Fun Shoots

For the past few years, Newsweek has done various interviews with possible Oscar nominees. Here are some of the shots from past Oscars Actors Roundtables. The Roundtables took place before Oscar nominations were announced for that particular year. These actors were asked to participate because they were all front-runners.

2007: Brad Pitt (Babel), Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland), Leonardo DiCaprio (Blood Diamond), Helen Mirren (The Queen), Penelope Cruz (Volver), and Cate Blanchett (Notes on a Scandal)

*Pitt did not receive a nomination that year

*Whitaker and Mirren won Oscars that year

2008: Daniel Day-Lewis (There Will Be Blood), Ellen Page (Juno), Marion Cotillard (La Vie en Rose), Angelina Jolie (A Mighty Heart), James McAvoy (Atonement), and George Clooney (Michael Clayton)

*McAvoy and Jolie did not receive nominations that year

*Day-Lewis and Cotillard won Oscars that year

2009: Mickey Rourke (The Wrestler), Brad Pitt (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), and Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon)

Not pictured: Robert Downey, Jr.(Tropic Thunder), and Sally Hawkins (Happy-Go-Lucky)

*Hawkins did not receive a nomination that year

2010: Woody Harrelson (The Messanger), Morgan Freeman (Invictus), Gaboruey Sidibe (Precious), Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), Carey Mulligan (An Education), and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)

*Bridges and Bullock won Oscars that year

2011: James Franco (127 Hours), Nicole Kidman (Rabbit Hole), Michelle Williams (Blue Valentine), Colin Firth (The King's Speech), Annette Bening (The Kids Are All Right), and Natalie Portman (Black Swan)

*Firth and Portman won Oscars that year

2012: Michael Fassbender (Shame), Charlize Theron (Young Adult), Christopher Plummer (Beginners), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), George Clooney (The Descendants), and Viola Davis (The Help)

*Fassbender, Theron, and Swinton did not receive nominations that year

*Plummer won an Oscar that year

Fun Shoots

"Killers Kill, Dead Men Die": PART 4

Pedro Almodovar (as the Club Owner), Penelope Cruz (as the Songbird)

James McAvoy (as the Shutterbug), Jennifer Hudson (as the Thrush),

Jessica Biel, Patrick Wilson (as the Pretty Boy),

Kerry Washington (as the Debutante), Adam Beach (as the Swell),

Amy Adams (as the Society Girl), Derek Luke (as the College Boy),

Evan Rachel Wood (as Betty)

Naomi Watts (as the Skirt), Peter O'Toole (as the Watchman)

Judi Dench (as the Maiden Aunt), Helen Mirren (as the Aristocrat)

Fun Shoots

"Killers Kill, Dead Men Die": PART 2

Kirsten Dunst (as the Heiress), Bruce Willis (as the Gumshoe),

James McAvoy (as the Shutterbug)

Rinko Kikuchi (as the Queenpin), Abigail Breslin (as the Orphan),

Bill Nighy (as the Preacher), Penelope Cruz (as the Songbird),

Ben Affleck (as the Shamus)

Edward Norton (as the Undercover Cop), Kate Winslet

(as the Undercover Lady Cop), Robert De Niro (as the Rocketeer),

Jennifer Connelly (as the Informant), Helen Mirren (as the Aristocrat),

Julianne Moore (as the Mystery Woman)

Fun Shoots

Vanity Fair did a tribute spread

of the films of Alfred Hitchcock

Part 1

Jodie Foster portrays Tippi Hedron's character in "The Birds"

Emile Hirsch and James McAvoy take on "Strangers on a Train"

Naomi Watts fills in for Tippi Hedren in "Marnie"

Charlize Theron is a perfect Grace Kelly in "Dial M for Murder"

Seth Rogen does his best Cary Grant impersonation for "North by Northwest"

Fun Shoots

Keira Knightley and James McAvoy reunite (they starred in

2007's "Atonement") for a shoot for Empire Magazine, 2009

Performance of the Day

Actor: JAMES MCAVOY

Film: "Rory O'Shea Was Here"

Character: Rory

Year: 2004

James McAvoy has now made a name for himself in American cinema, but back in 2004 he was just another unknown British actor. He starred in the film "Rory O'Shea Was Here" as a quadriplegic, who develops a friendship with a man who has cerebral palsy and falls in love with the girl who helps take care of him. McAvoy is so convincing that I figured he really was handicapped.

Ginger of the Week

Evan Rachel Wood was born in North Carolina to actor parents. She began her career in plays (some even directed by her father). She soon landed several small roles in a few made-for-television-movies and appeared in the show "American Gothic". She landed a recurring role on the Sela Ward show, "Once and Again". From there she was cast in films like, "Practical Magic", "Little Secrets", and "Simone", but it was her lead role in the edgy flick "Thirteen" that garnered her a bit of fame. She was nominated for a Golden Globe and SAG award. After that she landed lead roles in "The Upside of Anger", "Pretty Persuasions", "Running with Scissors", "Across the Universe", and a recurring role as the Vampire Queen in "True Blood". Next up: "Mildred Pierce" (with Kate Winslet and Melissa Leo), "The Conspirator" (with Robin Wright and James McAvoy), and "The Ides of March" (with Ryan Gosling, Marisa Tomei, and George Clooney).