He’s credited with an early draft of Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.” He penned the latest installment of the James Bond franchise, “Skyfall,” for director Sam Mendes and star Daniel Craig. And he recently signed on the dotted line to write the screen adaptation of the smash Broadway musical “Jersey Boys.”

But it’s the three films Logan wrote in 2011 – “Rango,” “Coriolanus” and “Hugo” – that has his name buried deep in the heart of the ongoing Oscar race. “It’s kismit,” Logan told me. “Movies have their own internal time table. You never know when they’re going to achieve critical mass.”

The marathon comes to a head Tuesday morning, when nominations are revealed. We’ll see if Logan can add to his current nomination total of two. (He was recognized for penning “Gladiator” and “The Aviator,” also with Martin Scorsese.)

On the eve of the Oscar nominations, here is the gregarious, honest and refreshingly enthusiastic screenwriter, John Logan:

HollywoodNews.com: You have talked about how long it took to make “Rango.” How collaborative was it? Were you there for most of the process to keep changing dialogue or was it pretty much set in stone?

John Logan: It was pretty established early on, but we spent a long time getting it there. And it was the most mad cap experience I’ve ever had making a movie. We did most of the heavy lifting at Gore Verbinski’s house, away from a studio and away from society. The [creative team] was there, and we would walk around, through the hills, or sit in the backyard and hash things out. This involved a lot of acting on our parts, as we popped up and played almost all of the characters. We wanted the movie to have an off-the-cuff feel, an idiosyncratic energy.

But by the time you get to doing a story reel, the language and dialogue had to be set. And so once we got the actors in to record it – and we sort of filmed them doing it as if we were doing a live play – it was all pretty set. Though we did use that process as an excuse to further explore these characters and to let the actors improvise around the text.

It was more fluid then I think animation usually is.

HollywoodNews.com: And yet, it’s so drastically different than “Coriolanus.” Tell me how you became involved with Ralph Fiennes’ Shakespeare adaptation.

It was years ago, and it came to me because of my great affection for Shakespeare. The reason that I am a writer today is Shakespeare, and just falling in love with theater.

I’d always thought, from the time I started writing screenplays, that sooner or later I would try my hand at adapting Shakespeare. And I always thought “Coriolanus” was the one that I was going to do. I think that it’s a very cinematic story. And very modern. But not in my wildest dreams did I ever imagine that anybody in the world would want to make a movie of “Coriolanus” until I met Ralph Fiennes! [Laughs]

We have similar contact. Kathryn Bigelow is a dear friend of both of ours. We met, and he sort of pitched me his take on the movie, which is exactly how I thought it should be … very modern. And we just dove in and did it.

HollywoodNews.com: You always wanted to bring Shakespeare into a modern time?

Completely. Well, with “Coriolanus.” If I were doing “Winter’s Tale,” I wouldn’t. But this, because of the central character, seems to me to be very modern. It’s less about the contemporary parallels, of which there are many. What I find particularly filmic and modern is the character of Coriolanus. He is a very complicated, murky individual. He’s deeply, deeply complex. And one of the things that draws me to people I want to write about is the examination of deeply flawed characters. Whether it’s Charles Foster Kane [in “RKO 281”] or T.E. Lawrence or Norman Bates. The people who we don’t understand, but the camera can let their internal lives come out. And that’s why, to me, “Coriolanus” was going to make such a great movie.

HollywoodNews.com: Shifting to “Hugo,” as we run through your impressive credits from the year, I’m curious if you connected with the topic of film preservation in the same way that Martin Scorsese does?

It’s less about preservation for me as it is understanding where you stand in the continuum of your art form.

I think we all stand in the good grace and on the backs of those who came before us in the movies. It’s shocking to me when I meet film people who’ve never seen “Night of the Hunter,” who don’t know “Vertigo,” “Intolerance,” “Top Hat” or “The Band Wagon.” Who don’t understand who Ben Hecht was. To me, it’s very important to know the lineage of your art form, whether it’s in the theater or movies, which are the two forms that I like to explore.

