• Kris boldly offered some early winner predictions … I (and you) followed.

• AMPAS unveiled the official list of 20 animated feature contenders, guaranteeing five eventual nominees.

• This week’s Off the Carpet column picked through the leading Best Supporting Actor contenders.

• In The Long Shot, we reflected on a handful of the Academy’s better moves this past decade.

• Sunday Cents examined the box office fortunes of “A Christmas Carol” and “Precious.”

• While new feature Friday Forecast offered box office projections for the weekend to come.

• Meanwhile, “Precious” continues to get some people’s backs up.

• This week’s edition of Tech Support broke down the Best Sound Mixing race.

• We rounded up the rapidly multiplying selection of studio FYC sites for your convenience.

• Martin Scorsese will receive the Cecil B. DeMille Award at January’s Golden Globes ceremony.

• Light or dark? Considering Stanley Tucci’s two-pronged attack in the supporting race.

• We examined the curious wave of South African stories hitting our screens this year.

• Our ‘Great Performances’ series continued, with a review of the years 1999 and 2000.

• And with ‘best of the 2000s’ lists already in full swing, The Times opted for Michael Haneke’s “Caché.”

• Once again, our weekly Oscar Talk podcast put everything in perspective.