And not only a police officer, but a very, very bad one, teetering on the edge of sanity and lawlessness in Rampart, a new movie by director Oren Moverman. The film is a rematch for Harrelson and Moverman, who previously took the actor to other dark places in The Messenger. In that 2009 film, Harrelson—often thought of as a comic talent because of his Cheers beginnings—showed again he could be a Serious Actor, as a soldier who brings the news to families that their son or husband has been killed in combat. “He said he never wanted to play a soldier and he never wanted to play a cop,” said Moverman in an interview. “So I cast him as a soldier and now I’ve cast him as a cop.”

The Messenger earned Harrelson a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination and there is a chance his performance in Rampart could bring another nod (he has already been nominated for Best Actor, in 1996’s The People vs. Larry Flynt). Moverman said, “I knew he would be uncomfortable playing a cop, and I thought that would be great to get him out of his comfort zone. And when Woody’s out of his comfort zone, he works harder to convince himself that he’s true to the part.”

Directed by Tate Taylor, The Help, which also stars the ubiquitous Jessica Chastain, became one of this years feel-good box office hits, earning over $200 million against a budget of just $25 million. It’s also garnering heaps of Oscar buzz.

Here, stars Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, director Tate Taylor, author Kathryn Stockett, and producers Chris Columbus and Brunson Green—provided The Daily Beast with an oral history of the Oscar hopeful’s key scenes (shit pie, included).

Aibileen Hurries Home After Medger Evers is Shot

In the process, these contrasting lists expose the stubborn stupidity of a line of argument jointly cherished by the entertainment industry’s angriest critics and its most faithful apologists: that Hollywood is utterly corrupted (or totally excused) by the ruthless, single-minded pursuit of profit.

If it’s all about making money, how can anyone explain the heavy favorite to win Tinseltown’s most coveted and relentlessly publicized award for 2011—a low-budget silent film (no kidding!) in glorious black and white by an unknown French director with an utterly unpronounceable name? The Artist (written and directed by Michel Hazanavicius, sometimes fondly Americanized as “Mike Hava Nagila”) is touching, inventive, funny, hugely enjoyable, and given a better than 45 percent chance to win the Oscar for Best Picture by the online betting gurus at InTrade. But not even the film’s most dedicated advocates expect this audacious import (starring the director’s lovely girlfriend, one Berenice Bejo) to clean up at the box office—and no, there won’t be a money-grabbing 3-D edition.

“My agent said, ‘They’re doing this film Lord of the Rings down in New Zealand and they’re looking for a voice for an animated character. It’s about three weeks work.’” Serkis wasn’t impressed. “God, there must be over a dozen characters in Lord of the Rings,’” he said. “Can’t you get me something proper?’”

After an inspiring meeting with the films’ director, Peter Jackson, Serkis caved, and his turn as Gollum—a bug-eyed, schizophrenic, computer-generated creature—in the Lord of the Rings trilogy was a watershed moment for visual effects. For the first time ever, an actor’s performance was able to be effectively translated—using motion capture technology provided by Jackson’s digital visual effects company, Weta Digital—onto a CGI character.