Recommended Reading: On Martin Short and Sundance

(Photo: New York Times)

The above picture has to be the most adorable thing I've seen in this past awards season.  Young Quvenzhane Wallis is serenely holding court as Steven Spielberg acts like an awestruck fan.  Just. Too. Cute. For. Words. 

• One of my favorite comedians gets some great ink in Vanity Fair's comedy issue.  Read on for why Martin Short is so beloved in Hollywood. A great longread! 
• Entertainment Weekly has a nice list of 13 Must-See Films coming out of this year's Sundance Festival.  I've already scribbled down Austenland, Breathe In, The Spectacular Now, Before Midnight and Don Jon's Addiction on my films to watch for 2013.
• The Guardian asks: Is Quentin Tarantino the world's most influential director? Do you agree?
• The Large Association of Movie Blogs (aka LAMB) is blogging about each category in the Academy Awards.  Do check it out and see what everyone has to say about the films nominated for Oscars this year.  And a bit of self-promotion here, I've blogged about the Best Visual Effects!

Around the World in Posters: Iron Man 3, Stoker and Carrie

This poster doesn't need any further introduction than just the number 3.  It's Robert Downey Jr. back as Tony Stark in Iron Man 3.

(Poster: Empire)

Incredibly detailed poster for the English language debut film of Park Chan-wook's Stoker featuring Nicole Kidman, Mia Wasikowska and Matthew Goode.

From Argentina, it's new poster for Django Unchained with a badass Jamie Foxx going up against Leonardo DiCaprio.

Surprisingly this will be second poster of Chloe Grace Moretz to feature her and blood.  You know her name, it's Carrie.  

Wow, this is quintessential Bond.  Suit, car, London, all that's missing is a martini... whoops, sorry Heineken now.  Daniel Craig in the new poster for Skyfall.

And finally it's The Wolverine, Hugh Jackman back by popular demand.  

3 New Trailers: Zero Dark Thirty, Django Unchained and Hitchcock

The competition at next year's Oscars is going to be fierce.  Just look at the movies that will be going up against each other.  Among them is Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty, a behind-the-scenes look at the top secret stealth mission to capture (at any cost) Osama Bin Laden that shocked the world.  The movie features actors Jessica Chastain, Joel Edgerton, Mark Strong, Chris Pratt and Edgar Ramirez.  Will Bigelow be able to recapture the success of her last film, The Hurt Locker?  Judging by the second trailer released, it looks like extremely interesting with a solid cast of very good actors.  The curiosity factor about the mission might just get the film nominated.  The film is out December 19th in the US just in time for the nominations announcement in early January.

The second trailer of Quentin Tarantino's highly anticipated Django Unchained shows more of the partnership between Django (Jamie Foxx) and the bounty hunter Dr. Schultz (Christoph Waltz) and them going up against Calvin Candie (Leonardo DiCaprio) who has Django's wife Broomhilda (Kerry Washington). After a long time, DiCaprio is in an anti-hero role.  Could this possibly get him the Oscar after being nominated for it thrice already? He'll face competition from his own cast which also features Samuel L Jackson, Jonah Hill and Don Johnson. Django Unchained opens on Christmas day in the USA and around the rest of the world in January.

And finally, we have Hitchcock, the film about a man "obsessed with murder.'  With a pair of Oscar winners, Anthony Hopkins (virtually unrecognizable) and Helen Mirren play the legendary director and his wife Alma during the making of one of his most famous films, Psycho. I feel this could be hit or miss at the Oscar, it might have a shot at the acting awards but I don't whether it can be nominated for Best Picture against all the other heavyweights which are also due to release in December, like The Hobbit, Lincoln, etc. But it all depends on what number of films ends being nominated for Best Picture. Hitchcock releases late November in USA. 

New Looks: The Bling Ring, Les Miserables, and Django Unchained

Emma Watson (center) in The Bling Ring
(Photo: EW)

Entertainment Weekly premieres the first look at Sofia Coppola's The Bling Ring, based on the real life crime spree by 'The Burglar Bunch' who robbed celebrity homes of Paris Hilton, Orlando Bloom, Rachel Bilson and many more in the Hollywood area for nearly a year before being caught.  They managed to get away with more than $3 million in stolen designer goods.  Coppola's cast is lead by Emma Watson, Leslie Mann, Taissa Farmiga, Gavin Rossdale and Kirsten Dunst.   The film will release next year.

Javert (Russell Crowe) and Valjean (Hugh Jackman)

Anne Hathaway as Fantine

Hugh Jackman as Jean Valjean

Cosette (Amanda Seyfried) with Marius (Eddie Redmayne)
Photos: USA TODAY

USA Today has new photos of the big screen adaptation of Les Miserables directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech).  We get our first look at Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe against each other as Jean Valjean and Javert respectively.  But they aren't the only big names in the film, the cast also features Helena Bonham Carter, Sacha Baron Cohen, Anne Hathaway (for which she cut her hair), Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne and Samantha Barks as Eponine.  I'm curious to see how the film will turn out but I doubt it can match the power of Les Miserables on the stage.  It's a real treat to watch it live and if you get the opportunity, don't miss it.  Les Miserables opens in the US on December 14, 2012.

Jamie Foxx as Django

Jamie Foxx and Christoph Waltz as bounty hunters.

Jamie Foxx and Leonardo DiCaprio face off.

Django Unchained
Photos: Empire

And finally, Empire has some great photos and behind the scenes looks at Quentin Tarantino's Django Unchained.  The much-anticipated Christmas release features Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie (going bad for this film) who steals the wife (Kerry Washington) of bounty hunter Django (Jamie Foxx).  The film is about his journey to get her back.  The first teaser trailer should be arriving soon too along with the release of Prometheus.