Brush off your tuxedos and roll out the red carpet, because it’s Oscar season! If UT students wanted to see the announcement of this year’s Oscar nominations, they either had to be awake earlier than usual or clandestinely watching on their laptops during organic chemistry. The nominations were announced by Jennifer Lawrence, who was herself a nominee for her performance in last year’s “Winter’s Bone,” and the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences President Tom Sherak at 8:38 a.m. on Tuesday.


Best Picture

    
“Hugo” and “The Artist,” two love letters to cinema, come out on top for most nominations: 11 and 10, respectively. These top contenders show the Academy’s nostalgic affection for the bygone days of classic cinema. Nine films were nominated for Best Picture due to new voting regulations, which are based on the percentage of votes each film received during nominations instead of filling the list with a set number of titles. The nominations this year were so full of surprises that they were likely more suspenseful than the ceremony itself will be. Audiences were especially shocked by the nomination of “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close” for Best Picture.


Predicted Winner: The Artist



Best Actor

    
Since Michael Fassbender didn’t receive a Best Actor nomination for his gripping and somewhat disturbing performance as a sex-addict in “Shame,” the wonderfully expressive Jean Dujardin has little real competition for his probable award for “The Artist.” Leonardo DiCaprio, who had been expected to receive a nomination for his role as the title character in “J. Edgar,” was also missing from the list. Two actors who were not nominated for Golden Globes (as Fassbender and DiCaprio were) received Best Actor nods: British veteran Gary Oldman for the labyrinthine “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and the little-known Demian Bichir for “A Better Life,” a drama about undocumented Mexican immigrants in the United States.


Predicted Winner: Jean Dujardin


Best Actress

    
Rooney Mara is one of the five very talented women who earned a Best Actress nomination this year, but it is likely that her fascinating performance as Lisbeth Salander in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” caused Tilda Swinton’s Golden Globe-nominated work in “We Need to Talk About Kevin” to be ignored by the Academy. Other nominees for Best Actress were anything but a surprise. The unquestionably brilliant and seasoned actresses Meryl Streep and Glenn Close received nominations for their performances in “The Iron Lady” and “Albert Nobbs.” Viola Davis and Michelle Williams, representatives of a younger generation of Academy darlings, were also each nominated for the uplifting “The Help” and “My Week with Marilyn,” a new look at an American icon.

Predicted Winner: Meryl Streep


Best Supporting Actress


    
In a gesture that is important for funny women everywhere, the Academy recognized “Bridesmaids” in two categories, with a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Melissa McCarthy and a Best Original Screenplay nomination for Kristin Wiig and Annie Mumolo. Jessica Chastain’s Best Supporting Actress nomination for “The Help” is a surprise; viewers would think Bryce Dallas Howard’s cruel Hilly Holbrook deserved a nomination more than Chastain’s performance as a Jackson, Miss. pariah. Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”) and the marvelous Octavia Spencer (“The Help”) were also given nods by the Academy, but the Oscar will likely go to the highly deserving Berenice Bejo for her performance as the fan-turned-film star Peppy Miller in “The Artist.”


Predicted Winner: Berenice Bejo


Best Supporting Actor


    
Three surprising choices populated the Best Supporting Actor category: Jonah Hill for the somewhat overrated “Moneyball,” Nick Nolte for the ridiculous boxing flick “Warrior,” and Max von Sydow for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” in which he plays a character who is mute for the entire film. The nominations of these actors are especially confusing considering the absence of Albert Brooks from the list, who was predicted to receive attention for his role in “Drive.” Kenneth Branagh and Christopher Plummer were given their Best Supporting Actor nominations for performances in “My Week with Marilyn” and “Beginners.” As coyingly funny as Branagh was as Sir Laurence Olivier in “Marilyn,” Plummer leads the way and could be the oldest Oscar winner at age 82.

Predicted Winner: Christopher Plummer


Best Director

    
    
Despite expectations, David Fincher (“Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”) and Steven Spielberg (“Warhorse”) were both missing from the list of Best Director nominees. Martin Scorsese, although chronically under-appreciated by the Academy and only previously winning for 2007’s “The Departed,” leads the pack of this year’s Best Director nominees. Spielberg’s other directorial venture this year, “The Adventures of Tintin,” was also snubbed for Best Animated Feature, which is especially surprising considering it won that award at the Golden Globes.


Predicted Winner: Martin Scorsese


Best Foreign Film


    
In the Best Foreign Film category, Iran’s “A Separation,” which currently has a 99 percent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, is obviously the best choice.

Predicted Winner: “A Separation”


    
It is disappointing that so many of the year’s best movies received no attention at all from the Academy. Why were “Shame,” “Drive,” “Take Shelter,” “50/50,” and “Carnage” all overlooked? “Carnage,” a smart little gem featuring an almost unbeatable ensemble cast, should have received nominations in acting categories or at least for Best Adapted Screenplay. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2” only received nominations for Visual Effects, Makeup and Art Direction, but readers should know it’s no “Lord of the Rings.”

    
As moviegoers wonder about this year’s confusing nominations, they at least have Billy Crystal’s ninth appearance as Oscar host, as well as in the inevitable best and worst dressed lists, to look forward to. Send out those Oscar party invitations soon; there’s no time to spare!