Clearly, there’s that thing in “Hugo” that is about the acknowledgement of the masters of the form. And I know Marty connected to that, as did I.

HollywoodNews.com: One topic that emerged from “Hugo” was the advancement of 3D technology, as Scorsese figured out how best to use it to aid his storytelling. Does 3D change the way that you write, and if so, how?

It certainly did in my case. Once the decision was made to go to 3D, it encouraged me to write a different way. When I write screenplays, I try to imagine the whole thing in a sort of virtual, 3D environment anyway. So it encouraged me to find ways to go into things and through things, so I wrote more sequences of Hugo going through the tunnels, of the camera going inside of the automaton to see how all of the pieces work. Or simple things like the dogs being a Doberman and two Dachshunds because those are long dogs that would look good in 3D.

HollywoodNews.com: Ah, that’s interesting.

Right. So it absolutely informed a lot of decisions in a really exciting way.

HollywoodNews.com: Would you like to potentially go back and do “The Time Machine” in 3D?

[Laughs] No, I’m leaving H.G. Wells in my past.

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
- Harvey Weinstein
- The cast of “The Artist.”
- Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
- Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
- Producer Jim Burke for “The Descendants.”
- Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
- Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
- David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
- Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
- Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
- Woody Harrelson for “Rampart.”
- Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
- Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
- Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
- Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
- Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
- Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”
- Producer Grant Heslov for “The Ides of March.”

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Logan will adapt the smash Broadway hit “Jersey Boys” into a major motion picture, THR reports. The Ton-winning musical, which has earned more than $1 billion during its theatrical run, will be produced by GK Films, with Columbia Pictures expected to handle worldwide distribution.

For those who don’t know, “Jersey Boys” charts the rise of the Four Seasons, whose hit songs include “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and “Walk Like a Man.”

Musicals are still big, with Adam Shankman ready to bring “Rock of Ages” to theaters this summer and Tom Hooper (of “The King’s Speech”) prepping “Les Miserables” for December.

A “Jersey Boys” adaptation seemed inevitable, and Logan’s a great hire. Now they’ll need to find the right director and cast. Maybe Logan can lure Scorsese, who is a music aficionado, into the fold?

Awards Alley brings you the best Oscar coverage. Click below to read our exclusive interviews with:
- Harvey Weinstein
- The cast of “The Artist.”
- Kenneth Branagh for “My Week With Marilyn.”
- Bennett Miller talks “Moneyball.”
- Sir Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz for “Hugo.”
- Tilda Swinton for “We Need to Talk About Kevin.”
- David Fincher, Daniel Craig and Rooney Mara on “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.”
- Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
- Tate Taylor for “The Help.”
- Gavin O’Connor for “Warrior.”
- Gary Oldman and Colin Firth for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.”
- Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt, Jason Reitman and Diablo Cody for “Young Adult.”
- Steve McQueen for “Shame.”
- Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs.”
- Seth Rogen and Will Reiser for “50/50.”

For complete Oscar and Film Festival coverage, visit our Awards Alley for the latest news items, reviews and interviews all season long.

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Polanski’s uncomfortably comedic drama stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly as parents trying to smooth things out following a physical altercation between their adolescent sons. The Camerimage fest places its focus on cinematography, so expect Polanski’s cinematographer – the great Pawel Edelman (“The Pianist,” “Ray”) – to be recognized for his accomplishment in containing the “Carnage” action to one cramped, sun-drenched New York apartment.

In addition to “Carnage,” this year’s fest will screen Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life,” Steve McQueen “Shame,” Andrea Arnold’s “Wuthering Heights,” Ralph Fiennes’ “Coriolanus,” and the period rom-com “Hysteria” … all recognized for their striking visuals.

From the international circuit, Plus Camerimage plans to screen Asghar Farhadi’s “A Separation,” Agnieszka Holland’s Holocaust drama “In Darkness,” Aki Kaurismaki’s “Le Havre” and Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.”
starring Kirsten Dunst.

The 2011 Plus Camerimage runs through Dec. 3. For a full schedule, visit the official Web site.

