'Hugo,' 'Artist' lead Oscar nominees; 'Tree of Life' gets 3 nods

Terrence Malick's "The Tree of Life," which was filmed in Smithville and Central Texas, earned three Oscar nominations on Tuesday for best picture, director and cinematography. But Martin Scorsese's "Hugo," with 11 nominations, and Michel Hazanavicius' "The Artist," with 10, appeared to be the early front-runners for the best-picture Oscar.

"The Tree of Life," an impressionistic tale about family life, became the first Texas film to win the prestigious Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in May, but the movie divided audiences, and its nominations for best picture and director were considered long shots.

In other Texas-related Oscar developments, the Deep South drama "The Help" received four nominations, including a best picture nod for producer Brunson Green. A graduate of Trinity University in San Antonio, Green, who has a home in Austin, began his film career in Austin by working on the Bill Witliff-penned "Ned Blessing: The True Story of My Life."

"We were hoping to get nominated, but it's always a surprise because you just never know what the Academy is going to do," Green said by phone Tuesday.

"Bullhead," a Belgian tale that was a hit at Austin's Fantastic Fest, was one of five nominees for best foreign language film. Austin's Drafthouse Films acquired U.S. distribution rights to director Michaël R. Roskam's movie after its local success.

"Michaël Roskam is an incredibly exciting new director," Drafthouse Films founder and CEO Tim League said of the "Bullhead" director. "We are so happy that the academy thinks as highly of him as we do."

But other movies with Austin ties didn't fare as well in the nominations Tuesday. "Take Shelter," the critically acclaimed story written and directed by Austin's Jeff Nichols and a leading contender in the Independent Spirit Awards, did not receive any nominations from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, nor did its star, Michael Shannon.

Because of a change in rules on voting, the best picture race was narrowed to nine contenders rather than the 10 nominated last year. In addition to "The Tree of Life," "The Artist," "Hugo" and "The Help," the other best picture nominees are: "The Descendants," a family drama starring George Clooney; the romantic fantasy from Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"; the World War I tale from Steven Spielberg, "War Horse"; the baseball story "Moneyball"; and the highly divisive Sept. 11 story, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

Scorsese, who won the directing prize at the Globes for "Hugo," picked up his seventh Oscar nomination in the category. After decades of being overlooked for Hollywood's top filmmaking award, Scorsese finally won the directing Oscar for 2006's "The Departed," which also was named best picture.

Dujardin, the Globe winner for best actor in a musical or comedy as a silent-era star whose career goes kaput with the arrival of talking pictures, will be up against Globe dramatic actor recipient George Clooney for "The Descendants," in which the Oscar-winning superstar plays a dad trying to hold his Hawaiian family together after a boating accident puts his wife in a coma.

Other best-actor contenders are: Demian Bichir as an immigrant father in "A Better Life"; Gary Oldman as British spymaster George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"; and Brad Pitt as Oakland A's general manager Billy Beane in "Moneyball."

Globe winners Meryl Streep (best dramatic actress as Margaret Thatcher in "The Iron Lady") and Michelle Williams (best musical or comedy actress as Marilyn Monroe in "My Week with Marilyn") scored Oscar nominations for best actress.

Two-time Oscar winner Streep padded her record as the most-nominated actor, raising her total to 17 nominations, five more than Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, who are tied for second-place.

Streep went two-for-four on her first nominations, winning supporting actress for 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer" and best actress for 1982's "Sophie's Choice." But she has lost the past 12 times, and the Globe win for her spot-on personification of Thatcher looks like her best chance yet to break that losing streak.

Along with Streep and Williams, best-actress nominees are: Glenn Close as a 19th century Irishwoman masquerading as a male butler in "Albert Nobbs"; Viola Davis as a black maid going public with tales of white Southern employers in "The Help"; and Rooney Mara as a vengeful computer genius in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo."