The nominees for the 84th Academy Awards are getting a lot of attention — the day after the big announcement. Yesterday, “Hugo” picked up 11 nominations — the most of any film — including best picture and best director. The movie is a 3D drama adventure about a 12-year-old boy who lives in a Paris train station tending to the clocks and his quest to fix a mysterious machine left by his father.  The film is based on the book, “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” by American author and children’s book illustrator, Brian Selznick.

Here are some of the major nominations for the 2012 Oscars from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences:

Best Picture

The Artist
Thomas Langmann, Producer
The Descendants
Jim Burke, Alexander Payne and Jim Taylor,
Producers
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Scott Rudin, Producer
The Help
Brunson Green, Chris Columbus and
Michael Barnathan, Producers
Hugo
Graham King and Martin Scorsese, Producers
Midnight in Paris
Letty Aronson and Stephen Tenenbaum, Producers
Moneyball
Michael De Luca, Rachael Horovitz and Brad Pitt,
Producers
The Tree of Life
Nominees to be determined
War Horse
Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, producers

Actor in a Leading Role

Demián Bichir
A Better Life
George Clooney
The Descendants
Jean Dujardin
The Artist
Gary Oldman
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt
Moneyball

Actress in a Leading Role

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 Director

The Artist
Michel Hazanavicius
The Descendants
Alexander Payne
Hugo
Martin Scorsese
Midnight in Paris
Woody Allen
The Tree of Life
Terrence Malick

For a complete list of the nominees as well as a chance to pick your favorites go  to the official Oscars website . The winners will be announced at the lavished Academy Awards ceremony set to be broadcast live, around the world,  on Sunday, February 26 beginning at 4 p.m. Pacific Time.

The entertainment industry’s awards season is in full bloom. This past week, the Directors Guild of America released a slew of its nominations for television, feature films, and documentaries.

Here are the nominees for the prestigious outstanding directorial achievement in feature films for 2011.

Woody Allen  “Midnight in Paris”
Fifth nomination. He won in 1977 for “Annie Hall”
David Fincher “The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo”
Third nomination.
David Hazanavicius “The Artist”
First nomination.
Alexander Payne  “The Descendants”
Second nomination.
Martin Scorsese  “Hugo”
Ninth nomination. He won this award in 2006 for “The Departed”

The DGA Award for feature film directing is a pretty good barometer for who is going to walk away with the Academy Award for Best Director. The DGA Awards began in 1948 and since then, only six times has the DGA Award winner not picked up the Best Director Oscar as well.

The winner will be announced at the 64th Annual DGA Awards gala later this month on Saturday, January 28 at The Grand Ballroom in Hollywood.

For the DGA Award nominees in television go here and for documentaries here.  Also, the winners in these categories will be announced at the DGA Awards dinner and ceremony on January 28.

“Jadoo”  by writer/director, Amit Gupta, has a deal and is now on the really fast track.  That’s a great start to the new year for one filmmaker.  Done Deal Pro reports Gupta is repped by Abram Nalibotsky over at Gersh.

Based on Gupta’s family experience, the story revolves around  two feuding twin brother chefs who set up rival restaurants across from each other, leaving it up to a daughter, 20 years later, to try to bring them back together to cook her wedding feast.

AIR productions greenlighted the comedy feature and Nikki Parrot of Tigerlily Films is co-producing. The cameras are set to roll on “Jadoo” in March, according to Variety.

A New York congressman is calling for an investigation into what kind of “cooperation” the Obama administration provided for a movie about the take down of 9-11 terrorist mastermind, Osama bin Laden. Director Kathryn Bigelow is partnering with screenwriter Mark Boal on this bin Laden film.

Apparently, the filmmakers are being accused of getting “special access” and classified information –  allegedly including data on the Navy Seal Team 6 raid which resulted in the death of bin Laden.

Today Deadline.com posted reaction from Bigelow and Boal, declaring they have received help from officials in three administrations: Clinton and Bush are the other two.  Also on the site, a letter from Congressman Peter King detailing the allegations, which started with a recent column in the New York Times.

Last year, Bigelow won best director for “The Hurt Locker.” Boal took home best original screenplay for that Iraq drama.  More on the controversy swirling  around their latest film here.

