THE SAMUEL GOLDWYN THEATER, HOLLYWOOD — The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the 2011 Oscars this morning, and most of the major predicted contenders ended up on the finals list, with Hugo leading the pack with 11 and The Artist a close second with10 nominations.

Among the nominees with gay-interest are The  Girl with the Dragon Tattoo for best actress Rooney Mara as a bisexual hacker, Midnight in Paris for Woody Allen and Beginners (supporting actor nominee Christopher Plummer seems a lock to win).

Some surprises included a best picture nomination for Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, Demian Bichir for A Better Life and to a lesser extent Nick Nolte in Warrior and Melissa McCarthy in Bridesmaids, which also got a best screenplay nod. Other surprises were among the omissions, including no noms for Shame or The Descendants‘ Shailene Woodley.

Here are the nominees in the major categories.

Picture: The Artist; The Descendants; Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; The Help; Hugo; Midnight in Paris; Moneyball; The Tree of Life; War Horse.

Director: Michel Hazanavicius, The Artist; Alexander Payne, The Descendants; Martin Scorsese, Hugo; Woody Allen, Midnight in Paris; Terrence Malick, The Tree of Life.

Actor: Demian Bichir, A Better Life; George Clooney, The Descendants; Jean Dujardin, The Artist; Gary Oldman, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; Brad Pitt, Moneyball.

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.

Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh, My Week with Marilyn; Jonah Hill, Moneyball; Nick Nolte, Warrior; Christopher Plummer, Beginners; Max von Sydow, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close.

Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo, The Artist; Jessica Chastain, The Help; Melissa McCarthy, Bridesmaids; Janet McTeer, Albert Nobbs; Octavia Spencer, The Help.