George VI

Last night on Charlie Rose Colin Firth was the guest; ie, I have no idea why I was really watching. He was blowing up his movie The Single Man, a movie I might wanna see simply for the fact that the set design was done by the Mad Men dudes, when he mentioned he had just wrapped a movie about King George VI. After a few minutes of research, I must say I'm shocked that there hasn't been a bigger production made (that I am aware of, which of course might speak more to my own ignorance and less to anything else) of the whole Edward VIII to George VI thing. I mean, what was more made for Hollywood than dude gives up his royal crown for the true love of a woman upon which an entire nation had turned its' nose up,  and is replaced by younger, in-the-shadows under-groomed brother not comfortable in the spotlight?? And yet it actually happened!! And, to make it even better, the dude that was thrust onto the throne to replace him was reluctant to assume the crown, complete with a "gee, isn't THIS handy if you're gunning for an Oscar" speech impediment!

Let us Wiki:

Thus Albert became king, a position he was reluctant to accept. The day before the abdication, he went to London to see his mother, Queen Mary. He wrote in his diary, "When I told her what had happened, I broke down and sobbed like a child." His speech impediment, and his embarrassment over it, together with his tendency to shyness, caused him to appear much less impressive than his older brother, Edward. Because of his stammer, Albert dreaded public speaking. After his closing speech at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley on 31 October 1925, which was an ordeal for both him and the listeners, he began to see Lionel Logue, an Australian-born speech therapist. The Duke and Logue practiced breathing exercises, and the Duchess rehearsed with him patiently. As a result of the training, the Duke's opening address at Australia's Federal Parliament at Canberra in 1927 went successfully, and he was able to speak subsequently with only a slight hesitation. His journey by sea to Australia took him via Jamaica, where Albert played doubles tennis partnered with a black man, which was unusual at the time and taken locally as a display of equality between races.

I mean FUCK! How has all this NOT been repeated in Hollywood even more than the ol' "scrappy upstart triumphs over entitled douchebag" plot line!??!? And hell, the tennis thing even lends itself to Will Smith coming in and being the tennis savant with whom George VI ends racism!!! Wtf. Hollywood, come the fuck on already.