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Well, now that you mention it, yes. Yes, I do have a few educated guesses as to what film SAVFF audiences might be enjoying tonight at the Trustees Theater.

Looking over this year’s schedule, I’m seeing strong representation from The Weinstein Company. Michel Hazanavicius’s black-and-white “The Artist” opened the fest last Saturday to overall raves. Ralph Fiennes’ “Coriolanius” screened earlier this week. Could we see another Weinstein film in the coveted Friday evening slot? If so, I’d lean toward “My Week with Marilyn,” which opens later this month.

Speaking with a few attendees over breakfast this morning in The Marshall House, there’s hope for Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants,” which has been active on the film festival circuit and features an Oscar-worthy performance by the amazing George Clooney.

But I’ve been told by someone who is – I’ll just say “in the know” – that tonight’s movie will be “family friendly,” and that parents might want to get there early with their children.

Great tease. Could it be Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo?” The upcoming “Muppets” movie? “Happy Feet 2” or the charming, animated “Arthur Christmas?” “A Very Harold & Kumar Christmas?”

OK, probably not the latter. But the aforementioned “family friendly” titles are fair game. See you tonight at Trustees.

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HollywoodNews.com: Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O’Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel to be honored at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony.

The 15th Annual Hollywood Film Festival and Hollywood Film Awards, presented by Starz Entertainment, are pleased to announce that the cast of DreamWorks Pictures and Participant Media’s “The Help” – Viola Davis, Bryce Dallas Howard, Allison Janney, Chris Lowell, Ahna O’Reilly, Octavia Spencer, Emma Stone, Sissy Spacek, Mary Steenburgen, Cicely Tyson and Mike Vogel – will be recognized at the Hollywood Awards Gala Ceremony with the “Hollywood Ensemble Acting Award.”

The announcement was made today by Carlos de Abreu, Founder of the 15th Annual Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, which will take place on the evening of Monday, October 24, 2011, at the Beverly Hilton Hotel.

The Hollywood Film Awards Gala launches the awards season. In the past eight years a total of 73 Oscar nominations and 27 Oscars were given to the honorees of the Hollywood Awards.

The 2011 Hollywood Film Festival has announced they will also honor Cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki, Editor Stephen Mirrione, Production Designer James Murakami and Visual Effects Supervisor Scott Farrar at their annual Awards Gala. Gore Verbinski’s “Rango” will also be honored at the Hollywood Film Awards Gala Ceremony, along with additional honorees to be announced in the coming weeks.

Based on the best-selling novel by Kathryn Stockett, THE HELP stars Academy Award®-nominated Viola Davis (DOUBT) as Aibileen and Emma Stone as Skeeter, two very different, extraordinary women who build an unlikely friendship around a secret writing project that breaks societal rules and puts them both at risk at the height of the civil rights movement in 1960s Mississippi. When Aibileen enlists the help of her best friend Minny (Octavia Spencer), their improbable alliance fosters a remarkable sisterhood, instilling all of them with the courage to transcend the lines that defi ne them, and the realization that sometimes those lines are made to be crossed-even if it means bringing everyone in town face-to-face with the changing times. Deeply moving, filled with poignancy, humor and hope, THE HELP is a timeless and universal story about the ability to create change. THE HELP was written for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor and produced by Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan. The film is distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures.

ABOUT VIOLA DAVIS
VIOLA DAVIS (Aibileen Clark) received a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination, a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination and a Golden Globe Award nomination, as well as being voted Best Breakthrough Performance-Female by the National Board of Review for her role as Mrs. Miller in “Doubt.” Davis’s other feature film credits include “It’s Kind of a Funny Story,” “Trust,” “Eat Pray Love,” “Knight & Day,” “Law Abiding Citizen,” “State of Play,” “Madea Goes to Jail,” “Nights in Rodanthe,” “Disturbia,” “Syriana,” “Get Rich or Die Tryin’,” “Solaris,” “Antwone Fisher” (for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award), “Far From Heaven,” “Kate & Leopold,” “Traffic,” and “The Substance of Fire.” She will next be seen in Stephen Daldry’s “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.”

