Reuters - There’s no official starting gun to the annual Oscar race, and the finish line for the 80th Annual Academy Awards isn’t until February 24. But a number of races already have begun — some quietly, some not so quietly.

Jolie’s “Heart” pumps life into Oscar chatter (Reuters)

E! Online - The Oscar brain trust is looking to a 40-year-old virgin, James Bond, a former Friend and a dreamy American Idol also-ran to plump its ranks.

Academy Enlists Aniston, Carell, Craig & Co. (E! Online)

AP - “The Lord of the Rings,” the most expensive production in West End history, opened to a standing ovation from its audience, and mixed reviews from the critics, with some praising it as brilliant and a wonder, and others calling it “a thumping great flop” and corny.

`LOTR’ gets mixed reviews in London (AP)

AP - “Damage Control” (HarperCollins Publishing, 273 pages. $13.95) — For one woman, sitting exposed and vulnerable on a masseuse’s table rekindles painful memories of challenges her mother and grandmother endured. For another woman, a bad haircut leaves her in a choking rage.Feminist book intrigues, but no clarity (AP)

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