The Envelope In Print: The Acting Nominees Issue (February 4, 2009)

February 4, 2009

For Sean Penn, an act of kindness

Cleve Jones can cite the exact moment when Sean Penn morphed into Harvey Milk.

February 4, 2009

OSCARS

The academy does Kate Winslet no favors

Now that the Oscar nominations are out, let us tear ourselves away from that wacky Benjamin Button and consider instead the Curious Case of Kate Winslet, who cannot seem to catch a break.

February 4, 2009

CONTENDER Q & A

Frank Langella steps into Nixon's shoes for 'Frost/Nixon'

Veteran actor Frank Langella first stepped into former President Richard M. Nixon's shoes in 2006 with Peter Morgan's "Frost/Nixon" on the London stage. The play, which chronicled the preparations, negotiations and shooting of the famed 1977 interviews between Nixon and British TV journalist David Frost ( Michael Sheen), was an unbridled success. The following year, Langella and Sheen reprised their roles on Broadway, earning Langella, 71, the Tony Award for actor in a play.

February 4, 2009

Big impressions in brief roles

In this season of academy accolades, it's easy to focus on the glitterati, the actors whose faces we know, whose names top the credits, who get back-end deals with the studios. We rarely stop to consider anyone else on screen. But those big-name nominees depend on their compatriots, even those with just a line or two in their movies, to help create the fictional world in which the stars can shine bright. So, as the Kate Winslets and the Sean Penns prepare to stroll the red carpet, we pay a minor -- but heartfelt -- salute, on this page and the next, to those actors whose names you can't place but who have nonetheless contributed memorable moments in film this year. Octavia Spencer, "Seven Pounds"

February 4, 2009

CONTENDER Q & A

Penélope Cruz on Woody's women

It's nearly an hour into Woody Allen's golden-hued comedy of desire "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" when Penélope Cruz shows up as Javier Bardem's passionately unhinged ex-wife Maria Elena, a life-is-art-and-vice-versa firecracker. It takes only seconds for the Spanish siren to shake up the molecules in the film's breezily romantic air with her confrontations and seductions.

February 4, 2009

LIGHTS, CAMERAS ...

'The Dark Knight' sound effects

Christopher Nolan's vision for "The Dark Knight" was more gritty, urban crime drama than slick superhero movie. At the same time, there were fantastic gadgets, vehicles and weapons that required cool and exciting sound effects. These kinds of sounds are not captured on the set, of course, but are created in postproduction.