"The Artist", "Hugo" lead Oscar nominees pack

January 24, 2012 - 18:21 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net - Silent-era film "The Artist" and Martin Scorsese's "Hugo" led the pack of Oscar nominees on Tuesday, including one nod for each in the best film category, in the race for the world's top film honors, according to Reuters.

"Hugo," Scorsese's ode to the early days of moviemaking, earned the most nominations with 11 overall, including for him in the director category. "The Artist," which has swept through awards season this year taking many pre-Oscar awards, had 10 nominations, total.

The two easily outdistanced other top nominees including baseball movie "Moneyball" with six nods and Steven Spielberg's World War One tale "War Horse," also with six nominations. Joining those four films in the race for best movie are family drama "The Descendants," civil rights movie "The Help," Woody Allen's "Midnight in Paris," Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," and 9/11 movie "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

Nominees for best actor included George Clooney for "The Descendants," Jean Dujardin in "The Artist," Brad Pitt for "Moneyball," Gary Oldman in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," and Demian Bichir in "A Better Life."

Best actress nominees were led by Meryl Streep portraying former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady," Glenn Close in a gender-bending role in "Albert Nobbs," Viola Davis for "The Help," Rooney Mara in "The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo," and Michelle Williams in "My Week with Marilyn."

The Oscars are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and this year's winners will be named at a gala ceremony in Hollywood on February 26.