• Production designer Rick Carter (“A.I.: Artificial Intelligence,” “Avatar”) to be feted at Hollywood Awards. [Variety]

• Making the “prawns” of “District 9” look alien but sympathetic. [Hero Complex]

• Robert Rehme elected to head of Academy Foundation. [The Wrap]

• Quentin Tarantino gets his big pre-release publicity day in the sun in the local rag. [Los Angeles Times]

• Andrew O’Hehir surveys a few upcoming productions. [Beyond the Multiplex]

• Owen Gleiberman spotlights key references and influences in Neill Blomkamp’s “District 9.” [Entertainment Weekly]

• Five things you didn’t know about the film [io9]

• Gearing up awards coverage at his (relatively) new home at HitFix, Gregory Ellwood assesses the Oscar potential of “Inglourious Basterds.” [Awards Campaign]

• Xan Brooks covers the same old “Is ‘Avatar’ the wave of the future?” angle it seems his outlet has exhausted as of late. [The Guardian]