Hugo, The Artist Top the 2012 Oscar Nominees List

Two love letters to cinema won over Academy voters as Martin Scorsese's first 3D, family-friendly film, Hugo, earned 11 Oscar nominations followed closely by the nearly silent black & white The Artist with 10. Only 9 films were nominated out of a possible 10 in the Best Picture category and unfortunately for Harry Potter fans, the Academy didn't send that franchise off with an Oscar nod for Best Picture. Also missing from the Best Picture list: Bridesmaids. However, Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo did get a Best Original Screenplay nomination and Melissa McCarthy did pick up a Supporting Actress nomination for their work on that R-rated comedy.Brad Pitt (a Best Picture nominee as producer of Moneyball) and George Clooney (who also earned a Best Adapted Screenplay nod for The Ides of March) will help draw in eyeballs as they compete in the Best Actor category which, unfortunately, doesn't include either Michael Fassbender or Ryan Gosling. Tilda Swinton was mysteriously missing from the Best Actress category for her riveting performance in We Need to Talk About Kevin while Glenn Close was included for one of my personal least favorite movies of 2011, Albert Nobbs, and Rooney Mara's transformation for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo won over voters. However, this category will likely be a battle between Meryl Streep for The Iron Lady (a film that didn't receive/doesn't deserve much attention) and Viola Davis for The Help (a 2011 blockbuster).
It'll be a battle of four men over 50 versus Jonah Hill in the Best Supporting Actor category. Hill seems to have taken the spot most assumed would go to Albert Brooks for his work in Drive. In the Best Supporting Actress category we've got two of The Help's talented women - Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer - going head-to-head, which might wind up splitting the vote for surprise entry Melissa McCarthy to slip in as winner.
The Directors Guild didn't nominate Steven Spielberg for War Horse and neither did the Academy voters in the Best Director category. However, the Academy didn't nominate David Fincher for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo who was included in the DGA's list of 5 nominees and instead went with Terrence Malick for The Tree of Life.
And in the Best Original Song category only two tunes were nominated out of 39 songs the Academy had ruled eligible for the honor. Academy members chose not to nominate "The Keeper" from Machine Gun Preacher, Mary J Blige's "The Living Proof" from The Help, or any of Elton John's songs from Gnomeo & Juliet - all songs worthy of recognition.
2012 Academy Awards Nominees
Oscar nominee Jennifer Lawrence (the star of one of 2012's most anticipated movies, The Hunger Games) had the honor of announcing the nominations for the 84th Academy Awards on Tuesday, January 24th. Martin Scorsese's Hugo nabbed a surprising 11 nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director, while The Artist followed closely behind with 10 nominations.
2012 Oscar Nominees:
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse
Best Actor:
Demián Bichir in A Better Life
George Clooney in The Descendants
Jean Dujardin in The Artist
Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt in Moneyball
Actor in a Supporting Role:
Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill in Moneyball
Nick Nolte in Warrior
Christopher Plummer in Beginners
Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Actress in a Leading Role:
Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
Viola Davis in The Help
Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn
Actress in a Supporting Role:
Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
Jessica Chastain in The Help
Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer in The Help
Animated Feature Film:
A Cat in Paris
Chico & RitaKung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango
Art Direction:The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse
Cinematography:The Artist - Guillaume SchiffmanThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Jeff CronenwethHugo - Robert RichardsonThe Tree of Life - Emmanuel LubezkiWar Horse - Janusz Kaminski
Costume Design:Anonymous - Lisy ChristlThe Artist - Mark BridgesHugo - Sandy PowellJane Eyre - Michael O'ConnorW.E. - Arianne Phillips
Directing:The Artist - Michel HazanaviciusThe Descendants - Alexander PayneHugo - Martin ScorseseMidnight in Paris - Woody AllenThe Tree of Life - Terrence Malick
Documentary (Feature):Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated
Documentary (Short Subject):
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
Film Editing:The Artist - Anne-Sophie Bion and Michel HazanaviciusThe Descendants - Kevin TentThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus WallHugo - Thelma SchoonmakerMoneyball - Christopher Tellefsen
Foreign Language Film:
Bullhead Belgium
Footnote Israel
In Darkness Poland
Monsieur Lazhar Canada
A Separation Iran
Makeup:
Albert NobbsHarry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
Music (Original Score):The Adventures of Tintin - John WilliamsThe Artist - Ludovic BourceHugo - Howard ShoreTinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Alberto IglesiasWar Horse - John Williams
Music (Original Song):
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets Music and Lyric by Bret McKenzie
"Real in Rio" from Rio Music by Sergio Mendes and Carlinhos Brown Lyric by Siedah Garrett
Short Film (Animated):
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life
Short Film (Live Action):
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic
Sound Editing:Drive - Lon Bender and Victor Ray EnnisThe Girl with the Dragon Tattoo - Ren KlyceHugo - Philip Stockton and Eugene GeartyTransformers: Dark of the Moon - Ethan Van der Ryn and Erik AadahlWar Horse - Richard Hymns and Gary Rydstrom
Sound Mixing:The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse
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
Writing (Adapted Screenplay):The Descendants - Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim RashHugo - Screenplay by John LoganThe Ides of March - Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau WillimonMoneyball - Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story by Stan ChervinTinker Tailor Soldier Spy - Screenplay by Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan
Writing (Original Screenplay):The Artist - Written by Michel HazanaviciusBridesmaids - Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call - Written by J.C. ChandorMidnight in Paris - Written by Woody Allen
A Separation - Written by Asghar Farhadi
The 84th Academy Awards will be held on February 26, 2012.