"The Artist," "The Help," "War Horse" Among Best Picture Oscar Nominees; Meryl Streep and Viola Davis Also Honored

By Kenneth Jones
and Adam Hetrick
January 24, 2012

Nominations for the 84th Academy Awards, honoring excellence for the 2011 year in film, were announced Jan. 24. Among the nominees for Best Picture are "War Horse," "The Artist," "The Help" and more. Nominees who have connections to the stage include screenwriter John Logan and performers Glenn Close, Janet McTeer, Meryl Streep, Christopher Plummer and Viola Davis, among others.

Streep is nominated as Best Actress for Playing British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady." Davis (a two-time Tony Award winner for King Hedley II and Fences) is now Best Actress-nominated for playing a Southern maid in the segregated South in "The Help."

Screenwriter Logan is a Tony Award winner for Best Play for Red. He is Oscar-nominated for his adapted screenplay for "Hugo," a Best Picture moninee. "Rango," which he wrote, is nominated as Best Animated Feature. Read Playbill.com's recent interview with him about his writing life.

Director Steven Spielberg's "War Horse" is based on a youth novel by Michael Morpurgo. An acclaimed National Theatre adaptation is currently a Tony-winning hit at Lincoln Center Theater (and at the starting gate for a Toronto life and a national tour). Read about the stage and film versions of the property in a recent Playbill.com feature. Here's a Playbill.com chat with Morpurgo, who talks about the play and film of his story. 

"The Ideas of March," nominated for Adapted Screenplay, is drawn from Beau Willimon's play Farragut North. He is one the screenplay's adapters.

Jessica Chastain, nominated as a Supporting Actress for "The Help," is Broadway-bound this fall in a new production of The Heiress.

Select 2012 Oscar nominations are below. For more information and a complete list of nominees, visit oscars.org.

Best Picture
War Horse
The Artist
Moneyball
The Descendants
The Tree of Life
Midnight in Paris
The Help
Hugo
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Actor In A Leading Role
Demián Bichir
"A Better Life"
George Clooney
"The Descendants"
Jean Dujardin
"The Artist"
Gary Oldman
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Brad Pitt
"Moneyball"

Actress In A Leading Role
Glenn Close
"Albert Nobbs"
Viola Davis
"The Help"
Rooney Mara
"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"
Meryl Streep
"The Iron Lady"
Michelle Williams
"My Week With Marilyn"

Actor In A Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh
"My Week With Marilyn"
Jonah Hill
"Moneyball"
Nick Nolte
"Warrior"
Christopher Plummer
"Beginners"
Max Von Sydow
"Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close"

Actress In A Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo
"The Artist"
Jessica Chastain
"The Help"
Melissa Mccarthy
"Bridesmaids"
Janet McTeer
"Albert Nobbs"
Octavia Spencer
"The Help"

Directing
"The Artist"
Michel Hazanavicius
"The Descendants"
Alexander Payne
"Hugo"
Martin Scorsese
"Midnight In Paris"
Woody Allen
"The Tree Of Life"
Terrence Malick

Writing (Original Screenplay)
"The Artist"
Written By Michel Hazanavicius
"Bridesmaids"
Written By Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
"Margin Call"
Written By J.C. Chandor
"Midnight In Paris"
Written By Woody Allen
"A Separation"
Written By Asghar Farhadi

Writing (Adapted Screenplay)
"The Descendants"
Screenplay By Alexander Payne And Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
"Hugo"
Screenplay By John Logan
"The Ides of March"
Screenplay By George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
"Moneyball"
Screenplay By Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin Story By Stan Chervin
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Screenplay By Bridget O'Connor & Peter Straughan

Music (Original Score)
"The Adventures Of Tintin"
John Williams
"The Artist"
Ludovic Bource
"Hugo"
Howard Shore
"Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"
Alberto Iglesias
"War Horse"
John Williams

The Academy Awards ceremony, hosted by Billy Crystal, will be held 7 PM Feb. 26 at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles. It will broadcast on ABC-TV.