Having been nominated for 11 Academy Awards this morning, “Hugo” leads the Oscar race numerically, but only by one nomination. The black and white, mostly silent French comedy-drama “The Artist,” which was nominated for ten Oscars, remains the favorite to win Best Picture — as it has been since the awards season began.

Several other films were heavily nominated: “Moneyball” and “War Horse” each received six nods; “The Descendants” and “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” five apiece; and “The Help,” four.

All of these, except “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo,” were nominated for Best Picture. So, too, were “The Tree of Life,” “Midnight in Paris,” and “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close,” the latter a surprise inclusion. This is the first year in which the Academy was permitted to choose between five and ten nominees; nine have made the cut.

“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”s David Fincher missed out on a director nomination, as did “War Horse”’s Steven Spielberg. The nominees in this category are Michal Hazanavicius (“The Artist”), Alexander Payne (“The Descendants”), Martin Scorsese (“Hugo”), Terrence Malick (“The Tree of Life”), and Woody Allen (“Midnight in Paris”). Allen hasn’t been feted much by other awards-givers, but he is an Academy favorite and has a particularly strong shot at the Best Original Screenplay Oscar for what has proven his most commercially successful film.

There were surprises in the actor nominations. Tilda Swinton (“We Need to Talk About Kevin”) and Charlize Theron (“Young Adult”) were omitted as Best Actress. Meryl Streep earned her 17^th nomination in this category and is the favorite to win her third Oscar. Viola Davis (“The Help”) and Michelle Willliams (“My Week With Marilyn”) are her strongest contenders; Rooney Mara (“The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”) takes the ingenue’s slot and Glenn Close (“Alfred Nobbs”) is an intriguing outsider.

Demián Bechir, nominated as Best Actor for the little-seen “A Better Life,” was on few people’s radar before the nominations were announced by Academy president Tom Sherak and actress Jennifer Lawrence. The 48-year-old Mexican Actor announced that he was “overwhelmed.” He will be up against George Clooney (“The Descendants”); Gary Oldman (“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), whose nomination will be very popular; Jean Dujardin (“The Artist”), and Brad Pitt (“Moneyball”). Overlooked were Leonardo DiCaprio (“J. Edgar”), Michael Fassbender (“Shame”), and Ryan Gosling (“The Ides of March”).

Gosling’s “Drive” co-star Albert Brooks was an eye-opening omission from the Best Supporting Actor nominees as he looked like the probable winner a month ago. The favorite in this category is now Christopher Plummer (“Beginners”), who’s now locked in a fascinating competition with fellow 82-year-old Max von Sydow (“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close”). Nick Nolte (“Warrior”) has emerged from nowhere to contest the award and complete his post-DUI rehabilitation. Kenneth Branagh (“My Week With Marilyn”) and Jonah Hill (“Moneyball”) are the other nominees.

In the Best Supporting Actress group, "Gilmore Girls" alum Melissa McCarthy (“Bridesmaids”) will compete with her friend, Golden Globe-winner Octavia Spencer, who, like Jessica Chastain, was nominated for “The Help.” “The Artist’s” Bérénice Bejo and “Alfred Nobbs”’s Janet McTeer were also nominated.  Shailene Woodley (“The Descendants”) can consider herself unlucky to be omitted.

In another shock, Steven Spielberg’s “The Adventures of Tintin” failed to receive a nomination for Best Animated Film, a category it won at the Globes. “Chico and Rita” and “A Cat in Paris” are surprise choices.

The Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi has been nominated as writer of the Best Original Screenplay for “A Separation,” which is also the shoo-in for Best Foreign Language Film. Not only has it received rave reviews and critics prizes, it is much better known than the other nominees in the category.

In the Best Adapted Screenplay category, there was a posthumous nomination for Bridget O'Connor, who co-wrote “Tinker Tailor” with her husband Peter Straughan. The award-winning author and playwright died from cancer at the age of 49 in September 2010.

The Academy Awards will be given out at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood on February 26.

THE NOMINATIONS

BEST PICTURE
The Artist

War Horse

The Descendants

Moneyball

The Tree of Life

Midnight in Paris

The Help

Hugo

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

 

BEST DIRECTOR
Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist

Alexander Payne, The Descendants

Martin Scorsese, Hugo

Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris

Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life

 

BEST ACTOR
Demián Bichir, A Better Life

George Clooney, The Descendants

Jean Dujardin, The Artist

Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Brad Pitt, Moneyball

 

BEST ACTRESS
Glenn Close, Albert Nobbs

Viola Davis, The Help

Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Meryl Streep, The Iron Lady

Michelle Williams, My Week With Marilyn

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Jonah Hill, Moneyball

Kenneth Branagh, My Week With Marilyn

Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Nick Nolte, Warrior

Christopher Plummer, Beginners

 

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo, The Artist

Jessica Chastain, The Help

Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids

Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs

Octavia Spencer, The Help

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist

Bridesmaids

Margin Call

Midnight in Paris

A Separation

 

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants

Hugo

The Ides of March

Moneyball

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

 

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
A Cat in Paris

Chico and Rita

Kung Fu Panda 2

Puss in Boots

Rango

 

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
A Separation

Footnote

In Darkness

Bullhead

Monsieur Lahzar

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Pina

Hell and Back Again

If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front

Paradise Lost 3

Undefeated

 

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

The Tree of Life

War Horse

 

BEST ORIGINAL SCORE
The Adventures of Tintin

The Artist

Hugo

Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

War Horse

 

BEST ORIGINAL SONG
"Man or Muppet" from The Muppets

"Real in Rio" from Rio

 

BEST EDITING
The Artist

The Descendants

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Moneyball

 

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2

Hugo

Midnight in Paris

War Horse

 

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous

The Artist

Hugo

Jane Eyre

W.E.

 

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

The Iron Lady

 

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Hugo

Real Steel

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

 

BEST SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Moneyball

Hugo

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

 

BEST SOUND EDITING
Drive

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Hugo

Transformers: Dark of the Moon

War Horse

 

BEST ANIMATED SHORT
Dimanche/Sunday

The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore

La Luna

A Morning Stroll

Wild Life

 

BEST LIVE ACTION SHORT
Pentecost

Raju

The Shore

Time Freak

Tuba Atlantic

 

BEST DOCUMENTARY SHORT
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement

God Is the Bigger Elvis

Incident in New Baghdad

Saving Face

The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom