December Movie News

Marc Forster Director, 'The Kite Runner'

The German-born Forster carries the weight of bringing one of the decade's most popular novels to the bigscreen this year with December's Paramount Vantage release, "The Kite Runner." The story of two economically diverse children frolicking in1970s Kabul, Afghanistan -- their lives splintering in very different directions -- could give the director an even stronger awards candidacy than he has had in the past with "Finding Neverland" (which earned him a Golden Globe nom) and "Monster's Ball."

Ronald Harwood Writer, 'Diving Bell,' 'Love in the Time of Cholera'

Born in South Africa from Lithuanian-Jewish lineage, Londoner Harwood has become one of the go-to scribes for literary adaptations. He already boasts an Oscar for "The Pianist" and a prior nom for "The Dresser," and this year weighs in with two screenplays: "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly," from the book dictated by paralyzed French journo Jean-Dominique Bauby, and "Love in the Time of Cholera," from the novel by Nobel Prize winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez. The pair are contrasting challenges, one a memoir of a man trapped in his body, the other a sprawling love story playing out over decades. Harwood handles each with aplomb.

Daniel Day-Lewis Actor, 'There Will Be Blood'

Rarely has such a voracious roar been heard from the staid Oscar inhouse audience as when Day-Lewis won for his turn as Christy Brown in 1989's "My Left Foot." Eighteen years and two more nominations later, the 50-year-old London native will receive plenty of kudos chatter for his role in Paul Thomas Anderson's "There Will Be Blood," in which he plays the Texas prospector from the Upton Sinclair novel. Just wondering ... do oil and Oscar mix?

Javier Bardem Actor, 'No Country for Old Men'

While Bardem, one of Spain's most popular exports, was mysteriously left out of the Oscar race three years ago for his stellar turn as a paraplegic in "The Sea Inside," the Academy may redeem itself this time. As a cold killer in the Coen brothers' "No Country for Old Men," Bardem places himself onto the Mt. Rushmore of badasses. Never using a gun, Anton Chigurh's expressionless stare does the job quite well in scaring us silly.

Alexandre Desplat Composer, 'Caution,' 'Compass,' 'Emporium'

For too long, Desplat's music was known mostly to film score connoisseurs. They savored his elegant expression and deft orchestration in films including "Girl With a Pearl Earring," and "Syriana." But Desplat's relative obscurity faded last year when the Paris native's witty soundtrack to "The Queen" nabbed an Oscar nom. His rep should grow even more thanks to transcendent work in "Lust, Caution" along with fantasies "The Golden Compass" and "Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium."

Russell Crowe Actor, 'American Gangster,' '3:10 to Yuma'

The great film star has gravitas. The great actor has a capacity for total self-surrender to a role. Rarely does a performer have both. Compare the lethal force Crowe personified in "L.A. Confidential" with his worn, bureaucratized but dogged police investigator in "American Gangster." Raised in Australia, where experience is less suburbanized and media-filtered, Crowe has something more real to reach for in "3:10 to Yuma." Don't buy the bad-boy image. Inside, there's a serious, gifted artist.