The Man of the Hour and Great Performers in the NY Times

Oscar nominee, Oscar nominee, Oscar nominee, Kat Dennings, Oscar nominee….

The photos are worth the time it takes to look through them. And here is a great piece by Barry Levinson about Mickey Rourke (via HE):

The difficulties of the business are hard to understand from the outside. Sometimes, very talented people have a fragile aspect to them, and it’s easy to send them off course. An actor can easily slide one way or another. One day, you’re celebrated, and the next, you’re out of the business. After “Diner,” Mickey and I tried to work together on a movie about Jerry Lee Lewis, but it didn’t happen. I didn’t see him during the time he was struggling, but then about two years ago, I saw Mickey, and I could tell he was trying to turn things around. I thought he was wonderful in “The Wrestler.” If you look at the film in a simplistic way, it’s about a talented guy who hits bottom. That mimics Mickey’s life in many ways. But although there’s a lot of Mickey in that character, he gives the movie an emotional gravity that is never one-note. Mickey can do things with great simplicity: he carries the movie with enormous grace.