Oscar nominations overview

Few surprises were revealed yesterday when nominations for the 83rd annual Academy Awards were announced. Still, there’s a lot of good quality films that shared in the nominations, with “The King’s Speech” leading the way with 12 nods, followed by “True Grit,” with 10. While there is some carry over in nominations from the Golden Globes and the Oscars, just to highlight their difference, “True Grit” didn’t pick up a single nomination at the Globes.
Here’s some of the nominees in the major categories of the awards show, set for Feb. 27 on ABC:
Best Picture
“127 Hours”
“Black Swan”
“The Fighter”
“Inception”
“The Kids Are All Right”
“The King’s Speech”
“The Social Network”
“Toy Story 3”
“True Grit”
“Winter’s Bone”
A strong field of films fills this category, which was expanded to 10 nominees last year. The only surprise for some prognosticators (which shouldn’t be a surprise at all) would be the inclusion of the great, low-budget indie, “Winter’s Bone.”

Best Actress
Annette Bening - “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman - “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence - “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman - “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams - “Blue Valentine”
All five of these actresses got Golden Globe nominations, with Bening and Portman winning in separate categories at the awards show. Both are seeking their first Oscar. Actually, Kidman is the only one to have received one previously.

Best Actor
Javier Bardem - “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges - “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg - “The Social Network”
Colin Firth - “The King’s Speech”
James Franco - “127 Hours”
Bridges and Firth were both nominated in this category last year, with Bridges taking home his first Oscar for “Crazy Heart.” But Firth is the one who’s been picking up a ton of awards this season.

Best Supporting Actress
Amy Adams - “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter - “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo - “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld - “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver - “Animal Kingdom”
Somebody here will be taking home their first Oscar in what is typically a highly competitive category.

Best Supporting Actor
Christian Bale - “The Fighter”
John Hawkes - “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner - “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo - “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush - “The King’s Speech”
This category is often the most competitive, with various upsets over the years, including nominations. Hawkes getting a nomination here speaks to the popularity of “Winter’s Bone” with the Academy, which would seem to have squeezed out Andrew Garfield of “The Social Network.”

Best Director
Darren Aronofsky - “Black Swan”
Joel and Ethan Coen - “True Grit”
David Fincher - “The Social Network”
Tom Hooper - “The King’s Speech”
David O. Russell - “The Fighter”
It seemed the bigger news after the nominations were announced was who wasn’t in this category, namely Christopher Nolan (“Inception”). Presumably, the Coens would have taken a nod away from him, not that the Oscar-winning brothers are any kind of slouch themselves.

Best Original Screenplay
Mike Leigh - “Another Year”
Scott Silver, Paul Tamasy, Eric Johnson and Keith Dorrington - “The Fighter”
Christopher Nolan - “Inception”
Stuart Blumberg, Lisa Cholodenko - “The Kids Are All Right”
David Seidler - “The King’s Speech”
With Nolan missing out in the directing category, this might be a chance for him to get some love from the Academy.

Best Adapted Screenplay
Simon Beaufoy, Danny Boyle - “127 Hours”
Aaron Sorkin - “The Social Network”
Michael Arndt, John Lasseter, Andrew Stanton and Lee Unkrich - “Toy Story 3”
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen - “True Grit”
Debra Granik and Anne Rosellini - “Winter’s Bone”
Sorkin has been cleaning up during the awards season, but could an upset be possible here with other nominees having won writing Oscars before?