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The 2012 Academy Awards nominees were announced on Tuesday January 24, 2012 by two members of the Academy of Motion Pictures and Sciences.

All eyes were on Jennifer Lawrence and Tom Sherak, members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences yesterday as they announced the long-awaited 2012 Academy Award Nominations. The nominees, which were announced at the Beverly Hills Hotel were, for the most part, pretty predictable although there were some surprising nominations and some even more surprising snubs. Leading the nominations is Martin Scorsese?s Hugo with 11 nominations including Best Picture , Best Director and Best Art Director. One thing I found interesting about the Best Picture nominees is that two of the NINE (a few too many, perhaps?) are referred to as comedies: The Artist and Midnight in Paris. Speaking of The Artist, it is the first silent film to be nominated for an Oscar in 83 years, so it may be quite surprising that the film has the second highest amount of nominations with 10.

George Clooney, star of another Best Picture Nominee The Descendants is nominated for Best Actor, which he recently won at the Golden Globes. Rooney Mara, first known for her role as the pissed-off girlfriend who dumps Mark Zuckerberg in the very first scene of The Social Network is nominated for Best Actress for her chilling role, and in my mind complete transformation, in The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Another somewhat surprising nomination: Melissa McCarthy for Best Supporting Actress in hilarious comedy Bridesmaids. This is a breath of fresh air for the Oscars as a woman who clearly defies the ?thin ideal? present throughout most of Hollywood is finally being recognized for her talent as well as the fact that a raw, raunchy comedy such as Bridesmaids received the nod for Best Original Screenplay. One disappointing snub: Ryan Gosling for his intense role as an emotionally damaged Hollywood stunt performer in the drama Drive. Check out the full list of nominations below and be sure to tune into watch the drama unfold at the 84th Academy Awards Sunday, February 26th at 7:00 PM on ABC.

Best Picture??The Artist???The Descendants???Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close???Hugo???Midnight in Paris???The Help???Moneyball???War Horse???The Tree of Life?

Best Actor?Demian Bichir, ?A Better Life??George Clooney, ?The Descendants??Jean Dujardin, ?The Artist??Gary Oldman, ?Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy??Brad Pitt, ?Moneyball?

Best Actress?Glenn Close, ?Albert Nobbs??Viola Davis, ?The Help??Rooney Mara, ?The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo??Meryl Streep, ?The Iron Lady??Michelle Williams, ?My Week With Marilyn?

Best Supporting Actor?Kenneth Branagh, ?My Week With Marilyn??Jonah Hill, ?Moneyball??Nick Nolte, ?Warrior??Christopher Plummer, ?Beginners??Max Von Sydow, ?Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close?

Best Supporting Actress?Berenice Bejo, ?The Artist??Jessica Chastain, ?The Help??Melissa McCarthy, ?Bridesmaids??Janet McTeer, ?Albert Nobbs??Octavia Spencer, ?The Help?

Best Director?Woody Allen, ?Midnight in Paris??Michel Hazanavicius, ?The Artist??Terrence Malick, ?The Tree of Life??Alexander Payne, ?The Descendants??Martin Scorsese, ?Hugo?

Best Original Screenplay?Woody Allen, ?Midnight in Paris??JC Chandor, ?Margin Call??Asghar Farhadi, ?A Separation??Michel Hazanavicius, ?The Artist??Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, ?Bridesmaids?

Best Adapted Screenplay?Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, ?The Descendants??John Logan, ?Hugo??George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, ?The Ides of March??Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, ?Moneyball??Bridget O?Connor, Peter Straughn, ?Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy?

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year?Bullhead (Belgium)?Footnote (Israel)?In Darkness (Poland)?Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)?A Separation (Iran)

Original Score??The Adventures of Tintin,? John Williams??The Artist,? Ludovic Bource??Hugo,? Howard Shore??Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy,? Alberto Iglesias??War Horse,?

Best Documentary Feature??Hell and Back Again???If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front???Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory???Pina???Undefeated?

Best Documentary Short Subject??The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement????God Is the Bigger Elvis???Incident in New Baghdad???Saving Face???The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom?

Best Achievement in Visual Effects??Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2???Hugo???Real Steel???Rise of the Planet of the Apes???Transformers: Dark of the Moon?