The nominees for the 2012 Academy Awards were announced this morning! Here’s my thoughts on the nominations. I’m totally sad that ‘Shame’ was completely shut out this year. I think the NC-17 rating stopped it from being nominated, which is sad…because not only did it deserve it, Michael Fassbender deserved a Best Actor nomination – and Steve McQueen deserved a nomination for directing. I stand by my thoughts that ‘The Descendents’ is good – but c’mon people, it’s not great. George Clooney wasn’t that great! Also – I’m glad ‘Hugo’ is getting lots of nominations, because I adored that movie. My favorite, ‘The Artist’ is still on top – so as long as it wins – I’ll be happy.

The “Artist,” the silent, black and white tribute to old Hollywood earned a nod for Best Picture, for which, after a series of recent critics and guild award wins, it’s considered the favorite. Writer/director Michel Hazanavicius received nominations for both Best Director and Best Original Screenplay. Jean Dujardin was handed a bid for Best Actor for his turn as George Valentin, a silent film star who refuses to move into the era of the talkies; he earned the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Musical/Comedy earlier this month. Bérénice Bejo, for her role as starlet Peppy Miller, earned a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

“Hugo,” Martin Scorsese’s 3D family homage to film preservation earned 11 nominations.

“The Descendants,” the Alexander Payne-directed dramedy considered the other top awards contender, was also nominated for Best Picture; Payne earned a nod for Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, the latter of which he shares with writers Nat Faxon and Jim Rash. George Clooney, who stars as a beleaguered father, soon-to-be-widower and trustee of sacred family land in Hawaii, earned a nomination for Best Actor; he was awarded the Golden Globe for Best Actor in a Drama earlier in January.

“The Help,” the tale of domestic workers in segregated Mississippi at the beginning of the Civil Rights era, also earned a Best Picture nod, as well as a nomination for Viola Davis for Best Actress and nods for Jessica Chastain and Octavia Spencer for Best Supporting Actress.

“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close,” the polarizing film about a boy in search of a secret from his father after he died on 9/11 earned a surprise nod for Best Picture, while Steven Spielberg’s “War Horse” also slipped in. “Bridesmaids” earned a nomination for Best Original Screenplay for Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, while Melissa McCarthy got a nod for Best Supporting Actress.

Relative newcomer Rooney Mara got a nomination for Best Actress for her chilling turn in “The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo,” though director David Fincher was left out.

Terrence Malick’s artistic and polarizing “The Tree of Life,” which starred Brad Pitt and Jessica Chastain — who earned nominations for other films — got a nomination for Best Picture; Malick earned a nod for Best Director.

Here’s the entire list of nominees:

Best Picture
“The Artist”
“The Descendants”
“Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”
“Hugo”
“Midnight in Paris”
“The Help”
“Moneyball”
“War Horse”
“The Tree of Life”

Best Actor
Demian 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
Kenneth Branagh, “My Week With Marilyn”
Jonah Hill, “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte, “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer, “Beginners”
Max Von Sydow, “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Best Supporting Actress
Berenice Bejo, “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain, “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy, “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer, “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer, “The Help”

Best Director
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Terrence Malick, “The Tree of Life”
Alexander Payne, “The Descendants”
Martin Scorsese, “Hugo”
Steven Spielberg, “War Horse”

Best Original Screenplay
Woody Allen, “Midnight in Paris”
JC Chandor, “Margin Call”
Asghar Farhadi, “A Separation”
Michel Hazanavicius, “The Artist”
Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo, “Bridesmaids”

Best Adapted Screenplay
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxton, Jim Rash, “The Descendants”
John Logan, “Hugo”
George Clooney, Grant Heslov, Beau Willimon, “The Ides of March”
Aaron Sorkin, Steven Zaillian, “Moneyball”
Bridget O’Connor, Peter Straughn, “Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy”

Best Animated Feature
“A Cat In Paris”
“Chico & Rita”
“Kung Fu Panda 2″
“Puss in Boots”
“Rango”

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year
Bullhead (Belgium)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)

REST OF THE NOMINATIONS AFTER THE JUMP! (more…)

Looks like the tension between former friends Sandra Bullock and Scarlett Johansson is still going strong. Both of the women avoided each other at all cost during the Academy Awards last night.

