There were few turn-ups when the nominations for 2011 Academy Awards were announced in Los Angeles today.
As expected, The King's Speech, Tom Hooper's study of King George VI's struggles with a speech impediment, headed the chart with 12 nominations.
True Grit, the Coen brothers' remake of a much-loved John Wayne western from 1969, came in second place with 10. The film, which has been a surprise box-office hit in the US, did not receive a single nomination at the recent Golden Globes.
David Fincher's The Social Network, the story of Facebook, which has taken most of the best film prizes during the increasingly busy awards season, only managed eight nominations, but still retains its position as favourite for the best picture prize.
Ireland continued its impressive run of form in the shorts categories. Michael Creagh's The Crush, a first-class comedy concerning a schoolboy's infatuation with his teacher, was one of the five nominees in the best live-action short competition.
This follows recent nominations for such domestic shorts as Six Shooter, The Door, Granny O'Grimm's Sleeping Beauty and Fifty Percent Grey.
When the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences increased the number of best picture finalists from five to 10 last year, it was supposed to trigger a few surprises on nomination day. As things have worked out, Oscar watchers had all 10 eventual nominees pencilled in for months.
Winter's Bone, an excellent gritty thriller set in the Ozarks, took the spot informally reserved for an independent release. The inclusion of Christopher Nolan's Inception, a hugely complex metaphysical thriller, ensured that a live-action blockbuster was in the running. Pixar Animation, long Oscar favourites, made it into the race with Toy Story 3, the most financially successful release of 2010.
However, it is reasonable to assume that the eventual winner will come from the list of five pictures that secured a nomination for best director: True Grit, The Social Network, The King's Speech, David O Russell's boxing drama The Fighter and Darren Aronofsky's powerful ballet picture Black Swan.
Colin Firth will take some beating in the competition for best actor. Fellow nominees such as James Franco, impressive as a trapped climber in Danny Boyle's 127 Hours, and Jesse Eisenberg, introverted as Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in The Social Network, will have to go some to catch up with the admired English actor.
Film enthusiasts searching for eccentricities should look towards the best supporting actress category. Hailee Steinfeld's performance in True Grit has been much admired and certainly deserves a mention.
The Academy Awards will be announced at the Kodak Theatre in Los Angeles on Sunday, February 27th.