“The Hangover Part II” is off to a fast start at the Memorial Day weekend Box Office. The R-rated comedy opened with a huge $31.6 million yesterday. That’s the highest grossing day ever for a live-action comedy, according to Box Office Mojo.  And the long holiday weekend is just beginning.

The sequel to the 2009 hit, “The Hangover,” is written by Craig Mazin, Scot Armstrong, and Todd Phillips — who also directs.  This time out the guy pals are in Thailand for a wedding when something goes wrong and they lose the bride-to-be’s teenaged brother.

The other big movie opening is “Kung Fu Panda 2,” which was far behind  in second place with around $5.8 million on Thursday.  “Panda 2″ is expected to pick up steam today and the weekend — when more kids are out of school.

Photo: Warner Bros./Los Angeles Times -- Al Pacino and Penny Allen starred in "Dog Day Afternoon" (1975) directed by Sidney Lumet

One of the most respected and prolific film directors, Sidney Lumet, died today at the age of 86. Lumet lost a battle with lymphoma. He passed away in New York where he made many of his 40 films.

Lumet’s credits include the classic ”12 Angry Men” (1957), “The Pawnbroker” (1964), “Dog Day Afternoon” (1975), “Network” (1976), and “Verdict” (1986). The Los Angeles Times website has more on Lumet’s career and films here.

Photo: Liz O. Baylen/Los Angeles Times -- Actress Halle Berry posed on the Oscar red carpet at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood February 27, 2011

As expected, “The King’s Speech” captured the best picture Oscar at the 83rd Academy Awards ceremony at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood tonight. The surprise, the historic British drama was nominated for a record 12 awards, but only won four. Along with best picture, Colin Firth grabbed best actor, Tom Hooper best director, and David Seidler walked off with the best original screenplay trophy.

 Aaron Sorkin took home the best adapted screenplay statuette for the Facebook movie, ”The Social Network.” Best actress went to Natalie Portman for the dance thriller, “Black Swan,” best supporting actress to Melissa Leo for her role in the sports drama, “The Fighter,” and Christian Bale got the best supporting actor for “The Fighter” as well.  A full list of the winners is on the Academy of  Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Oscars website.

The Los Angeles Times has more on the winners, the awards, and photos — including some nice snapshots of the fashions on the red carpet. I admit it: I checked out   the celebrity fashions at the glittery affair. The temperature in Hollywood during the red carpet parade of stars was in the 50s — still springtime colors and skin-baring designs were the norm. My favorite: Actress Halle Berry’s stunning champagne-colored sparkly gown with ruffled train by Marchesa.  Hollywood glamour definitely on display at the Oscars.

Some of Hollywood’s top writing awards were given out last night by the Writers Guild of America. The best original screenplay went to Christopher Nolan for the smart sci-fi actioner, “Inception.”  The ceremony was held simultaneously at the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel in the Southland and at the AXA Equitable Center in New York City.

Aaron Sorkin took home the best adapted screenplay trophy for the Facebook script, “The Social Network,” which is based on the book “The Accidental Billionaires” (2009) by Ben Mezrich. In accepting his award, Sorkin said: “I wrote a good screenplay, but David Fincher made a great movie.” More on the WGA awards ceremony on the Los Angeles Times website.  Also, the complete list of the 2011 WGA Awards winners here on the Writers Guild of America, West, website.

Catching up on some other recent awards events:

Major DGA Award goes to “The King’s Speech” director

Photo: DGA website -- Tom Hooper received the DGA film directing award for 2011 from last year's winner, Kathryn Bigelow on January 30, 2011

 Tom Hooper won the DGA Award for outstanding directorial achievement in feature film on his first feature film nomination, last Sunday, January 30, at the Grand Ballroom in Los Angeles. Hooper won for his work on ”The King’s Speech.” The list of all the 63rd DGA Awards winners here.

SAG Awards 2011  winners revealed

Also, last Sunday, the Screen Actors Guild Awards for outstanding performances in 2010 were presented during a ceremony at the Los Angeles Shrine Exposition Center in L.A. The Actor for best performance by a cast in a motion picture went to the Oscar front-runner, “The King’s Speech.”  The full list of winners for the 17th Annual SAG Awards here.

