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Chicago – In my second meeting with director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, I was struck by his almost child-like wonder regarding his breakout film, “Me and Earl and the Dying Girl.” Gomez-Rejon bleeds celluloid, and loves films in every fiber of his being. To be able to contribute to the cinema universe is his greatest reward.

The film came out of the Sundance festival with the top jury prize and audience favorite awards, much as its predecessor “Whiplash” has done in 2014. The poignant film, about the effect a dying classmate has on a movie loving boy, is done almost as an allegory in so many aspects. Its success is a testament to director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who has worked his way upward in the film industry for years, under the auspice of mentors such as Martin Scorsese, Nora Ephron and Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu.

Director Alfonso Gomez-Rejon On Set for ’Me and Earl and the Dying Girl...

During our most recent podcast, Tom O’Neil and I debated Meryl Streep’s Oscar nomination for Best Actress in “August: Osage County.” Due to the strong surge for “American Hustle,” it appeared that Amy Adams might knock her onetime “Doubt” and “Julia and Julia” costar Streep out of the lead actress category. After all, Streep had just won her third statuette two years ago for “The Iron Lady.” With the mixed reviews for her latest film, would she really gather enough of those crucial number one votes to secure another bid? It was generally believed that Cate Blanchett in “Blue Jasmine,” Sandra Bullock in “Gravity,” Judi Dench in “Philomena” and Emma Thompson in “Saving Mr. Banks” were all safe bets. If Adams made the cut, it looked like Streep would be the one to go. As we all know, that’s not how things turned out. Adams did mana.

The Oscar nominations are in, and if you haven’t glanced at the Best Actress category, you’re in for a star-studded explosion. Collectively, the five chosen actresses have been nominated 38 times for Academy Awards, so any member of this esteemed quintet could run off with the gold.

But every great actor is an entitled to a mediocre performance or two. Here are my least favorite performances by the five nominated actresses of 2014.

Amy Adams: Julie and Julia

I actually appreciate that Julia and Julia was half-about the tribulations of a blogger trying to establish herself. Scaring up pageviews in order to sustain a living is an unusual situation, and I haven’t seen that explored in many movies. But Amy Adams is a pile of quirks and unfunny dialogue in this movie, and I’ve never seen her so flatly perky. You miss Meryl when she’s not...

The Weinstein Company (TWC) announced today that it has acquired from Pathé International all U.S. distribution rights to The Iron Lady, directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!) and starring Academy Award® winner Meryl Streep (The Hours, Julia And Julia) as Margaret Thatcher. Academy Award winner Jim Broadbent (the Harry Potter series, Iris) co-stars as Thatcher’s husband, Denis. The film marks [...]...

The Weinstein Company may have just acquired their top Oscar contender for next year’s ceremony. Yesterday, it was announced that TWC had grabbed U.S. distribution rights to the Margaret Thatcher drama The Iron Lady. Directed by Phyllida Lloyd (Mamma Mia!), the film stars Meryl Streep as Thatcher, with Jim Broadbent playing her husband Denis. The Iron Lady chronicles Thatcher’s rise to become the UK’s first and only female Prime Minister. The film is set to be released sometime later this year. Hit the jump to read the official synopsis, as well as the full press release. Here’s the official synopsis: The Iron Lady is a surprising and intimate portrait of Margaret Thatcher (Meryl Streep), the first and only female Prime Minister of The United Kingdom. One of the 20th century’s most famous and influential women, Thatcher came from nowhere to smash through barriers of...

L.A. Times are reporting that red-head Amy Adams has been chosen as The Daily Planet’s top reporter and Clark Kent’s true love – the famously brunette Lois Lane in Superman: The Man of Steel.

Director Zack Snyder called her up today on a Sunday, just as he did with the life changing news to Henry Cavill that he was Superman two months ago.

Cool casting, but probably just because of her natural hair colour, not one I could have come up with on my own. If you had told me that director Zack Snyder was searching for an actress to play Clark Kent’s high-school sweetheart Lana Lang, I probably would have drawn up red-head Amy Adams quite quickly because she’s never played anything else (I’m sure someone will be quick to correct me!), but that doesn’t mean her hiring isn’t less cool.

'Julia and Julia' Actor Chris Messina Will Also Star In "Offbeat Romantic Comedy" "The Office" actress Jenna Fischer, Topher Grace ("Predators"), Malin Akerman ("The Heartbreak Kid") and Chris Messina will all star in what is being touted as an offbeat romantic comedy, "The Giant Mechanical Man." Written and directed by Lee Kirk (writer of "Pants On Fire") the film centers on two outsiders--a misunderstood street performer (Messina) and the soft spoken zoo worker who falls for him (Fischer). Akerman will play Fischer's well-meaning sister who pushes her towards dating a pompous motivational speaker, played by Topher Grace. The film is…...

