All eyes at tonight's Oscars will be on the showdown between 'Avatar' and 'The Hurt Locker'. Each has nine nominations.
The director and best picture categories are expected to be one of the biggest Oscar battles in years.
They are tipped to be a two-way fight between Avatar’s James Cameron and his ex-wife Kathryn Bigelow, whose Iraq War drama 'The Hurt Locker' was made for a fraction of the cost of the sci-fi blockbuster.
The Hurt Locker’s widespread critical acclaim helped it creep ahead in some recent bookies’ odds for the coveted gongs of best film and best director.
The movie cleaned up at the Baftas, scooping six awards, while 'Avatar', said to be the most expensive film made, won two, both in technical categories.
Bigelow is only the fourth female best director nominee in Oscar history and would be its first winner.
Other director nominees are Quentin Tarantino for Second World War saga 'Inglourious Basterds', a film which is in the running for eight awards, Lee Daniels ('Precious') and Jason Reitman ('Up In The Air').
Daniels is only the second black film-maker nominated for best director.
American football drama 'The Blind Side', teen tales 'An Education' and 'Precious', 1960s drama 'A Serious Man', animated comedy 'Up', recession tale 'Up In The Air' and 'District 9' are up for best film alongside 'Avatar', 'Inglourious Basterds' and 'The Hurt Locker'.
The 82nd Academy Awards will be hosted by Alec Baldwin and Steve Martin at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles.
For the first time since 1943 the Oscars have featured 10 best-picture contenders this year instead of the usual five.
British film 'An Education' has three nominations including best adapted screenplay for writer Nick Hornby, whose script is based on journalist Lynn Barber’s memoir.
Armando Iannucci is in the same category for 'The Thick Of It' spin-off 'In The Loop', while Nick Park’s Wallace and Gromit caper 'A Matter Of Loaf And Death' is in the running for animated short film.
Sandra Bullock, who is Oscar-nominated for the first time, who is seen as a shoo-in after taking the Golden Globe for her performance in 'The Blind Side'.
Also nominated are Meryl Streep, who played TV cook Julia Child in 'Julie and Julia' and extends her record as the most nominated performer in Oscars history with 16 nods, and Gabourey Sidibe, who made her debut in 'Precious'.
Helen Mirren, who won an Oscar three years ago for her performance in 'The Queen', has said: “I think Tolstoy himself would have been perplexed by all this, but Sofya, his wife, would have been over the moon. So in that spirit, I am too.”
Carey Mulligan previously said of her nomination: “This is beyond anything I’ve ever dreamed of.”
In the best actor category, Colin Firth is tipped by bookies to lose out to Jeff Bridges for his role in country music drama 'Crazy Heart'.
William Hill has cut Bridges’ odds to 1/7 to win – the shortest price it has offered for a major Oscar since Helen Mirren was quoted at 1/50 for her portrayal of the Queen.
Others competing for best actor are George Clooney for 'Up In The Air', Morgan Freeman for 'Invictus' and Jeremy Renner for 'The Hurt Locker'.
Iannucci previously expressed his surprise at his nomination by saying on Twitter: “Bloomin heck.... Bonk me purple.”
Nine’s Penelope Cruz, 'Up In The Ai'r co-stars Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick, Crazy Heart’s Maggie Gyllenhaal and 'Precious' star Mo’Nique are contenders for supporting actress.
Matt Damon ('Invictus'), Woody Harrelson ('The Messenger'), Christopher Plummer ('The Last Station'), Stanley Tucci ('The Lovely Bones') and Christoph Waltz ('Inglourious Basterds') are up for best supporting actor.
Star Trek had been considered a likely best-picture nominee, but it missed out, scoring only technical nominations including visual effects and make-up.
Last year’s Oscars were dominated by British rags-to-riches tale 'Slumdog Millionaire', while Kate Winslet won best actress.
The build-up to the awards is being shown on Sky1, with the ceremony being broadcast on Sky Movies Premiere.
:: Best actor
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up In The Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)
:: Best supporting actor
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)
:: Best actress
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)
:: Best supporting actress
Penelope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up In The Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up In The Air)
Mo’Nique (Precious)
:: Best adapted screenplay
District 9 – Neill Blomkamp and Terri Tatchell
An Education – Nick Hornby
In The Loop – Jesse Armstrong, Simon Blackwell, Armando Iannucci, Tony Roche
Precious – Geoffrey Fletcher
Up In The Air – Jason Reitman and Sheldon Turner
:: Best original screenplay
The Hurt Locker – Mark Boal
Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino
The Messenger – Alessandro Camon and Oren Moverman
A Serious Man – Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
Up – Bob Peterson, Pete Docter (story by Pete Docter, Bob Peterson, Tom
McCarthy)
:: Best film
Avatar
The Blind Side
District 9
An Education
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
A Serious Man
Up
Up In The Air
:: Best director
Avatar – James Cameron
The Hurt Locker – Kathryn Bigelow
Inglourious Basterds – Quentin Tarantino
Precious – Sapphire Lee Daniels
Up In The Air – Jason Reitman
:: Animated feature film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr Fox
The Princess And The Frog
The Secret Of Kells
Up
:: Art direction
Avatar
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
Sherlock Holmes
The Young Victoria
:: Cinematography
Avatar
Harry Potter And The Half-Blood Prince
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The White Ribbon
:: Costume design
Bright Star
Coco Before Chanel
The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus
Nine
The Young Victoria
:: Documentary (feature)
Burma VJ
The Cove
Food, Inc
The Most Dangerous Man In America: Daniel Ellsberg And The Pentagon Papers
Which Way Home
:: Documentary (short subject)
China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears Of Sichuan Province
The Last Campaign Of Governor Booth Gardner
The Last Truck: Closing Of A GM Plant
Music By Prudence
Rabbit A La Berlin
:: Film editing
Avatar
District 9
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Precious
:: Foreign language film
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto De Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk Of Sorrow (Peru)
Un Prophete (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)
:: Make-up
Il Divo
Star Trek
The Young Victoria
:: Music (original score)
Avatar – James Horner
Fantastic Mr Fox – Alexandre Desplat
The Hurt Locker – Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders
Sherlock Holmes – Hans Zimmer
Up – Michael Giacchino
:: Music (original song)
Almost There (The Princess And The Frog – Randy Newman)
Down In New Orleans (The Princess And The Frog – Randy Newman)
Loin de Paname (Paris 36 – Reinhardt Wagner and Frank Thomas)
Take It All (Nine – Maury Yeston)
The Weary Kind (Crazy Heart – Ryan Bingham and T Bone Burnett)
:: Short film (animated)
French Roast
Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
The Lady And The Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
Logorama
A Matter Of Loaf And Death
:: Short film (live action)
The Door
Instead Of Abracadabra
Kavi
Miracle Fish
The New Tenants
:: Sound editing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Up
:: Sound mixing
Avatar
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
Star Trek
Transformers: Revenge Of The Fallen
:: Visual effects
Avatar
District 9
Star Trek