BEVERLY HILLS, California, Jan 25, (Agencies): American master Martin Scorsese journeyed to France, putting Hollywood’s newest technology to work for his dazzling 3-D re-creation of 1930s Paris in “Hugo.” French filmmaker Michel Hazanavicius came to America, reviving old-time Hollywood with his charming resurrection of early cinema in the silent film “The Artist.” The two films now head a 21st century Academy Awards show whose top nominees offer loving looks back to the infancy of moviemaking, when flicks really flickered and cutting-edge visual effects amounted to actors jumping out of the frame while the camera was stopped so they would seem to magically disappear. Scorsese’s Paris adventure “Hugo” led contenders Tuesday with 11 nominations, among them best-picture and the latest directing honor for the Oscar-winning filmmaker.

Hazanavicius’ “The Artist” ran second with 10 nominations, including honors for the director and Jean Dujardin and Berenice Bejo, the stars of the film that could become the first silent movie to win the best-picture prize since year one at the Oscars. Also nominated for best picture: Alexander Payne’s family drama “The Descendants”; Stephen Daldry’s Sept 11 tale “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”; Tate Taylor’s Deep South drama “The Help”; Woody Allen’s romantic fantasy “Midnight in Paris”; Bennett Miller’s sports tale “Moneyball”; Terrence Malick’s family chronicle “The Tree of Life”; and Steven Spielberg’s World War I epic “War Horse.” Arguably the world’s most passionate moviemaker for preserving old films and the heritage of cinema, Scorsese tried his hand at 3-D filmmaking for the first time on “Hugo” and crafted a look with such depth that the images are almost tactile.

“Hugo” follows the adventures of a boy and girl caught up in a mystery surrounding French silent film pioneer George Melies (Ben Kingsley), who stretched the boundaries of cinema with fantastical short movies in the early 1900s. Today’s digital technology made it possible for Scorsese to create his elaborate illusion of long-gone Paris. But the process he describes sounds as experimental and innovative as the work Melies did a century ago. “It was harder to do because every time we put the camera in a position I wanted, we discovered new ways to do things or wrong ways to do things. We were, in a sense, constantly breaking new ground,” Scorsese said. “We had to rediscover how to make movies every day, every setup.”

Effects
Among the nominations for “Hugo” are adapted screenplay, cinematography, musical score and visual effects. “The Artist” is a throwback to black-and-white silent days as a superstar of the pre-sound era (best-actor nominee Dujardin) falls on hard times when talking pictures arrive, while a rising star (supporting-actress nominee Bejo) becomes guardian angel for the former screen idol. “Who knows? It might be possible that he’s set off a chain reaction, and we’re off for 100 years of silent movies,” Dujardin said. “I would love it. It’s really fun for an actor. It’s very playful, and it’s pure emotion. In the end, you only see what is essential. You take away the intellect, and what’s left is life.”
Along with his directing honor, Hazanavicius was nominated for original screenplay on “The Artist.” The film’s other nominations include musical score, cinematography and costume design.

Key
While “Hugo” and “The Artist” are testaments to early filmmaking, another key nomination is a tribute to the big-screen’s most famous sex symbol, Marilyn Monroe, a superstar who was never nominated for an Oscar. Michelle Williams earned a best-actress nomination as Monroe in “My Week with Marilyn.” “I would like to think that the recognition our film has received by the academy is a testament to Marilyn’s legacy,” Williams said. Williams’ competition includes Meryl Streep, who extended her record for most acting nominations to 17 with a best-actress honor as Margaret Thatcher in “The Iron Lady.” Also nominated: Glenn Close for the Irish drama “Albert Nobbs,” Viola Davis for “The Help” and Rooney Mara for the thriller “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo.” Dujardin, the Golden Globe winner for best actor in a musical or comedy, will be up against Globe dramatic actor recipient George Clooney for “The Descendants,” in which the Oscar-winning superstar plays a down-to-earth role as a dad in crisis. While Dujardin and Clooney were almost assured of nominations, there were big surprises across-the-board, with longshots making the cut and favorites getting skunked.

