I’m just now getting around to yesterday’s press release concerning this year’s Gotham Awards tributes, which will go to actress Charlize Theron, actor Gary Oldman and director David Cronenberg. Announced previously was a similar tribute for Fox Chairman and CEP Tom Rothman.

Now is the time of year when publicists jockey for their clients’ positions at tributes throughout the various awards season events. Whether it’s recognition at the Independent Film Project’s (IFP) Gotham Awards ceremony, the Hollywood Film Festival’s Hollywood Awards, the Palm Springs Film Festival’s gala of honors or the Santa Barbara Film Festival’s week-and-a-half of fetes, these notices can do a lot to further fuel an Oscar campaign, and these three will likely be in the thick of it.

Okay, maybe David Cronenberg is a stretch for Best Director recognition (for his work on “A Dangerous Method”) at this point, but that doesn’t mean the occasion of the film isn’t a good excuse to recognize a career of singular work. But Charlize Theron and Gary Oldman will be very much in the conversation for Best Actress and Best Actor respectively.

I haven’t seen Jason Reitman’s “Young Adult” yet, but by all accounts of those who have, Theron is likely to be a cinch for a nod. I have seen “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,” however, and can say Oldman’s reserved, coiled spring of a portrayal is sure to be well-respected by his fellow actors this season. Both are in the midst of major studio productions that will hit theaters in 2012 — Theron in Ridley Scott’s “Prometheus” and Oldman in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises” — so expect their awards run this season to really feed the publicity air around those films next year

“We are truly honored to pay tribute to four cinematic film luminaries, all of whom have greatly contributed to independent film, and have steadfastly supported the film community in their own individual and unique ways,”Joana Vicente, Executive Director of the IFP said in the press release.

Seven other awards — Best Feature, Best Documentary, Breakthrough Director, Breakthrough Actor, Best Ensemble Performance, Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You and the Audience Award — will also be handed out at the 21st annual Gotham Awards, which will be held on Monday, November 28th at Cipriani Wall Street, in New York.