Julianne Moore, A Single Man

With A Single Man, Julianne Moore can savor the joys of friendship. In 1998, the actress met Gucci dress designer Tom Ford to discuss an Oscar dress--that she didn't end up wearing. But they became friends and when Ford wrote the role of Charley for his critically acclaimed debut feature, adapted from Christopher Isherwood's 1964 novel of the same name, he offered it to her. The film, in which Moore plays an old flame and best friend to Colin Firth's melancholy gay college professor, is expected to nab the actress a well-deserved Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. In a puffed sleeve Balenciaga blouse and black slacks, Moore was interviewed at Manhattan's Ritz-Carlton hotel, across from Central Park (20 minutes).

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