Two films about the early years of cinema led the Oscar nominees Tuesday as Martin Scorsese's Hugo picked up 11 nominations and Michel Hazanavicius' The Artist got ten nods, reported dpa.
Both movies were chosen in the best picture category, along with The Descendants, The Help, Midnight in Paris, Moneyball, The Tree of Life, War Horse and Extremely Loud and Incredibly Dangerous.
Hugo, a children's 3-D movie about a Paris urchin who helps a film pioneer recover his love for cinema, was also nominated for best director, best cinematography, film editing and adapted screenplay and music.
The Artist, a silent movie tribute to Hollywood's golden era, confirmed its status as Oscar favourite with a clutch of nominations in major categories including best actor for Michel Dujardin, supporting actress for Berenice Bejo, screenplay and direction for Hazanavicius, as well as production design, cinematography, costume design, and original score.
Moneyball and Warhorse both earned six nominations apiece, while another pre-announcement favourite The Descendants picked up only five nominations, as did The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Three actresses from the civil rights drama The Help picked up acting nominations - Viola Davis for lead actress and Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer for supporting actress.
The other lead actress nominees were 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 and Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn.
The lead actor nominees were Demián Bichir in A Better Life, George Clooney in The Descendants, Jean Dujardin in The Artist, Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy and Brad Pitt in Moneyball.
The best director nominees were The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius, The Descendants - Alexander Payne, Hugo - Martin Scorsese, Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen and The Tree of Life - Terrence Malick.
Nominated for best foreign language film were Bullhead - Belgium, Footnote - Israel, In Darkness - Poland, Monsieur Lazhar - Canada and A Separation - Iran.
The Oscars will be presented on February 26 in Los Angeles.
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