At present, Baz Luhrmann’s spring hit “The Great Gatsby” has at least two Oscar nominations in the bag: bids for Production and Costume Design are assured, and it could well win both. Other tech nods are feasible, but while Warner Bros. are putting the campaign dollars in, above-the-line nominations seem unlikely. At the Australian Academy Awards, however, it’s a different story: the blockbuster scored a leading 14 nods, including Best Picture and a quintet of acting citations for Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki and Isla Fisher. (Sorry, Tobey.) I suspect it’ll lose out to Australia’s heartwarming Oscar submission “The Rocket” in the top races, but “Gatsby” devotees can briefly savor heavyweight status.[AACTA]
Clio Barnard (“The Selfish Giant”) and Anthony Chen (Singapore’s Oscar entry “Ilo Ilo”) are among Variety’s 10 Directors to WAtch, set to be honored at the Palm Springs fest. [Variety]
Jordan Hoffman on the expertly maintained public image of Jennifer Lawrence, and its “wonderful alignment” with the character of Katniss Everdeen. [Vulture]
Steve Pond on the likeliness (or otherwise) of the Academy ever creating a slate of 10 Best Picture nominees, even in what’s perceived as a strong year. [The Wrap]
Foreign-language Oscar entries “The Great Beauty” and “The Broken Circle Breakdown” were among the big winners at this year’s Black Nights Film Festival. [Screen Daily]
Two-time Oscar nominee Julie Walters will received the Richard Harris Award for outstanding contribution to British film at the British Independent Film Awards. [BIFA]
Brooks Barnes and Michael Cieply on the striking arrival of “The Wolf of Wall Street” in the awards race: its event status isn’t in doubt, but does it pose a problem to Paramount? [New York Times]
Mary Ann Skweres profiles editor Joe Walker, and his subtle, deliberate work on “12 Years a Slave.” [Below the Line]
Peter Bart on how Bruce Dern (who is everywhere this season) is proving the value of Q&A availability in awards campaigning. [Variety]
A BFI study shows that only 7% of UK films made between 2003 and 2010 turned a profit. (That pretty much covers the “Harry Potter” franchise, right?) [The Guardian]