All the pre-Oscar awards hubbub is pointing toward these self-evident truths.

“Lincoln” is in. So is “Zero Dark Thirty.” And “Les Miserables.” Probably “Life of Pi.” Possibly “Django Unchained.”

“The Silver Linings Playbook”? Also possible. “Argo”? Love that Ben. Probable.

The DGA nominations cast a further cloud over the controversial hit “Django Unchained.” “Zero Dark Thirty” seems to be weathering its blowback well enough.

“Beasts of the Southern Wild”? A long shot.

Veteran Oscar watcher Steve Pond figures it’s an eight picture field.

But he’s leaving out such potential worthies as “Skyfall,” “Flight,” “Amour,” and “The Impossible” (another long shot). With Oscar promising to celebrate James Bond, does that impact whether the best Bond in decades will earn a best picture nod?

What else will earn consideration? What could possibly surprise us on January 10, when Emma Stone and Oscar host Seth “Ted” McFarlane tell us the Oscar field?