Nominations for the 82nd annual Academy Awards were announced this morning at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles, and though there were few surprises in the major categories – one notable exception being The Blind Side, a surprise contender for Best Picture in this year's expanded category – the races should be tighter and less predictable than in years past. The following is a list of the nominees, with the presumed favorite denoted by an asterisk. Conventional wisdom can change in a hurry, though – just ask Brokeback Mountain director Ang Lee, whose movie was erroneously considered a shoo-in for the top prize that went to Crash in 2006 – before the ceremony's official telecast on Sunday, March 7.

Up

Best Picture
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker *
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man







Up
Up in the Air



Avatar

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

The Hurt Locker

Best Actor
Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart *
George Clooney, Up in the Air
Colin Firth, A Single Man
Morgan Freeman, Invictus
Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker

The Blind Side

Best Actress

Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side *
Helen Mirren, The Last Station
Carey Mulligan, An Education
Gabourey Sidibe, Precious
Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia

The Messenger

Best Supporting Actor
Matt Damon, Invictus
Woody Harrelson, The Messenger
Christopher Plummer, The Last Station
Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones
Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds *

Precious

Best Supporting Actress
Penelope Cruz, Nine
Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air
Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart
Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air
Mo'nique, Precious *


Fantastic Mr. Fox

Best Animated Feature Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up




*


Un Prophete

Best Foreign Film
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto de sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophete (France) *
The White Ribbon (Germany)


Inglourious Basterds

Best Original Screenplay
Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker *
Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds
Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman, The Messenger
Joel Coen and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man
Peter Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom McCarthy, Up

Up in the Air

Best Adapted Screenplay
Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell, District 9
Nick Hornby, An Education
Jesse Armstron, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche, In the Loop
Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious
Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air *


The Cove

Best Documentary Feature
Burma VJ
The Cove *
Food, Inc.
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home

Sherlock Holmes

Best Original Score
Avatar *
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Hurt Locker
Sherlock Holmes
Up

Crazy Heart

Best Original Song
"Almost There" from The Princess and the Frog, Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
"Down in New Orleans" from The Princess and the Frog, Music and Lyrics by Randy Newman
"Loin de Paname" from Paris 36, Music by Reinhardt Wagner Lyrics by Frank Thomas
"Take It All" from Nine, Music and Lyrics by Maury Yeston
"The Weary Kind (Theme from Crazy Heart)" from Crazy Heart, Music and Lyrics by Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett *


District 9

Best Film Editing
Avatar *
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious






Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Best Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince *
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon

Bright Star

Best Costume Design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus
Nine *
The Young Victoria