'Avatar' and 'The Hurt Locker' Lead Oscars with 9 Nominations

The nominations for the 82nd Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning.

Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the pack with nine nominations.

This year, the category for Best Picture was expanded to ten slots. The nominees are:
The Hurt Locker, Precious, Avatar, Up in the Air, The Blind Side, District 9, Up, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, and A Serious Man.

The nominees for Best Actor are:
Jeff Bridges for Crazy Heart, George Clooney for Up in the Air, Morgan Freeman for Invictus, Jeremy Renner for The Hurt Locker, and Colin Firth for A Single Man.

The nominees for Best Actress are:
Sandra Bullock for The Blind Side, Helen Mirren for The Last Station, Meryl Streep for Julie & Julia, Carey Mulligan for An Education, and Gabourey Sidibe for Precious.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actor are:
Matt Damon for Invictus, Christopher Plummer for The Last Station, Christoph Waltz for Inglourious Basterds, Stanley Tucci for The Lovely Bones, and Woody Harrelson for The Messenger.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are:
Penelope Cruz for Nine, Maggie Gyllenhaal for Crazy Heart, Anna Kendrick for Up in the Air, Vera Farmiga for Up in the Air, and Mo’Nique for Precious.

The Academy Awards will be held on March 7.