Oscar shortlist pits Hurt Locker against Avatar

Former husband and wife directors James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow will go head to head at the 82nd Academy Awards after they received nine nominations each when the Oscar shortlist was announced in Los Angeles today.

Both Cameron's 3D blockbuster Avatar and Bigelow's Iraq war film The Hurt Locker are up for best picture and best director. Both films received technical nominations, but Bigelow picked up two more nominations in the main categories, with its writer Mark Boal up for best original screenplay and a best actor nod for Jeremy Renner. Close behind Bigelow (left) and Cameron (right) is Quentin Tarantino's Inglorious Basterds with eight nominations.

The nominations for this year's Oscars were announced by Academy President Tom Sherak and actress Anne Hathaway. Vying for the best picture Oscar along with Avatar and The Hurt Locker are The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man and Up in the Air.
 
Renner, The Hurt Locker's little-known lead actor, will go up against four big-hitters in the race for best actor. They are Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up in the Air), Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Colin Firth, who won the best actor award at the Venice Film Festival for his performance in A Single Man.
 
The best actress category will see Sandra Bullock, who won a Golden Globe last month for her role in The Blind Side, take on former Oscar winners Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia) and Helen Mirren (The Last Station) as well as two newcomers, An Education's Carey Mulligan and Gabourey Sidibe, the star of Precious. Streep's nod for her portrayal of American chef Julia Child represents a record-breaking 16th nomination for the actress.
 
Morgan Freeman's co-star, Matt Damon, receives a best supporting actor nomination for his turn as the South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar in Invictus, Clint Eastwood's film which follows Nelson Mandela in his first term as the South African President. Damon will compete again Woody Harrelson in The Messengers, Stanley Tucci in The Lovely Bones, Christopher Plummer in The Last Station and Christoph Waltz in Inglourious Basterds.
 
The best supporting actress category sees two actresses from the same film - Up in the Air's Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick - go head to head. They will also compete against Crazy Heart's Maggie Gyllenhall, Penelope Cruz (Nine) and Diane Kruger (Inglourious Basterds).
 
As well as the nominations for Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan and Colin Firth, British talent received a nomination for best adapted screenplay for Armando Iannucci's comedy In the Loop.
 
The Oscar winners will be announced on March 7.

The Key NominationsBest Picture: Avatar, The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, The Hurt Locker, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, Up in the Air

Best Director: James Cameron (Avatar), Kathryn Bigelow (The Hurt Locker), Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Lee Daniels (Precious), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air).

Best Actor: George Clooney, Jeff Bridges, Colin Firth, Morgan Freeman, Jeremy Renner

Best Actress: Sandra Bullock, Helen Mirren, Carey Mulligan, Gabourey Sidibe, Meryl Streep Best Supporting Actor: Matt Damon, Woody Harrelson, Christopher Plummer, Stanley Tucci, Christoph WaltzBest Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz, Vera Farmiga, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Anna Kendrick, Mo'Nique  ·