Kate Winslet believed that the small set they used helped them to develop their character's strained relationship. Hailing Winslet as "the best English-speaking film actress of her generation", David Edelstein of "New York" magazine wrote that "there isn't a banal moment in Winslet's performance—not a gesture, not a word". To avoid a scheduling conflict with "Revolutionary Road", Winslet turned down an offer to star in "The Reader". After her replacement Nicole Kidman left the project due to her pregnancy, Winslet was signed to it. Directed by Stephen Daldry, "The Reader" is based on Bernhard Schlink's novel "Der Vorleser" and is about Hanna
Melissa Leo Margaret Avery. Following her Oscar win, Leo appeared in the HBO miniseries "Mildred Pierce" alongside Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood and Guy Pearce. Her performance garnered an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Her next projects include the satirical horror film "Red State", the independent comedy "Predisposed" with Jesse Eisenberg currently in pre-production and the crime thriller "The Dead Circus" based on the novel by John Kaye with Michael C. Hall and James Marsden currently in development. She guest-starred in an episode of the hit FX comedy "Louie", which garnered her an Emmy