At 5:30 AM Pacific Time on Tuesday, The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences revealed their nominations for this year’s Oscars.

Hugo leads with 11 total nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. The Artist scored 10 nods.

Some of the nominations were a big surprise, especially in the Best Picture catagory. While films like The Artist and The Descendants were a shoe-in, especially after their performance in the Golden Globes, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close and The Help were also recognized. Also curiously, there were only nine pictures nominated as opposed to ten, which we’ve seen the past two years.

Best Director is chock full of veteran Oscar nominees. Woody Allen, Terrance Malick, Alexander Payne, and Martin Scorsese have earned almost 40 nominations all together. Michel Hazanivicus, however, is up for his first nomination.

Most notably absent from several catagories was Drive, for Best Picture, Best Actor for Ryan Gosling’s spectacular performance and Best Supporting Actor for Albert Brooks. It dig snag a nomination for Sound Editing, but I would have liked to see it recognized a bit more.

The Oscar buzz continues until the Academy Awards ceremony airs on Sunday February 26th. You can see the full listing of nominees after the jump, and let us know what you think of the nominations!

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For those who immediately tuned out the news about the 2012 Academy Awards after they heard that “retired” host Billy Crystal would be dusting off his tuxedo to get back up on stage, they had no idea what extents the Academy would go to in order to make you think that this isn’t your mom and dad’s Oscar show.

That’s why they pulled out the stops and collaborated with Funny or Die to put together this epic movie-style trailer featuring the likes of Billy Crystal, Robin Williams, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, William Fichtner and Vinnie Jones.

That’s right. Some pretty big star power. And if that isn’t enough for you to get into the Oscar mood, the team has also put together a pretty extensive YouTube channel, with some of the best monologues, acceptance speeches, and overall best moments.

Take a look at the epic trailer after the jump and be sure to tune in to what should be an entertaining Oscars on February 26th, only on ABC.

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It’s Oscar day so that means we’re going to try to bring you all the fun, excitement and awards live. We’ve done this once before last year and it met with great success.

This year, we’re doing it a bit differently and using a new interface. So, sit back, relax and check out the fun. Also, be sure yo let us know how we’re doing.

Now, let’s get to it!

On the night of January 16th, Hollywood was split in twine after Ricky Gervais’ performance as the host of the evening’s events. One half felt that Gervais went over the line with his sardonic humor and felt that he was rude and crass, while the other half understood his sense of humor and realized he was doing his job as a “comedian.”

Now, continuing in his trend of bitterness, the original Office star has posted on his blog some suggestions to Oscar hosts James Franco and Anne Hathaway, in case they have time they need to fill.

Without further adieu, we present to you Ricky Gervais’ suggested script for this year’s Oscars. We’ve got what we think is a pretty good sample below, and check out the full script full of self-deprecating humor over at Gervais’ official blog.

JF
Thank you. I’m James Franco.

AH
…and I’m Anne Hathaway.

JF
You probably know me from 127 Hours where I play a man trapped in an enclosed space who decides he would rather cut his own arm off than stay where he was. Now that sounds “way out” but wait till half way through this fucking ceremony and you’ll start to identify with him.

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This may be the biggest year for the Academy Awards, as some major Hollywood players are going up against some fresh newcomers. Eyeballs everywhere will be glued to ABC on Sunday, February 27th at 8PM E/5PM P when the awards show goes live. But before that, we decided to do some picking of our own with the staff’s predictions for each award.

For a full list of the nominees, check out our previous article on the subject. Now, on to the predictions.

Best Picture

Shannon Hood-The Social Network. It had early and consistent momentum all year, and the Academy appears to be trying to shake up their stodgy image. This would be the perfect film to put their money where their mouth is.

Matt Raub – True Grit. Not only are the Coens a regular in the “I Have an Oscar” club, but this testament to classic western films is definitely one for record books, between its all-star cast and gritty (no pun intended) visual style, this one definitely deserves the golden statue.

Chris Ullrich – True Grit. Even though this was a pretty great year for movies and there are many excellent choices in this category, True Grit stands on its own as my pick. As an example of pure movie storytelling, this Coen Brothers masterpiece excels on every level and delivers a pure entertainment experience you will want to revisit many more times in the future.

Cortney Zamm – The Social Network. There’s a lot of great films in this category, some of them from my favorite directors and starring my favorite people. But the one that combined all of the essential elements of filmmaking into a truly gorgeous, compelling, and memorable film was The Social Network.

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Possibly one of the most critically praised films of the year, and potentially a heavy hitter at this year’s Academy Awards, The King’s Speech has already made plenty of headlines as of late. Well you can add one more, as the film’s DVD and Blu-Ray details have been announced courtesy of a press release from Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Co.

