Sherak and Mo’Nique, who won an Academy Award® for her supporting performance in Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, announced the nominees in 10 of the 24 Award categories at a 5:38 a.m. PT live news conference attended by more than 400 international media representatives.

Best Picture nominees are:

• Black Swan — Mike Medavoy, Brian Oliver and Scott Franklin, Producers
• The Fighter — David Hoberman, Todd Lieberman and Mark Wahlberg, Producers
• Inception — Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan, Producers
• The Kids Are All Right — Gary Gilbert, Jeffrey Levy-Hinte and Celine Rattray, Producers
• The King’s Speech — Iain Canning, Emile Sherman and Gareth Unwin, Producers
• 127 Hours — Christian Colson, Danny Boyle and John Smithson, Producers
• The Social Network — Scott Rudin, Dana Brunetti, Michael De Luca and Ceán Chaffin, Producers
• Toy Story 3 — Darla K. Anderson, Producer
• True Grit — Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
• Winter’s Bone — Anne Rosellini and Alix Madigan-Yorkin, Producers

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27, 2011, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network beginning at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

Visit Oscars.org for a complete list of nominees.

I grew up on the stop-motion animation of Ray Harryhausen and the effects wizardry of John Dykstra. The SFX people were gods to me, so even today I still enjoy hearing who is being honored by the Academy each year.

Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences narrowed the choices for this year’s nominations in the Visual Effects category for the 83rd Academy Awards^®.

The seven films still in the running are:

“Alice in Wonderland”
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1”
“Hereafter”
“Inception”
“Iron Man 2”
“Scott Pilgrim vs the World”
“Tron: Legacy”

All members of the Visual Effects branch of the Academy will be invited to view 15-minute excerpts from each of the seven shortlisted films on Thursday, January 20.  Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.

The 83rd Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 25, 2011, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Carl (right, voiced by Ed Asner) unwillingly leads Russell (Jordan Nagai) through the wilderness of Venezuela to Paradise Falls in Disney/Pixar's feature animated film Up.

This past weekend, my family received the DVD of Up from the Disney Movie Club. We watched again the heart-warming story of Carl, the lonely old man who in the twilight of his years decides to fulfill his wife’s life-long dream of adventure. By tying their home to a thousand balloons, he uproots from the urban sprawl and heads to South America.

The film is a masterpiece of animation and storytelling, with some of the most endearing characters you will ever see. It is also perhaps the most moving film – animated or otherwise – to be created since Jimmy Stewart stopped making movies. If you can watch the first ten minutes of the film without crying, you have no soul.

Naturally, the beauty of this film started me thinking about the Academy Awards. In the history of film, only one animated feature has ever been nominated for best picture, and it didn’t win.

When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) announced in 2001 that it would create an Oscar category specifically for animated features, it was about a decade too late. Beauty and the Beast had earned a Best Picture nomination in 1991 (and remains the only animated feature to do so). But it didn’t receive the recognition it deserved.

Fast forward to 2009. This year, the AMPAS announced that the Oscars will include 10 nominees in the Best Picture category, returning the Academy Awards to the heady days of yesteryear when television program length wasn’t a factor. (The last year to host 10 nominees was 1943, when Casablanca won for Best Picture.)

Since 2001, animated features have certainly been given their due. Beginning with Shrek in 2001, the AMPAS has recognized some truly noteworthy films. Four of the eight winners so far have been Disney/Pixar features (Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Ratatouille, and WALL-E).

While this is certainly something to be proud of, it is also a bit like saying “You’re the smartest kid… in your class.” It’s great that animated film is finally being recognized in some way, but it isn’t enough. This category should showcase animated features, not become their prison.

This year, the front-runner to be nominated and win Best Animated Feature seems to be the Disney/Pixar film Up. This wonderful film has captured the hearts of people everywhere, and is already considered a favorite of many Disney/Pixar fans. For the first time since Beauty and the Beast, we have an animated film that is worthy of the title Best Picture. And for the first time in more than 60 years, we have a wider list for nominations.

For these reasons, I contend that it is not enough to nominate Up for Best Animated Feature. It is time to once again nominate an animated film for Best Picture. I call on the voters of the Academy to make Up a nominee in the Best Picture and Best Animated Feature categories. Show your support for animated film by placing it alongside the other great films of 2009.

The 82nd Academy Awards nominations will be announced on Tuesday, February 2, 2010, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

“We think the team of Steve and Alec are the perfect pair of hosts for the Oscars,” said Shankman and Mechanic. “Steve will bring the experience of having hosted the show in the past and Alec will be a completely fresh personality for this event.”

“I am happy to co-host the Oscars with my enemy Alec Baldwin,” said Martin.

“I don’t play the banjo but I’m thrilled to be hosting the Oscars – it’s the opportunity of a lifetime,” said Baldwin.

Martin hosted the 73rd and 75th Academy Awards shows, earning an Emmy nomination for the first stint. He has also served as a presenter on the show several times, most recently at the ceremony in February when he appeared with Tina Fey. In 2007 Martin earned a Kennedy Center Honor.

Baldwin was nominated for an Academy Award in 2003 for his supporting role in The Cooler. That year also marked his most recent appearance as a presenter on the show. Baldwin currently stars as Jack Donaghy on the comedy 30 Rock, a role for which he has won two Emmys (in 2008 and 2009).

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2009 will be presented on Sunday, March 7, 2010, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center®, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.