Oscar Marathon: We are running full-length reviews of all 82 winners of the Best Picture Award, from 1927 to the present.

The first decade of the Academy’s history is particularly weak in terms of artistic choices.  Most of the Best Picture winners have not aged well; some were not even good by standards of the time. So how and why did they win?

Here is where we stand thus far:

Year 1: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-wings-1927-8/

Year 2: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-the-broadway-melody-1928-9/

Year 3: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-all-quiet-on-the-western-front-1929-30/

Year 4: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-cimarron-1930-1931/

Year 5: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-grand-hotel-1931-32/

Year 6: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-cavalcade-1933-34/

Year 7: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-it-happened-one-night-1934/

Year 8: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-mutiny-on-the-bounty-1935/

Year 9: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-the-great-ziegfeld-1936/

Year 10: http://www.emanuellevy.com/review/oscar-winners-the-life-of-emile-zola-1937/

Feb 1, 2012–Fans the world over rushed the web in the last 24-hours, crashing multiple servers in the process to secure advance tickets for the now sold-out February 14 preview screenings of TITANIC in 3D, Paramount Pictures and Twentieth Century Fox International jointly announced today.

In a matter of hours, sell-out screenings were reported throughout the United States and in countries around the world, following the launch of the special screening program on January 31st. Moviegoers who were lucky enough to secure a seat will now be among the first people anywhere to see the newly re-mastered TITANIC in 3D, in advance of the film’s worldwide release on April 6th. 

These special fan screening are being presented exclusively in RealD 3D and will be held in the following cities: Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Dallas, Boston, Phoenix, Seattle, Houston, Atlanta, Miami, Detroit, San Diego, Denver, Sacramento, Orlando, Tampa, Minneapolis, Montreal, Vancouver, Cleveland, Salt Lake City, Las Vegas, Baltimore, Portland, Kansas City, West Palm Beach, Raleigh, San Antonio, Hartford, Charlotte, San Antonio, St. Louis, Pittsburgh, Austin, Edmonton, Milwaukee, Norfolk, Grand Rapids, Calgary, Columbus, Fresno, Ottawa, Cincinnati, Nashville, Indianapolis, Jacksonville and Oklahoma City. Internationally, these special one-time only preview screenings will take place in the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Spain, Taiwan and the UK.

Cameron, who also directed the breakthrough 3D epic AVATAR, will bring TITANIC to life as audiences have never seen it before, digitally re-mastered to an unparalleled 4K 3D, harnessing the innovative technology of StereoD. The re-release of TITANIC also coincides with the 100th anniversary of the Titanic setting sail on April 10, 1912. Written, directed and produced by James Cameron, TITANIC is the second highest grossing movie of all time. It is one of only three films to have received a record 11 Academy Awards® including Best Picture and Best Director; and launched the careers of stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet.

The long in the works 3D conversion was overseen Cameron and his Lightstorm producing partner Jon Landau who produced the hit movie.

Who will win this year’s Best White Actor
Protesters, Oscar Show

Black Actors

In the Academy’s history, only nine performances have won the Oscar, three in the lead and five in the supporting category. Denzel Washington is the only black actor to have won two Oscars.

These performers are:

Hattie McDaniel, Gone With the Wind (1939)
Sidney Poitier, Lilies of the Field (1963)
Lou Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Denzel Washington, Glory (1988)
Whoopi Goldberg, Ghost (1990)
Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Maguire (1996)
Denzel Washington, Training Day (2001)
Halle Berry, Monster’s Ball (2001)
Jamie Foxx, Ray (2004)
Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby (2004)

Sidney Poitier

Sidney Poitier was the first and only black actor to win the Best Actor Oscar until 2001, when Denzel Washington joined the Best Actor ranks. A veteran of 50 years of cinema, Poitier has carried the burden of the turbulent and contradictory history of blacks in American film. After winning the 1963 Best Actor for Lilies of the Field, Poitier’s career soared to undreamed of heights with three pictures: To Sir, With Love, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and In the Heat of the Night.