Tom Hanks and Sandra Bullock’s “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” which got mixed reviews and has not been much of a factor at earlier Hollywood awards, was a very unexpected best-picture nominee. Co-star Max von Sydow was a surprise nominee for supporting actor.
Malick’s “The Tree of Life” also had been considered a bit of a best-picture longshot. The movie, which won top honors at last May’s Cannes Film Festival but was a love-it-or-hate-it drama among audiences, also picked up a directing nomination for Malick.
Melissa McCarthy, a supporting-actress nominee for the wedding romp “Bridesmaids,” is a rare funny lady competing at the Oscars, which seldom honor performances in mainstream comedies.
“I think it’s a big coup for all of us,” McCarthy said. “If you get the right thing and the right people, you can still make a really good movie that’s still a comedy.”

Demian Bichir also was a surprise nominee as best actor for “A Better Life,” an immigrant drama that few people have seen. Bichir said he had been ill the night before and learned he was nominated when his girlfriend called with the news.
“I thought it was part of my hallucinations from the fever,” Bichir said. “A nomination helps. I feel a lot better already.”
Along with Bichir, Clooney and Dujardin, the best-actor contenders are Gary Oldman for the espionage tale “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” and Brad Pitt for the baseball story in “Moneyball.”
Pitt’s third Oscar nomination came for a film that he fought to make after it went on the back-burner amid screenplay and director changes.

“This one is more satisfying than ever,” said Pitt, who also shared a best-picture nomination as a producer on “Moneyball.” ‘’This movie was dead in the water two and a half years ago.”
Among those with strong prospects that came away empty-handed were Leonardo DiCaprio for “J. Edgar,” from perennial Oscar heavyweight Clint Eastwood, whose latest film did not score a single nomination.
While Spielberg’s best-picture contender “War Horse” picked up six nominations, the Oscar-winning filmmaker missed out in the directing category, a prize he has won twice. His first cartoon feature, the Golden Globe-winning “The Adventures of Tintin,” also did not make the list for best animated film.
The animated films that did make it: “A Cat in Paris,” ‘’Chico & Rita,” Kung Fu Panda 2,” ‘’Puss in Boots” and “Rango.”

Besides von Sydow, supporting-actor nominees are Kenneth Branagh for “My Week with Marilyn,” Jonah Hill for “Moneyball,” Nick Nolte for the extreme-fighting drama “Warrior” and Christopher Plummer for the father-son story “Beginners.”
Plummer won at the Globes for his role as an elderly dad who comes out as gay. At 82, Plummer would be the oldest acting winner ever at the Oscars; Jessica Tandy now holds that position for her best-actress win in “Driving Miss Daisy” at age 80.
Joining Bejo and McCarthy in the supporting-actress field is Octavia Spencer, whose Globe win as a fiery maid in “The Help” positions her as a possible front-runner.

Spencer’s “The Help” co-star Jessica Chastain also is nominated, along with Janet McTeer for “Albert Nobbs.”
Winners at the 84th annual Oscars will be announced at a Feb. 26 ceremony aired live on ABC from Hollywood’s Kodak Theatre, with Billy Crystal returning as host for the first time in eight years.
Waking up at 4 a.m. on a Tuesday is never fun, but the promise of Oscar nominations makes that dark hour vaguely more tolerable. Upon arriving at the Academy for this year’s batch of hotly awaited announcements, several nominations made me extremely happy. Among them:

* Melissa McCarthy getting a supporting-actress nomination for her awesomely inappropriate, scene-stealing turn in “Bridesmaids,” along with the film’s writers, co-star Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, being honored for their original screenplay. I would have liked to have seen the movie sneak into the best-picture category, too. There are potentially 10 spots, after all. But now I’m just getting greedy.

