Chiwetel Ejiofor

GIVING a great audition doesn't necessarily mean an actor will get the part. Sometimes a performer has to do something special to set himself apart from the crowd. Such was the case with Chiwetel Ejiofor when he auditioned for the role of a sassy transvestite performer in the British film "Kinky Boots." He was the only actor who wore a woman's wig during his reading. The fact the actor decided to wear the Naomi Campbell-style locks impressed director Julian Jarrold.

A philosophical fight film grounded in samurai movies and Greek tragedy, David Mamet's "Redbelt" stars a mesmerizing Chiwetel Ejiofor as a righteous jiu-jitsu instructor, Alice Braga as his material-girl wife and Tim Allen as the aging movie star who lures them into a labyrinthine world ruled by money and power.

A philosophical fight film grounded in samurai movies and Greek tragedy, David Mamet's "Redbelt" stars a mesmerizing Chiwetel Ejiofor as a righteous jiu-jitsu instructor, Alice Braga as his material-girl wife and Tim Allen as the aging movie star who lures them into a labyrinthine world ruled by money and power.

"TALK to Me," which stars Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, hearkens to another era, to a time before shock jocks bestrode morning drive time like colossal blowhards. Cheadle plays Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, an ex-con turned Washington, D.C., radio and television talk-show host, beloved local icon and Howard Stern role model. Ejiofor plays the straight-laced Dewey Hughes, who put him on the air when nobody else would have.

Stephen Frears' new movie, the London-set "Dirty Pretty Things," has one of the most startling lines in recent memory. In the scene, a Nigerian doctor turned cab driver/hotel clerk, with a Turkish chambermaid and a black prostitute in tow, delivers contraband to a trafficker. The trafficker, accustomed to someone else carrying out the transfer, says suspiciously, "I haven't seen you before." To which the doctor replies, "We are the people you do not see.

"TALK to Me," which stars Don Cheadle and Chiwetel Ejiofor, hearkens to another era, to a time before shock jocks bestrode morning drive time like colossal blowhards. Cheadle plays Ralph Waldo "Petey" Greene, an ex-con turned Washington, D.C., radio and television talk-show host, beloved local icon and Howard Stern role model. Ejiofor plays the straight-laced Dewey Hughes, who put him on the air when nobody else would have.

LONDON -- "Hairspray," the bouncy, bouffant American musical, dominated the first stage of the 2008 Laurence Olivier Awards with 11 nominations. Three Shakespearean superstars squared off for acting honors. Ian McKellen's King Lear, Patrick Stewart's Macbeth and Chiwetel Ejiofor's Othello all earned nominations Thursday for best actor in a play, alongside John Simm for the Norwegian comedy "Elling" and Mark Rylance for the farce "Boeing-Boeing."

When destroying the world, it often takes a painstakingly coordinated effort among many accomplices and plenty of equipment to get the job done. And in the case of the upcoming apocalyptic movie "2012," it also takes a large blue screen area to create an array of CGI destruction scenarios. Veteran photographer David Strick was on location in Burnaby, Canada, as director Roland Emmerich, star John Cusack and the crew shot part of the film in a large warehouse. The end-of-the-world thriller also stars Danny Glover, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt and Woody Harrelson.

EARL Ofari Hutchinson can be an astute political observer but when it comes to Hollywood, he's out of his element ("The Curious Case of the Star Who Isn't There," Sept. 15). Movie marketing campaigns are never built around unknowns. Ironically, it's only because Miramax was smart enough to exploit the popularity of "Amelie" star Audrey Tautou that a lot of people (and American producers) got to see Chiwetel Ejiofor's terrific performance in "Dirty Pretty Things." When "The Pianist" was first released, all the paid advertising stressed director Roman Polanski -- not its then unknown star, Adrien Brody.

Germany's blockbuster hit "Good Bye, Lenin!" will lead the field at the European Film Awards competition Saturday with five nominations, while the British films "Dirty Pretty Things" and "Dogville" have four nominations each. Forty-three European films out of 360 submitted for the 16th annual awards presented by the European Film Academy are in the running for the prizes that are sometimes called the "European Oscars."

GIVING a great audition doesn't necessarily mean an actor will get the part. Sometimes a performer has to do something special to set himself apart from the crowd. Such was the case with Chiwetel Ejiofor when he auditioned for the role of a sassy transvestite performer in the British film "Kinky Boots." He was the only actor who wore a woman's wig during his reading. The fact the actor decided to wear the Naomi Campbell-style locks impressed director Julian Jarrold.

Stephen Frears' new movie, the London-set "Dirty Pretty Things," has one of the most startling lines in recent memory. In the scene, a Nigerian doctor turned cab driver/hotel clerk, with a Turkish chambermaid and a black prostitute in tow, delivers contraband to a trafficker. The trafficker, accustomed to someone else carrying out the transfer, says suspiciously, "I haven't seen you before." To which the doctor replies, "We are the people you do not see.

Jennifer Hudson, the former "American Idol" contestant who won the Academy Award for best supporting actress in the musical "Dreamgirls," has joined her costar and Oscar-nominee Eddie Murphy among the list of actors invited to become Oscar voters, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Monday. Also selected were Jennifer Aniston, new James Bond Daniel Craig and Steve Carell, star of "The 40 Year-Old Virgin."

The release strategy for Steve McQueen's “Twelve Years a Slave” is coming into focus. Fox Searchlight announced Tuesday that it, not parent company 20th Century Fox, would be releasing the period drama. The larger studio has overseen production and initially had it on its autumn schedule. Searchlight also announced a release date of Dec. 27, saying it would open the movie in limited release and platform it into January. PHOTOS: Movies Sneaks 2013 “Slave” returns McQueen and his “Shame” star Michael Fassbender, this time playing a malicious slave owner who comes into possession of a free Northern man named Solomon (Chiwetel Ejiofor)