While America ramps up for a Pats v. Giants Super Bowl, I, myself, am gearing up for this year’s Academy Awards! Woot woot – nerd alerrrrrttttt!

The 84th (!) nominations were released this morning. Take a look:

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

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

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

Best Actress:
Meryl Streep – The Iron Lady
Viola Davis – The Help
Michelle Williams – My Week With Marilyn
Glenn Close – Albert Nobbs
Rooney Mara – The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Best Supporting Actor:
Christopher Plummer – Beginners
Kenneth Branagh – My Week With Marilyn
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Max Von Sydow – Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Best Supporting Actress:
Berenice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help

Best Original Screenplay:
Michel Hazanavicius – The Artist
Kristen Wiig & Annie Mumolo – Bridesmaids
J.C. Chandor – Margin Call
Woody Allen – Midnight in Paris
Asghar Farhadi – A Separation

Best Adapted Screenplay:
Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash – The Descendants
John Logan – Hugo
Aaron Sorkin & Steven Zaillian – Moneyball
George Clooney – The Ides of March
Peter Straughan & Bridget O’Connor – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy

Best Animated Feature:
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

Best Foreign Language Film:
Bullhead (Belgium)
Monsieur Lazhar (Canada)
A Separation (Iran)
Footnote (Israel)
In Darkness (Poland)

Best Cinematography:
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

Best Documentary Feature:
Pina
Hell and Back Again
If A Tree Falls: The Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3
Undefeated

Best Documentary Short:
The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement
God Is the Bigger Elvis
Incident in New Baghdad
Saving Face
The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom

Best Animated Short:
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

Best Live-Action Short:
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

Best Visual Effects:
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Real Steel
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Transformers: Dark of the Moon

Best Art Direction:
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

Best Costume Design:
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

Best Makeup:
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
The Iron Lady

Best Filmediting:
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

Best Sound Mixing:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Moneyball
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Sound Editing:
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

Best Original Score:
John Williams – The Adventures of Tintin
Ludovic Bource – The Artist
Howard Shore – Hugo
Alberto Iglesias – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
John Williams – War Horse

Best Original Song:
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets
“Real in Rio” from Rio

I’m super excited about a few of these, in particular, Bret McKenzie’s Original Song nomination for The Muppets and Kristen Wiig / Annie Mumolo’s nod for the Bridesmaids screenplay. Fingers crossed for ’em!

The 84th Academy Awards will take place on Sunday, February 26th at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood with a live telecast airing on ABC starting at 7 p.m. (EST) / 4 p.m. (PST). The ceremony will be hosted by Billy Crystal. Party at my place. See you there.