* Gary Oldman finally — finally! — receiving an Oscar nomination. It’s sort of mind-boggling that this has never happened before, given his veteran status and versatility. It’s also amusing that it’s his meticulously restrained work as longtime British operative George Smiley in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” that earned him the best-actor honor, given the crazier work in his filmography.

* The original-song nomination for “Man or Muppet,” the duet Jason Segel performs with his felt-covered brother in “The Muppets,” which dares to address the existential conundrum: “Am I a man ... or am I a muppet?” I can’t wait to see how they pull off this performance on stage at the Kodak Theatre.

* “The Tree of Life” getting a nomination for best picture — haunting yet polarizing, it appeared high on my top-10 list for 2011 — along with well-deserved nominations for Terrence Malick’s ambitious direction and Emmanuel Lubezki’s exquisite, dreamlike cinematography. Unfortunately, its inclusion will also probably inspire some hacky dinosaur jokes from host Billy Crystal.

* “Hell and Back Again” being nominated for documentary feature. Gorgeously photographed by director Danfung Dennis, this story of an injured Marine returning home from Afghanistan plays with all the drama and artistry of a fictional feature. (I was surprised, though, that the critically acclaimed “Bill Cunningham NY” or “Project Nim” also didn’t make it in there.)

* “A Separation” earning an original-screenplay nomination, an honor the Los Angeles Film Critics Association gave writer-director Asghar Farhadi more than a month ago, thank you very much. (The intimate, riveting Iranian drama also was nominated in the foreign-language category. This is the first time a script written in Farsi has been included in this category.

* Jonah Hill in the supporting-actor category for playing a stat geek in “Moneyball.” Just because it will be a hoot to refer to him for all of eternity as “Academy Award nominee Jonah Hill.” Unless he actually wins, of course ...

* Rooney Mara receiving a best-actress nomination for “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo.” She took the role of tatted and tormented computer hacker Lisbeth Salander — which Noomi Rapace had made famous in the original Swedish trilogy about the character — and made it her own, to borrow the “American Idol” vernacular.
But naturally there were some disappointments, too. Since we already have “Dragon Tattoo” on the brain ...

* How is it possible that the film itself didn’t get nominated for best picture? Or David Fincher, who’s up for a Directors Guild Award? Or the original score from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross, who won the award last year for Fincher’s “The Social Network?” Besides Mara’s nomination, it was listed in four other categories — cinematography, editing, sound mixing and sound editing — which makes me wonder how many votes shy of that last best-picture spot it might have been.

* Since we’re talking about scores, how great was The Chemical Brothers’ music for the thriller “Hanna?” Not good enough for Academy voters, apparently. Rather than going with something refreshing and new, they nominated John Williams for the 46th and 47th time, for the Steven Spielberg films “The Adventures of Tintin” and “War Horse.” This is no knock on the iconic Williams. This is a plea for recognition of daring work, as well.

* And speaking of daring: Michael Fassbender in “Shame.” Michael Shannon in “Take Shelter.” Elizabeth Olsen in “Martha Marcy May Marlene.” Tilda Swinton in “We Need to Talk About Kevin.” Vanessa Redgrave in “Coriolanus.” Ryan Gosling and Albert Brooks in “Drive.” Charlize Theron and Patton Oswalt in “Young Adult.” All thought-provoking, uncompromising performances that were overlooked Tuesday morning. (See also: every single moment of Lars von Trier’s “Melancholia.”) Instead, you get the sexiest-man showdown in the best-actor category between good friends Brad Pitt in “Moneyball” vs. George Clooney in “The Descendants.”
Again, not totally complaining here. It’s always nice to see those guys show up in tuxes on the red carpet. But we’ve seen that — a lot. And if you’re going to get out of bed in the middle of the night, it better be for something shockingly good.

