Hopefuls for the 84th annual Academy Awards, also known as the Oscars, are led by the silent film “The Artist,” which garnered 10 nominations. Other nominations consist of first-time nominees, such as Rooney Mara for her starring role in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.
Previous Oscar winners are returning this year, such as George Clooney for his role in “The Descendants” and Meryl Streep for her role in “The Iron Lady” will also be present. Clooney nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, and Streep nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
The film this year with the most nominations, however, is “Hugo,” the 3-D film directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Asa Butterfield, Ben Kingsley and Chloe Grace Moretz. The film tells the story of a young boy by the name of Hugo who finds a magical life through a secret left behind by his father. The film has 11 nominations, one of them for Best Picture.
One of the nominees for Best Picture is “The Help,” a film adaption of the New York Times Bestseller by the same name. “The Help” recently won the Screen Actor Guild award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. This win bodes well for the film when it comes to the Academy Awards, where it is now nominated for four awards. Three of these nominations are for the performances of Viola Davis (Best Actress in a Leading Role) and Olivia Spencer and Jessica Chastain (competing against each other for Best Actress in a Supporting Role).
The nominees for Best Actor in a Leading Role consist of well-known names, such as George Clooney for his role in The Descendants and Brad Pitt for his role in “Moneyball.” One nominee that stands out is Demian Bichir for his role in “A Better Life,” a film that tells the story of an illegal immigrant who works as a gardener to support himself and his son.
“A Better Life” is a film that only holds one nomination just like the comedy “Bridesmaids” that only has one nomination this year for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, for Melissa McCarthy’s performance as Megan.
This will be Melissa McCarthy’s first time being nominated for an Oscar. Other first-time nominees consist of Jonah Hill for his nomination of Best Actor in a Supporting Role in the film “Moneyball.”
Another newcomer is Rooney Mara for her role in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo,” the film adaptation based off the international bestselling books; the nomination is for Best Actress in a Leading Role.
The 84th Annual Academy Awards airs Sunday night.
