Golden Tones

Oscar noms for 2010 are here--Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the pack with nine nods each. The major categories:

BEST PICTURE

"An Education"
"Avatar"
"The Blind Side"
"District 9"
"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"Precious"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"
"Up in the Air"

Will the 1o Best pic contenders mean better ratings more suspense--Doubtful

ACTOR IN A LEADING ROLE

Jeff Bridges for "Crazy Heart"
George Clooney for "Up in the Air"
Colin Firth for "A Single Man"
Morgan Freeman for "Invictus"
Jeremy Renner for "The Hurt Locker"

ACTRESS IN A LEADING ROLE

Sandra Bullock for "The Blind Side"
Helen Mirren for "The Last Station"
Carey Mulligan for "An Education"
Gabourey Sidibe for "Precious"
Meryl Streep for "Julie & Julia"

DIRECTING

Kathryn Bigelow for "The Hurt Locker"
James Cameron for "Avatar"
Lee Daniels for "Precious"
Jason Reitman for "Up in the Air"
Quentin Tarantino for "Inglourious Basterds"

ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Matt Damon for "Invictus"
Woody Harrelson for "The Messenger"
Christopher Plummer for "The Last Station"
Stanley Tucci for "The Lovely Bones"
Christoph Waltz for "Inglourious Basterds"

ACTRESS IN A SUPPORTING ROLE

Penelope Cruz for "Nine"
Vera Farmiga for "Up in the Air"
Maggie Gyllenhaal in "Crazy Heart"
Anna Kendrick for "Up in the Air"
Mo'Nique for "Precious"

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM

"Ajami"
"El Secreto de Sus Ojos"
"The Milk of Sorrow"
"A Prophet"
"The White Ribbon"

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM

"Coraline"
"Fantastic Mr. Fox"
"The Princess and the Frog"
"The Secret of Kells"
"Up"

SCREENPLAY (Adapted)

"An Education"
"District 9"
"In the Loop"
"Precious"
"Up in the Air"

SCREENPLAY (Original)

"The Hurt Locker"
"Inglourious Basterds"
"The Messenger"
"A Serious Man"
"Up"

The ceremony airs on March 7th 2010 with your hosts Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin