'Avatar,' 'Hurt Locker' lead Oscar noms

As expected, the big showdown at the 82nd annual Academy Awards will be between director James Cameron, whose sci-fi extravaganza "Avatar" has become the biggest moneymaker of all time, and his ex-wife, Kathryn Bigelow, director of the little-seen but much lauded Iraq War film "The Hurt Locker."

Both Cameron and Bigelow nabbed best director nominations when the Oscar noms were announced this morning. Both films are up for best picture.

"Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" also each scored nine nominations in total, sharing the lead among nominees and setting up a classic David vs. Goliath, indie vs. big studio battle for Oscar night.

"Avatar" has earned in excess of $2 billion worldwide; "The Hurt Locker" has made less than $17 million worldwide.

Also competing in the best picture category, which expanded to 10 entries this year from the traditional five, are the sports drama "The Blind Side," the alien saga "District 9," the coming-of-age story "An Education," The World War II re-imagining "Inglourious Basterds," the urban abuse tale "Precious," the Jewish angst fable "A Serious Man," and the traveling businessman dramedy "Up in the Air."

Pixar's animated fable "Up," about an old man and a boy who take to the skies in a house lifted by balloons, was nominated for both best picture and best animated picture. It was the first time an animated feature had nabbed a best picture nomination since 1991's "Beauty and the Beast." "Up" received a total of six nominations.

Other films which scored multiple nominations were "Basterds" (eight), "Up in the Air" (six) and "Precious" (six).

In the acting categories, the nominations held few surprises, with "Up in the Air" scoring three nominations and "Precious," "Crazy Heart," "Invictus" and "The Last Station" all scoring two.

George Clooney scored a best actor nomination for "Air," while his co-stars, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, will compete against one another for best supporting actress.

The favorite in the supporting actress race, though, is comedian Mo'Nique, who played a nightmare mother in "Precious."

The daughter she terrorized in that film was played by Gabourey Sidibe, who had never seriously acted or been in a film previously. Sidibe won a best actress nomination today.

She will compete against veteran actress Sandra Bullock, also a first-time nominee, who was nominated for the most successful film of her career, "The Blind Side." Also competing for best actress are perennial nominee Meryl Streep for "Julie and Julia," newcomer Carey Mulligan for "An Education," and Oscar-winner Helen Mirren for "The Last Station."

Worthy of note is the fact that all four acting categories featured multiple first-time nominees: Colin Firth ("A Single Man") and Jeremy Renner ("Hurt Locker") for best actor; Christoph Waltz ("Basterds"), Christopher Plummer ("Station") and Stanley Tucci ("The Lovely Bones") for supporting actor; Mo'Nique, Kendrick, Farmiga and Maggie Gyllenhaal ("Crazy Heart") for supporting actress; and Sidibe, Mulligan and Bullock for best actress.

The 82nd annual Academy Awards will be held March 7 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, hosted by Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.

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