2012 Oscar Nominations: Snubs, Upsets

84th Academys: The Artist, Hugo, Descendents

The Academy Awards has been handing out gold statues since 1929 and this year the 2012 nominations offered its share of Oscar surprises and upsets, chief among them the raunchy comedy Bridesmaids, which got an original screenplay nod and one for Melissa Mcarthy in the Best Supporting Actress category.

The Adventures of Tin Tin did not make the cut for best animated feature, Leonardo DeCaprio was robbed of Best Actor for his portrayal of J. Edgar as was Michael Fassbender in Shame, and even though War Horse was nominated for best picture, Steven Spielberg did not receive a best director nomination.

Likewise Tilda Swinton was overlooked for We Need to Talk About Kevin, as was Carey Mulligan for Shame, Albert Brooks for Drive and The Ides of March wasn't on the charts in any of the major categories.

Here are the 7 biggest awards of the night:

Best Picture

• The Artist Thomas Langmann, Producer
• The Descendants Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor, Producers
• Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close Scott Rudin, Producer
• The Help Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and Michael Barnathan, Producers
• Hugo Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
• Midnight in Paris Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
• Moneyball Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt, Producers
• The Tree of Life Nominees to be determined
• War Horse Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, Producers

Actor in a Leading Role

• Demián Bichir in A Better Life
• George Clooney in The Descendants
• Jean Dujardin in The Artist
• Gary Oldman in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
• Brad Pitt in Moneyball

Actor in a Supporting Role

• Kenneth Branagh in My Week with Marilyn
• Jonah Hill in Moneyball
• Nick Nolte in Warrior
• Christopher Plummer in Beginners
• Max von Sydow in Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

Actress in a Leading Role

• Glenn Close in Albert Nobbs
• Viola Davis in The Help
• Rooney Mara in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
• Meryl Streep in The Iron Lady
• Michelle Williams in My Week with Marilyn

Actress in a Supporting Role

• Bérénice Bejo in The Artist
• Jessica Chastain in The Help
• Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids
• Janet McTeer in Albert Nobbs
• Octavia Spencer in The Help

Directing

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

Writing (Original Screenplay)

• The Artist Written by Michel Hazanavicius
• Bridesmaids Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
• Margin Call Written by J.C. Chandor
• Midnight in Paris Written by Woody Allen
• A Separation Written by Asghar Farhadi

How Oscar Nominations Are Decided

The nominees are chosen by Academy members, actors, directors, editors, writers who respectively nominate those in their category (ex. directors pick the best directors category).

They pick their 5 favorites in declining order from the full field of contenders and then submit them for the final tally. Ater all the votes have been counted they put the winner in that sealed envelope for the awards ceremony.

Best Picture: 5-10 Nominees

Recently there have been some changes to the include more categories and more nominees in some categories. The best animated feature is now a permanent category and the Best Picture category can be 5-10 movies instead of only 5 or a full 10 as in previous years.

Also the best documentary film eligibility is the same as the feature films rather than having to be screened the year before.

The Oscars will air on February 26th 2012 and are hosted by Billy Crystal. Anyone looking to cheer for their favorite director, actor or film, or who just wants to just to see the fashion, turn on the small screen to honour the big.