BEVERLY HILLS, CA – Anchor Bay Entertainment and The Weinstein Company announced today the highly anticipated Blu-ray™ and DVD release of THE KING’S SPEECH, the first release under the two companies’ new agreement.  Heading to retail on April 19^th, 2011, THE KING’S SPEECH has dominated the nomination lists for the Oscars^®, Golden Globes^®, Critics Choice Awards and BAFTA awards, earning widespread critical acclaim and grossing over $73 million at the North American box office thus far.

Its 2011 honors to date include two Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by a Cast and Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Leading Role (Colin Firth); the PGA Award for Outstanding Producer of a Theatrical Motion Picture; the DGA Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in a Feature Film (Tom Hooper); and the Golden Globe^® for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture-Drama (Colin Firth).

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The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the  nominees for the 83rd annual award ceremony this morning. The King’s Speech was the front-runner with 12 nominations. Overall, there weren’t too many surprises.

Many were disappointed  that Christopher Nolan did not receive a best director nod, but as a consolation prize, Inception was nominated as a contender for best picture.
True Grit did quite well, with Hailee Steinfeld nabbing a best supporting actress nod, and nominations for best picture, best director(s), best actor, and best adapted screenplay. Winter’s Bone was recognized for best actress, best picture, and best adapted screenplay. Dogtooth, Jackie Weaver, and Javier Bardem were nice surprises.

Here are the nominees in the order that they were announced.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale The Fighter
John Hawkes Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right
Jeffrey Rush The King’s Speech

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It’s a pretty big decision to choose the host of The Academy Awards every year. There have been some epic hosts in the past, and some pretty bad ones. One thing is for sure, it’s going to be hard to top last year’s picks of Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin. It seems like the Academy has made their choice, however, as word is coming out that James Franco and Anne Hathaway are currently booked for the event. Here’s the official press release.

“James Franco and Anne Hathaway personify the next generation of Hollywood icons— fresh, exciting and multi-talented. We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27,” said Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer. “We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that.”

Franco, who currently can be seen in “127 Hours,” will be making his second appearance on an Oscar telecast. His other film credits include “Eat, Love, Pray,” “Date Night,” “Milk” and “Pineapple Express.” Franco is also known for his portrayals of Harry Osborn in the “Spider-Man” trilogy.

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While director Rob Marshall is curruntly donning his tri-corner hat and swashbuckling pants for Pirate of the Caribbean 4: On Stranger Tides, he’s still doing some press for his film Nine, which hits DVD and Blu-ray on May 4th.

Marshall’s Nine made a few splashes last year, getting nominated for four Academy Awards and winning a few Satellite Awards. Marshall managed to take the excitement and aesthetic of 2002′s Chicago and put it into the setting of Italian cinema in the late 1960s.

The film also spared no expense on cast with names like Daniel Day-Lewis, Penélope Cruz, Fergie, Kate Hudson, Nicole Kidman, and Judi Dench. We’ll be bringing you more features from the DVD release as we draw closer to the date, so stay tuned. Meanwhile, check out a look at director Rob Marshall after the jump.

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While most believe that the wins for The Hurt Locker and Kathryn Bigelow were the most deserving and biggest upsets of this years Academy Awards, those are nothing in comparison to the pure excellence of this year’s winner for Best Animated Short Film, Logorama.

From a collaborative effort of directors François Alaux, Herve de Crecy, and Ludovic Houplain, the short is approximately 17 minutes long (3 of those minutes being the end credits alone) about a twist on a modern day Los Angeles, in which everything from the buildings to the cars to the people are made up of popular logos.

The short film would be quite impressive without a story, just a series of shots and pans of this impressive city, but instead we’re thrown into an epic crime noir story that turns into an even more epic disaster film. I’m sure there are tons of social remarks and jabs at Corporate America to be found here, but it’s still pretty cool to see a high speed chase between Ronald McDonald and the Michelin Man.

A Belgian website entitled Garage TV has thrown up the entire short film online, for free, to watch. Check it out after the jump before it goes away, and be prepared to be impressed.

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The Winners

Just call her the giant slayer. Kathryn Bigelow and her modest little Iraq War drama The Hurt Locker beat out the behemoth box office champ Avatar for best picture, best director, best original screenplay, best editing, best sound editing, and best sound mixing. Bigelow made history, becoming the first female ever to win the award for directing.

James Cameron and company (Avatar) left with a total of three trophies: best visual effects, best art direction and best cinematography. The cinematography award seemed a little odd. After all, most of this film was computer generated, wasn’t it?

There were no real surprises in the acting categories. Best supporting actress went to Mo’nique for Precious, best supporting actor Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds, best actress was Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, and Jeff Bridges finally won for Crazy Heart.

Up won best animated feature and best original score, while El Secreto do Sus Ojos (Argentina) won best foreign picture. The Cove won best documentary. For an expanded list of major category winners, scroll to the bottom of the article.

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