When director Norman Jewison approached Poitier to star in the racially charged drama In the Heat of the Night, the actor said he would do it on one condition, that he would not have to travel south of the Mason-Dixie Line. Jewison agreed to shoot the film in Indiana rather than Mississippi where it is set. “Sideny represented such an important image in In the Heat of the Night, Jewison told the Hollywood Reporter, “and he gave the character such a sense of dignity and strength and pride. I was worried about audience reaction to this very intense black-white relationship, but of course it was well-received.” With the Civil Rights movement in full swing and the country’s big cities burning with racial hatred, poitier gracefully led the charge in smashing the color barriers of mainstream culture.

At 75, Poitier received the Honorary Oscar “for his extraordinary performances and unique presence on the screen and for representing the motion picture industry with dignity, style and intelligence throughout the world. President Frank Pierson held that “when the Academy honors Sidney Poitier, it honors itself even more.”

Oscar Host Whoopi Goldberg introduced Poitier as a presenter in the 1996 show, as the man who “made a lot of other actors possible, including myself.” She did not exaggerate. Poitier has survived, as Bogle observed “through all the vicissitudes, the uphill battles, the change in public tastes and outlooks, the demands of audiences, black and white.” For his survival and accomplishments against all odds, the Academy bestowed on Poitier an Honorary Oscar at the 2002 ceremonies. It was most appropriate that Poitier was presented with his second Oscar by Denzel Washington, who, a few minutes later, would make history by winning the Best Actor for Training Day.

Black Nominees

Poitier, Washington, and Foxx comprise about 4 percent of the Best Actors. The percentage of African American Best Actor nominees is slightly higher: 6 percent.

They are:

Sidney Poitier, The Defiant Ones (1958)
James Earl Jones, The Great White Hope (1970)
Paul Winfield, Sounder (1972)
Dexter Gordon, Round’ Midnight (1986)
Morgan Freeman, Driving Miss Daisy (1989) and The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Denzel Washington, Malcolm X (1992), The Hurricane (1999), and Training Day (2001)
Lawrence Fishburn, What’s Love Got to Do With It (1993)
Will Smith, Ali (2001)
Don Cheadle, Hotel Rwanda (2004)

Supporting Actors

It took 33 years after the creation of the supporting acting categories for the first black performer to be nominated in that league, Rupert Crosse for The Reivers in 1969.

Four black actors have won Supporting Oscars, all over the past twenty-five years:

Louis Gossett Jr., An Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Denzel Washington, Glory (1989)
Cuba Gooding Jr., Jerry Maguire (1996)
Morgan Freeman, Million Dollar Baby (2004)
The eight black supporting actors amount to a small percentage of all supporting nominees. They are:

Rupert Crosse, The Reivers (1969)
Howard E. Rollins, Ragtime (1981)
Adolph Caesar, A Soldier’s Story (1984)
Morgan Freeman, Street Smart (1989)
Jaye Davidson, The Crying Game (1992)
Samuel Jackson, Pulp Fiction (1994)
Michael Clarke Duncan, The Green Mile (1999).
Jamie Foxx, Collateral (2004)

Jaye Davidson, born in California but reared in England, was working as a fashion assistant when director Neil Jordan spotted him for the pivotal role in his psycho-political mystery, The Crying Game. The focus of the film’s shocking revelations, Davidson plays the transsexual lover of a British soldier-hostage (Forrest Whitaker) and then the lover of the Irish terrorist (Stephen Rae).

If you want to know more about this issue, please read my book, All About Oscar: The History and Politics of the Academy Awards (Continuum International, paperback 2004).

Christopher Plummer and Octavia Spencer took home the evening’s first awards for supporting actor and actress, while Alec Baldwin, Kate Winslet, Betty White and the casts of Modern Family and Boardwalk Empire were among the others earning nods during the ceremony. Receiving the night’s top honors were Jean Dujardin for best actor in a leading role, Viola Davis for best female actor in a leading role and The Help for best ensemble in a motion picture.

Mary Tyler Moore accepted the Lifetime Achievement Award from Dick Van Dyke midway through the show, taking the opportunity to explain why she chose to use her middle name to separate herself from the six other Mary Moore’s already on SAG’s roster in the early stages of her Hollywood career.