On Broadway, Davis won Tony Awards for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play for her role in “King Hedley II” and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for “Fences.” Off-Broadway she has also won many awards for her work.

On television, Davis was seen last year in a six-episode arc in Showtime’s hit series “United States of Tara.” She also starred in the A&E miniseries “The Andromeda Strain,” and enjoyed recurring roles on “Law & Order: SVU” and in the CBS miniseries franchise “Jesse Stone.” Additional television credits include “Traveler,” “Century City,” “Lefty,” and “City of Angels.” She also had roles in Oprah Winfrey’s “Amy and Isabelle,” and Hallmark Hall of Fame’s “Grace and Glorie.”

ABOUT BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD
BRYCE DALLAS HOWARD (Hilly Holbrook) is one of Hollywood’s most versatile and dynamic talents both on screen and behind the camera. Her feature-film acting credits include “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse,” “Hereafter,” “The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond,” “Terminator Salvation,” “Spider Man 3,” “Lady in the Water,” “The Village,” and “Manderlay.” She will next be seen in Jonathan Levine’s comedy “50/50,” opposite Seth Rogen and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

Howard also received a 2008 Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance as Rosalind in HBO’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” written and directed by Kenneth Branagh. Expanding her creative reach beyond acting, Howard produced Gus Van Sant’s soon to be released “Restless.” She made her directorial debut with the short film “Orchids” and currently has a feature in development as a screenwriter.

After leaving the Tisch School of the Arts program at New York University, Howard immediately began working on the New York stage, including playing the role of Marianne in the Roundabout’s Broadway production of “Tartuffe”; Rosalind in the Public Theatre’s “As You Like It”; Sally Platt in the Manhattan Theater Club’s production of Alan Ayckbourn’s “House/Garden”; and Emily in the Bay Street Theater Festival’s production of “Our Town.”

ABOUT ALLISON JANNEY
ALLISON JANNEY (Charlotte Phelan) has starred in numerous feature films, including “Life During Wartime,” “A Thousand Words,” “Away We Go,” “Juno,” and “Hairspray.” She also appeared in the comedy “Strangers with Candy,” was heard as the voice of Gladys in DreamWorks’ animated comedy “Over the Hedge” and received an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her work in “Our Very Own.”

Janney also starred opposite Meryl Streep in “The Hours,” which received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture. Other feature credits include “American Beauty” (for which she won a SAG Award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture) and the Disney/Pixar animated feature “Finding Nemo” (as the voice of Peach), as well as “Nurse Betty,” “How to Deal,” “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Primary Colors,” “The Ice Storm,” “Six Days Seven Nights,” “The Object of My Affection” and “Big Night.” She will soon be seen starring in “The Oranges,” “Margaret” and “Lucky Them.”

On television, Janney starred as C.J. Gregg on “The West Wing,” for which she won four Emmy Awards, as well as four SAG Awards. She currently stars on the ABC comedy “Mr. Sunshine,” with Matthew Perry. Janney was recently seen on Broadway as Violet Newstead in the musical “9 to 5,” for which she received a Tony Award nomination and Drama Desk Award.

ABOUT CHRIS LOWELL
CHRIS LOWELL (Stuart Whitworth) starred as Dell, in ABC’s “Grey’s Anatomy,” and its spin-off “Private Practice.” His additional television credits include the series regular roles of Piz, on the critically acclaimed “Veronica Mars,” and Jonathan Fields in ABC’s “Life as We Know It.”

In feature films, Lowell appeared in the Oscar®-nominated “Up in the Air,” directed by Jason Reitman and starring George Clooney. His other films include “Spin,” directed by Henry Pincus, and “Graduation,” directed by Michael Mayer. He will soon be seen in writer/director Maggie Kiley’s “Light Years.”