Meanwhile, the parents of two of three Arkansas boys who were murdered in 1993 said they are disappointed that a documentary about the killings and the three men convicted, known as the West Memphis Three, was nominated Tuesday for an Academy Award.
Todd and Diana Moore had asked the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to exclude “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” from consideration, saying it glorifies Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley. The three spent 18 years in prison, maintaining their innocence and attracting attention from celebrities, before a deal with prosecutors set them free last year.
The film, directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, is the third in a series of HBO documentaries about the killings of Michael Moore, Stevie Branch and Christopher Byers. The bodies of the 8-year-old Cub Scouts were found naked and tied up with shoe strings in West Memphis, a town along the Mississippi River.

The Moores, along with Stevie Branch’s father and stepfather, sent a three-page letter to the Academy and reporters Tuesday expressing their “sadness, disappointment, and outrage” about the Oscar nod.
“This film should be exposed as a fraud, not rewarded with an Academy Award nomination,” they wrote.
Berlinger, who was at the Sundance Film Festival in Utah, said in an email that he was sympathetic to the victims’ families.
“We believe that the pursuit of the truth has been the best way to honor the memories of the victims of this unimaginable crime and our hearts go out to those who are criticizing us,” he said.
The Academy didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment. “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” was among five documentary features nominated for an Oscar.
The series’ first film aired in 1996 and immediately raised doubts about the case. Over the years, celebrities such as Johnny Depp, Pearl Jam frontman Eddie Vedder and the Dixie Chicks’ Natalie Maines joined the effort to free Echols, who was sentenced to death, and Baldwin and Misskelley, who received life prison sentences.

The three, who were teenagers at the time of the murders, were freed in August after pleading guilty to lesser charges in exchange for sentences of time served. An unusual legal maneuver allowed them to maintain their claims of innocence.
Since then, new films have been chronicling the case and the men’s lives. “Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory” debuted last year, and another film, “West of Memphis,” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this month.
Pam Hobbs, Stevie Branch’s mother, believes the three men didn’t murder her son and said she asked the state to reopen the case after seeing new evidence in “West of Memphis.”
Prosecutor Scott Ellington, who handled the case in August, said Tuesday that he’d received a packet of materials from the defense team but had not had a chance to look at it. He has previously said that he believes the killers were convicted but promised to look at new evidence.

Echols, Baldwin and Misskelley were convicted after Misskelley unexpectedly confessed and implicated the other two, describing sodomy and other violence. Misskelley, then 17, later recanted, and defense lawyers said he got several parts of the story wrong. An autopsy found there was no definite evidence of sexual assault, and Misskelley said the older boys abducted the Cub Scouts in the morning when they had actually been in school all day.
Sinofsky and Berlinger said they thought they were making a film about guilty teenagers when they first went to West Memphis, but that spending eight months covering the case and watching the trials “convinced us that the West Memphis Three did not receive a fair trial,” Berlinger said in his email Tuesday.
The Moores painted a different picture of the West Memphis Three and their supporters.
“They now claim to be ‘searching for the real killers’ of our sons, but it seems unlikely they will be able to do so while directing movies, traveling the globe, and partying with rock stars.
“Our sons, meanwhile, remain dead in their graves.”

Modest
His suave Clark Gable looks have made him an international heartthrob, while his role as silent movie icon George Valentin in French film “The Artist” has earned him a best actor Oscar nomination.
But French actor Jean Dujardin, 39, remains resolutely modest about his success, attributing his stellar rise more to chance than to ambition, or perhaps to the endearing talents of his co-star Uggie, the acrobatic dog.
“Maybe it’s a feelgood movie, a love story, a simple story, and maybe there is a cute dog. Everybody loves a cute dog,” he told Reuters TV in an interview.

For Dujardin, already a household name in his native France, the rise to international prominence has come as something of a surprise, and he admits he feels like an excited child.
Sporting a three-day beard and black t-shirt, in contrast to his smooth alter-ego Valentin, he plays down the prospect of a Hollywood career, however, saying it seems like a distant possibility.
“I don’t necessarily plan to have a career in Hollywood, because you can never imagine what your career will be,” he said.
“A career comes like that, it is a series of accidents. But it is nothing but accidental, happy or unhappy, in my case more happy than anything, but we will see what happens.”
Dujardin originally rose to fame at home as a comic actor, achieving popularity for his 2005 spoof surfer movie, “Brice de Nice” in which he played a dead-beat surfer obsessed with Patrick Swayze’s character Bodhi in “Point Break”.

