Tom Hanks’ two-pronged Oscar campaign this year seems to be going well enough on either side of the Atlantic, but the resurgent actor is really courting the British vote this year. He’s the unofficial mascot of the BFI London Film Festival, appearing on the red carpet next Wednesday for the fest opener “Captain Phillips,” and returning to close things out with the world premiere of “Saving Mr. Banks” on October 20. Before, then, meanwhile, he’ll be the subject of a BAFTA ‘Life in Pictures’ tribute evening, where he’ll discuss his career and his craft before a London audience. Previous luminaries to have been hosted in such a way include Martin Scorsese, Meryl Streep, Dustin Hoffman, Cate Blanchett and Helen Mirren. Hanks has never won a competitive BAFTA, though he accepted an honorary award at BAFTA Los Angeles’ Britannia Awards a few years back. [BAFTA]
Scott Tobias on how “Gravity” at once demonstrates the limitations and miraculous possibilities of CGI. [The Dissolve]
Scott Feinberg on how “Enough Said,” Nicole Holofcener’s lovely romcom for grownups, is building awards momentum. I hope he’s right. [The Race]
Amy Kaufman on the conflicted Hollywood presence of the late Tom Clancy. [LA Times]
Blake Lively in “Gravity?” Benicio Del Toro in “Star Trek Into Darkness?” Kyle Buchanan on the stars almost cast in some of 2013’s biggest films. [Vulture]
“Diana” director Oliver Hirschbiegel answers his (many) critics, and explains why his approach to the film was “un-British.” [Screen Daily]
Richard Kuipers is impressed by the Philippines’ Oscar submission, “Transit.” [Variety]
Xan Brooks on “Before Midnight” and its “unfashionably early” arrival in the awards race. [The Guardian]
Nathaniel Rogers revives a feature beloved by online Oscar nostalgists: the Supporting Actress Smackdown. Who shoulda won in 1980? [The Film Experience]