“It seemed like both of their arrivals were carefully staged to make sure they were never on the red carpet together,” an insider tells Pop Eater. “They both knew the other was presenting so it was no surprise that they would be at the same event, but they sure managed to keep away from one another.”

Scarlett showed up at the Oscars with her agent, Joe Machota, by her side, while Sandra, wearing blazing red, looked happy working the carpet all by herself.

Any tension between the two ladies comes from the fact that since Scarlett and her husband Ryan Reynolds filed for divorce in December, Sandra has been seen multiple times with the actor. They insist they’re just friends, and Ryan and Scarlett were even seen having lunch together in late January, fueling rumors they were getting back together.

“So much has happened to Sandra in the past 12 months since she won an Oscar that I’m sure she wanted a drama-free night on Sunday,” a friend of the actress tells me.

As last year’s winner for best actress, Sandra was obliged to present an award on Sunday. “Whether or not Scarlett would be attending had nothing to do with her decision to attend, and what she does in her private life with a man that is getting divorced is entirely up to her.”

Although, people who know Sandy best suspect the only man she’s thinking about right now is her little son, Louis.

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Here is a better look at all the gorgeous gowns from last night! Who’s your favorite?

I LOVED Mila Kunis‘ dress!

After watching the Oscars last night – I came away thinking it was quite possibly the most boring Oscars of all time. It’s pretty sad when the best speech of the night comes from Best Song winner Randy Newman (he was hilarious!).

As for Anne Hathaway and James Franco – I thought they were DREADFUL. James Franco looked miserable the whole time, and his jokes fell flat. Anne Hathaway just laughed, smiled and giggled her way through the whole night, and to be honest, she really just drove me nuts. The number where she sang – was embarrassing to watch.

I read an article this morning that said she was too energetic, and I think that sums it up perfectly. It was just annoying.

The Anne Hathaway Oscars reviews were mixed, just like the show. Yet the Anne Hathaway Oscars routine was judged by a different standard than that of James Franco. The majority of critics noted that the two couldn’t have been more different in their approaches. While Franco was laid back to the point of appearing stoned to bloggers, his co star was exuberant at nearly every opportunity. As such, while critics wonder if Franco was way too relaxed, the Anne Hathaway Oscars reactions center on whether she was too energetic.

Although the two performed as a duo in the pre-taped opening sketch, they didn’t have much to do together after that. For most of the night, Franco appeared invisible, leaving a lot of the work for his co-host.

Yet for all of the James Franco and Anne Hathaway Oscars complaints, they are still young and popular enough to brush it aside. But if the Academy casts another duo in the future, they will likely try to have a less mismatched one.

When Kirk Douglas took the stage it was really just uncomfortable to watch. While he’s absolutely a Hollywood legend, I just found the whole thing incredibly sad.

What was your opinion of the night?

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Do you agree with the winners last night? I’m happy to report that all my favorites won! I so badly wanted Colin Firth, Christian Bale and Natalie Portman to win – and they did! I think ‘The King’s Speech’ WAS the best movie of the year – so I’m stoked about that as well!

What did you think of the winners?

Here are all the pictures from backstage last night – where the winners posed for pictures!

BEST PICTURE

The King’s Speech

BEST ACTOR

Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

BEST ACTRESS

Natalie Portman, Black Swan

BEST DIRECTOR

Tom Hooper, The King’s Speech

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS

Melissa Leo, The Fighter

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR

Christian Bale, The Fighter

REST OF THE WINNERS AFTER THE JUMP!! (more…)

Here are Natalie Portman, Sandra Bullock, Nicole Kidman and Helena Bonham Carter. I loved Natalie and Sandra’s dresses – but I wasn’t a fan of Nicole’s. What did you think?

Photos: Fame

There were so many beautiful dresses last night! Here are some more celebs from the red carpet!

Pictured: Michelle Williams, Halle Berry, Jennifer Hudson, Annette Bening, Colin Firth, Russell Brand, Sharon Stone, Busy Phillips, Florence Welch, Melissa Leo and Anne Hathaway.

Photos: Fame