NEWS: Hugo & The Artist Lead Nominations For The 2012 Academy Awards

The nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards have just been announced, and as always there are a few surprises in the line-up.

Martin Scorsese's 3-D family film Hugo racked up the most nominations with 11, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay.

French silent film The Artist, got 10 nominations, including nods for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress.

Brad Pitt's Moneyball, an adaptation of Michael Lewis' best-selling book, received five different nominations including Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, Film Editing, Sound Mixing, and Best Adapted Screenplay.

Among the actresses vying for Best Actress Oscars include newcomer Rooney Mara for her role in The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, Meryl Streep for her portrayal as Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady, Viola Davis in The Help, Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in My Week With Marilyn and Glenn Close for he incredible performance in Albert Nobbs.

See the full list of nominations below.

The 84th Academy Awards take place on Sunday 26 February at the Kodak Theatre, Hollywood. They will be presented by actor and comedian Billy Crystal.

BEST DIRECTOR:
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Terrence Malik - The Tree of Life

BEST PICTURE (9 nominations):
War Horse
Hugo
Moneyball
The Help
The Artist
The Descendants
Midnight in Paris
The Tree of Life
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

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 Marylin

BEST ACTOR:
George Clooney - The Descendants
Brad Pitt - Moneyball
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Damian Bichir - A Better Life
Gary Oldman - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR:
Kenneth Branagh - My Week with Marylin
Jonah Hill - Moneyball
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Max von Sidow - Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS:
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer - Albert Nobbs

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Bullhead - Belgium
Footnote - Israel
In Darkness - Poland
Monsieur Lazhar - Canada
A Separation - Iran

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash - The Descendants
John Logan - Hugo
George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon -The Ides of March
Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin - Moneyball
Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig - Bridesmaids
JC Chandor - Margin Call
Woody Allen - Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi - A Separation

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
John Williams - The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource - The Artist
Howard Shore - Hugo
Alberto Iglesias - Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams - War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
Bret McKenzie - 'Man or Muppet' from The Muppets
Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett - 'Real in Rio' from Rio

Best Costume
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
WE

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 Film Editing
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Best Makeup
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady

Best Animated Short Film
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live Action Short Film
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Best 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