We’re only a short week away from the 85th Academy Awards, and with the close of Oscar season approaching, we’d thought this would be a nice opportunity to take a look back at how some of the races have played out, chronicling the ebbs and flows of the past 12 months or so that got us to where we are today.  We’re kicking things off with one of the more open categories: Best Supporting Actor.

One important thing to keep in mind when looking at the Oscars is that the race is incredibly fluid.  A film could be the clear frontrunner in a category one week, then might stumble to second or even third place in the ensuing weeks.  With this series of articles, we’ll be looking at exactly how much each race has changed, starting with Best Supporting Actor.  Hit the jump to read on.

Expanding into more theaters this weekend is Steven Spielberg’s Best Picture nomination shoo-in, Lincoln.  The period piece is less a cut-and-dry biopic of America’s 16th President, played brilliantly by Daniel Day-Lewis, and more of an examination of the burdens placed on Lincoln to keep a nation from falling apart while abolishing slavery and attempting to hold his personal life together. Lincoln also stars Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, David Strathairn, Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lee Pace and Hal Holbrook.  For more on the film, here’s three clips, Dave’s review, a great trailer, and all our previous coverage.

At the recent Los Angeles press day I got to speak with James Spader.  He talked about what it was like to collaborate with Steven Spielberg and the rest of the cast, how he got involved in the project, his time on The Office,  what he’s thinking about doing in the future, and more.  Hit the jump to watch.

Although the last quarter of this year is positively stacked with fantastic films, Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln should be on your short list. The period piece is less a cut-and-dry biopic of America’s 16th President, played perfectly as always by Daniel Day-Lewis, and more of an examination of the burdens placed on Lincoln to keep a nation from falling apart while abolishing slavery and attempting to hold his personal life together.  While the film is excellent overall (you can read my review here), a highlight of Lincoln is the excellent supporting cast.  A previous selection of clips focused mainly on the President, but this new batch  shows off snippets of the performances by Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader and David Strathairn to name a few.  Hit the jump to check them out.

Lincoln, also starring Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lee Pace and Hal Holbrook, opens November 16th.

Just in time for Election Day, a new international trailer for director Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln has been released, and it’s by far the best one yet.  This trailer actually delves into the central focus of the long-in-the-works drama—the passing of the 13th Amendment—and gives us a much better idea of what kind of biopic Spielberg and screenwriter Tony Kushner have crafted.  Much of this trailer is reminiscent of The West Wing, with Daniel Day-Lewis’ Lincoln and his advisers working to secure enough votes to ensure that the amendment will pass.  The trailer also teases the multitude of strong performances from the ridiculously talented ensemble, and I can’t wait to see the whole thing unfold onscreen.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Oyelowo, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Jackie Earle Haley, Lee Pace and Jared Harris.  Lincoln opens on November 16th.

A few new images to share with you today from the following films:

• Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln stars Daniel Day-Lewis in the title role, but also features Jackie Earle Haley, Lee Pace, Hal Holbrook and James Spader.
• Jee-woon Kim’s actioner The Last Stand shows off a new look at stars Arnold Schwarzenegger and Rodrigo Santoro.
• Jon Lucas and Scott Moore’s 21 and Over starring Justin Chon, Miles Teller and Skylar Astin.  

Hit the jump to check out the new images.

We posted the first teaser trailer for Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln earlier this week in anticipation of the full trailer being released during the Google + Q&A.  Now that the full trailer is online, we finally get a chance to hear Daniel Day-Lewis speak as Abraham Lincoln.  If I’m being honest, his choice of tone and inflection is not exactly what I had expected, but who am I to tell Day-Lewis what to do?  There are plenty of scenes in the legislative houses, on the streets and on the battlefield, and they all give a sense of scope and tone to the film, just like Spielberg said it would during the Q&A.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, David Oyelowo, Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Jackie Earle Haley, Lee Pace and Jared Harris. Lincoln opens on November 16th. [Update: We added 7 new images after the jump]

The first teaser trailer for director Steven Spielberg‘s Lincoln has been released.  The teaser comes just days ahead of the first full trailer and live Google+ Q&A with Spielberg and Joseph Gordon-Levitt.  The teaser gives us our first look at Daniel Day-Lewis in motion, though we only see glimpses of him as the titular President.  There’s also a shot of who appears to be David Oyelowo dressed in Union attire as he turns and walks away from Lincoln.  A narration of the Gettysburg address plays over scenes of Civil War combat, but who is speaking remains unclear for the moment.

Hit the jump to watch the trailer.  The film also stars Sally Field, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Jackie Earle Haley, Lee Pace, and Jared Harris. Lincoln opens on November 16th.

Steven Spielberg‘s Abraham Lincoln movie, Lincoln, has landed a release date.  We previously reported that the film would open after the 2012 Presidential election so to as avoid any accusation that the movie was making a political statement (we’ll let the trailers and other advertising allow pundits to bloviate and fill airtime draw their own conclusions).  Disney has announced that the movie will open in limited engagement on November 9th before expanding nationwide on November 16th.  It’s worth noting that Lincoln will still be fighting vampires, except this time it will be at the box office.  The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 also opens on November 16th.

