The Hollywood Reporter’s annual roundtables with actors and directors always make for enjoyable reading, though one rarely loses the sense that it’s being treated as a campaign exercise by all involved. Their first ever cinematographers’ roundtable, however, is quite a fresh, candid affair. Five DPs, including Sean Bobbitt (“12 Years a Slave”), Barry Ackroyd (“Captain Phillips”) and Bruno Delbonnel (“Inside Llewyn Davis”) get together for a chat on subjects from 3D to film-versus-digital to why their films never look the way they should on Blu-ray. Interestingly, no one speaks in favor of 3D — Ackroyd deems it a “gimmick,” Dryburgh “unnecessary,” and Bobbitt is “mystified” by it. Still, they’ll have to make their peace with losing the Oscar to “Gravity.”  [Hollywood Reporter] 

Steve McQueen defends the aesthetic of “12 Years a Slave,” in the face of critics who find it “prettified.” [Indiewire] 

Tim Gray on why Oscar voters really need to consider Scarlett Johansson in “Her.” [Variety]

Is there a place for an R-rated “Hunger Games” film? [The Wire] 

The late James Gandolfini is the cover star of GQ’s Men of the Year issue. (Can that posthumous nod for “Enough Said” happen?) [GQ]

Robert De Niro says he and Martin Scorsese have a gangster film in the pipeline. We’ve heard that for a while, haven’t we? [The Guardian]

Pete Hammond spotlights “Bridegroom,” a low-profile heartbreaker (already available on Netflix) with a lot to gain in the documentary Oscar race. [Deadline]

Rebecca Keegan discusses “August: Osage County” with writer Tracy Letts, director John Wells and four cast members, including Margo Martindale. [LA Times]

A list of 50 literary adaptations that (well, according to whom you ask) improved on their source material. [Total Film]