ABOUT AHNA O’REILLY
With numerous film and television credits to her name, AHNA O’REILLY (Elizabeth Leefolt) has emerged as one of Hollywood’s most sought after young actors. O’Reilly’s previous film credits include the comedy “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” alongside Jason Segel, Kristen Bell, Mila Kunis and Russell Brand as well as “Nancy Drew” with Emma Roberts, Amy Bruckner and Kay Panabaker. O’Reilly’s television credits include a recent appearance on The CW’s “Vampire Diaries” as well as “CSI:NY,” and “Unhitched.”

ABOUT OCTAVIA SPENCER
OCTAVIA SPENCER (Minny Jackson) began her acting career in 1995 in Joel Schumacher’s “A Time to Kill,” opposite Sandra Bullock. Since that time she has built a diverse and impressive resume and in 2009 was lauded by Entertainment Weekly online for her comedic timing when she was named one of the “25 Funniest Actresses in Hollywood.” Spencer’s extensive feature film credits include “Peep World,” “Dinner for Schmucks,” “Small Town Saturday Night,” “Herpes Boy,” “Halloween II,” “The Soloist,” “Drag Me to Hell,” “Seven Pounds,” “Pretty Ugly People,” “Coach Carter,” “Charm School,” “Win a Date with Tad Hamilton,” “Bad Santa,” “Spiderman,” “Big Momma’s House,” “Being John Malkovich” and “Never Been Kissed.” In 2009, Spencer directed and produced a short film entitled “The Captain” which was a finalist for the coveted Poetry Foundation Prize at the Chicago International Children’s Film Festival.

On television, Spencer starred in the Comedy Central series “Halfway Home” and completed a five-episode arc as the character Constance Grady on the hit series “Ugly Betty.” Additionally, Spencer has been seen in guest-starring roles on shows including “The Big Bang Theory,” “E.R.,” “CSI,” “CSI: NY,” “Raising the Bar,” “Medium” and “NYPD Blue.”

ABOUT EMMA STONE
EMMA STONE (Skeeter Phelan) recently co-starred in Warner Bros comedy, “Crazy, Stupid, Love,” opposite Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling and “Friends with Benefits” opposite Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis. She will next be seen in Columbia Pictures’ “The Amazing Spider-Man.”

In 2010, Stone earned rave reviews and a Golden Globe Award nomination for her performance in the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award winning comedy “Easy A,” for which she also won the 2011 MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance. Stone also recently lent her voice to the DreamWorks Animation comedy “The Croods” along with Ryan Reynolds and Nicholas Cage, which is slated for release in 2013. Stone’s film credits include the independent drama “Paperman,” the Twentieth Century Fox animated comedy, “Marmaduke,” Columbia Picture’s hit comedy “Zombieland,” the Warner Brothers romantic comedy “Ghosts of Girlfriends Past,” the Columbia Pictures/Happy Madison hit comedy, “The House Bunny,” Twentieth Century Fox’s “The Rocker” and the Judd Apatow comedy “Superbad,” where she portrayed the love interest of Jonah Hill.

ABOUT SISSY SPACEK
SISSY SPACEK (Missus Walters) has been one of the industry’s most respected actresses for almost four decades. Her many honors include an Academy Award, five additional Oscar nominations, three Golden Globe Awards, and numerous critics awards. She first gained the attention of critics and audiences with her performance in Terrence Malick’s widely praised 1973 drama “Badlands,” in which she starred opposite Martin Sheen. In 1976, Spacek earned her first Academy Award nomination and won a National Society of Film Critics Award for her chilling performance in the title role of Brian De Palma’s “Carrie,” based on the Stephen King novel. The following year, she won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for her work in Robert Altman’s “Three Women.”