Lincoln stars Daniel Day-Lewis as the 16th President, and the all-star cast also features Sally Field, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tommy Lee Jones, James Spader, John Hawkes, Michael Stuhlbarg, David Strathairn, Walton Goggins, David Oyelowo, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill, Jackie Earle Haley, Lee Pace, and Jared Harris. Hit the jump for a synopsis of the source material.

Scranton, Pennsylvania and the offices of Dunder-Mifflin are about to get a lot less cool. EW has word that James Spader, who has been playing the perplexing and intimidating Robert California, will be leaving The Office after becoming a series regular for just one season. Spader himself decided to leave the show, and I can’t say that I blame him. This season has been wholly unremarkable despite Spader’s best efforts and mostly entertaining appearances, but the NBC comedy series just doesn’t have the heart or comedy that Steve Carell brought every week. Of course, even in the later seasons with Carell still on board, the show was beginning to lose its flare. More after the jump.

Prior to the NBC presentation at the TCA Press Tour, the networks new Chairman of Entertainment, Robert Greenblatt gave a glimpse of what he sees in the future of what is currently the fourth place network. Here are the most interesting points:

• NBC has made development deals with both executive producer/writer/director Greg Daniels (The Office, Parks & Recreation) and Gary Sanchez Productions (the production company of Adam McKay and Will Ferrell).
• Sean Hayes will be stepping back in front of the camera for an NBC comedy in 2012, while a one-hour drama about firefighters is being developed with Dick Wolf (Law & Order).
• The hit singing competition The Voice will return on February 5^th, following the Super Bowl, and the mid-season musical drama Smash, from executive producer Steven Spielberg, will premiere on February 6^th
• Greenblatt was not surprised by the controversy caused by The Playboy Club, as the brand name can be polarizing for people.
• NBC is hoping to under-expect but over-deliver on the upcoming season of The Office, with all of the changes and the addition of James Spader to the cast.
• The Office is important to the network, but they are approaching it with realistic expectations while the writers work to refocus what the show will now be.
• The goal is to expand comedy to more nights than just Thursday, and make multi-camera comedy shows popular again.

Hit the jump for a lot more:

After having one of the best interviews out of the round of guest stars being considered to take over Michael Scott’s job after Steve Carell completed his last episode of The Office, EW says James Spader will end up getting the manager position at Dunder-Mifflin. However, there’s a bit of a twist to his involvement with the series. For those who want to stay clear of any spoilers and not know what’s coming early on for the next season of The Office, we’re putting details of his hiring after the jump.

A slew of actors are now in negotiations to join the cast of Steven Spielberg’s long-in-gestation Abraham Lincoln biopic Lincoln. Daniel Day-Lewis is set to star as our nation’s 16^th president, with Sally Field attached to play his wife Mary Todd. Now, the names of those currently in negotiations to join the project are as follows (deep breath): Tommy Lee Jones, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, John Hawkes, James Spader, Hal Holbrook, Tim Blake Nelson, Bruce McGill (Fair Game), Joseph Cross (Milk), David Costabile (Breaking Bad), Byron Jennings (Julie & Julia), Dakin Matthews (True Grit), Boris McGiver (The Wire), Gloria Reuben (ER), Jeremy Strong (The Happening) and David Warshofsky (Taken). Now that’s one hell of a cast.

Jones will play Pennsylvanian Republican congressman Thaddeus Stevens, a strong supporter of abolishing slavery and a man crucial to the legislation that funded the Civil War. Gordon-Levitt is in talks to play Lincoln’s son, Robert Todd. Robert was Abraham’s eldest son and the only one to live past his teenage years. No word on who the other actors will be playing, but one assumes that Lincoln’s cabinet will make up a good deal of the roles. Hit the jump to read the full press release. Lincoln is set to start filming in Virginia this fall, with a 4^th-quarter 2012 release.

Three more names have been added to the list of potentials candidates vying for the role Steve Carell is leaving vacant at the end of the current season of The Office. In addition to the previously announced Will Arnett and Ricky Gervais, TV Line reports that Ray Romano, James Spader and Catherine Tate will also guest star in this season’s finale as potential replacements for the office manager position Carell is leaving open.

Will Ferrell is also a “candidate”, though his guest arc on the show is set to end in May. Romano is currently starring on Men of a Certain Age, Arnett is set to star in a new NBC pilot, and Gervais doesn’t seem likely to stick around, so it would appear that the only candidates left that would actually stay on the show are Spader and Tate. Spader racked up his fair share of Emmys on the dramedy Boston Legal and Tate’s won numerous awards for her work on her sketch comedy show The Catherine Tate Show. She also co-starred in Doctor Who’s fourth series.

Last summer we reported that Eric Bana and Colin Farrell were in talks to co-star in By Virtue Fall, the directorial debut of Up in the Air screenwriter Sheldon Turner.  Farrell eventually dropped off the project but Bana has signed on and according to 24 Frames, he’ll be joined by James Spader, Ryan Phillippe, and Carla Gugino.  The story concerns “two ATF agents who find themselves on opposite sides of the friendship divide after one sells out the other.”

Bana tells 24 Frames that he hopes to make By Virtue Fall his next project after finishing the thriller Blackbird with Olivia Wilde.  He’ll be seen in theaters this week alongside Cate Blanchett and Saoirse Ronan in Joe Wright’s Hanna.