Stay tuned for real-time updates as the winners are announced. See the complete list of nominees below.

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Supporting Role
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Armie Hammer, J. Edgar
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
*WINNER Christopher Plummer, Beginners

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Supporting Role
*WINNER Octavia Spencer, The Help
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Comedy Series
*WINNER Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
Ty Burrell, Modern Family
Steve Carell, The Office
Jon Cryer, Two and a Half Men
Eric Stonestreet, Modern Family

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Comedy Series
Julie Bowen, Modern Family
Edie Falco, Nurse Jackie
Tina Fey, 30 Rock
Sofia Vergara, Modern Family
*WINNER Betty White, Hot In Cleveland

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Comedy Series
30 Rock
The Big Bang Theory
Glee
*WINNER Modern Family
The Office

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Diane Lane, Cinema Verite
Maggie Smith, Downton Abbey
Emily Watson, Appropriate Adult
Betty White, The Lost Valentine
*WINNER Kate Winslet, Mildred Pierce

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Television Movie Or Miniseries
Laurence Fishburne, Thurgood
*WINNER Paul Giamatti, Too Big to Fail
Greg Kinnear, The Kennedys
Guy Pearce, Mildred Pierce
James Woods, Too Big to Fail

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Drama Series
Kathy Bates, Harry’s Law
Glenn Close, Damages
*WINNER Jessica Lange, American Horror Story
Julianna Margules, The Good Wife
Kyra Sedgwick, The Closer

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Drama Series
Patrick J. Adams, Suits
*WINNER Steve Buscemi, Boardwalk Empire
Kyle Chandler, Friday Night Lights
Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
Michael C. Hall, Dexter

Outstanding Performance By An Ensemble In A Drama Series
*WINNER Boardwalk Empire
Breaking Bad
Dexter
Game of Thrones
The Good Wife

Outstanding Performance By A Male Actor In A Leading Role
George Clooney, The Descendants
Demian Bichir, A Better Life
Leonardo DiCaprio, J. Edgar
*WINNER Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Brad Pitt, Moneyball

Outstanding Performance By A Female Actor In A Leading Role
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
*WINNER Viola Davis, The Help
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton, We Need to Talk About Kevin

Outstanding Performance By A Cast In A Motion Picture
Bridesmaids
The Artist
The Descendants
*WINNER The Help
Midnight in Paris

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Motion Picture
The Adjustment Bureau
Cowboys & Aliens
*WINNER Harry Potter and the Deahtly Hallows: Part II
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
X-Men: First Class

Outstanding Performance By A Stunt Ensemble In A Television Series
Dexter
*WINNER Game of Thrones
Southland
Spartacus: Gods of the Arena
True Blood

The Sundance Film Festival bestowed its awards Saturday night during a ceremony in Park City.

World Cinema Jury Special Prize, Documentary: Searching for Sugar Man

World Cinema Documentary Editing: Indie Game: The Movie, Lisanne Pajot and James Swirsky

World Cinema Jury Prize, Documentary: The Law in These Parts, Ra’anan Alexandrowicz, director

World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Prize:, Can, Rasit Celikezer, director

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Drama: David Raedeker, My Brother the Devil

World Cinema Cinematography Award, Documentary: Lars Skree, Putin’s Kiss

World Cinema Directing Award, Documentary: Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi, 5 Broken Cameras

Shorts Audience Award: The Debutante Hunters, Maria White, director

World Cinema Audience Award: Searching for Sugar Man

Audience Award, U.S. Documentary: The Invisible War

Audience Award, U.S. Dramatic: The Surrogate

Special Jury Prizes, U.S. Documentary: Love Free or Die and Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Excellence in Independent Film Producing: Jonathan Schwartz and Andrea Sperling, Smashed and Nobody Walks

U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Prize for Ensemble Acting: The Surrogate

Excellence in Cinematography, U.S. Documentary: Chasing Ice

Excellence in Cinematography, U.S. Dramatic: Beasts of the Southern Wild

U.S. Documentary Editing Award: Detropia

Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award: Safety Not Guaranteed, Colin Trevorrow

The festival previously announced the Alfred P. Sloan Feature Films nod went to Robot and Frank and Valley of Saints.

