The King's Speech

DAVID SEIDLER A Londoner by birth, Mr. Seidler was sent to the United States as an infant during WWII, which resulted in a childhood stammer. George VI, the reluctant stuttering king, became his boyhood hero, role model and, many years later, the inspiration for the play The King’s Speech, subsequently adapted for film starring Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, and Guy Pearce. The film won the 2010 Academy Award for Best Picture, and Mr. Seidler was awarded the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, two BAFTA’s, and numerous other gongs. His stage version has toured England, played the West End, been produced so far in nine foreign languages and, after its run at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, will tour across North America before heading to Broadway. He no longer stutters. Mr. Seidler’s career commenced with writing dubbing scripts for Godzilla: King of the Monster movies. In Hollywood he has over twenty credits to his name, including: Tucker: The Man and His Dream starring Jeff Bridges, directed by Francis Coppola. Nominated for Writing Achievement by the Writers Guild of America three times (winning for Onassis: The Richest Man in the World). Mr. Seidler has lectured in Milan, Rome, Porto, A.F.I. Los Angeles, Sundance, Dreamago Institute in Switzerland, and Laboratorio Novas Historias in Sao Paulo, Brazil. He lived for several years in Fiji, where he was Political Advisor to Chief Minister Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara. He also resided in New Zealand for eight years and returns yearly to educate the trout and torment his son Manu. His daughter Maya is a documentary producer at Edgeline Films. Mr. Seidler divides his time between Santa Monica, Ketchum, Idaho, and a cabin in the Urawera Mountains of New Zealand.

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