In 1980, Spacek starred as Loretta Lynn in the acclaimed biopic “Coal Miner’s Daughter,” winning the Oscar and Golden Globe Award for her performance. Spacek received another Golden Globe nomination the next year for her work in “Raggedy Man,” directed by her husband, Jack Fisk. She earned her third Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her role in Costa-Gavras’ 1982 drama “Missing,” opposite Jack Lemmon, and her fourth Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for her work in 1984′s “The River,” in which she starred with Mel Gibson. In 1987, Spacek gained her fifth Academy Award nomination and won another Golden Globe and the New York film Critics Circle Award for her performance in the dark comedy “Crimes of the Heart.” Her most recent Oscar nomination came for her portrayal of a mother grieving for her murdered son in the drama “In the Bedroom,” for which she also won a Golden Globe Award, an Independent Spirit Award, and an AFI Film Award for Best Actress. In addition, she garnered Best Actress Awards from a number of critics’ organizations, including the Los Angeles, New York and Broadcast Film Critics. Her work in “In the Bedroom” also brought Spacek two Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Award nominations, one for Outstanding Lead Actress and another for Outstanding Cast, shared with the rest of the film’s ensemble.

Spacek’s other film credits include “A Home at the End of the World,” “The Straight Story,” “Blast From the Past,” “Affliction,” “The Grass Harp,” “JFK,” “The Long Walk Home,” “‘night, Mother,” “Marie,” “North Country,” “Nine Lives,” “Hot Rod,” “Lake City” and “Four Christmases.” Spacek most recently starred in “Get Low” alongside Robert Duvall and Bill Murray. Her next films will be the thriller “Blackbird,” and her directorial debut “Sweet Tea” (based on the novel “Goodbye to the Buttermilk Sky” by Julia Oliver). She is also writing her memoir “Barefoot Stories.”

ABOUT MARY STEENBURGEN
MARY STEENBURGEN (Elaine Stein) won the Academy Award for her role in Jonathan Demme’s “Melvin and Howard.” Among her many other feature film credits are “Did You Hear About the Morgans?,” “The Proposal,” “Four Christmases,” “Stepbrothers,” “The Brave One,” “Nobel Son,” “Hotchkiss’ Ballroom Dancing and Charm School,” “Elf,” “Sunshine State,” “Casa De Los Baby,” “Life as a House,” “Philadelphia,” “Parenthood,” “What’s Eating Gilbert Grape,” “The Grass Harp,” “Back to the Future Part III,” “Time After Time,” “A Midsummer Night’s Sex Comedy,” “Cross Creek,” “One Magic Christmas,” “Dead of Winter” and “End of the Line,” for which she also served as the film’s executive producer.

For two seasons on television, Steenburgen starred in the Emmy Award nominated CBS series, “Joan of Arcadia.” She also starred in the television film “Southern Discomfort,” and in numerous episodes of “Curb Your Enthusiasm.” Steenburgen also starred with her husband, Ted Danson, in the television film “It Must Be Love” and in the television miniseries’ “Talking to Heaven” and “Gulliver’s Travels.” Steenburgen starred with Jon Voight and F. Murray Abraham in Robert Halmi’s “Noah’s Ark” for NBC, and was also nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award®, for her role in “About Sarah.” Currently, Steenburgen is starring in a pilot called “Outlaw Country,” opposite John Hawkes, for FX. She also appears in the upcoming season of HBO’s acclaimed series, “Bored to Death,” and in FX’s new series, “Wilfred,” starring Elijah Wood, which debuts this month.

On stage, Steenburgen starred in the David Mamet-directed play “Boston Marriage” at The Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. Her other theater credits include “The Beginning of August,” “Holiday” and “Candida” at New York’s Roundabout Theater, and “Marvin’s Room” at the Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles.

ABOUT CICELY TYSON
CICELY TYSON (Constantine Jefferson) is an actress, activist and humanitarian, renowned for her portrayals of strong female characters on stage, screen and television. Her career as both pioneer and award-winning actress have made her a respected national treasure and creative force.

Tyson was the first women of color to co-star in a television drama series, “East Side/West Side” and the first woman of color as a series regular on a daytime television soap opera series, “Guiding Light.” This remarkable actress is hailed as a gifted performer for her roles in such landmark films as her title role in “The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman,” in which she played a slave woman ranging in age from 19 to 110 for which she received an unprecedented two Emmy Awards® for Best Actress and Actress of the Year. In addition, she won an Emmy Award® for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the television film “The Oldest Confederate Widow Tells All.”