Publicity Photo– Colin Firth and Helena Bonham Carter in a scene from “The King’s Speech”

“The King’s Speech,” grabbed the lion’s share of the nominations for the 83rd Academy Awards this morning in Beverly Hills.  The historical drama is about Britain’s King George VI and his struggle to overcome a stammer. “The King’s Speech” received 12 nominations,  “True Grit” got 10, “Inception” and “The Social Network” each received 8.   

In this Oscar race, “The King’s Speech” has proven to be the tortoise and “The Social Network” the hare. When the award season kicked off late last year,  the story of Facebook, the most popular social network on the planet, was fast out of the gate — collecting a number of major awards. However, “The King’s Speech” picked up momentum last weekend by winning the top honor at the Producer’s Guild Awards bash. 

Already, there is a lot of web chatter about who got snubbed by the Academy voters. “Inception” director Christopher Nolan did not get a nomination. “Inception” was left out of the best editing category as well.  Also, “Black Swan” was passed over for best original screenplay.   

Here are the nominees in some of the top categories:  

Best Picture

“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  

Actor in a leading role 

Javier Bardem in “Biutiful”
Jeff Bridges in “True Grit”
Jesse Eisenberg in “The Social Network”
Colin Firth in “The King’s Speech”
James Franco in “127 Hours”  

Actress in a leading role  

Annette Bening in “The Kids Are All Right”
Nicole Kidman in “Rabbit Hole”
Jennifer Lawrence in “Winter’s Bone”
Natalie Portman in “Black Swan”
Michelle Williams in “Blue Valentine”   

Actor in a supporting role  

Christian Bale in “The Fighter”
John Hawkes in “Winter’s Bone”
Jeremy Renner in “The Town”
Mark Ruffalo in “The Kids Are All Right”
Geoffrey Rush in “The King’s Speech”   

Actress in a supporting role  

Amy Adams in “The Fighter”
Helena Bonham Carter in “The King’s Speech”
Melissa Leo in “The Fighter”
Hailee Steinfeld in “True Grit”
Jacki Weaver in “Animal Kingdom”   

Best Director  

“Black Swan” Darren Aronofsky
“The Fighter” David O. Russell
“The King’s Speech” Tom Hooper
“The Social Network” David Fincher
“True Grit” Joel Coen and Ethan Coen 

The complete list of nominees here on the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences website. 

The 83rd Academy Awards ceremony will be Sunday, February 27, 2011. The affair will have double significance for James Franco. He’s nominated for best actor in a leading role for his performance in “127 Hours” and Franco is co-hosting the ceremony with actress, Anne Hathaway.

A new romantic comedy is challenging “The Green Hornet” at the Box Office this weekend. “No Strings Attached” hits movie theaters today and it stars Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. The script revolves around a couple of friends who make a deal to have a “no strings attached” fling without the complication of falling in love. Yeah, right.

NBC Universal honcho Jeff Zucker’s final memo to staffers

Now that the Comcast NBC Universal merger is nearly complete, NBC Universal CEO Jeff Zucker has to move on. Today Zucker sent out a gracious farewell note to staffers. No rancor in it about being kicked to the curb by the Comcast team.  Check it out on The Wrap site.

Beyoncé to star in remake of “A Star Is Born” –Clint Eastwood will direct

A lot of folks in showbiz are chattering about the new remake of “A Star Is Born” — greenlighted with singer Beyoncé  Knowles in the lead role. This will be the fourth big screen version of the story of a talented young woman who falls in love with a self-destructive male star. Her career rises — while his tanks. Heavyweight Clint Eastwood has signed on to direct.

While there is some grumbling about another re-do of this story — most of the debate is about the acting chops of Beyoncé. The singer has appeared in several movies. She’s not quite at the level of Judy Garland or Barbra Streisand — but you never know what could happen.  Remember first timer, Jennifer Hudson, won the Academy Award for best supporting actress for her powerful performance in the movie adaptation of the Broadway musical ”Dreamgirls” (2006). Beyoncé was in that musical as well. Maybe “A Star Is Born” will be her big chance to really shine.

More on the “A Star Is Born” remake and debate on deadline.com – including more than 200 comments.