Saturday, January 28, 2012–DGA Headquarters

Martin Scorsese believes “Hugo,” a 3D film about the 1920s, is a precursor — one that shows his fellow directors need to adjust to the 21st Century technologies as soon as possible.

’3D is not a gimmick,” Scorsese asserted as Saturday’s Directors Guild of America panel for DGA nominees for the guild’s feature award. “It’s the way we see life. Use it.”

Scorsese told the capacity crowd of more than 400 at the DGA headquarters that his enthusiasm for 3D went back to his youth — even before such films as Alfred Hitchcock’s “Dial M for Murder.”

‘I’m a 3D fanatic,” he added. “It goes back to the Viewmaster.”

Asked by moderator Jeremy Kagan what advice he’d give to young directors, Scorsese first turned to humor and said that if a director needs a dog to kiss an actor’s face, sardine oil does the trick. The director, who’s won DGA awards for “The Departed” and “Boardwalk Empire,” then turned serious and emphasized that directors to stay current with how films can be shot and exhibited.

“Keep an open mind about new technology because that’s where this is going,” he urged.

The panel also featured Michel Hazanavicius of “The Artist,” Alexandere Payne of “The Descendants” and David Fincher of “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Woody Allen, nommed for “Midnight in Paris” was a no-show and DGA prez Taylor Hackford evoked a big laugh when introduced the panel at the start of the event.

“Woody Allen can’t be with us because he can’t go out in public,” Hackford said.

The quartet dissected the intricacies of their films, addressing such issues as dealing with actors, story structure and the agonies of editing. Hazanavicius stressed the challenges of getting the story right in order to make a silent film — such as a key scene in which actor Jean Dujardin admires Berenice Bejo.

“If it had sound, the scene would not be as effective,” he added. “The less I do as a director, the more people get involved — that’s how silent films worked. I have to tell the story in the most efficient way possible.”

Hazanivicius asserted that the story itself required that he make a silent film. “‘There were no bad guys,” he noted. “The antagonist in the story is sound.”

Payne sought to give credit to his longtime editor Kevin Tent, who was nommed for an editing Oscar on “The Descendants.” “He’s helpless without me and I’m helpless without him,” he added.

Payne stressed the importance of having Hawaiian handscapes play a major role in his film. “I wanted to get feeling of life in the islands because the overwhelming sense of nature makes you feel puny — in a good way,” he added.

He also admitted that the key beach sunrise scene, in which George Clooney’s character finds Matthew Lillard running, was a happy accident. “The gods smiled on me that day,” he added.

Fincher credited star Rooney Mara with meeting the challenge of a demanding role, noting that she learned how to skateboard, motorcycle and smoke for the Lisbeth Salander part — to say nothing of acting in a pair of rape scenes.

“I work to find a way that they can unleash themselves,” he added.

Scorsese recalled that his key breakthrough with longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker came after the fourth test screening on “Hugo.”

”We cut out most of the exposition because we realized we didn’t need it,” Scorsese said. “We locked ourselves away for four weeks because we knew what we needed to do.”

Hazanavicius underlined Scorsese’s point that the editing process is stressful.

“The first cut is horrible,” he added. “In France, we call it the monster.”

 Nine films were nominated for best picture for the first time: The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life and War Horse.

Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) scores his seventh best director nomination — his first in 17 years. He was last nominated for Bullets Over Broadway (1994).

“Midnight in Paris” is Allen’s most commercially popular picture to date, though if you take into account the inflation factor and ticket admission prices, “Annie Hall” in 1977 and “Hannah and Her Sisters” in 1986 were seen by many more viewers.

I consider “Annie Hall,” Manhattan” (1979), and “Hannah and Her Sisters” to be Allen’s three masterpieces in a career spanning over 40 years.

 Nine films were nominated for best picture for the first time: The Artist, The Descendants, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life and War Horse.

Woody Allen (Midnight in Paris) scores his seventh best director nomination — his first in 17 years. He was last nominated for Bullets Over Broadway (1994).

