Having been nominated for 11 Academy Awards this morning, “Hugo” leads the Oscar race numerically, but only by one nomination. The black and white, mostly silent French comedy-drama “The Artist,” which was nominated for ten Oscars, remains the favorite to win Best Picture — as it has been since the awards season began.
Several other films were heavily nominated: “Moneyball” and “War Horse” each received six nods; “The Descendants” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” five apiece; and “The Help,” four.
All of these, except “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” were nominated for Best Picture. So, too, were “The Tree of Life,” “Midnight in Paris,” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” the latter a surprise inclusion. This is the first year in which the Academy was permitted to choose between five and ten nominees; nine have made the cut.
“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”s David Fincher missed out on a director nomination, as did “War Horse”’s Steven Spielberg. The nominees in this category are Michal Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Alexander Payne (“The Descendants”), Martin Scorsese (“Hugo”), Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”), and Woody Allen (“Midnight in Paris”). Allen hasn’t been feted much by other awards-givers, but he is an Academy favorite and has a particularly strong shot at the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for what has proven his most commercially successful film.
There were surprises in the actor nominations. Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”) and Charlize Theron (“Young Adult”) were omitted as Best Actress. Meryl Streep earned her 17th nomination in this category and is the favorite to win her third Oscar. Viola Davis (“The Help”) and Michelle Willliams (“My Week With Marilyn”) are her strongest contenders; Rooney Mara (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) takes the ingenue’s slot and Glenn Close (“Alfred Nobbs”) is an intriguing outsider.
Demián Bechir, nominated as Best Actor for the little-seen “A Better Life,” was on few people’s radar before the nominations were announced by Academy president Tom Sherak and actress Jennifer Lawrence. The 48-year-old Mexican Actor announced that he was “overwhelmed.” He will be up against George Clooney (“The Descendants”); Gary Oldman (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), whose nomination will be very popular; Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”), and Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”). Overlooked were Leonardo DiCaprio (“J. Edgar”), Michael Fassbender (“Shame”), and Ryan Gosling (“The Ides of March”).
Gosling’s “Drive” co-star Albert Brooks was an eye-opening omission from the Best Supporting Actor nominees as he looked like the probable winner a month ago. The favorite in this category is now Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”), who’s now locked in a fascinating competition with fellow 82-year-old Max von Sydow (“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”). Nick Nolte (“Warrior”) has emerged from nowhere to contest the award and complete his post-DUI rehabilitation. Kenneth Branagh (“My Week With Marilyn”) and Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”) are the other nominees.
In the Best Supporting Actress group, "Gilmore Girls" alum Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”) will compete with her friend, Golden Globe-winner Octavia Spencer, who, like Jessica Chastain, was nominated for “The Help.” “The Artist’s” Bérénice Bejo and “Alfred Nobbs”’s Janet McTeer were also nominated. Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”) can consider herself unlucky to be omitted.
In another shock, Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” failed to receive a nomination for Best Animated Film, a category it won at the Globes. “Chico and Rita” and “A Cat in Paris” are surprise choices.
The Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has been nominated as writer of the Best Original Screenplay for “A Separation,” which is also the shoo-in for Best Foreign Language Film. Not only has it received rave reviews and critics prizes, it is much better known than the other nominees in the category.
In the Best Adapted Screenplay category, there was a posthumous nomination for Bridget O'Connor, who co-wrote “Tinker Tailor” with her husband Peter Straughan. The award-winning author and playwright died from cancer at the age of 49 in September 2010.
The Academy Awards will be given out at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on February 26.
THE NOMINATIONS
BEST PICTURE
The Artist
War Horse
The Descendants
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist
Alexander Payne, The Descendants
Martin Scorsese, Hugo
Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life
BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir, A Better Life
George Clooney, The Descendants
Jean Dujardin, The Artist
Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt, Moneyball
BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis, The Help
Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn
BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn
Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
Nick Nolte, Warrior
Christopher Plummer, Beginners
BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist
Jessica Chastain, The Help
Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer, The Help
BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist
Bridesmaids
Margin Call
Midnight in Paris
A Separation
BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
Moneyball
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
A Cat in Paris
Chico and Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Separation
Footnote
In Darkness
Bullhead
Monsieur Lahzar
BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Pina
Hell and Back Again
If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3
Undefeated
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse
BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse
BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets
"Real in Rio" from Rio
BEST EDITING
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.
BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady
BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic
BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom