Nominees for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced this morning by actress Jennifer Lawrence (“Hunger Games”) and Tom Sherak, president of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.  “The Help”earned Oscar nods for Viola Davis (Best Actress), Octavia Spencer (Best Supporting Actress), Jessica Chastain (Best Supporting Actres), as well as Best Picture.

The lion’s share of nominations went to Martin Scorcese’s HUGO, which walked away with 11 Oscar nominations, including, Best Director, and Best Picture.  The Artist, follows closely with 10 nominations.   The Oscars will air Sunday, February 26th, 7P.M. EST.

Below is a complete list of nominees:

Supporting Actress

Berenice Bejo (“The Artist”)
Jessica Chastain (“The Help”)
Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”)
Janet McTeer (“Albert Nobbs”)
Octavia Spencer (“The Help”)

Supporting Actor

Kenneth Branagh (“My Week With Marilyn”)
Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”)
Nick Nolte  (“Warrior”)
Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”)
Max von Sydow (“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”)

Best Actress

Glenn Close (“Albert Nobbs”)
Rooney Mara (“Girl With The Dragon Tattoo”)
Viola Davis (“The Help”)
Meryl Streep (“The Iron Lady”)
Michelle Williams (“My Week With Marilyn”)

Best Actor

Demian Bichir (“A Better Life”)
George Clooney (“The Descendants”)
Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”)
Gary Oldman (“Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”)
Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”)

Best Director

Michel Hazanivicus (“The Artist”)
Alexander Payne (“The Descendants”)
Martin Scorsese (“HUGO”)
Woody Allen (“Midnight in Paris”)
Terrence Malick (“Tree of Life”)

Best Original Screenplay

The Artist
Bridesmaids
Midnight in Paris
Margin Call
A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay

The Descendants
Hugo
The Ides of March
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Foreign Feature

Bullhead
Footnote
In Darkness
Monsier Lazhar
A Separation

Best Animated Feature

A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Picture

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

Red Hook Summer– dir. Spike Lee
A boy from Atlanta lands in Brooklyn to spend the summer with his grandfather, who he’s never seen before.

LUV- dir. Justin Wilson (Common, Dennis Haysbert, Danny Glover, Charles S. Dutton, Meagan Good)
Common stars as Uncle Vincent, an ex-con trying to go straight who takes his young nephew with him on a business trip that inadvertently leads him back down the same deadly path he’s been trying to avoid.

Middle of Nowhere
dir. Ava DuVernay (Emayatzy Corinealdi, Omari Hardwick, David Oyelowo, Lorraine Toussaint)
A young woman (Corinealdi) struggles to maintain her marriage and her identity when her husband (Hardwick) must serve a eight year prison sentence.

Slavery By Another Name

dir.- by Sam Pollard

Documentary that challenges one of America’s most cherished assumptions: the belief that slavery in this country ended with Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.

The Words

dir. Brian Klugman, Lee Sternthal (Bradley Cooper, Zoe Saldana, J.K. Simmons)
When an aspiring writer claims another man’s long lost work as his own, the price he must pay is more than he could have ever imagined.

Read complete list over at BLACKFILM.COM

Nominees for the 43rd Annual NAACP Image Awards were announced early this afternoon.  As expected, The Help leads with nominations for Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer as well as white actresses Emma Stone and Bryce Dallas Howard.  The movie is also up for Best Motion Picture  and Best Director (Tate Taylor).  Indie darling Pariah was also acknowledged with Best Actress noms for Adepero Oduye, Best Supporting Actress for Kim Wayans and Best Supporting Actor for Charles Parnell.

Some questionable nominations include Tower Heist for Best Motion Picture as well as a Best Actor nod for Eddie Murphy, and Angelina for Best Director for her wartime drama In The Land of Blood and Honey.

The awards ceremony will air February 17th 8 P.M. EST on NBC.

