Will Sony Play the Karate Kid Card in its Oscar War Vs. King's Speech?

As noted in today's edition of The Broadsheet, a writer at VF.com has made a compelling (or at least intriguing, or at least time-killing) case for The King's Speech being little more than a well-produced riff on the original 1984 version of The Karate Kid. On the one hand, tropes is tropes; there are only so many original stories in the world, and eventually everything will have something in common. On the other... I mean, "The unorthodox, uncredentialed teacher is contrasted with a cruel -- but more respected -- educator." Or, "The teacher helps fill a void left by the student's absent father." Is this the beginning of a covert Sony vs. Weinstein Oscar-season war?

Not to suggest author Jim Windolf is a Sony plant -- anything but, for the record -- but if the studio senses Social Network's Oscar momentum peaking a little early in the first days of January, why the hell not commission some Karate Kid/King's Speech mash-up pairing off the finer points of the films' thematic overlaps:

The hero is humiliated in the presence of his future teacher. Danny is beaten up by the California kids, and his future teacher, Mr. Miyagi, a handyman, sees the whole thing. Prince Albert is humiliated when he flops while delivering a speech at Wembley Stadium, where his future instructor, Mr. Logue, is watching as a member of the audience.

The teacher's unorthodox methods humble the student and even cause him to quit, albeit temporarily. Mr. Logue puts Prince Albert in the odd position of dealing with a commoner on equal footing: Logue calls the Prince "Bertie"; asks him personal questions; makes wagers with him; flushes a toilet within his royal earshot; encourages him to sing and swear; and even speaks to him in a "treasonous" manner. In The Karate Kid, Mr. Miyagi humbles Danny by having him perform various chores that would seem to have nothing to do with the chosen field of study (waxing his cars, painting his fence, scrubbing his floor). He causes him to fall into the water and makes light of his lack of punching power. [...]

In the teacher's backstory lies patriotic wartime service. Mr. Miyagi won the Medal of Honor for his part in fighting Nazis as a member of the U.S. armed forces in the European theater. Mr. Logue learned his craft while working with Australia's shell-shocked Great War veterans.

The teacher prepares the student for a grand stage, where he must display everything he has learned or suffer public defeat. For Danny, it's the All-Valley Karate Tournament, where he will once again confront the blond bullies who tormented him on his arrival to California. Mr. Miyagi is close by during the tournament, cheering him on. For Bertie (now King George VI), it's the moment of the solemn radio address, in which he must tell his subjects all over the globe that Great Britain is at war with Germany. Logue is close by during the big speech, cheering him on.

... And so on. Could this lock up Original Screenplay for Aaron Sorkin over King's Speech screenwriter David Seidler? [Correction: Different categories! Sorry! But by now you know I've been drinking anyway.] Is Tom Hooper just a glorified John G. Avildsen (who, it must be noted, won Best Director for Rocky, but still)? Is this the strategic play that will send Harvey Weinstein in search of The Social Network's closest '80s analogue? Real Genius? Come on! This is war, people.