RUBY ESMERALDA GOMEZ MONTEJO 11B

"60 Minutes" talks to its starring actor, Colin Firth, and reports on the historic find in an attic that
helped make the "The King's Speech" an Oscar favorite. Scott Pelley reports.
Watch the video and answer the following questions.

🕕 George VI
1. Who is this movie about?
The movie is based on the true story of George VI, the father of the present queen of
England.

2. What problem did he have?

He had a speech problem, “a crippling stammer”, nearly all his life.

3. How old was he when this problem started to exist?

He was a stutterer from the age of 8.

4. When did he become a king?

He became a king in 1936.

5. Why did his older brother give up the throne?

His older brother gave up the throne to marry Wallace Simpson, a divorced American 

🕕 David Seidler, the scriptwriter

6. What inspired David Seidler to write the story for the movie?
David Seidler had been a stutterer himself until the age of 16, and George VI had been his
childhood hero

7. How long did he have to wait before he could finally tell his tale?
He had to wait for 25 years until the Queen Mother’s death in 2002.

8. What was the main theme of the story he wrote?

He found the theme of the story in the clash between the king and his Australian speech
therapist named Lionel Logue.

🕕 The Logue attic finds

9. What did Mark Logue discover in the family attic?
He found his grandfather’s diaries and more than 100 letters between his grandfather and
the king

10. How often did the king see his therapist?

The king saw Lionel Logue every day for an hour, including weekends

11. What was their relationship like?

It was not the relationship between a doctor and his patient, it was a relationship
between friends.

12. Are the therapies shown in the film based on the real treatment?
No, the truth is Logue didn't record his methods. The scenes are based on Seidler's
experience and ideas of the actors.
RUBY ESMERALDA GOMEZ MONTEJO 11B

13. What did the king have to tell his people in the speech that gave the movie its name?
He had to tell his people that for the second time in a generation they were at war with
Germany.

14. What do the marks and lines on the original copy of the speech mean?
They're deliberate pauses so that the king would be able to pronounce the next word
without hesitation.

🕕 Colin Firth and his hometown

15. What happened when Colin Firth went into a cinema to watch one of his own movies?
He found he was the only person in the cinema

16. What nationality is his wife?

His wife is Italian.

17. How long have they been married?

They’ve been married 14 years

18. How many children do they have?

They have two sons

19. What was his parents’ occupation?

His parents were college professors.

20. How old was he when he felt he wanted to be an actor?

He found his calling for acting at the age of 14.

21. How many films has he done so far?

He has done 42 films in 26 years.