The favourite to win Best Actress will once again be Meryl Streep, for her portrayal of Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady . She is attempting to break a run of 12 straight Oscar defeats, and faces perhaps her stiffest challenge from Glenn Close, another veteran leading lady with blue-chip credentials, who is nominated for her lead role in Albert Nobbs.
Other contenders are Viola Davis for The Help, Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Michelle Williams for My Week with Marilyn.
Leading contenders for the Best Actor crown include George Clooney, who is nominated for The Descendants, a well-made drama which picked up five nominations and now has an outside shot at Best Picture.
Underlining his growing creative stature, Clooney is also nominated for a share of a writing award, after The Ides of March - a critically acclaimed political thriller he co-wrote, co-produced, directed and starred in - was nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay.
"George is an extraordinarily complete film-maker," his co-producer Nigel Sinclair said. "He was disciplined and personable. He showed us the first cut of the film three weeks after shooting wrapped, he came in under budget, and he made an incredible film."
His best-known rival will be Brad Pitt, who is seeking a first Academy Award for the baseball film Moneyball. Demian Bichir has been nominated for A Better Life, Gary Oldman wins his first nomination as Best Actor for Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, and Kenneth Branagh is shortlisted for Best Supporting Actor for My Week with Marilyn.
Yesterday's shortlist adds clarity to what has so far been a confusing Hollywood awards season, in which The Artist has picked up the lion's share of plaudits without ever gaining sufficient momentum to lend inevitability to its march towards the industry's most prestigious event.
The film, made for just US$15 million ($18.6 million), would be the first silent, black-and-white movie to win Best Picture since Wings in 1927.
It also has a decent shot at landing major acting awards, with previously unknown stars Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo short-listed for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress respectively.
Hugo's dramatic emergence meanwhile came as a surprise. The children's film, which has a star-studded cast, gained only mixed reviews when it debuted before Christmas and has so far disappointed commercially, returning only US$83 million globally, against a production budget of around US$150 million.
Scorsese's backers will now be hoping that filmgoers take a second look.
- Independent