Below is list of nominees for both film and television:

MOTION PICTURE

Outstanding Motion Picture
“Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures)
“Pariah” (Focus Features)
“The First Grader” (National Geographic
Entertainment)
“The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/
Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
“Tower Heist” (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture
Eddie Murphy – “Tower Heist”
(Universal Pictures)
Laurence Fishburne – “Contagion”
(Warner Bros. Pictures)
Laz Alonso – “Jumping the Broom”
(TriStar Pictures)
Oliver Litondo – “The First Grader” (National Geographic Entertainment)
Vin Diesel – “Fast Five” (Universal Pictures)

Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
Adepero Oduye – “Pariah” (Focus Features)
Emma Stone – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
Paula Patton – “Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures)
Viola Davis – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
Zoë Saldana – “Colombiana” (TriStar Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Anthony Mackie – “The Adjustment Bureau” (Universal Pictures)
Charles Parnell – “Pariah” (Focus Features)
Don Cheadle – “The Guard” (Sony Pictures Classics)
Jeffrey Wright – “The Ides of March” (Columbia Pictures)
Mike Epps – “Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture
Bryce Dallas Howard – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
Cicely Tyson – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)
Kim Wayans – “Pariah” (Focus Features)
Maya Rudolph – “Bridesmaids” (Universal Pictures)
Octavia Spencer – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)

Outstanding Independent Motion Picture
“I Will Follow” (AFFRM)
“Kinyarwanda” (AFFRM)
“MOOZ-lum” (AFFRM)
“Pariah” (Focus Features)
“The First Grader” (National Geographic Entertainment)

Outstanding Foreign Motion Picture
“A Separation” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Attack the Block” (Screen Gems)
“In the Land of Blood and Honey” (FilmDistrict)
“Le Havre” (Janus Films)
“Life, Above All” (Sony Pictures Classics)

DOCUMENTARY

Outstanding Documentary – (Theatrical or Television)
“Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest” (Sony Pictures Classics)
“Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey” (Submarine Deluxe)
“Sing Your Song” (HBO Documentary Films)
“The Rescuers” (Michael King Productions)
“Thunder Soul” (Roadside Attractions)

WRITING

Outstanding Writing in a Comedy Series
Arthur Harris – “Reed Between the Lines” – Let’s Talk About Ms. Helen’s Son Part 1 (BET)
Prentice Penny – “Happy Endings” – The Girl with the David Tattoo (ABC)
Salim Akil, Mara Brock Akil – “The Game” – Parachutes….Beach Chairs (BET)
Vali Chandrasekaran – “30 Rock” – It’s Never Too Late For Now (NBC)
Vince Cheung, Ben Montanio – “Wizards of Waverly Place” – Wizards vs. Angels (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Writing in a Dramatic Series
Cheo Hodari Coker – “SouthLAnd” – Punching Water (TNT)
Janine Sherman Barrois – “Criminal Minds” – The Bittersweet Science (CBS)
Lolis Eric Elie – “Treme” – Santa Claus, Do You Ever Get the Blues? (HBO)
Pam Veasey – “Ringer” – Oh Gawd, There’s Two of Them? (The CW)
Zoanne Clack – “Grey’s Anatomy” – I Will Survive (ABC)

Outstanding Writing in a Motion Picture – (Theatrical or Television)
Alrick Brown – “Kinyarwanda” (AFFRM)
Ann Peacock – “The First Grader” (National Geographic Entertainment)
Dee Rees – “Pariah” (Focus Features)
Elizabeth Hunter, Arlene Gibbs – “Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures)
Tate Taylor – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)

DIRECTING

Outstanding Directing in a Comedy Series
Jay Chandrasekhar – “Happy Endings” – The Girl with the David Tattoo (ABC)
Kevin Hooks – “Drop Dead Diva” – Mother’s Day (Lifetime)
Leonard R. Garner Jr. – “Rules of Engagement” – The Set Up (CBS)
Miguel Arteta – “How to Make It in America” – Mofongo (HBO)
Salim Akil – “The Game” – Parachutes/Beach Chairs (BET)

Outstanding Directing in a Dramatic Series
Ernest Dickerson – “Treme” – Do Watcha Wanna (HBO)
Ken Whittingham – “Parenthood” – Opening Night (NBC)
Kevin Sullivan – “NCIS” – Tell-All (CBS)
Paris Barclay – “Sons of Anarchy” – Out (FX Network)
Seith Mann – “Dexter” – Get Gellar (Showtime)

Outstanding Directing in a Motion Picture – (Theatrical or Television)
Alrick Brown – “Kinyarwanda” (AFFRM)
Angelina Jolie – “In the Land of Blood and Honey” (FilmDistrict)
Dee Rees – “Pariah” (Focus Features)
Salim Akil – “Jumping the Broom” (TriStar Pictures)
Tate Taylor – “The Help” (DreamWorks Pictures/Participant Media/Touchstone Pictures)

