If you haven't already, you must read Joshuah Bearman's new Wired article about the 1980 hostage rescue involving the creation of a fake sci-fi movie. Here, I'll sum it up quickly: after the CIA and two makeup artists came up with a non-existent movie (it seemed so real that it had the trades fooled), an operative named Tony Mendez traveled to Iran under the guise of the production in order to sneak out six American hostages. And yes, it worked. Well, it didn't take long for a studio to realize the now-unclassified story would make a perfect non-non-existent movie. Warner Bros. has bought the rights to the article and has tapped none other than George Clooney and Grant Heslov to write the screenplay.

The last film Clooney and Heslov wrote together was Good Night, and Good Luck, for which they received Oscar nominations. And considering the fact that Clooney has worked with CIA subject matter before, with his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, and with his Oscar-winning performance in Syriana, the man seems fully qualified. Hopefully Clooney will also direct the film, which will be called Escape From Tehran, or at least appear in it. It would also be perfect if the project, labeled a dramedy, could employ the two makeup artists, but unfortunately one of them is no longer alive. John Chambers, who won an Honorary Academy Award in 1969 for his work on Planet of the Apes, died in 2001. However, his partner on the mission, Robert Sidell, who went on to do the makeup for E.T., may be able to contribute somehow.

Escape From Tehran reminds me of two other films, Wag the Dog and The Last Shot, but it will likely be good enough to make me forget both (especially the latter). The only thing I ask for is a title change. Right now it sounds like it should feature Kurt Russell as Snake Plisskin, or worse, it could confuse people if it comes out anytime close to the Escape from New York remake. Here is my suggestion, which will associate it better with Clooney's and Heslov's work: You May Proceed. Good Luck. Okay, it isn't actually a better title, but if you read the article (do it!), my idea will at least make sense.

Last year's best actor, according to almost everyone in America, was Philip Seymour Hoffman. This year's is Forest Whitaker. But who is the better of the two? Luckily in the U.S., critics don't have to damage their brains deciding. In London, however, critics do. Thanks to later release dates in the UK, Capote is considered a 2006 movie there. So are Good Night, and Good Luck, The Squid and the Whale and The Upside of Anger. All four are featured among the nominees for the London Film Critics Circle awards, which will be presented February 8.

At least Hoffman hasn't been pit against Toby Jones, the other portrayer of Truman Capote, in Infamous. The former is in the Actor race while the latter is recognized in the British Actor category.

Neither Capote nor Good Night, and Good Luck, both of which were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar were considered by the London critics for Film of the Year. Their five picks were limited to more current releases, including The Queen, which received the most nominations, with seven.

Is it obvious that The Queen is recognized so well by the Brits? Well, considering it is a British film, it qualifies for more categories than other top contenders for the major awards. It is the only title to be listed in the Film of the Year and British Film ("The Attenborough Award") categories and Helen Mirren has been nominated for Actress and British Actress, an honor she shares with Judi Dench. Without the double mentions, The Queen would be tied with The Last King of Scotland for five noms.

Imagine a Spielberg film that isn't a tent-pole, either in the summer or the winter season. Imagine a Spielberg film that opens on two screens in New York City and Los Angeles before rolling out slowly to the rest of the country. Imagine a Spielberg film at Sundance. Can you possibly think of an indie film directed by Steven Spielberg, the most famous filmmaker of our time? Well, it might not be just a hypothetical idea for long, as the director of Jurassic Park and War of the Worlds has told AMC's Sunday Morning Shootout that he is interested in making smaller, lower-budget films for Dreamworks. It seems he was impressed by his competition at this year's Oscars, saying, "I would love to go off and make a picture like Capote or George Clooney's Good Night, and Good Luck."

