Focus Features

In Melena Ryzik's "A Word With ... Gary Oldman," the Oscar-nominated star of TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY talks about his career and life. It's a fun interview that dives into Oldman skill in playing bad guys and his desire to do some comedy. At one point, he defines the character of George Smiley in relationship to his more high-octane characters in terms of music.

There was something about  George. He did wonders for my blood pressure. [In my] career playing characters who - they burn from the first bar, they're like rock 'n' roll, and to me George is jazz. You slowly work to the solo.

On February 16, Gary Oldman talked with the AFI about TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY and why the role of George Smiley was the perfect part at the perfect time. See the clip here.

In his post, "TINKER TAILOR once more: Tradecraft," film scholar David Bordwell has dug deep into the structure and style of John le Carré and the narrative strategies deployed in TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY - both novel and film - to highlight some fascinating connections between storytelling and spying. It becomes clear that TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY's enigmatic structure is in perfect sync with the complicated hunt for a mole that is at the story's center. At one point, Bordwell analyzes in depth the scene in which Peter Guillam attempts to steal a file from the Circus, and how what we see only tells us part of the story. The other part is conveyed by what we hear, but don't right away connect ...

In USA Today, Elysa Gardner's article, "No Beginner: Christopher Plummer Could Win His First Oscar," surveys the magnificent career of the actor now up for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Mike Mills' BEGINNERS. Plummer, ever gracious, points out how many great actors didn't get Oscar buzz till late in his career, if at all: "If you look back, men like Claude Rains were nominated (for an Academy Award) but never won. ... And Charlie Chaplin didn't get one until he was 83. Can you believe that?" But while much of the article points the spotlight on Plummer, he redirects the attention to the film, explaining, "I'm thrilled if, in any way, (my) winning some awards and being nominated here will help bring it back into people's minds." Plummer, in defining his part, explains: "Hal is a man who is determined to have fun; he's so relieved and fulfilled to finally be out in the open. He's shocked when he learns he's going to die, but he recovers. It's a terribly human little story, and a rather important one."

In the Los Angeles Times "L.A. at Home" section, David A. Keeps's interview with set decorator Coryander Friend "Set Pieces: The Neutra house in Mike Mills' BEGINNERS" takes a tour of the architecture landmark that houses Hal (Oscar-nominated Christopher Plummer). As the piece explains, "Hal lives in the Lovell Health House, the 1927 modernist masterpiece in the International Style by architect Richard Neutra." (To learn about other L.A. landmarks, see our video "Los Angeles For BEGINNERS.") Friend goes on to explain the way they matched the architecture and décor with the character of Hal, and where they got the interiors for the set...

In the Daily Beast, Lorenza Muñoz sits down with TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY's Oscar nominees Gary Oldman and Pater Straughan to talk about the film. The screenwriter and the actor dissect five key scenes from the film: (1) George Smiley telling Peter Guillam (Benedict Cumberbatch); (2) Smiley finding Bill Haydon (Colin Firth) at his house; (3) Ricki Tarr (Tom Hardy) confessing all to Smiley; (4) Smiley with the hilarious Connie Sachs (Kathy Burke); (5) Smiley with Toby Esterhase (David Dencik) on the airfield. Fascinating stuff. For the Esterhase scene, Oldman comments:

It was something ridiculous like a 2,000-millimeter lens. We are on the airfield and they were miles and miles away. The crew looked like ants from where we were standing. The lens crushes all the depth of field. The plane stopped a good hundred meters from where we are standing but it looks like it is going to decapitate us. And Esterhase is all panicked. It worked rather well. I think David forgot his line.

Time Magazine recently put together their gallery of Great Performances with a few lovely shots of recent Focus Features stars, including Christopher Plummer, Adepero Oduye, Michael Fassbender and Jessica Chastain. You can see a slide show of all the stars, luminously shot by Sebastian Kim, here.  In addition there is a series of videos, including one from BEGINNER's Oscar-nominated Christopher Plummer and PARIAH's Adepero Oduye. 

The now famed spectacles that Gary Oldman wore as George Smiley TINKER, TAILOR, SOLDIER, SPY can now be yours -- if you win the auction. The glasses have been donated for a charity auction through the Variety Foundation and its "CharityBuzz" page. The auction will begin imminently at www.CharityBuzz.com, and closes on Monday, February 27th. The glasses, which were fundamental for Oldman building his characterization of George Smiley, were found by the actor while in California, after a long search by director Tomas Alfredson and costume designer Jacqueline Durran for just the right pair.

For full details, see the press release.