With today's Screen Actors Guild announcement, we've officially moved onto the next stage of awards season, when the industry has its say and shares the spotlight a bit with the critics. I was happy to see that a few extraneous elements of the season (Demián Bichir, Jonah Hill) got some recognition and kept things fresh, because that's precisely why I decided to transition the annual "If I Had a Ballot" feature into something more thorough.

In its stead, The Longlists are just that: a series of lists in various categories featuring what I thought was the top echelon of each. I trotted out 10, rather than the Oscar-centric five, throughout.

If you missed it, Monday I wrote up my list of the year's 10 best films. Friday brings a final wrap-up with year-end superlatives in the categories below as well as a few others. And soon enough, it'll be 2012 and the year will officially be a memory. But the season will forge on.

Note: I've abstained from the documentary, foreign film and animated feature film categories. I haven't seen enough docs or foreign films this year to be so definitive and there aren't enough animated features to even warrant a "category." Meanwhile, I've combined original and adapted screenplays into one "Best Screenplay" field.

Feel free to offer up your early lists in the comments section below.

Best Picture
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Drive"
"Margaret"
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
"Rampart"
"Rango"
"A Separation"
"Shame"
"Take Shelter"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Director
Steven Spielberg, "The Adventures of Tintin"
Nicholas Winding Refn, "Drive"
Kenneth Lonergan, "Margaret"
Sean Durkin, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Oren Moverman, "Rampart"
Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation"
Steve McQueen, "Shame"
Tomas Alfredson, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life"
Lynne Ramsay, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Best Actor
Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"
George Clooney, "The Descendants"
Michael Fassbender, "Shame"
Ryan Gosling, "The Ides of March"
Tom Hardy, "Warrior"
Woody Harrelson, "Rampart"
Hunter McCracken, "The Tree of Life"
Peyman Moaadi, "A Separation"
Gary Oldman, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
Michael Shannon, "Take Shelter"

Best Actress
Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis, "The Help"
Charlotte Gainsbourg, "Melancholia"
Rooney Mara, "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo"

Elizabeth Olsen, "Martha Marcy May Marlene"
Anna Paquin, "Margaret"
Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"
Tilda Swinton, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"
Charlize Theron, "Young Adult"
Michelle Williams, "My Week with Marilyn"

Best Supporting Actor
Albert Brooks, "Drive"
Benedict Cumberbatch, "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
Ben Kingsley, "Hugo"
Ezra Miller, "We Need to Talk About Kevin"
Nick Nolte, "Warrior"
Patton Oswalt, "Young Adult"
Brad Pitt, "The Tree of Life"
Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"
Andy Serkis, "Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
Corey Stoll, "Midnight in Paris"

Best Supporting Actress
Sareh Bayat, "A Separation"
Jeannie Berlin, "Margaret"
J. Smith-Cameron, "Margaret"
Jessica Chastain, "The Help"
Elle Fanning, "Super 8"
Mélanie Laurent, "Beginners"
Carey Mulligan, "Shame"
Evan Rachel Wood, "The Ides of March"
Shailene Woodley, "The Descendants"
Robin Wright, "Rampart"

Best Screenplay
"Beginners"
"Margaret"
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"Rango"
"A Separation"
"Shame"
"Take Shelter"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

Best Art Direction
"Anonymous"
"The Guard"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"J. Edgar"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"
"Water for Elephants"

Best Cinematography
"Drive"
"Hugo"
"The Ides of March"
"Melancholia"
"Moneyball"
"Rampart"
"Shame"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"The Tree of Life"
"W.E."

Best Costume Design
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"The Help"
"Hugo"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"W.E."
"War Horse"
"Water for Elephants"

Best Film Editing
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Contagion"
"Drive"
"The Ides of March"
"Margaret"
"Martha Marcy May Marlene"
"Moneyball"
"Rampart"
"The Tree of Life"
"We Need to Talk About Kevin"

Best Makeup
"Anonymous"
"The Artist"
"Captain America: The First Avenger"
"Green Lantern"
"Hugo"
"The Iron Lady"
"J. Edgar"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"W.E."
"X-Men: First Class"

Best Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Attack the Block"
"A Better Life"
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"
"Hanna"
"Hugo"
"The Ides of March"
"Margaret"
"Moneyball"
"Rango"

Best Sound Editing
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Battle: Los Angeles"
"Drive"
"Fast Five"
"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"
"Rango"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"
"War Horse"

Best Sound Mixing
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Battle: Los Angeles"
"Drive"
"Fast Five"
"Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol"
"Rango"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Super 8"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Visual Effects
"The Adventures of Tintin"
"Anonymous"
"Captain America: The First Avenger"
"Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2"
"Hugo"
"Melancholia"
"Paul"
"Rise of the Planet of the Apes"
"Transformers: Dark of the Moon"
"The Tree of Life"

Best Ensemble
"Contagion"
"Drive"
"The Help"
"The Ides of March"
"Margaret"
"Midnight in Paris"
"Moneyball"
"A Separation"
"Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"
"The Tree of Life"

Tally:

11 - "The Tree of Life"

9 - "Margaret," "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy"

8 - "Hugo"

7 - "The Adventures of Tintin," "Drive"

6 - "Moneyball," "Rampart," "A Separation," "Shame"

5 - "Martha Marcy May Marlene," "Rango"

4 - "Anonymous," "The Help," "The Ides of March," "Midnight in Paris," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Take Shelter," "We Need to Talk About Kevin"

3 - "Beginners," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "W.E.," "Warrior," "War Horse," "Young Adult"

2 - "The Artist," "A Better Life," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2," "J. Edgar," "Melancholia," "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," "Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows," "Super 8," "Water for Elephants"

1 - "Attack the Block," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," "Green Lantern," "The Guard," "Hanna," "Paul," "My Week with Marilyn," "X-Men: First Class"

For year-round entertainment news and awards season commentary follow @kristapley on Twitter.

Sign up for Instant Alerts from In Contention!