“Midnight in Paris” is Allen’s most commercially popular picture to date, though if you take into account the inflation factor and ticket admission prices, “Annie Hall” in 1977 and “Hannah and Her Sisters” in 1986 were seen by many more viewers.

I consider “Annie Hall,” Manhattan” (1979), and “Hannah and Her Sisters” to be Allen’s three masterpieces in a career spanning over 40 years.

When casting Safe House, producer Scott Stuber and director Daniel Espinosa placed importance on avoiding tired tropes.  Stuber explains the rationale: “Action without character is boring.  The script read well because everything moves at a quick pace.  Then, when you sit and get to know these people, there’s a real depth to them.  We went after actors who could be in those moments and have the audience feel what these characters are feeling.”

Denzel Washington

As the producer and the director discussed their dream cast, Denzel Washington was brought up as their ideal Tobin Frost, the CIA’s most notorious traitor.  The two invited Washington (then starring on Broadway in the play Fences) to discuss the proposition.  Stuber recalls the meal: “At the end of lunch, Denzel stood up and said, ‘All right, we’re going to do this,’ and walked out.  I thought, ‘What?  Is he going to call his agent?  Is it a done deal?’  I wanted to make sure, so I called Denzel’s agent and he said, ‘I just got off the phone with him.  He’s doing the movie with you and Daniel.’  It was one of those rare, great moments in this business.”

Washington, who had a window in his schedule coinciding with preproduction, labored with the filmmakers to hone the project and the character of an operative who has spent the past nine years selling out the United States.  The actor offers what attracted him to the role of a man wanted for espionage on four continents: “I got the chance to see Daniel’s film Snabba Cash, and it had a unique style and was a very different film.  That made me very interested in him as a filmmaker. Scott, Daniel, David and I worked on developing the character.  Safe House was an opportunity to revisit ways of working what I used to do.  I invested heavily in the character and the story.”

As he prepared for the role, the performer went into full immersion mode.  Washington says: “I didn’t want to do a lot of CIA research because Tobin Frost wasn’t CIA anymore.  He hated everything about the CIA, and I wanted to discover his dark side.  Scott gave me some great books to read, one of which was ‘The Sociopath Next Door,’ which became my bible that I would refer to in developing the character.  I felt Tobin was a sociopath.  When you think ‘sociopath,’ you think violence, and the majority of sociopaths aren’t violent but they want to win and manipulate.  I thought he was a great liar, a great manipulator and perfect for the CIA.”

The filmmakers valued the actor’s work ethic on the project.  Offers Espinosa: “Denzel is a master.  He works harder than any actor I’ve ever met.  When he decided to do the movie, he thoroughly researched and spent about a half a year studying his character before we even shot.  When he got on set, no matter what the situation in front of him was, he reacted as the character that he was playing.”

Ryan Reynolds

With Washington attached, the team began the search to find Matt Weston, the man responsible for his house guest.  For Espinosa, it is the contrast between and the evolution of Frost and Weston that distinguish the story.  Notes the director: “Matt is a guy who has a lot of dreams.  He believes that he can maintain a relationship with his girlfriend and have a somewhat normal life, while at the same time, coming closer to his goal of becoming a full-blown CIA case officer.  He clings to the notion that you can be a strong, ethical, moral person while working in his chosen field.  There is no gray area.  Frost, however, is well beyond any such notion.”

They found their perfect Weston in performer Ryan Reynolds.  Stuber recalls: “We had to be certain that the actor opposite Denzel would be ready.  I’ve known Ryan for a long time and was sure that he would step up to that challenge.  More importantly, he wanted such a challenge.”

Reynolds explains his interest in joining the team: “First and foremost, I was riveted by the story.  It was also an opportunity to work with Daniel, who is an unusual and unpredictable filmmaker.  He is unlike anyone I’ve ever worked with, or even met before.  He’s this incredibly wise, intuitive, intellectual thug.  It’s a weird combination that gives him this incredible street sense.  He’s a guy who could easily be in a bar fight, and at the same time, if you name any book, there’s a good chance he’s read it—among the plusses, not the least of which was working with Denzel.  You know you will learn a lot working with Denzel: Spending time with him makes you a better actor.”

