Langella's Nixonian triumph; Adams still enchanting; faculty in place for 'Fame'; 'Hairspray 2' in the works?

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This year's Best Actor race is shaping up to be a doozy. Sean Penn's turn in "Milk" is already getting raves, Mickey Rourke's performance in "The Wrestler" has been duly praised since the Venice Film Festival last September, and everyone expects Clint Eastwood to be a serious contender for his starring role in "Gran Torino." This weekend, Hollywood will start buzzing about another candidate, Frank Langella, for his exemplary performance in "Frost/Nixon."

Directed by Ron Howard, "Frost/Nixon" is an adaptation of acclaimed writer Peter Morgan's stage play, which was a sensation after its debut in London's West End in 2006 before a similarly warm reception on Broadway the following year. Langella's commitment to the production resulted in his third Tony Award.

Set in 1977, the story focuses on the behind-the-scenes story of the real-life interviews that the disgraced president provided to British talk show host David Frost, played by the excellent Michael Sheen. Frost's team was hoping to get a ratings bonanza by having Nixon admit to wrongdoing in the Watergate affair, something he hadn't done publicly to that point, while the former president's aides saw it as an opportunity to reintroduce him into the national spotlight by setting their own agenda over the four days of interviews. The historical significance of the interviews surprised many of Frost's critics.

While researching his part for the play, Langella interviewed many people who had met or knew Nixon personally, including journalists Barbara Walters and Mike Wallace. The actor notes, "There were things that were said that gave me great insight I couldn't have gotten out of a book."

In particular was Nixon's fondness for telling long-winded stories, a prerequisite when you're president of the United States, as people naturally go silent in your presence. Langella adds, "Once in a while, somebody would say something off the cuff about a moment they had with him alone in his house or in his office, and those were precious to me to use in trying to find his character."

Morgan added numerous scenes to the movie that were not in the play, and Langella was grateful for the additional opportunities it provided him and Sheen to flesh out these historical figures even more.

"You could sort of see into the inner mind of Nixon sitting at his desk preparing. Nixon staring out the window, staring at [Frost's girlfriend] Caroline when she came to the house. Nixon petting a dog. Those things are gold in a movie," Langella says. "Sometimes you do something in 10 seconds or 30 seconds that says so much about the depth of something you are playing, and it's there forever."

Most importantly, Langella watched the actual tapes between Frost and Nixon, not for the history-making part of it, but for Nixon's lawyerly behavior.

He notes, "I watched and enjoyed the way he made his point. He came back to things, circled around and handled questions, evaded things, turned something that was historically accurate into something else in order to make a point. He was a great, great lawyer."

As he prepares for an inevitable Oscar nomination (his first, mind you), Langella admits he's paying attention to the hype. Somewhat.

"I certainly don't ignore it, because you can't. But I don't go searching blogs for it," Langella says. "If I see something written, I'll read it. But I don't obsess about it one way or another. You can't. I learned a long time ago you only control one thing, your work. The rest is out of my control."

"Frost/Nixon" opens in limited release on Dec. 5 and nationwide on Dec. 25.