Sundance is still running me ragged, but I'm taking a brief break to point to my interviews with several of today's Oscar nominees, especially since a number were published during my long blog hiatus. Let's start with Woody Allen, whose Midnight in Paris got three nominations, including Best Director and Best Picture. On to the actresses: Glenn Close for Albert Nobbs, with a cameo from her co-nominee Janet McTeer, Rooney Mara for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo, and Jessica Chastain for The Help (although we talked more about her performances in Take Shelter and The Tree of Life). In the documentary category, I talked to filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, as well as the subjects of Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory. And wrapping up, Asghar Farhadi, the director of A Separation, who in addition to a foreign film nomination won a surprise nod for his screenplay. One more to come, with The Descendants' Alexander Payne, which I'll brag on as soon as it's published.