Reactions
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards on Tuesday.
Following is a list of reactions from nominees, received by Reuters in statements via e-mail, except as noted below.

* “It’s an honor to be nominated a second time, it is a personal accomplishment and triumph for women and women of color. I’m so glad the film has been recognized, it was a labor of love from the moment it was conceived and it is rewarding to see the impact it is having.” — Viola Davis, best actress nominee for “The Help.”

* “I am thrilled and shocked.” — Gary Oldman, best actor nominee for “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.” (By phone to Reuters)

* “I am honored to be in company with such beautiful artists, and touched deeply by my fellow actors for their generosity in giving me this acknowledgment.” — Meryl Streep, best actress nominee for “The Iron Lady.”

* “This is an extraordinary honor. I am dizzy with joy... and caffeine. Considering both films, Moneyball and The Tree of Life, nearly didn’t make it to the screen, this is especially sweet. And I’d like to thank all the artisans and craftsmen who gave their best to each film. I am especially over the moon for Jonah (and the other Moneyballers acknowledged today), Terry Malick and the tribute this is to Billy Beane and the Oakland A’s organization. My congratulations to all the nominees ... pancakes for everyone.” — Brad Pitt, best actor nominee for “Moneyball.”

* “I am so grateful to be acknowledged by the Academy for my work, which was made possible by the support of our director Simon Curtis and the camaraderie of a terrific ensemble of actors — a special congratulations to Kenneth Branagh — and the fearless Harvey Weinstein. This role has been the challenge and privilege of a lifetime. I would like to think that the recognition our film has received by the Academy is a testament to Marilyn’s legacy.” — Michelle Williams, best actress in a lead role nominee for “My Week With Marilyn.”
— “I am thrilled for Janet, I am thrilled for our incomparable hair and makeup team. It might be my sixth (nomination) but it feels like my first. Bravo team Nobbs.” — Glenn Close, best actress nominee for “Albert Nobbs.”

* “It’s very hard to articulate what I’m feeling right now. I’m a little dazed, confused, excited, elated, all of the above...Minny is a woman of her era and I’m certainly a woman of my era. I learned a lot from her. I never thought that I was materialistic or ungrateful, but I realized in playing a character that has so little but who has such a great impact on her environment, which is huge, when you can have an impact on the microcosm of your world, that is huge, I realized that I needed to do a lot more.” — Octavia Spencer, best supporting actress nominee for “The Help.” (Interview with Reuters TV)

* “I’m overjoyed and filled with happiness. I can’t believe that a year ago I was learning how to tap dance and today I am nominated for an Academy Award. It was a thrill to work on a project as ambitious as ‘The Artist’ and I am happy to share this moment with our visionary director, Michel Hazanavicius and our talented team of actors.” Berenice Bejo, best supporting actress nominee for “The Artist.”
— “It was a rare honour to play Sir Laurence Olivier. To be recognised by the Academy for doing so is overwhelming. I’m absolutely thrilled.” — Kenneth Branagh, best supporting actor nominee for “My Week With Marilyn.”

* “I am so humbled, appreciative and in shock about this incredible honor. I’d like to thank the Academy, Sony Pictures , the cast and crew of Moneyball, Brad Pitt, and, most of all, our brilliant director Bennett Miller.” — Jonah Hill, best supporting actor nominee for “Moneyball.”

* “My sincere thanks to my colleagues at the Academy. It is wonderful. I don¬št know what to say I am dumbfounded.” — Max von Sydow, best supporting actor nominee for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”

* “I am thrilled with our multiple nominations for “The Help” and “War Horse”. It is the first time that I have experienced two Best Picture nominations in the same year. One is a high honor. Two is humbling but very exciting. It is a tribute to all those who joined with Stacey Snider and our DreamWorks Studios team to develop and make these two films with stories that we passionately felt we had to make.” — Steven Spielberg, multiple nominations for “The Help” and “War Horse.”

