CBS 19 - The Eye of East Texas News - Avatar, Hurt Locker lead Oscar nominations

Avatar, Hurt Locker lead Oscar nominations

(CNN) -- The biggest box-office hit of all time and a small independent film that grossed about $16 million led all comers when the nominations for the 82nd annual Academy Awards were announced Tuesday morning.

The head-to-head competition between "Avatar," the gigantic hit about the collision of two civilizations, and "The Hurt Locker," a gritty film about a bomb disposal unit in Iraq, takes on additional drama since the directors of those two films -- James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, respectively -- were once married to each other.

The two films each earned nine nominations. Quentin Tarantino's World War II drama, "Inglourious Basterds," followed with eight.

"Precious," about a poverty-stricken teen and her dysfunctional family, and "Up in the Air," the film with George Clooney as a much-traveled employment adviser, are each up for Oscars in six categories.

Ten films received best picture nominations, including Cameron's "Avatar," Bigelow's "The Hurt Locker," Tarantino's "Inglourious Basterds," American sports movie "The Blind Side," sci-fi thriller "District 9," British coming-of-age film "An Education," dark comedy "A Serious Man," film festival favorite "Precious," Disney-Pixar animated comedy "Up" and "Up in the Air."

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences doubled the number of movies nominated for the best picture this year to 10, a move perhaps aimed at bolstering sagging ratings for the Academy Awards broadcast.

It is a return to the way the Oscars were awarded in the movies' early decades when as many as 12 films were considered in the field of finalists, then-academy President Sid Ganis said announcing the change in June.

A best picture nomination often serves as a marketing boost, driving DVD sales for those films no longer in theaters.

Acting award nominations closely followed the lead of the Screen Actors Guild awards and Golden Globes, handed out in January.

Best actor nominations went to Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart," Clooney for "Up in the Air," Colin Firth for "A Single Man," Morgan Freeman for "Invictus" and Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker."

The best actress Oscar nominations include Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side," Helen Mirren for "The Last Station," Carey Mulligan for "An Education," Gabourey Sidibe for "Precious" and Meryl Streep for "Julie & Julia."

Streep's nomination was her 16th -- extending her own record. Katharine Hepburn scored 12, and Jack Nicholson also has 12.

Though previous awards shows have established clear front-runners, there were a few surprises.

"District 9," a low-budget film about the tense relationship between humans and extraterrestrials in South Africa, earned nominations for best picture and best adapted screenplay. Penelope Cruz earned a best supporting actress nomination for "Nine," a film that, after a big push, earned disappointing reviews and did poorly at the box office.

Another best supporting actress nominee that may have caught observers off-guard was Maggie Gyllenhaal for "Crazy Heart." While co-star Bridges has dominated the lead actor categories for his role, this film is Gyllenhaal's first nomination.

Other best supporting actress nominees announced were: Vera Farmiga, "Up in the Air"; Anna Kendrick, "Up in the Air"; and Mo'Nique, "Precious."

Mo'Nique carried home both the Golden Globe and SAG trophies last month.

Best supporting actor nominations followed a script made familiar by the previous award shows: Matt Damon for "Invictus," Woody Harrelson for "The Messenger," Christopher Plummer for "The Last Station," Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones" and Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds."

Waltz, an veteran Austrian actor hardly known outside Europe until last year, won the Golden Globes and SAG best actor awards last month. He played a memorable Nazi villain in Tarantino's thriller.

The director category features the showdown between Cameron and Bigelow, along with nominations for Tarantino, Lee Daniels for "Precious" and Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air."

The 82nd Academy Awards show is set for March 7 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.