US presidential drama Lincoln led the pack of Oscar nominees yesterday with 12 nominations, including a nod for best picture, in the race for the world’s top film honours.

Joining Lincoln in the competition for best movie were eight other films – shipwreck tale Life of Pi with 11 nods, musical Les Misérables, Iran hostage drama Argo, French language drama Amour, Osama bin Laden thriller Zero Dark Thirty, comedy Silver Linings Playbook, Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, and mythological film Beasts of the Southern Wild.

The Oscars are given out by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and this year’s winners will be named at a ceremony in Hollywood on February 26.

Best acting nominations went to Daniel Day-Lewis for his performance as US President Abraham Lincoln, Hugh Jackman in Les Misérables, Jessica Chastain for her role as a CIA agent in Zero Dark Thirty and Jennifer Lawrence for playing a young widow in Silver Linings Playbook.

In a list with few major surprises, Lincoln also picked up nods for director Steven Spielberg and supporting actors Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones, as well as best adapted screenplay and costumes.

James Bond film Skyfall won five nominations, including best original song and cinematography, but the British secret agent movie missed out on a coveted best picture mention.

The screen adaption of musical Les Mis gathered eight nominations, including best supporting actress for Anne Hathaway as tragic heroine Fantine. But director Tom Hooper was left off the directing nominee list, along with Ben Affleck for Argo and Tarantino for his violent, slavery era Western Django Unchained.

Amour, a moving love story about an elderly couple, fared well, winning best picture and best director nods for Michael Haneke, and a best lead actress mention for 85-year-old Emmanuelle Riva, who became the oldest best actress nominee in the academy’s 85-year history. At the opposite end of the spectrum, nine-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis, became the youngest ever best actress Oscar nominee for her performance in the end-of-theworld movie Beasts of the Southern Wild, which also garnered a nod for its first time director Benh Zeitlin.

85th Academy Nominations

Best Picture

Amour
Argo
Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Django Unchained
Les Misérables
Lincoln
Life Of Pi
Silver Linings Playbook
Zero Dark Thirty

Best Actor

Daniel Day Lewis - Lincoln
Bradley Cooper - Silver Linings Playbook
Hugh Jackman - Les Misérables
Joaquin Phoenix - The Master
Denzel Washington - Flight

Best Actress

Jessica Chastain - Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Lawrence - Silver Linings Playbook
Emmanuelle Riva - Amour
Quvenzhane Wallis - Beasts Of The Southern Wild
Naomi Watts - The Impossible

Best Supporting Actor

Alan Arkin - Argo
Robert De Niro - Silver Linings Playbook
Tommy Lee Jones - Lincoln
Christoph Waltz - Django Unchained
Philip Seymour Hoffman - The Master

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams - The Master
Sally Field - Lincoln
Anne Hathaway - Les Misérables
Helen Hunt - The Sessions
Jacki Weaver - Silver Linings Playbook

Best Director

Michael Haneke -Amour
Ang Lee - Life Of Pi
David O Russell - Silver Lining Playbook
Steven Spielberg -Lincoln
Benh Zeitlin - Beasts Of The Southern Wild

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