Other prominent performances include Harriet Tubman in the televised special “A Woman Called Moses,” Binta, the mother of Kunta Kinte, in Alex Haley’s landmark series “Roots,” Marva Collins, the innovative Chicago schoolteacher, in “Welcome to Success: The Marva Collins Story,” Coretta Scott King, the wife of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in “King,” and her roles in both the Hallmark television movie “Relative Strangers” and the NBC series “Sweet Justice,” all of which earned her Emmy® nominations.

Critical acclaim continues for Tyson’s performance as “Rebecca” in the feature film “Sounder” for which she received an Academy Award® nomination as well as the British equivalent, the British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award nomination. Other beloved and memorable film credits include “Hoodlum,” “The Women of Brewster Place,” “Fried Green Tomatoes,” “Mama Flora’s Family,” “Diary of a Mad Black Woman” and “Why Did I Get Married, Too?”

ABOUT MIKE VOGEL
MIKE VOGEL (Johnny Foote) recently co-starred in the critically acclaimed “Blue Valentine.” He also appeared in “Cloverfield,” “She’s Out of My League,” the cult thriller “Across the Hall,” “The Deaths of Ian Stone,” “Open Graves,” “Poseidon” and “Rumor Has It.”

Vogel received praise for his starring roles in “Supercross” and “The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,” as well as for his breakthrough performance in MTV’s musical adaptation of “Wuthering Heights” and the box office hit “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.” 

About Starz Entertainment, LLC:
The festival and awards presenter is Starz Entertainment, LLC, is a premium movie and original programming entertainment service provider operating in the United States. The company offers 17 premium channels including the flagship STARZ® and ENCORE® brands with approximately 19 million and 32.9 million subscribers respectively. Starz Entertainment airs in total more than 1,000 movies and original series every month across its pay TV channels. Starz Entertainment is recognized as a pay TV leader in providing HD, On Demand, HD On Demand and online advanced services for its STARZ, ENCORE and MOVIEPLEX brands. Starz Entertainment (www.starz.com) is an operating unit of Starz, LLC, which is a controlled subsidiary of Liberty Media Corporation and is attributed to the Liberty Starz tracking stock group (NASDAQ: LSTZA).

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HollywoodNews.com: Call it “Harry Potter and the Deathly Premiere.” Inside Avery Fisher Hall it wasn’t so easy digging up celebrities outside the cast of the final Potter episode. Whoopi Goldberg was the biggest deal, and we spotted Seth Green. Actor Noah Emmerich brought his kids. Outside on the red carpet, fotogs got shots of Matthew Broderick and Sarah Jessica Parker with son James, but they must have been seated someplace very special: no one saw them in the theater. Warner Bros. took over the whole plaza in front of Lincoln Center, but there was no sign of the “Harry Potter” superstars like Maggie Smith, Ralph Fiennes, or Michael Gambon. It’s too bad they didn’t follow the format laid out for the “Lord of the Rings” series. Ah, well. I did see some of Daniel Radcliffe’s “How to Succeed” Broadway pals.

It was a good thing, then, that Peggy Siegal had not one but two premieres last night while “Harry Potter” plodded along (set for a 6:30 pm start it was still in process at 6:50). Diane von Furstenberg, Courtney Love, Regis and Joy Philbin, Malin Ackerman, and famed R&B singer Maxwell were among the stars who showed up at a screening of the lovely and moving film, “Sarah’s Key,” with a dinner that followed at Osteria del Circo. Legendary restaurateur Sirio Maccione looked wide eyed as this A list poured into Circo along with Harvey Weinstein and a big group from St. Martin’s Press, which turned “Sarah’s Key” into an international bestseller. Other guests included BAFTA founder Freddie Hancock and Broadway producer Jean Doumanian, who was celebrating good financial news about “The Mother—- in the Hat.” It’s recouped its investment.

I’ll tell you more about “Sarah’s Key” soon, because it opens next Friday, July 22nd. Suffice to say that it’s the one “serious” film of the summer, a magnificent rendering of the Holocaust themed novel upon which it’s based. Kristen Scott Thomas is wonderful and so are the many lesser well known actors who brought last night’s audience to tears.

