After a year (plus 24 days), the anticipation is finally over — the nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards were announced Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. (ET). That’s a drowsy 5:30 a.m. for those folks in Hollywood, but you can bet they were glued to the announcement of the film world’s most respected and prestigious award, where even getting nominated is added to your name for life.
Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” received a stunning 11 nominations, while “The Artist” had 10, including more of the “bigger awards,” such as Best Actor for Jean Dujardin and Best Supporting Actress for Berenice Bejo. Besides Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay nominations, both films are running neck-and-neck with identical nominations in Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, and Best Original Score. Instead of the two Actor and Supporting Actress nominations racked up by “The Artist,” “Hugo” got nods for Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing.
“Moneyball” was a distant third with six nominations, including producer Brad Pitt for Best Actor and Best Picture. But one could argue Pitt was a big winner; his film “The Tree of Life” also picked up three nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography.
For Best Actor, Pitt will be up against his pal George Clooney for “The Descendants,” which also earned four nominations, along with Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse,” all fighting for Best Picture.
After “Moneyball’s” six nominations, the next most-nominated film might be a bit of a surprise. “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” earned five nominations, including Rooney Mara for Best Actress and Best Cinematography. But Mara will be going up against two true Oscar legends: Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady”) and Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs”). Ouch — that’s a tough one.
Notable snubs included Sandra Bullock for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” although the film earned Best Picture and Best Supporting Actor nods for Max von Sydow. Michael Fassbender was all but considered a given for a Best Actor nomination for “Shame,” but he and the film were completely shut out. The same fate befell Leonardo DiCaprio and “J. Edgar.”
On the flip side, it was a pleasant surprise to see Gary Oldman earn a Best Actor nomination for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and Melissa McCarthy’s Supporting Actress recognition for “Bridesmaids.” That category also includes nominations for both Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer for “The Help.”
The Academy Awards will be televised live on Feb. 26. Below is the complete list of nominees:
Best Picture
“War Horse”
“The Artist”
“Moneyball”
“The Descendants”
“The Tree of Life”
“The Help”
“Hugo”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Best Actor in a Leading Role
Demian Bichir, “A Better Life”
George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin, “The Artist”
Gary Oldman, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Brad Pitt, “Moneyball”
Best Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Max von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Best Actress in a Leading Role
Viola Davis, “The Help”
Glenn Close, “Albert Nobbs”
Rooney Mara, “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep, “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams, “My Week With Marilyn”
Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Best Director
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Terrence Malick, “Tree of Life”
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
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 & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2″
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”
Best Cinematography
“The Artist”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“The Tree of Life”
“War Horse”
Best Foreign Language Film
“Footnote” (Israel)
“Bullhead” (Belgium)
“Monsieur Lazhar” (Canada)
“In Darkness” (Poland)
“A Separation” (Iran)
Best Art Direction
“The Artist”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Gallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“War Horse”
Best Costume Design
“Anonymous”
“The Artist”
“Hugo”
“Jane Eyre”
“W.E.”
Best Documentary Feature
“Hell and Back Again”
“If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front”
“Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory”
“Pina”
“Undefeated”
Best Documentary Short Subject
“The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier in the Civil Rights Movement”
“God is Bigger Than Elvis”
“Incident in New Baghdad”
“Saving Face”
“The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom”
Best Film Editing
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Moneyball”
Best Makeup
“Albert Nobbs”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“The Iron Lady”
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” form “Rio”
Best Animated Short Film
“Dimanche/Sunday”
“The Fantastic Flying Lessons of Mr. Morris Lessmore
“La Luna”
“A Morning Stroll”
“Wild LIfe”
Live Action Short Film
“Pentecost”
“Raju”
“The Shore”
“Time Freak”
“Tuba Atlantic”
Best Sound Editing
“Drive”
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”
Best Sound Mixing
“The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
“Hugo”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“War Horse”
“Moneyball”
Best Visual Effects
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
“Hugo”
“Real Steel”
“Transformers: Dark of the Moon”
“Rise of the Planet of the Apes”