TELEVISION CATEGORIES

Outstanding Comedy Series
“Love That Girl!” (TV One)
“Modern Family” (ABC)
“Reed Between the Lines” (BET)
“The Game” (BET)
“Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” (TBS)

Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series
Dulé Hill – “Psych” (USA Network)
Malcolm-Jamal Warner – “Reed Between the Lines” (BET)
Phil Morris – “Love That Girl!” (TV One)
Pooch Hall – “The Game” (BET)
Terry Crews – “Are We There Yet?” (TBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series
Tatyana Ali – “Love That Girl!” (TV One)
Tia Mowry-Hardrict – “The Game” (BET)
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Reed Between the Lines” (BET)
Vanessa Williams – “Desperate Housewives” (ABC)
Wendy Raquel Robinson – “The Game” (BET)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series
Craig Robinson – “The Office” (NBC)
Damon Wayans, Jr. – “Happy Endings” (ABC)
J.B. Smoove – “Curb Your Enthusiasm” (HBO)
Nick Cannon – “Up All Night” (NBC)
Tracy Morgan – “30 Rock” (NBC)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series
Amber Riley – “Glee” (FOX)
Gabourey Sidibe – “The Big C” (Showtime)
Keshia Knight Pulliam – “Tyler Perry’s House of Payne” (TBS)
Maya Rudolph – “Up All Night” (NBC)
Sofia Vergara – “Modern Family” (ABC)

Outstanding Drama Series
“Boardwalk Empire” (HBO)
“Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)
“Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC)
“The Good Wife” (CBS)
“Treme” (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series
Andre Braugher – “Men of A Certain Age” (TNT)
Hill Harper – “CSI: NY” (CBS)
L.L. Cool J – “NCIS: Los Angeles” (CBS)
Taye Diggs – “Private Practice” (ABC)
Wendell Pierce – “Treme” (HBO)

Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series
Chandra Wilson – “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)
Khandi Alexander – “Treme” (HBO)
Regina King – “SouthLAnd” (TNT)
Sandra Oh – “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)
Taraji P. Henson – “Person of Interest” (CBS)

Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series
Corey Reynolds – “The Closer” (TNT)
Ice T – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC)
James Pickens, Jr. – “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)
Nelsan Ellis – “True Blood” (HBO)
Omar Epps – “House M.D.” (FOX)

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Alfre Woodard – “Memphis Beat” (TNT)
Anika Noni Rose – “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” (NBC)
Archie Panjabi – “The Good Wife” (CBS)
Diahann Carroll – “White Collar” (USA Network)
Loretta Devine – “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC)

Outstanding Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
“Five” (Lifetime Movie Network)
“Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith” (ABC)
“Luther” (BBC America)
“The Least Among You” (Showtime)
“Thurgood” (HBO)

Outstanding Actor in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Esai Morales – “We Have Your Husband” (Lifetime)
Idris Elba – “Luther” (BBC America)
Laurence Fishburne – “Thurgood” (HBO)
Louis Gossett, Jr. – “The Least Among You” (Showtime)
Samuel L. Jackson – “The Sunset Limited ” (HBO)

Outstanding Actress in a Television Movie, Mini-Series or Dramatic Special
Anika Noni Rose – “Hallmark Hall of Fame, Mitch Albom’s Have a Little Faith” (ABC)
Jenifer Lewis – “Five” (Lifetime Movie Network)
Rosario Dawson – “Five” (Lifetime Movie Network)
Taraji P. Henson – “Taken From Me: The Tiffany Rubin Story” (Lifetime)
Tracee Ellis Ross – “Five” (Lifetime Movie Network)

Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series
Aaron D. Spears – “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS)
Bryton James – “The Young and the Restless” (CBS)
Emerson Brooks – “All My Children” (ABC)
James Reynolds – “Days of Our Lives” (NBC)
Texas Battle – “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS)

Outstanding Actress in a Daytime Drama Series
Christel Khalil – “The Young and the Restless” (CBS)
Julia Pace Mitchell – “The Young & the Restless” (CBS)
Tatyana Ali – “The Young and the Restless” (CBS)
Tonya Lee Williams – “The Young and the Restless” (CBS)
Yvette Freeman – “The Bold and the Beautiful” (CBS)

