2013 Academy Awards nominees announced

2013 Academy Awards nominees announced

David James

Responsibilities seem to weigh heavy on President Abraham Lincoln (Daniel Day-Lewis) in Steven Spielberg’s “Lincoln.”

"Lincoln" stood tall among the nominees for the 85th Academy Awards, announced Thursday, as big names like Ben Affleck, Kathryn Bigelow and Nicole Kidman got left behind, and history was made for a veteran and a newcomer.

It was an appropriately wild nominations day for what's been an eventful movie year. With 12 nods, Steven Spielberg's drama about the 16th President's fight to outlaw slavery became the movie to beat when the awards are handed out Feb. 24. And in a surprising turn, Ang Lee's "Life of Pi," about a boy and a tiger adrift on a boat, roared back to life with 11 nominations.

The seven other films those two will face-off against for Best Picture -- "Amour," "Argo," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Django Unchained," "Les Misérables," "Silver Linings Playbook" and "Zero Dark Thirty" -- all have surprises of their own. Affleck was passed over for his critically lauded direction of "Argo," as was Tom Hooper for "Les Miz" and, amazingly, Bigelow, whose "Zero Dark Thirty" has been a polarizing picture of the war on terror since it was released Christmas day.

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"Beasts'" director Benh Zeitlin and "Amour" director Michael Haneke secured surprise Best Director spots next to previous winners Spielberg and Lee. "Silver Linings" helmer David O. Russell rounded out the five slots in that category, establishing that the director of "Three Kings" and "The Fighter" is an industry fave.

Their inclusion, at the cost of Bigelow and Affleck's snub, were major shocks. Some speculate that the political attacks on "ZDT" cost Bigelow a chance to repeat the Best Director win she had for "The Hurt Locker." As for Affleck, he sadly may have seen his terrific film peak too early -- it was released in October -- and it's subject matter eclipsed by "ZDT."

For Best Actor, Daniel Day-Lewis has been the man to beat since "Lincoln" was given a sneak preview at the New York Film Festival in September. Though he initially turned the film down, it may turn out to win the Irish thespian his third Best Actor win, a record in this category. (He previously won for 1989's "My Left Foot" and 2007's "There Will be Blood.")

Day-Lewis faces Bradley Cooper ("Silver Linings Playbook"), Hugh Jackman ("Les Misérables"), Joaquin Phoenix in ("The Master") and Denzel Washington ("Flight"). Jackman and Cooper are the only guys in either Best Actor or Best Supporting Actor who are up for the first time, and only two of four newbies in any of the acting slots. 

Left out were John Hawkes for "The Sessions" and Richard Gere, a perennial shout-out who was thought to be a dark horse for the little-seen Wall Street drama "Arbitrage."