Focus Features

In a lovely little video, the very chic writer/director of PARIAH, Dee Rees, talks to Italian Vogue about the film, herself and the path she took to get PARIAH on the screen. See the whole video here.

The funny NPR show "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" recently invited TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY's Oscar-nominated Gary Oldman to join in. In the "Not My Job" section, where they ask celebrities to answer question about subjects they know nothing about, Mr. Oldman was asked three questions about the shiny, happy singing group Up With People. Test your knowledge, and then listen to the whole show at the "Wait, Wait" site. Here is one of the questions from host Peter Sagal:

The first Up With People concert at Mackinaw Island had a very unexpected act. Was it, A: Glenn Close, the actress, singing her own composition "The Happy Song." B: the young Vincent Furnier, soon to be known as Alice Cooper? Or C: the two year old Michael Stipe of REM mumbling happy birthday?

Cinema pundit David Poland delivers TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY's Oscar-nominated Gary Oldman in a very rich and expansive video as part of his DP/30 series. Oldman ranges about working, his career, public expectations and why TINKER, TAILOR was such a good movie. As one comment put it, "I could listen to this man talk for hours."

In case you doubt the dramatic power of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY's Oscar-nominated Gary Oldman, you need only see his tour de force reading of the "Jersey Shore" episode recap on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Snooki has never sounded so intriguing. You can see the whole show on Jimmy Kimmel's site.

This one looks to be great. Eric Bana (seen above from his recent turn in HANNA) and Rebecca Hall are signed up to star in an upcoming untitled international thriller to begin production in April from Focus Features and Working Title Films. The film is from an original screenplay by Steven Knight, who'd originally penned David Cronenberg's Russian mafia yarn EASTERN PROMISES, and will be directed by John Crowley, who gained international attention with his Boy A. In the thriller, two ex-lovers, Martin (Bana) and Claudia (Hall) find their loyalties tested and their lives at risk when they are joined together on the defense team in a terrorism trial. Focus CEO James Schamus and President Andrew Karpen said, "Working Title and John Crowley have not only crafted a nail-biting thriller, but an emotional rollercoaster as well - one that speaks to the heart of the human condition in our time."  Get the full press release here.

Vanity Fair released their Hollywood Issue with a spread of great new talents gracing its cover. Among them are three stars from recent Focus Features films: Mia Wasikowska from JANE EYRE; Jessica Chastain from THE DEBT; and Adepero Oduye from PARIAH.  The ladies are done up in full Hollywood glamour and shot by the legendary Mario Testino. There's also a short video with Ms. Chastain and Ms. Wasikowska.

Just like in New York, San Francisco is celebrating Gary Oldman recent Best Actor Oscar nomination for playing George Smiley in TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY with a six-film retrospective.  Oldman already earned a San Francisco Critics Circle's award for Best Actor for TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY, and the Circle also voted its Best Adapted Screenplay award to the film's screenwriters Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan, who have also just been Academy Award-nominated. San Francisco's KQED-FM (www.kqed.org), at 88.5-FM, is hosting the retrospective, which runs 3 nights from February 6th through 8th, and will take place at Landmark's Bridge Theatre (www.landmarktheatres.com), located at 3010 Geary Boulevard.

The retrospective kicks off on Monday, February 6 at 6:30 PM with Sid & Nancy (1986), Oldman's breakout role as Sid Vicious, the real-life bassist of the Sex Pistols, followed at 9:00 PM by JFK (1991), with Gary Oldman playing another notorious historical figure, Lee Harvey Oswald. On Tuesday, February 7, you can catch Mr. Oldman in the political drama The Contender (2000) at 6:00 PM, followed at 9:00 PM by Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) with Mr. Oldman suited up as the legendary vampire. And then on Wednesday, February 8, see Gary Oldman playing the rowdy and randy playwright Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987) at 6:30 PM, followed by a special screening of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER,SPY at 9:00 PM. Best of all, the screenings are free.

To get tickets, RSVP via email to OldmanRSVP@gmail.com and in your email, include your full name, the name of the film(s) you want to see, and the number of people attending in total with you. For the complete press release, click here.

It's hard to imagine that Gary Oldman recent Best Actor Oscar nomination for playing George Smiley in TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY was his first ever, especially considering his 26 years of amazing performances. To celebrate one of our great actors, New York's WNYC Radio (www.wnyc.org) is hosting a free retrospective of six iconic Gary Oldman films from February 6 - 8, 2012 at Landmark Theaters' Sunshine Cinema (www.landmarktheatres.com). The theater is located at 143 East Houston Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues. To reserve tickets and get full calendar info, go to www.OldmanRSVP.com.

The retrospective kicks off on Monday, February 6 at 6:30 PM with Sid & Nancy (1986), Oldman's breakout role as Sid Vicious, the real-life bassist of the punk group The Sex Pistols, followed at 9:00 PM by JFK (1991), with Gary Oldman playing another notorious historical figure, Lee Harvey Oswald. On Tuesday, February 7, you can catch Mr. Oldman in the political drama The Contender (2000) at 6:00 PM, followed at 9:00 PM by Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992) with Mr. Oldman suited up as the legendary vampire. And then on Wednesday, February 8, see Gary Oldman playing the rowdy and randy playwright Joe Orton in Prick Up Your Ears (1987) at 5:00 PM, followed by a special screening of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY at 7:30 PM with Mr. Oldman on hand for a Q&A afterwards. Best of all, the screenings are free. For the complete press release, click here.

Christopher Pummer showed up on the Ellen Show last week to talk to Ms. Degeneres about BEGINNERS and the recenet recognition for his part of an older man coming out later in life and embracing life. Ellen is excited that more people see Mr. Plummer's performance and Mike Mills films, which she counts among her favorite of 2011.

As part of their annual round up of Oscar hopefuls, Newsweek and the Daily Beast have gathered together a fantastic round table of talents, including George Clooney (The Descendants), Viola Davis (The Help), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Michael Fassbender (Shame), Charlize Theron (Young Adult) and, of course, Christopher Plummer (BEGINNERS). Newsweek's David Ansen moderated a panel and provides an edited transcript as well as some choice video moments with the roundtable. The whole piece is quite funny.