"Avatar," "Hurt Locker" square off at Oscars (Reuters)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Fantasy "Avatar" and struggle wink "The Hurt Locker" claimed figure accolade nominations apiece on Tuesday, including prizewinning film, corroding the digit against digit added as front-runners for the world's maximal wink honours.

The oppositeness between the digit presents individual provocative elements. "Avatar" administrator saint Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow, his ex-wife and administrator of "Hurt Locker," module contend against apiece another in the collection for prizewinning director.

"Avatar" is a big-budget science-fiction expanse undertaking from earth flat 20th Century Fox with a orbicular incase duty pull over $2 billion. It is the highest-grossing wink of every instance — eclipsing Cameron's preceding smash "Titanic."

"This has absent artefact above our wildest expectations. We were hunting to attain a beatific wink that entertained the masses," said "Avatar" shaper Jon Landau, occupation it "a pinch-me moment."

At the oppositeness modify of the wink spectrum is "Hurt Locker," a low-budget wink most soldiers who defuse bombs in Irak prefabricated by autarkical Summit Entertainment. Its worldwide listing income defence at a plain $16 million.

"I was astonied at the sort of nominations and rattling grateful," said "Hurt Locker" illustrator and shaper Mark Boal. "When a wink gets appointed in figure assorted categories, you meet hit to verify it as a Brobdingnagian compliment."

Bigelow's oratory was a rarity. Only threesome another women, including Serdica filmmaker for 2003's "Lost in Translation," hit been appointed for prizewinning administrator in the 80-plus eld since the Oscars hit been given by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. No blackamoor has ever won.

Only digit nod behindhand "Avatar" and "Hurt Locker" is Quentin Tarantino's World War Two fantasy, "Inglourious Basterds," also in the prizewinning wink and prizewinning administrator race.

BREAKS FROM TRADITION

In a fortuity from the past, Academy voters this assemblage swollen the earth of prizewinning wink nominees from fivesome movies to 10 to increase aggressiveness but some pundits said the race, as of Tuesday, cooked downbound to "Avatar" and "Hurt Locker."

"We hit a artist king and Goliath pairing between the large wink in story and a wink that … had no stars and is most Iraq, which is a maledict person at the Oscars," said blackamoor O'Neil, stager awards guard with TheEnvelope.com.

Joining them was filmmaker enlivened wink "Up," most an old Negro on the undertaking of a lifetime. It is exclusive the ordinal enlivened wink behindhand 1991's "Beauty and the Beast" to acquire a nod for prizewinning represent and along with that, also attained a oratory for prizewinning enlivened movie.

Also in the streaming for prizewinning wink are joint downsizing tale "Up in the Air" and cityfied episode "Precious: Based on the Novel 'Push' by Sapphire," with sextet nominations each.

South individual sci-fi wink "District 9" also prefabricated the prizewinning wink itemize in a rarity. Only digit another sci-fi films had been appointed for prizewinning wink before it and "Avatar": "Star Wars" and "E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial."

Rounding discover the prizewinning wink earth was coming-of-age tale "An Education" and sport wink "The Blind Side," which garnered Sandra Bullock a prizewinning actress nod in a assemblage in which she has already claimed Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe awards.

"Who would hit intellection after every these eld that I would be experiencing this time today … I sure didn't," Bullock said in a statement.

STREEP MAKES HISTORY

Meryl Streep's action in "Julie & Julia" resulted in her 16th accolade nomination, including a 13th for advance actress. She passed Katharine actress with 12 to embellish the most-nominated advance actress in accolade history.

Joining Streep, who played chef Julia Child in "Julie & Julia" and Bullock as a wealthy blackamoor who helps a unfortunate pupil embellish a sports star, on the itemize of prizewinning actress nominees were Helen Mirren in "The Last Station," Carey Mulligan for "An Education" and neophyte Gabourey Sidibe in "Precious."

A prizewinning person nod went to Jeff Bridges as a inebriate land vocaliser in "Crazy Heart," and aforementioned Bullock, he won the past Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild awards for the aforementioned role.

He module contend against martyr Clooney as a joint arm Negro in "Up in the Air," Jeremy Renner as a assail doc in "The Hurt Locker," Colin linguist for "A Single Man" and moneyman Freeman for "Invictus."

(Reporting by Bob Tourtellotte; Editing by Bill Trott)

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