What’s next for the award season contenders?

On the award circuit with: “The Descendants” as an actor and “The Ides of March” as a director and producer.

Next up: Director Alfonso Cuaron‘s 3-D science-fiction thriller “Gravity” details the struggles of the lone survivors of a space mission stuck on their space station after satellite debris cripples their means of return to Earth. Sandra Bullock and Clooney play the astronauts.   (Lawrence K. Ho / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “Hugo”

Up next: “Silence,” about two Jesuit missionaries traveling to Japan in the 17th century, and a biopic about the Chairman of the Board himself, Frank Sinatra. Scorsese has said he’s considering shooting both of these films in 3-D, just like “Hugo.”   (Stephen Lovekin / Getty Images)

On the award circuit with: The black-and-white ode to silent film, “The Artist.”

Up next: Hazanavicius will join seven other French directors for “The Players,” a film made of short films sharing a common theme of infidelity.   (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

On the award circuit with: “Midnight in Paris” as writer and director, but not actor. It’s Allen’s 41st full-length feature film as a director.

Up next: “Nero Fiddled,” consisting of four vignettes set in Rome. Allen will return to acting with this one, which also features Alec Baldwin, Jesse Eisenberg, Ellen Page, Penelope Cruz and Roberto Benigni.   (Anne Cusack / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “Young Adult,” director Jason Reitman‘s second teaming with screenwriter Diablo Cody.

Up next: Theron has two potential blockbusters in 2012: “Snow White and the Huntsman,” in which she plays the evil Queen Ravenna, and director Ridley Scott‘s kinda-sorta “Alien” prequel known as “Prometheus.” Theron will play the sinister corporate representative who always does nefarious things in these “Alien”-type movies.

On the award circuit with: “Drive,” Nicolas Winding Refn’s thriller about a stuntman and sometime getaway driver, played by Gosling.

Up next: Gosling will play an LAPD sergeant butting heads with mobster Mickey Cohen in the 1940s drama “Gangster Squad,” from director Ruben Fleischer.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “The Iron Lady,” in which Streep plays former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Up next: She’ll play one-half of a middle-aged couple in a weekend of counseling to determine the future of their relationship in “Great Hope Springs.” Tommy Lee Jones will play her husband, and Steve Carell will play the therapist.   (Peter Kramer / Associated Press)

On the award circuit with: “Shame,” as a sex addict.

Up next: He’s got a role in Steven Soderbergh‘s action thriller “Haywire,” then he plays an android in Ridley Scott‘s “Prometheus.”   (Ricardo DeAratanha / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “The Artist”

Up next: He’ll be writing and directing, as well as starring in, a segment in “The Players.”  (Katy Winn / Associated Press)

On the award circuit with: “Moneyball,” in which he plays real-life Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane.

Up next: Zombies! Lots of zombies! Brad Pitt fights zombies! In “World War Z.” He’ll also star in director Andrew Dominik’s crime drama “Cogan’s Trade.” Which does not feature zombies!  (Carlo Allegri / Associated Press)

On the award circuit with: “The Descendants,” the writer-director’s first film since “Sideways” in 2004.

Up next: Payne has stated his intention not to let seven years pass between films again. To make that reality, he’s pushing to start filming his next project, the road comedy “Nebraska,” this year.   (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “War Horse,” his tear-jerker World War I horse movie.

Up next: The director is filming his long-in-development Abraham Lincoln biopic “Lincoln” with Daniel Day-Lewis.   (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “The Help,” alongside her costar Octavia Spencer.

Up next: She stars opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal as two mothers working to make a difference at a local school in the drama “Learning to Fly.”   (Evan Agostini / Associated Press)

On the award circuit with: “Albert Nobbs,” a film she cared so much about that she co-wrote the adaptation and produced it as well as starred in it.

Up next: Close will play Madame Raquin opposite Elizabeth Olsen in “Therese Raquin,” a thriller adapted from another play, this time by Neal Bell.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

On the award circuit with: “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” David Fincher‘s well-regarded but under-performing thriller.

Up next: She’s appearing in Kathryn Bigelow‘s untitled thriller about the hunt for Osama bin Laden before putting the nipple ring back on on to play Lisbeth Salander in the forthcoming sequel to “Dragon Tattoo,” “The Girl Who Played With Fire.”   (Carlo Allegri / Associated Press)