Jenna Fischer (The Office), Topher Grace (Predators), Malin Akerman (Watchmen) and Chris Messina (Julia and Julia) have all signed on to star in The Giant Mechanical Man. The film will be a romantic comedy, which tells the story of “two outsiders — a misunderstood street performer (Chris Messina) and the soft spoken zoo worker who falls for him.” Fischer will play the role of the zoo keeper, while Akerman will play her older sister, who pushes her towards dating a pompous motivational speaker (Topher Grace). The film will be written and directed by acclaimed playwright Lee Kirk. You can hit the jump to check out the full press release.

Los Angeles – November 5, 2010: Jenna Fischer (The Office, Blades Of Glory) will star in The Giant Mechanical Man which begins production in Detroit later this month. Fischer is also producing alongside Molly Hassell (Vamps, Edmond), Michael Nardelli and Brent Stiefel (Grassroots).

Written and directed by Lee Kirk,...

The Afc and Nfc Championships in the world of cinema have been played and now we know the ten films that are up for grabs for a shot at glory and a shiny new sticker on their Blu-ray boxes. But now it’s time for commentary on the pictures, actors, and technical awards. My predictions are highlighted in bold.

Best Picture

Avatar

The Bind Side

District 9

An Education

The Hurt Locker

Inglourious Basterds

Precious

A Serious Man

Up

Up in the Air

Before I get into why Hurt Locker should and will win, let me say that there are three films here that shouldn’t be. An Education, The Blind Side, and District 9. Yes, District 9. More will come later, but there’s no way this should be here and films like In the Loop and Moon are left off this list. But I digress, as it doesn...

"I'm a prairie farm girl," says Julia Voth. Indeed she is, and a whole lot more. From a small town in Saskatchewan, Canada, Julia left the cold and snow behind and moved to Japan to pursue a successful modeling career. There she appeared in numerous campaigns, and was chosen to be the face of Jill Valentine in the "Resident Evil" video game series. After a move to L.A., Julia soon landed her first acting role as Trixie, a down on her luck stripper in "Bitch Slap," a "post-modern, thinking man's" throwback to exploitation films that opens this Friday. Still not content, Julia is also about to publish her first book of poetry. Yes, poetry. Model, actress, poet, this Girl2Watch contains multitudes, and does the prairie proud.Chosen as this week's Girl2Watch, Julia will be featured in a series or articles, fun facts and social media tweets through...

The top 10 best Adam Sandler movies. Comedian. Actor. Musician. Singer. Writer. Producer. Swell guy (probably). The sum of all these parts makes Adam Sander who he is today; a much loved and much viewed working entertainer. He makes us laugh. He makes it look easy. There are few comedic actors when have been at the top of the box office for as long as The Sandman, so let’s appreciate this multi-talented dude.

10. 50 First Dates (2004)

50 First Dates (not to be confused with the similar-sounding 51st State starring Samuel L. Jackson) is the 2nd collaboration between the Sandman and Drew Barrymore after The Wedding Singer.

Set in Hawaii, Sandler is Henry Roth, a ladies man (!) who falls for Drew’s character Lucy Whitmore. After managing to romance her, he wakes up the next morning to find she has forgotten who he is and has no prior knowledge of the previous day’s events.

Title Weekend Total Analysis The Final Destination $28.3M $28.3M Neither heavily marketed nor screened for critics, 4th movie in series figures to do the best. We credit the casting of Krista Allen. Inglourious Basterds $20.M 73.8M Critically acclaimed Basterds holds strong in 2nd week. Halloween II $17.4M $17.4M Hello? It's August. Halloween isn't for another two months! District 9 $10.7M $90.8M $30M budget now looks like a good investment for this unique sci-fi flick. G.I Joe: The Rise of Cobra $8.M $132.4M "Blockbuster" ekes out #5 spot with Julia and Julia nipping at its heels ($7.4M).

Bomb of the Week: Who doesn't love Ang Lee? His resume is frankly one of the best in Hollywood (The Wedding Banquet, The Ice Storm, Brokeback Mountain), but neither critics nor fans seemed to care much for Taking Woodstock, his low-key take on the famed music festival earned just $3.8M on a budget of $30M.