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Then she expressed her appreciation and gratitude by showing them an exclusive clip from the upcoming “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2.”

The clip, essentially, shows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) meeting Lod Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) in the Forbidden Forest for their monumental face off. Then that scene bled into footage we’ve already seen in the final “Hallows” trailer. We have a brief look at it below.

Watson and the clip received tremendous applause, though “Potter” still took a backseat to “Twilight” during Sunday night’s telecast.

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HollywoodNews.com: Warner Bros. has released the first official poster for the upcoming finale to the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.

The image shows Harry (Daniel Radcliffe) and Lord Voldemort (Ralph Fiennes) face-to-face, with the Elder Wand between them and the caption “It all ends 7/15”. Viewers will remember that the wand, which Voldemort stole from the tomb of recently deceased Headmaster Albus Dumbledore in the final scene of Deathly Hallows – Part 1, was revealed to be one of three Deathly Hallows spoken about during the animated sequence “The Tale of the Three Brothers”. The significance of the wand will play an important role in the final film, which will be in theaters July 15.

The poster has been seen at CinemaCon, which is taking place this week and will screen new footage from Deathly Hallows – Part 2 on Thursday at 2:30pm, with producer David Heyman in attendance, according to Harry Potter fansite Mugglenet. Heyman will also be present later that evening to accept the CinemaCon Hall of Fame Award, which is being presented to the Harry Potter franchise.

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By Roger Friedman

HollywoodNews.com: Now that Harvey Weinstein has made his big comeback with “The King’s Speech,” what next? On Sunday, Harvey added the “King’s” Best Picture statue to ones for “Chicago,” “Shakespeare in Love,” and “The English Patient.” Not bad, but there’s more to come now that The Weinstein Company is financially buoyant.

However: “King’s” director Tom Hooper hasn’t made up his mind about any new projects yet. On Sunday night, as we admired his Oscar, Hooper said he only wanted to take a break. “I’m thinking of going to Fiji,” he said. I doubt he will; Hooper is a worker. But still, even when he does go back to work I doubt he’ll shoot another period piece. At 37, he’s unlikely to become the new Merchant Ivory.

At the same time, Harvey has plenty of films to think about. Right now “I Don’t Know How She Does It” with Sarah Jessica Parker, Pierce Brosnan and Kelsey Grammer is shooting in New York. TWC also has very strong prospects for “My Week with Marilyn,” directed by Simon Curtis and starring Michelle Williams in what is said to be a stunning performance. At Sundance Harvey bought “My Idiot Brother” with Paul Rudd, and “The Details” with Tobey Maguire, Laura Linney and Elizabeth Banks. They are each going to do very well. He also recently picked up Ralph Fiennes’s “Coriolanus.”

And then, lurking out there somewhere, is the possibility of David O. Russell directing “The Silver Linings Playbook.” If they started by mid April, “Playbook” could make it for December. And then, there’s always the unknown. I am told that TWC’s Donna Gigliotti has a few surprises up her designer sleeves. So stay tuned. Harvey Weinstein is really back.

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That would be the case if Warner Bros. and Legendary Pictures are able to secure the wonderful Rosamund Pike for the role of Andromeda in the planned follow up to “Clash of the Titans.” Alexa Davalos played the part in the first film, though THR reports that Pike “is in negotiations” to take over the role of the rescued princess in the big-budgeted 3D sequel.

Jonathan Liebesman (“Battle: Los Angeles”) plans to direct the film, which begins production next month and is eyeballing a March 2012 release date. Most of the original cast will return, including Sam Worthington as Perseus, Gemma Arterton as Io, Liam Neeson as Zeus and Ralph Fiennes as Hades.

Now, take this into consideration. Pike’s name has been in the running for multiple franchises lately, from the “X-Men” origin story to Zack Snyder’s Superman reboot. She seems to be the “it” name tossed around these days. but what do you think? Is Pike an upgrade? Are you a fan of switching proverbial horses midstream? Let us know your thoughts on a second “Clash” in our comments section below.

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