* “I am deeply honored to have been nominated by the Academy for my work on Hugo. Every picture is a challenge, and this one — where I was working with 3D, HD and Sacha Baron Cohen for the first time — was no exception. It’s a wonderful feeling to know that you’ve been recognized by the people in your industry. I congratulate my fellow nominees. It’s an impressive list, and I’m in excellent company.” — Martin Scorsese, best director nominee for “Hugo.”

* “I am so honored by this nomination. Filming ‘The Artist’ in Los Angeles was a dream come true, and to receive this recognition today is far beyond what any of us could have ever imagined. I could not have done this film without the incredible ensemble of actors and exceptional crew whose heart and souls were poured into this project.” — Michel Hazanavicius, best director nominee for “The Artist.”

* “I am very humbled by this morning’s nominations. This must be how my father felt back in 1965 when he received his first Oscar nomination. ‘The Artist’ was a labor of love from writer/director Michel Hazanavicius to pay homage to Hollywood, and to see all the love that the Academy has given it this morning is overwhelming.” — Thomas Langmann (producer), best picture nominee for “The Artist.”

* “There’s no denying that Oscar nominations for one’s film are exciting, if only for the joy they give to everyone who worked so hard on the film. I’m particularly happy for the recognition of my long-time editor Kevin Tent. He really deserves it.” — Alexander Payne (writer/director/producer), best director, best adapted screenplay and best picture nominee for “The Descendants.”

* “I must say I am pleasantly shocked and incredibly grateful to the Academy for this honor. We are all so proud of The Tree of Life, but we knew too it was a very challenging film that pushed the envelope. The nominations this morning are thrilling endorsements of the film, Terry’s vision, the incredible work of Chivo, and the great contributions of everyone involved. Many thanks to the Academy!” — Bill Pohlad (producer), best picture nominee for “The Tree of Life.”

* “It is an incredible honor to be nominated this morning. We set out to do something different with RANGO, and this distinction is a testament to everyone who tirelessly dedicated themselves to creating our neurotic lizard. Rango was looking for an audience who shared his love of cinema and I’m humbled that he found one. It has been a remarkable journey, and one that I am grateful to share with our entire creative team, Paramount, and all of the virtuosos at Industrial, Light and Magic.” — Gore Verbinski (writer/director/producer), best animated feature film nominee for “Rango.”

* “I’m deeply honored that the Academy recognized Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close as well as Max von Sydow. The entire team behind our film felt the enormous responsibility in taking on this project, and it is deeply humbling to have the Academy recognize it in this way.” — Stephen Daldry, best picture nominee for “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close.”

* “We are thrilled for the nominations War Horse has received and most of all thankful to have been working under the leadership of Steven Spielberg whose moral clarity, vision and sensitive handling of the Great War might serve in some small way to Kathleen Kennedy (producer), best picture nominee for “War Horse.”

Kathleen
* “It’s an honor to be recognized in the company of such terrific writers. Moneyball is a true testament to teamwork — it’s the commitment of the entire cast and crew that got us to the final game of the season.” — Aaron Sorkin, best adapted screenplay nominee (with Steve Zaillian and Stan Chervin) for ‘Moneyball.”

* “This is cheerful news for me and for the family of cinema in Iran, especially the nomination for the best original screenplay. It seems that although people speak different languages around the world but there is one common universal language which everyone understands: The Language of Cinema.” — Asghar Farhadi (writer/director/producer), best foreign language film nominee for “A Separation.”

* “It’s been an incredible eight year journey from the first draft of the play until this moment. Working with George and Grant has been one of the most rewarding collaborations of my career, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that our film is getting this kind of recognition.” — Beau Willimon (co-writer of screenplay with George Clooney and Grant Heslov, based on Beau’s play Farragut North), nominee for best adapted screenplay for “Ides of March.”