Hugo and The Artist came out on top when the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced their nominations today. Hugo received 11 nominations while The Artist received 10. As was previously announced, the Academy once again switched up the best picture category rules to include any number between 5 and 10 nominations. Thus, 9 films made the final cut most likely shutting out The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo from a tenth slot while Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close scored a slot despite getting only one other nomination. Surprisingly, the Academy favored Rooney Mara's lead performance in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo over Tilda Swinton's in We Need to Talk About Kevin, and A Cat in Paris and Chico and Rita beat out The Adventures of Tintin for Best Animated Feature though it still scored a nom for its score.
-William Bearden, DZBAwards.com 1/24/12

The King's Speech scored big on Tuesday when it was revealed to receive no fewer than 12 nominations from the Academy. True Grit was nodded at 10 times, while this year's forerunner for Best Picture The Social Network was tied for third most nominations at 8 alongside Inception which was surprisingly denied a directorial nomination for Chris Nolan. Javier Bardem beat out Ryan Gosling and Robert Duvall for a Best Actor nod, and Winter's Bone rounded off the 10 best films beating out The Town which received only 1 nomination.
-William Bearden, DZBAwards.com 1/27/11

In order to avoid dispersing too many votes out over an increased amount of Best Picture nominees, the DZB has developed a new system for voting. In years featuring more than 5 nominees, each film nominated for best picture will be rated on a scale from 1 to 10. The scores received from each picture will then be totalled in order to create a short list of just 5 films. After the films have been narrowed down to 5, the normal rules for voting will apply with each memeber contributing 3 votes to determine best picture of the year.
-William Bearden, DZBAwards.com

Avatar and The Hurt Locker seem to be leading the race this year with no less than nine nominations each. Nine also seems to be the lucky number for two other films this year with both District 9 and Nine scoring 4 nominations each. Maggie Gyllenhaal was the big acting nomination surprise this year for her role in Crazy Heart. Possibly the biggest surprise, however, came in the form of a best picture nomination for the The Blind Side.
-William Bearden, DZBAwards.com
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Instead of just voting for one nominee, the way Academy members have almost always done on the final ballot, voters will be asked to rank all 10 nominees in order of preference. The results will be tallied using the complicated preferential system, which has been used for decades during the nominating process but almost never on the final ballot.
-Sasha Stone, Awards Daily
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The Academy Awards will have 10 best-picture nominees instead of the usual five starting next year, improving the odds for films such as "The Dark Knight," a fan and critic favorite that was snubbed last time. Doubling the field for Hollywood's top prize will make room for more worthy films and potentially give a jolt to the Oscar TV ratings, Sid Ganis, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, said. The change takes effect with the 82nd Oscar show March 7, 2010.
-David Germaine, Huffington Post
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1. Midnight in Paris
2. The Artist
3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
4. The Muppets
5. A Separation
6. Hugo
7. The Help
8. Bridesmaids
9. The Ides of March
10. Bullhead

1. Drive
2. The Artist
3. A Separation
4. The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
5. The Tree of Life
6. Beginners
7. The Muppets
8. Moneyball
9. Bridesmaids
10. The Ides of March

1. The Descendants
2. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close
3. Jane Eyre
4. The Help
5. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
6. Drive
7. Midnight in Paris
8. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
9. The Artist
10. Rise of the Planet of the Apes