Sir Daniel? Er, perhaps not

LAST year, Daniel Battsek succeeded the legendary Bob and Harvey Weinstein as head of Miramax, the Walt Disney Co. unit that the brothers built into an Oscar powerhouse.

So far, Miramax’s “The Queen” and star Helen Mirren, who plays Queen Elizabeth II in the days after Princess Diana’s death, are getting substantial Oscar buzz. Other potential awards contenders from the studio include “Venus” starring Peter O’Toole and “The Hoax” with Richard Gere.

A British native now based in New York, Battsek was interviewed by phone from London.

What kind of reaction are you getting on “The Queen”?

It’s been wonderful to see American audiences immediately kind of getting into the rhythm of the movie.

Was that a concern?

It was -- with the intricacies of the way in which the whole royal family operates and the relationship between the royal family and the government. But what’s great is it’s such a human story. It’s funny, which always helps.

Have you heard anything, formally or informally, from Buckingham Palace?

No. They don’t comment on such things.

Because the family is so private, do you think they were uncomfortable that a movie was made about them?

You come out of the movie actually understanding the queen and being very sympathetic toward what she has achieved in her lifetime. It’s not entirely uncritical, obviously, but ultimately is a sympathetic portrait. Should the queen see it, I think she would find it isn’t a bad portrait of her at all.

What does this do to your chances of ever getting knighted?

I think that may have possibly gone out the window, but then that was never really on my agenda.

But it would have been nice for Disney Chief Executive Bob Iger to have to call you “Sir Daniel.”

(laughs)

Your first movie, “Tsotsi,” won an Oscar for best foreign language film. You could have retired undefeated.

Yes. One-for-one was a record that would have been nice to uphold forever more. It was a great start. It was a wonderful movie to be involved with, and it was obviously extremely important for Miramax and the Walt Disney Co. as a whole as it was so early in the rebirth of Miramax.

How important was that going in because you were following in the footsteps of the Weinsteins?

I always saw my role as continuing the legacy of Miramax both in terms of the quality of movies, the point of view those movies show and to demonstrate we would continue that and build on that. I have nothing but admiration for Harvey and Bob. But I’m not like them. I’m not the same personality.

In an earlier story you did with us you described this whole awards season as being like a chess game. What did you mean by that?

There is a certain amount of strategy that goes into the way in which one plans one’s releases around this time. It’s a very, very competitive period. Everyone is trying to do the same thing with their movies.

How many times have you been to the Oscars?

Once.

Last year?

Yes.

How were your seats?

Really good.

james.bates@latimes.com