'Lincoln' leads with 12 Oscar nods; 'Life of Pi' grabs 11

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BEVERLY HILLS, Calif., Jan. 10 (UPI) -- "Lincoln," director Steven Spielberg's drama about the last months of the 16th American president's life, leads the field with 12 Oscar nominations.

Writer-actor-director Seth MacFarlane and "Gangster Squad" actress Emma Stone read the names of the nominees in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday morning.

Ang Lee's "Life of Pi," a fable about a young Indian man trapped at sea for months on a small boat with a tiger, earned 11 Oscar nods.

Competing with "Lincoln" and "Life of Pi" for the Best Picture title are "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Les Miserables," "Amour," "Django Unchained" and "Argo."

In the running for Best Actor are Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln," Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables," Denzel Washington for "Flight," Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook" and Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master."

Shortlisted for Best Actress are Naomi Watts for "The Impossible," Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty," Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook," Emmanuelle Riva for "Amour" and Quvenzhane Wallis for "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Riva at 85 is the oldest Oscar nominee ever to be mentioned in this category, while Wallis at 9 is the youngest.

Competing in the Best Supporting Actor race are Christoph Waltz from "Django Unchained," Philip Seymour Hoffman from "The Master," Robert De Niro from "Silver Linings Playbook," Alan Arkin from "Argo" and Tommy Lee Jones from "Lincoln." All five actors in this category are previous Oscar winners.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are Sally Field for "Lincoln," Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables," Jacki Weaver for "Silver Linings Playbook," Helen Hunt for "The Sessions" and

Amy Adams for "The Master."

Nominated for the Best Director prize are David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi," Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln," Michael Haneke for "Amour" and Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

Tapped for Best Adapted Screenplay are "Argo," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook."

The nominees for Best Original Screenplay are "Amour," "Django Unchained," "Flight," "Moonrise Kingdom" and "Zero Dark Thirty" written by Mark Boal.

Mentioned for Best Animated Film are "Frankenweenie," "Wreck-it Ralph," "The Pirates! Band of Misfits," "ParaNorman" and "Brave."

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture are "Amour," "No," "War Witch," "A Royal Affair" and "Kon-Tiki."

The contenders for Best Cinematography are "Anna Karenina," "Django Unchained," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln" and "Skyfall."

Up for Best Costumes are "Anna Karenina," "Les Miserables," "Lincoln," "Mirror Mirror" and

"Snow White and the Huntsman."

Nominated for Best Documentary are "5 Broken Cameras," "The Gatekeepers," "How to Survive a Plague," "The Invisible War" and "Searching for Sugar Man."

MacFarlane will serve as host when the Oscars are handed out a ceremony Feb. 24.