Which films in 2012 will be Oscar bait?

Yes, there was a (comparatively) recent film version of the Victor Hugo novel in 1998, but this is the singing version of it, so it’s totally different. Hugh Jackman will play Jean Valjean and Russell Crowe will play Inspector Javert, but people seem most excited about the possibility of Taylor Swift playing Eponine. The girl has picked up almost every music award there is, including the Grammy. So why shouldn’t she enter the Oscar derby as well?   (Charles Sykes / Associated Press)

Last year, director David O. Russell found himself in the thick of the Oscar race for the first time with his gritty drama “The Fighter.” So it’s natural to eagerly anticipate his follow-up. While the derailed video-game adaptation “Uncharted” didn’t sound like it held much award-season juiciness, his current project, based on a novel by Matthew Quick, follows a former teacher (Bradley Cooper) released after years in a mental institution, who moves in with his mother and attempts to reconcile with his ex-wife. Yes, it’s a comedy.   (Jennifer S. Altman / For The Times)

Quentin Tarantino is back behind the camera with this Southern revenge tale about a former slave (Jaime Foxx) seeking to rescue his wife (Kerry Washington) from an evil Southern plantation owner (Leonardo DiCaprio). Tarantino tackled historical villains in his last movie (Nazis in “Inglourious Basterds”), so it makes sense that he’d move on to slave owners in his new one. As always, there will be plenty of juicy dialogue for the actors to chew over ¿ and some uncomfortable violence.   (Jason Merritt / Getty Images for Hollywood Film Awards)

Brad Pitt has two big movies this year. One is a zombie epic (“World War Z”) and the other is a tough crime drama about an enforcer (Pitt) investigating a heist that took place during a mob-backed poker game. Pitt reteams with director Andrew Dominik; their last collaboration, “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford,” was well-regarded. Will their second time strike Oscar gold?   (Cliff Owen / Associated Press)

The bestselling novel, about a young Indian boy who survives the sinking of a ship on a small boat with a menagerie of animals, has been passed among several directors over the years, from M. Night Shyamalan, to Alfonso Cuaron, to Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Ultimately, Oscar winner Ang Lee tackled the movie (in 3-D no less!). And as has been proved by Lee’s track record, he’s a master of (nearly) every genre he tackles. Back in line, superhero movies!   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

Steven Spielberg has been working for years on this adaptation of Doris Kearns Goodwin’s nonfiction book “Team of Rivals” about President Lincoln‘s antagonistic Cabinet during the days of the Civil War. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Lincoln and even before the paparazzi shot of the actor popped up online, movie fans just knew he’d land himself a lead actor nomination.   (Joel Ryan / Associated Press)