There were a couple of surprises this morning with the announcement of the nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards. Underdogs previously neglected by other awards such as the Golden Globes, got unexpected recognition, like “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” and “The Tree of Life” for best picture noms, while in other categories, shoe-ins like Michael Fassbender for “Shame” for the Best Actor category were shut out in favor of Gary Oldman for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy” and long-shot nominee Demian Bichir for “A Better Life.”
We’re excited to see Melissa McCarthy win a nomination for her role in the summer’s breakout comedy “Bridesmaids” as well as Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo’s nom for best original screenplay for the film.
The most unexpected diversion from expectations came in the Best Supporting Actor category, where nominees Max von Sydow for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” and Nick Nolte for “Warrior” iced out Albert Brooks for “Drive” and Viggo Mortenson for “A Dangerous Method.”
In the first year in which there could be anywhere from five to ten best picture nominees, the Academy went close to max with nine nominations, including summer hits “The Help” and “Midnight in Paris” in addition to “Moneyball.”
And here are the nominees:
Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo for “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain for “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy for “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer for “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer for “The Help”
Best Supporting Actor
Kenneth Brannaugh for “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill for “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte for “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer for “Beginners”
Max von Sydow for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
Best Actress
Glenn Close for “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis for “The Help”
Rooney Mara for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep for “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams for “My Week with Marilyn”
Best Actor
Demián Bichir for “A Better Life”
George Clooney for “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin for “The Artist”
Gary Oldman for “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”
Brad Pitt for “Moneyball”
Director
Michel Hazanavicius for “The Artist”
Alexander Payne for “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese for “Hugo”
Woody Allen for “Midnight in Paris”
Terrence Malick for “The Tree of Life”
Best Original Screenplay
“The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius
“Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
“Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor
“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen
“A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi
Best Adapted Screenplay
“The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
“Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan
“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
“Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin
“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan
Animated Feature Film
“A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2” Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
“Rango” Gore Verbinski
Best Picture
“The Artist” Thomas Langmann, Producer
“The Descendants” Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” Scott Rudin, Producer
“The Help” Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
“Hugo” Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
“Midnight in Paris” Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
“Moneyball” Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
“The Tree of Life” Nominees to be determined
“War Horse” Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers
