THE HELP and THE ARTIST will be the films to beat at the 2012 Academy Awards after landing four Oscar nominations apiece.
The two movies both landed nods for Best Picture, competing against War Horse, Moneyball, The Descendants, Hugo, The Tree of Life, Midnight in Paris and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.
The Help also scooped acting honors for Octavia Spencer, Viola Davis and Jessica Chastain, while silent film The Artist picked up nominations for Berenice Bejo and Jean Dujardin and a nod in the Best Director category for Michel Hazanavicius.
Demian Bichir (A Better Life), George Clooney (The Descendants), Gary Oldman (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) will compete against The Artist star Dujardin in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category while Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn), Jonah Hill (Moneyball), Nick Nolte (Warrior), Christopher Plummer (Beginners) and Max von Sydow (Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close) will duke it out for Best Actor in a Supporting Role.
Nominees for Best Actress in a Leading Role aside from The Help’s Davis include Glenn Close (Albert Nobbs), Rooney Mara (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady) and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn) and in the race for Best Actress in a Supporting Role alongside The Artist’s Bejo and The Help stars Chastain and Spencer are Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids) and Janet McTeer (Albert Nobbs).
The award nominations were announced at a press conference in Los Angeles on Tuesday (24Jan12) by Winter’s Bone star Jennifer Lawrence and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak.
The 84th annual Academy Awards ceremony will take place on 26 February (12) at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, and will be hosted by veteran Billy Crystal.
The major list of nominees is as follows: Best Picture: War Horse The Artist Moneyball The Descendants The Tree of Life Midnight in Paris The Help Hugo Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Best Actor: Demian 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: Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn Jonah Hill – Moneyball Nick Nolte – Warrior Christopher Plummer – Beginners Max von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close Best Supporting Actress: 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 Alexander Payne – The Descendants Martin Scorsese – Hugo Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris Terrence Malick – The Tree of Life
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