Lord of the Rings leads Oscar field
The Napoleonic era naval adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World was right behind with 10 nominations, among them best picture and director.
Bill Murray, Diane Keaton, Sean Penn and Charlize Theron all Golden Globe winners on Sunday were among the leading acting nominees announced in Beverly Hills.
The most notable snub came for the Civil War saga Cold Mountain, which failed to get nominations for best picture, director Anthony Minghella, or lead actress Nicole Kidman. Other best-picture nominees for the 76th annual Oscars included Lost in Translation, about two lonely Americans in Tokyo, the brooding murder thriller Mystic River, and the horse-racing drama Seabiscuit.
Along with best picture and director, the nominations for Return of the King included original score and song, visual effects, film editing and adapted screenplay for the script based on JRR Tolkien's fantasy classic.
Besides Jackson and Master and Commander director Peter Weir, the directing nominees included Sofia Coppola for Lost in Translation, only the third woman ever nominated for best director. Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, also earned an original-screenplay nomination for Lost in Translation.
The other directing nominees were Clint Eastwood for Mystic River and a surprise choice, Fernando Meirelles for the Brazilian film City of God.
Cold Mountain got seven nominations, among them best actor for Jude Law as a Confederate deserter. Renee Zellweger also landed a best supporting actress nomination for her role.
Other best actor nominees were Johnny Depp for Pirates of the Caribbean; Ben Kingsley as an Iranian immigrant in House of Sand and Fog; Bill Murray for Lost in Translation, and Sean Penn as an ex-hoodlum out for revenge over his daughter's death in Mystic River.
Nominees for lead actress included a surprise pick, Keisha Castle-Hughes as a New Zealand girl who bucks tradition to become leader of her Maori tribe in Whale Rider. At 13, she's the youngest person ever to be nominated for lead actress, the Academy said.
The other best actress nominees were Keaton as a playwright unexpectedly romanced by two men in Something's Gotta Give; Theron as real-life serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster; Samantha Morton as an Irish immigrant mother in In America, and Naomi Watts as a grieving wife and mother seeking vengeance in 21 Grams, Scarlett Johansson, who received Golden Globe nominations for Lost in Translation and Girl With a Pearl Earring, was bypassed.
The Oscar ceremony is in Los Angeles on February 29.
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