Watch the trailer and clips from "Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close," nominated for Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor.

Watch the trailer and clips for "The Tree of Life," nominated for three Academy Awards including Best Picture.

Watch the trailer and clips for "Hugo," nominated for 11 Academy Awards - the most of any film this year.

Watch the trailer and clips from "The Help," nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actress.

Watch the trailer for "Moneyball," nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor.

Watch the trailer for 'The Descendants,' nominated for five Academy Awards including Best Picture and Best Actor.

Photo by Dreamworks

Octavia Spencer is having a very good year. The actor was previously best known for supporting roles in movies like " Drag Me to Hell" and " Being John Malkovich," along with a bunch of television appearances, but this year she is widely expected to get a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her performance in "The Help," which comes out on DVD this week. She plays Minny Jackson, an African-American maid whose sharp tongue gets her into trouble. It's a role that Spencer seems born to play, and indeed she was. Kathyrn Stockett, who wrote the book the movie is based on, was friends with Spencer and wrote the character with her in mind.

Recently, I had a chance to talk to Spencer over the phone about the movie, her character, and that entire Oscar buzz.

Jonathan Crow: This is a big breakout role for you. And there's been a lot of talk about an Oscar nomination for your performance. Do you find yourself thinking about that a lot, or are you able to ignore it?

Octavia Spencer: Well,

Photo: Fox Searchlight

With the exception of being recognized by a handful of Hollywood casting directors and the odd theater maven, Jessica Chastain was a complete unknown this time last year. Heck, she was an unknown this past March. But ever since Terrence Malick's gorgeous "Tree of Life" hit the silver screen in May -- and which comes out on DVD this week, there has been a plethora of films featuring Chastain — "The Help", "The Debt," and most recently "Take Shelter." Later this year, there will be more movies starring the ginger-haired actress: "Coriolanus" and "Wilde Salome." That's six, count 'em, six movies in the span of seven months.

Even more remarkable is how different Chastain is in each role. In "The Help," she's a bubbly Southern sexpot. In "The Debt," she's a deathly Israeli Mossad agent. And in "Tree of Life" she is a grieving '50s housewife. Her range is something to behold.

I managed to talk with her while she was on location in Canada for a horror flick called "Mama." We talked about