(NECN/NBC News: Mark Barger) - With the Golden Globes just around the corner on Sunday, the Academy Awards looked to steal a little thunder by announcing its nominees Thursday morning - instead of after the Globes, as in years past.
It grabbed the most Golden Globe nominations before "Lincoln" added the most Oscar nominations to its haul - 12 overall, including: Best Picture, Best Director for Steven Spielberg and Best Actor for Daniel Day Lewis.
Among the eight other films vying for best picture are the French love story "Amour", the mystical independent hit "Beasts of the Southern Wild", the musical " Les Misérables", the offbeat romance "Silver Linings Playbook" and the fantastical survival tale "Life of Pi".
"Zero Dark Thirty" is also in the Best Picture hunt, but its director, Kathyrn Bigelow, did not get a Best Director nomination. Neither did the directors of the two other best picture nominees, Ben Affleck for the Iran hostage thriller "Argo, and Quentin Tarantino for the slave revenge saga "Django Unchained".
"Quentin is the director's director in Hollywood and that is stunning to me," Janice Min of the Hollywood Reporter said.
The field for Best Actress offers a stark contrast: "Amour" star Emanuelle Riva is the oldest ever nominee in the category at the age of 85, while 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis is the youngest ever nominee for "Beasts of the Southern Wild".
They're up against Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook", Naomi Watts for "The Impossible", and Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty".
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Bradley Cooper in "Silver Linings Playbook" is among Daniel Day Lewis' competitors for Best Actor, as well as: Hugh Jackman for " Les Misérables ", Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master" and Denzel Washington for "Flight".
The Academy Awards will be handed out Feb. 24.
Best Supporting Actor also promises to be a much-watched category. Five previous Oscar winners are nominated, including: Robert Deniro for "Silver Linings Playbook", Alan Arkin for "Argo", Phillip Seymour Hoffman for "The Master", Christoph Waltz for "Django Unchained" and Tommy Lee Jones for "Lincoln".
Jones' co-star, Sally Fields, is nominated for Best Supporting Actress. She's up against Helen Hunt for "The Sessions", Jacki Weaver for "Silver Linings Playbook", Amy Adams for "The Master" and Anne Hathaway for "Les Misérables".