Outstanding News/ Information – (Series or Special)
“BET News Exclusive: The President Answers Black America” (BET)
“Judge Mathis” (Syndicated)
“Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” (HBO)
“Unsung” (TV One)
“Washington Watch with Roland Martin” (TV One)

Outstanding Talk Series
“Anderson” (Syndicated)
“Oprah’s Lifeclass” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
“The Doctors” (Syndicated)
“The View” (ABC)
“The Wendy Williams Show” (Syndicated)

Outstanding Reality Series
“All-American Muslim” (TLC)
“American Idol” (FOX)
“Dancing with the Stars” (ABC)
“Sunday Best” (BET)
“Tia & Tamera” (Style Network)

Outstanding Variety Series or Special
“2011 BET Awards” (BET)
“Black Girls Rock!” (BET)
“Oprah Presents: Master Class” (OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network)
“Prince! Behind the Symbol” (The Africa Channel)
“UNCF An Evening of Stars Tribute to Chaka Khan” (BET)

Outstanding Children’s Program
“A.N.T. Farm” (Disney Channel)
“Dora The Explorer” (Nickelodeon)
“Go, Diego! Go!” (Nickelodeon)
“I Can Be President: A Kid’s-Eye View” (HBO)
“My Family Tree” (Disney Channel)

Outstanding Performance in a Youth/ Children’s Program – (Series or Special)
China Anne McClain – “A.N.T. Farm” (Disney Channel)
Keke Palmer – “True Jackson, VP” (Nickelodeon)
Lance Robertson – “Yo Gabba Gabba” (Nickelodeon)
Leon Thomas III – “Victorious” (Nickelodeon)
Zendaya Coleman – “Shake It Up” (Disney Channel)

The Help is warming up for the sprint towards Oscar gold.  At last night’s “Critics Choice Move Awards” the movie walked away with wins for Best Actress (Viola Davis), Best Supporting Actress (Octavia Spencer) and Best Ensemble.  In a moving acceptance speech, Davis said:

“The two most important days in a person’s life are the day you were born and the day you discover why you were born,” Davis said during her acceptance speech. “I considered it my honor to pay homage to these women at this time period who were not allowed to dream and not allowed to find their purpose but thank God, praise God they gave birth to me and my mother.”

Industry insiders have predicted that Davis and Spencer will mostly be nominated for (and win) at the Oscars next month.

Below is a complete list of winners:

Best Picture: “The Artist”
Best Comedy: “Bridesmaids”
Best Animated Feature: “Rango”
Best Action Movie: “Drive”
Best Documentary: “George Harrison: Living in the Material World”
Best Director: Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Best Actress: Viola Davis, “The Help”
Best Actor: George Clooney, “The Descendants”
Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, “The Help”
Best Supporting Actor: Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Best Ensemble: “The Help”
Best Young Actor: Thomas Horn, “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”
Best Adapted Screenplay: Aaron Sorkin and Steve Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Best Original Screenplay: Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Best Foreign Language Film: “A Separation”
Best Cinematography: Janusz Kaminski, “War Horse”
Best Art Direction: “Hugo”
Best Editing: “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Best Costume: “The Artist”
Best Score: “The Artist”
Best Song: “The Muppets,” “Life’s a Happy Song”
Best Visual Effects: “Rise of the Planet of the Apes”
Best Make-Up: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″
Best Sound: “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2″

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VIA EMPIRE:

We’ve been teased before with teasers, but a full trailer for Roland Emmerich’s latest disaster CG-fest, 2012, has just gone up at Yahoo (with a little intro from the director).

It’s nothing to do with Arthur C. Clark or Stanley Kubrick, but instead based on a Mayan prophecy that the world will end at the 2012 solstice. Hey, that means we’ll miss Batman 3! But it truly does look spectacular: we’ve got avalanches, floods, an eclipse, mass suicides, forest fires, what looks like a meteor strike, earthquake, and an airlifted giraffe. And is that LA falling into the ocean? Bill Hicks would be delighted!

Whether that spectacle translates into a decent story is another matter. Emmerich’s CV has often made for great trailers and so-so movies: ID4, Godzilla, The Day After Tomorrow… And let’s just forget the Apocalypto-lite 10,000 Years B.C. Please.

John Cusack is on hand though, which bodes well, and the cast is pretty strong: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Thandie Newton, Oliver Platt, Woody Harrelson, and Danny Glover as the US President.

Let’s hope it’s a disaster epic, rather than an epic disaster. Find out in November.