The 84th Annual Academy Award nominations were announced earlier this week by Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak and “Hunger Games” star Jennifer Lawrence.

As was to be expected, old Hollywood tributes “Hugo” and “The Artist” led the pack with the most nominations this year at 11 and 10 respectively.

Surprises included nominations for “Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” which had been snubbed for the most part by every major film award, and a screenplay nomination for “Bridesmaids” as well as a nomination for the accompanying comedic performance by Melissa McCarthy. The Academy rarely rewards comedic films.

In Oscar tradition, Leonardo DiCaprio was not nominated for his performance this year in “J.Edgar,” despite being nominated for most other major film awards.

It was a nice surprise to see Canadian film “Monsieur Lazhar” nominated in Best Foreign Language category, though most bets will go to Iranian film “A Separation” to take home the award.

Billy Crystal will host the ceremony for the 9th time, replacing Eddie Murphy after he dropped out when his producer friend Brett Ratner was shamed into leaving the show. Ratner used a gay slur at a public screening of his film “Tower Heist,” which created an uproar in Hollywood.

Watch the announcement below:

Here is the full list of nominations:

Actor in a Leading Role
Demián Bichir in “A Better Life”
George Clooney in “The Descendants”
Jean Dujardin in “The Artist”
Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy”
Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actor in a Supporting Role
Kenneth Branagh in “My Week with Marilyn”
Jonah Hill in “Moneyball”
Nick Nolte in “Warrior”
Christopher Plummer in “Beginners”
Max von Sydow in “Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close”

Actress in a Leading Role
Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs”
Viola Davis in “The Help”
Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo”
Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady”
Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Actress in a Supporting Role
Bérénice Bejo in “The Artist”
Jessica Chastain in “The Help”
Melissa McCarthy in “Bridesmaids”
Janet McTeer in “Albert Nobbs”
Octavia Spencer in “The Help”

Animated Feature Film
“A Cat in Paris” Alain Gagnol and Jean-Loup Felicioli
“Chico & Rita” Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
“Kung Fu Panda 2″ Jennifer Yuh Nelson
“Puss in Boots” Chris Miller
“Rango” Gore Verbinski

Art Direction
“The Artist”
Production Design: Laurence Bennett; Set Decoration: Robert Gould
“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2″
Production Design: Stuart Craig; Set Decoration: Stephenie McMillan
“Hugo”
Production Design: Dante Ferretti; Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“Midnight in Paris”
Production Design: Anne Seibel; Set Decoration: Hélène Dubreuil
“War Horse”
Production Design: Rick Carter; Set Decoration: Lee Sandales