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The phenomenon of the "overnight star" may be exaggerated, yet every year when we revise my Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide we find ourselves updating our cast lists of films made two, five, or ten years ago to add names that didn't mean anything then-but do today.

Did you know Robert Pattinson of Twilight fame was in Vanity Fair in 2004? Or that Michael Shannon, who made such an impression in Revolutionary Road that he earned an Oscar nomination, has been in films since Groundhog Day in 1993?

In the new 2010 edition of my book we've added credits for three other recent Oscar nominees, Richard Jenkins (from The Visitor), Viola Davis (from Doubt), and Taraji P. Henson (The Curious Case of Benjamin Button) as well as Sally Hawkins, Michael Sheen, and James Franco.

Last year we tracked down early credits for Amy Adams, Paul Dano, Seth Rogen, and James McAvoy. (Did you know Casey Affleck appears unbilled in American Pie, way back in 1999?)

This has become a yearly pastime for my editors and me. In fact, we've revised so many listings that I sometimes lose track. After seeing the new version of The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 my wife and I decided to revisit the original 1974 film starring Walter Matthau, which we hadn't seen since it was new. It's a much better movie than the remake with Denzel Washington and John Travolta and it's rich with New York flavor. As a result, the cast is filled with interesting faces-some of them character actors who went on to achieve fame in later years, like James Broderick (Matthew's father) and Doris Roberts, the meddling mother on Everybody Loves Raymond. I was all set to mark the entry for updating in next year's book, but when I checked, we'd already caught every one of those actors. Sometimes I surprise even myself!

Leonard Maltin, movies, cinema, films, movie reviews, entertainment, books, Penguin Books