never Let Me Go; Tamsin Greig/Tamara Drewe
Best supporting actor - Kayvan Novak/Four Lions; Guy Pearce/The King’s Speech; Geoffrey Rush/The King’s Speech; Bob Hoskins/Made In Dagenham; Andrew Garfield/Never Let Me Go.

Also:
ROME: Jesse Eisenberg may play Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg on screen, but in real life the actor doesn’t use the site.
In fact, Eisenberg says he’s a bit challenged when it comes to technology despite having taken classes to prepare for the “The Social Network,” David Fincher’s movie about Facebook.
Eisenberg told The Associated Press on Monday that “I like technology but it doesn’t seem to feel the same way about me.”
Speaking at the Rome Film Festival, where the movie was presented out of competition, Eisenberg said he never uses Facebook, though he did try it for two weeks while rehearsing in order “to understand what my character had built.”
“The Social Network” opened last month in the US to strong reviews and topped the box office on opening weekend.


LOS ANGELES: “The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest” — the last installment of a Swedish crime trilogy about a feisty bisexual computer hacker — underperformed its predecessors during its first weekend at the North American box office.
The film rang up $751,296 from 122 theaters. That represented a solid $6,158 per engagement, but the average was still the weakest in the series.
The trilogy kicked off in March with “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” set for a US remake next year, which ended up with $10.1 million; the July follow-up, “The Girl Who Played With Fire,” totes a $7.6 million haul. Their respective opening-weekend averages were $9,868 and $8,380.
Elsewhere in the arthouse world, IFC Films debuted the French crime drama “Inspector Bellamy,” starring Gerard Depardieu, in two New York theaters and grossed $22,400, or an encouraging $11,200 per venue.

“Welcome to the Rileys” — a drama starring James Gandolfini, Kristen Stewart and Melissa Leo — earned $45,000 from 10 playdates in New York, Los Angeles and Boston, or $4,500 per engagement.
The British comedy “Wild Target,” with Bill Nighy and Emily Blunt, collected $24,300 from two locations each in New York and in L.A., or $6,079 per site.
The Clint Eastwood-directed drama “Hereafter,” earned $6.3 million during its second weekend of wide release, suffering a 47% drop, good enough for fifth place overall. With $22.2 million in the bag so far, the $50 million Matt Damon vehicle is looking to mount a leggy run on support from mostly older moviegoers.
Fox Searchlight’s legal drama “Conviction” grabbed the No. 10 spot with $1.8 million after expanding to 565 theaters in its third weekend, yielding a modest $3,230 average. Sales for the Hilary Swank vehicle stand at $2.4 million, and the studio does not plan to widen the film too much beyond its current theater count.

LOS ANGELES: Summit Entertainment has bought domestic rights to “Adaline,” a Victorian-era romantic drama starring Katherine Heigl as a strangely ageless young woman who falls in love after years of isolation.
Set for release in early 2012, “Adaline” will begin shooting in March, with Andy Tennant (“The Bounty Hunter”) directing. Heigl is in theaters with the comedy “Life As We Know It,” which has earned $43 million after four weekends. She will executive produce “Adaline” with her mother, Nancy.