Could Andy Serkis be in the conversation for an acting nomination again?

The Hollywood Reporter seems to think so:

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes, with its photoreal visual effects, is sure to be a major factor in this year's visual effects Oscar race. The bigger awards question surrounding the film, which 20th Century Fox will release Aug. 5, is whether Andy Serkis, the actor who portrays the ape Caesar, will be considered a contender for an acting nomination.

That honor eluded him ten years ago when he played the tragic creature Gollum in The Lord of the Rings. That role, however, did launch an ongoing Hollywood debate about how much an actor contributes to CG characters who are created through performance capture.

WETA Digital, the Wellington, N.Z.-based VFX company behind both Rings and Apes, has always maintained that the actor drives the performance of its CG creations. "Performance capture (is) really (designed) to give you the actors' moment--the spontaneity, the thought, the insight that really comes from an actor who really truly understands his role," says WETA's four-time Oscar winning VFX supervisor Joe Letteri.

Super 8 has been seen by a select few...what's the early word?

Well, it's pretty positive, with some people even talking it up for a Best Picture nomination. Here's the compilation of the buzz from /Film:

The first public screening of JJ Abrams‘ Super 8 took place this Saturday in Hollywood. A few movie journalists were in attendance, and today Paramount Pictures gave word that we were allowed to “tweet about your thoughts on the film” before the review embargo breaks on June 1st. I’m sure more than a few of you already follow me on Twitter and already heard what I thought (if you don’t, you can find my tweets on @slashfilm). I’ve decided to do a round up of all the early tweet reactions to the film. Hit the jump to find out what people thought of Super 8.

Slashfilm: Loved it, they don’t make these types of movies anymore. The best thing I can say about the film is that I loved the characters/setting/tone so much that I probably would have enjoyed it just as much as a Stand By Me-like coming of age drama without the sci-fi/train crash/action. Its one of those films that feels like it was made just for me. (someone asked if its more E.T. or Cloverfield, I responded: It’s Cloverfield with the characters and setting of E.T.)

FirstShowing: absolutely loved it, lived up to my high expectations. Felt like watching an Amblin classic. Of course, it’s expected I’d love it, considering how excited I was for it, but yes, it’s that good. Really need to see it again!

Collider: It’s great. Made me feel like a kid again

Jen Yamato: I enjoyed Super 8′s Goonies vibe; the kids are great. Has its problems, but none are deal breakers for me…though they will be for others.

LA Times Hero Complex: Remember how the academy expanded the best picture race to include crowdpleasers and sublime spectacle films? Meet “Super 8″…

More after the jump...

What's the early buzz on Drive after its first Cannes screening?

Well, /Film has the first reactions, and they're pretty positive:

The first Cannes screening of Drive, the new film from Nicolas Winding Refn that stars Ryan Gosling, Carey Mulligan, Bryan Cranston and Albert Brooks, ended not long ago. Reviews aren’t up yet, but a sampling of Twitter reactions suggests the movie has one of the most positive consensus opinions of the Cannes premieres so far — I think only We Need to Talk About Kevin and The Artist rival it for near-unanimity of positive opinion.

Check out a few reactions after the break.