The actor found the duality of Weston’s life—the housekeeper’s cover is that he is a health worker—compelling.  He says, “I was fascinated by the fact that my character lives a complete lie.  He’s lying to himself and wraps himself up in the flag.  There’s a lot of hubris involved.  He feels what he’s doing is righteous, and yet, there’s a dark, seedy underbelly to what he does—not the least of which is the fact that he lies to everyone he loves, and that takes its toll.  He’s beaten up from this.”

Reynolds explains his character’s transformation: “Matt’s growth is debatable.  In some ways, it’s almost a regression.  Throughout the course of the film, he’s resorting to some of the same ways he’s previously despised.  The audience’s concern as we’re watching is that Matt might be affected by Frost in the same way that Frost was swayed by whoever it was who caused him to go off book.  One of the things that Frost does is reveal to Matt what this agency really is, how some of the black ops that it engages in are in the guise of a higher good.  It affects Matt deeply, and he’s seeing how this could easily become him one day.  Whether that’s growth or not, he’s definitely changed.”

Washington saw that growth in the man playing Weston and found Reynolds a worthy on-screen adversary.  The performer compliments: “Ryan is a very good actor who works very hard, and we had good chemistry.  He has an inherent innocence that I think was right for the part.”

With Safe House’s leads locked, the filmmakers turned to finding an ensemble of versatile actors to help bring the gritty journey from page to screen.  “Just because this is an action movie doesn’t mean you don’t want to care about the characters,” Stuber states.  “We have our agency filled with wonderful actors including Vera Farmiga, Sam Shepard, Brendan Gleeson, Liam Cunningham and Robert Patrick.  Fares Fares and Joel Kinnaman really stand out as well, and both worked with Daniel previously.  We have the multitalented Ruben Blades in this wonderful role, a great counterpoint to Denzel’s Frost.  Nora Arnezeder is a fresh talent out of Paris, and she brings a strong emotionality to Matt’s girlfriend, Ana.”

Vera Farmiga

Though her breakout role came in 2006’s The Departed, actress Vera Farmiga has long been a favorite of film and television.  And if it meant landing Farmiga in the role, the director was quite happy to switch the gender of Guggenheim’s hard-nosed CIA officer.  Espinosa commends: “Vera is maybe the most interesting actress in her generation: She has a soft, natural ability and complexity.”

Farmiga elaborates on her interest in the clandestine character: “There are two films I did in the past year where the roles were originally for men and just the name changed.  Source Code was written for a guy, and in Safe House, I play CIA African Division Branch Chief Linklater.  We added the first name, Catherine, when I was cast.”  Her attraction to the role was fueled by multiple factors.  She says: “Life is all about gray matter and not so much about absolutes.  It can’t be reduced to the good guys and the bad guys; humanity is a wonderful mix.  That complexity is what drew me to the subject matter: that idea of no good guys and no bad guys.  We explore that and the espionage in a thrilling way.” 

Another CIA officer who has worked his way up the ranks is CO David Barlow, Matt Weston’s direct report.  Cast as the savvy and genial Barlow was the chameleon-like Irishman Brendan Gleeson, believable as everything from an antebellum-era Southerner in Cold Mountain to one of the most towering figures of the last century, Sir Winston Churchill, in Into the Storm.

Gleeson walks us through Barlow’s arc: “He is at a particular place in the CIA. He’s been a field operator at a high level, running his own branch, his own operation.  As many of the best field people do, he got pushed into a desk job and was asked to control it from the office, which he’s not happy about.  Nevertheless, Barlow has a particular way of sorting problems out.  I wanted to get into the mindset of this guy who is not just a flag waver.  He’s somebody very practical who has been involved in getting things done rather than being too worried about how they were done.”

Barlow’s supervisor is portrayed by Sam Shepard.  The performer’s longtime work in theater and in film harkens back to legendary Western actors who made their careers out of playing lone heroes.  As CIA Deputy Director of Operations Harlan Whitford, Shepard is a tried-and-true agency man, whose exemplary field performance has segued into internal command.  Shepard notes: “I liked Daniel when we sat down and talked; his background impressed me.  And since Denzel always chooses apt material, I thought there might be something for me in this.”

