Mt. Oscar: ‘The King’s Speech’ is peaking

Mt. Oscar: To scale the heights of the Oscars — to reach the precarious pinnacle of that Golden O — wrap yourself in raves and pack lots of buzz. This week’s altitude readings are by Randee Dawn, Elena Howe, Susan King, Craig Turner and Steven Zeitchik.

PEAKING

BOW TO THE ‘KING’: SAG statuettes, producer and director guild wins, most Oscar nominations (12) and a nice little boost in box office ticket sales. Could “The King’s Speech” be sitting any prettier?

CLIMBING

A BOUNCING BABY OSCAR: He may not be favored to win, but surely a newborn son and an Oscar nomination within a week has to have Javier Bardem riding high.

RUDIN VS. RUDIN: Scott Rudin, with “The Social Network” and “True Grit,” becomes the first producer to have two films in the best picture race since 1974, when Francis Ford Coppola and Fred Roos did it with “The Godfather 2” and “The Conversation.”

AT BASE CAMP

THEY’VE BEEN HERE: If Alan Menken wins his fifth original song Oscar this year for “Tangled’s” “I See the Light,” he’ll bypass some of the greats, including Sammy Cahn and Johnny Mercer. Meanwhile, Randy Newman picks up his 20th nod, this one for the original song “We Belong Together” from “Toy Story 3.”

OLD AND NEW: Lead actress nominee Annette Bening earned her first Academy Award nomination for supporting actress for 1990’s “The Grifters.” Lead actor nominee Jeff Bridges earned his first Academy Award nomination for supporting actor for 1971’s “The Last Picture Show.”

LOOKING FOR A SHERPA

ALWAYS A BRIDESMAID: Favored Coen brothers cinematographer Roger Deakins just received his ninth Oscar nomination, for his work on “True Grit.” Unfortunately, he has yet to strike gold.

TUTU MOCKERY: As “Black Swan” has become a cultural phenomenon, it’s come in for some ribbing on TV shows like “30 Rock” and Jim Carrey’s skit on “Saturday Night Live.” Director Darren Aronofsky’s all for it: “I’m always flattered to be mocked. I hope James Franco and Anne Hathaway take their shots at us.”

SEEING DOUBLE: Speaking of “Saturday Night Live,” getting the real Mark Zuckerberg to join Jesse Eisenberg for his hosting gig, was a smooth marketing coup for “The Social Network” — probably too little, too late though.