Avatar, The Hurt Locker And Up In The Air Top Oscar Noms

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences have announced the nominees for the 82nd annual Academy Awards, and both Avatar and The Hurt Locker racked up a whopping 9 nominations, including Best Picture. Other contenders for that category include The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up, and Up In The Air.

Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart), George Clooney (Up In The Air), Colin Firth (A Single Man), Morgan Freeman (Invictus) and Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker) were nominated for the Best Actor category, and Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side), Helen Mirren (The Last Station), Carey Mulligan (An Education), Gabourey Sidibe (Precious) and Meryl Streep (Julia & Julia) earned nominations for Best Actress.

Matt Damon (Invictus), Woody Harrelson (The Messenger), Christopher Plummer (The Last Station), Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones) and Cristoph Walz (Inglourious Basterds) earned Best Supporting Actor nods, with Penelope Cruz (Nine), Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air), Maggie Gyllenhall (Crazy Heart), Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air) and Mo'Nique (Precious) topping off the Best Supporting Actress category.

The 82nd Annual Academy Awards will air on live on ABC on Sunday, March 7, 2010.