Funny, I thought that Spielberg was powerful enough in Hollywood that he kinda has been making the expensive equivalent of indie films, but I guess with all his prestige, he still doesn't have complete freedom at the big studios. He claims the reason he didn't end up directing Memoirs of a Geisha (he served as producer instead) is because studio execs (at Sony, I'm guessing) wouldn't let him film it in Japanese -- and show it subtitled -- for a lower cost of $10 million. The thing is, Memoirs probably would have made more of its money back if Spielberg had gotten his way.

I think Spielberg doing smaller films is a great idea. After all, his movies are often about spectacle, but they are typically about the story first. He's one of the few who still uses special effects as a compliment to his storytelling rather than vice versa. Now, without the spectacle, he could go back to the kinds of thoughtful films he used to make. Take out the mechanical shark from Jaws, the mother ship from Close Encounters and E.T. from E.T. (I mean figuratively, not literally creating a void) and you still have excellent movies.

The episode and interview will be shown on AMC this Sunday.

As long as we're expanding our definition of "expert" this Oscar season, I thought we might as well explore the global-political vote. Herewith then, some words of wisdom from Nikolai Blogostroika, a v odka-soaked, Eastern Bloc -bred character I made up to make jokes about Capitalism and Communism.

Nikolai, what are you thinking in the Best Actor race?

Why do the gay cowboys not show a little gaeity? Back in USSR, we have no cows to be gay about. Truman Capote had eccentric way of dress and spoke with lisp. In Russia, we have Dostoevsky; Capote limp milquetoast sh*t in comparison. But Phillip Seymour Hoffman big strong man, very convincing as fruit.

Interesting. What about Best Actress?

Reese Witherspoon has a head, lumpy like a potato. It is quite appetizing. Many nights in Former Soviet Union, I sit up shivering, longing for such a warm "Ring of Fire".

So...what did you do this weekend? If you lived in Seattle, you likely spent it at a friend's house or in a local bar, filling your Sunday evening with many tears and much gnashing of teeth. (Of course, if you're the kind of geek who reads Cinematical daily, you likely spent your Sunday evening finding those people and reveling in schadenfreude. I'm just saying.) If you were George Clooney, however, you spent the weekend in Santa Barbara, California, where you picked up an award recognizing you as a Modern Master of film. Clooney is no stranger to the Santa Barbara Film Fest, having premiered his directorial debut, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, at the festival. Clooney, looking all de-Syriana-ed (yes, that is a word) was his usual charming and self-deprecating self in his appearance, claiming that he didn't think he was "brave" for making films like Syriana and Good Night and Good Luck. The film polyglot is quoted as saying, "I'm terrified of not making films like these, and that's the truth. I'm afraid of waking up at 70 years old and saying, 'I'm Batman again'."

Funny, George, but we have the exact same nightma - er, dream. Here's to more directorial and acting success for Clooney...so long as he leaves the tights to Christian Bale.

At a packed press conference in Venice today, George Clooney preempted potential criticisms that his Good Night, and Good Luck is a political polemic. "I didn't make the film as a political statement," Clooney said. "I made the film as a historical reference." To that end, rather than cast an actory to portray Joseph McCarthy, Clooney chose to use actual footage of the HUAC-heading witch hunter.  "The trick was to show the actual McCarthy, doing what he did," said, and the film's co-writer and producer, Grant Heslov, added, "Nobody could be as bad as he was." Apparently the filmmakers were saving the hyperbole for the press conference.

Everyone's talking about the trailer for Good Night and Good Luck, Georger Clooney's upcoming feature about Edward R. Murrow's battle with Joseph McCarthy and the House Un-American Activities Committee. And with good reason – it looks fairly fantastic. As we rapidly get more and more accustomed to living in a world where various political figures have their fingers clenched deep in the neck of the media, it becomes easy to forget that such a series of events – in which TV journalists essentially brought down one of the most powerdul men in congress – actually happened. Clooney doesn't seem to be pulling any punches; about a third of the way through the trailer, the words appeared on the screen,"In a country terrorized by its government", and my eyes sort of sprung wide open. The summer movie season is officially over.