Video Links: Hobbits, Actresses, and Drunk Santa

~Damn internets. We just got the trailer for The Dark Knight Rises yesterday and today brought the trailer for Peter Jackson's next chapter in The Lord of the Rings franchise- The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Which is the first of two planned movies. Cause that seems necessary. I do enjoy the Trilogy. In fact, every year at Christmas time, my family watches the extended version of all three films in one day. 10 plus hours of Orcs, Enya/Annie Lennox easy listening, and Liv Tyler's British accent. I don't think anyone has made it through all three without a nap here or there. But watching the trailer, released 10 years almost to the day that Fellowship of the Ring was released in the theatre, I wasn't getting excited. Instead I had this feeling of déjà vu. It has the exact same look and feel as the other films. It seems a little pointless. Maybe something fresh could have been created if Guillermo Del Toro had directed it as intended. Oh, well. It'll make tons of money and I guess that's the real reason it was made...

~Oscar hopeful, Carey Mulligan, is on the cover of 'W' Magazine. Their website also has a great video thats part of Lynn Hirschberg's Screen Test series in which Carey talks about Shame and how she got the part. She's so cute. I love seeing her all dolled up. I saw her this summer when she was getting out of a show she was doing Off-Broadway and let's just say she dresses like a serious actor-complete with clogs and page boy hat.

~Speaking of serious actors, Meryl Streep was on 60 Minutes this past Sunday. It seems like she's everywhere lately. She likes to pretend that winning a third Oscar isn't that important to her, but you just know it is. But is The Iron Lady gonna hold up next to her wins for Sophie's Choice and Kramer vs. Kramer? Although Margaret Thatcher holds a little more heft that Julia Childs. So, maybe this could be the year...

~Did you see any movies this past year? If you did, chances are Jessica Chastain was in it. The Juilliard grad appeared in five films this year (The Tree of Life, The Help, The Debt, Take Shelter, and Coriolanus.) She just received SAG and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for The Help and an Oscar nom for that film seems inevitable. But, Fox Searchlights, the studio behind The Tree of Life, thinks she should be nominated for her work in their film. And no For Your Consideration print ad in the trade papers will do-how Miramax 90's. They have put together a video campaign that is much classier than it sounds.

~And finally, in honor of the holidays, Ryan Gosling, Eva Mendes, and Jim Carrey as Santa in Funny or Die's Drunk History: Twas the Night Before Christmas.