The actor came to the film having previously delved into the lives of other CIA operatives.  He states: “I’m good friends with Valerie Plame Wilson; I worked with her at the Santa Fe Institute in New Mexico.  She turned me on to a couple of books, which I dipped into and began to feel the atmosphere of what these people live with.”

Heading to the other side of the law, we meet ex-revolutionary Carlos Villar. For the part of the operative-turned-counterfeiter, filmmakers chose multihyphenate Ruben Blades.  Washington discusses how the actor and musician came onto the project: “When we were talking about who should play the part of Villar, I brought up Ruben and Daniel was excited about that.  Ruben brought richness and a culture to the character.”  The old friend of Frost’s knows more about the double agent than we ever will.  Explains Washington: “When the audience meets Villar, that’s Tobin’s downward spiral.  Anything Villar touches and anyone he comes in contact with, they’re not long for the world.”

“Villar’s a forger who’s been in the movement, doing God knows what,” relays Blades.  “But he’s got a family, and he provides.  So it’s not the loaded stereotype, a cliché Latin guy.  He has a spine.  Villar is a man who one day got up and discovered that he had more past than future, so he started a family.  He decided to try and enjoy however much time he has left and continues to create documents on the side.  His family has become very important for him, so in that sense, he’s been reborn.”

The black-market conduit’s house is in Langa Township, a suburb of Cape Town that is a hodgepodge of temporary and permanent structures tucked together.  Such townships on the periphery of the city remain a legacy of apartheid, but for Villar, this place serves as a sanctuary.  Frost seeks respite at Villar’s home, but that doesn’t mean he will find it there for long.

Frost is not the only one who has people depending upon him.  The love of Matt Weston’s life is Ana Moreau, a French medical resident working in Cape Town.  Ana is brought off the page by actress Nora Arnezeder.  The performer welcomed Espinosa’s set-up of the perimeters of her scenes and encouragement of his cast to improvise.  She says: “It’s new for me to act in English, but it’s good because with improvisation, everything is always new.  We get to bring ourselves into the characters.  I told Daniel this little story about a party I had when I was a little girl and only two people came.  And he said, ‘Great, we’re going to use that,’ so I brought it into a key scene.”

Stuber reflects on the role that Ana plays in Matt’s world: “In the beginning, Matt is a rookie working at the safe house and trying to move up within the agency.  But he’s also in love with Ana.  He’s attempting to balance both of these things, but when you’re living a secondary truth, sometimes you can’t.  Both Ryan and Nora brought a lot of dimension to this relationship, and a good deal of depth and emotion.”

The actor selected to portray hardened CIA Senior Intelligence Officer Daniel Kiefer was a longtime action star who has entertained many over the years.  Stuber commends: “There’s an interrogation scene with Denzel, and whoever took that part had to be formidable.  He had to be able to intimidate and be someone who could play ball with Denzel.  Robert Patrick just killed it.  He’s such a great, soulful actor.”

Patrick supplies that playing an interrogator who is an expert at waterboarding was most disturbing.  Kiefer’s first order?  “Kill all the surveillance cams.”  The actor notes: “My work on the film was intense.  Daniel wanted to show Kiefer’s disappointment with the damage Frost has done to our country.  In the scene where my character orders his team to kill all the surveillance cams, we try and obtain information from Frost.  Later, when the house is under attack, we go from zero to 600.  There’s so much intensity, violence and chaos.  It’s pure adrenaline rush and overload.  Daniel didn’t want us just running around and playing army, he wanted all the tension, anxiety and grave danger to register on our faces.  It was fun for me to bring that.” 

Joining the cast in supporting roles are Irish performer Liam Cunningham as Alec Wade, a disillusioned MI6 operative; Swedish actor Joel Kinnaman, who may currently be seen in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, as Keller, another safe housekeeper; and Lebanese performer Fares Fares as Vargas, the brutal ex-paramilitary member who will stop at nothing to erase Frost.  Both Kinnaman and Fares had worked with Espinosa before, playing key roles in the director’s last film, Snabba Cash.

http://weblogs.variety.com/thevote/2012/01/live-video-of-the-oscar-nominations.html