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Awards

Love those Canadian nominees!!

Canadian Jason Reitman gets three Oscar nominations
Two Canadians will face off in the battle for Best Picture and Best Director at the March 7th Academy Awards.
Montrealís Jason Reitman has been nominated for three Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director for Up in the Air. And Kapuskasing native James Cameron is up for Best Director and Best Picture as well for his 3-D epic, Avatar.
Toronto-born Christopher Plummer was nominated for his portrayal of Leo Tolstoy in The Last Station.
Reitman was also nominated, along with Sheldon Turner, for Best Adapted Screenplay.
The announcements were made at about 5:35 am PST Tuesday.
Adding to the strong Canadian contingent is writer/director Neil Blomkamp; the South African-born Vancouverite earned an adapted screenplay nod for District 9, which is also up for Best Picture.
There were few surprises among the major nominations ó Avatar and The Hurt Locker led with nine nominations each, including a face off between former husband-and-wife directors James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow.
In the acting races, Maggie Gyllenhaal was a surprise Best Supporting Actress nomination for Crazy Heart. As expected, Sandra Bullock was nominated for The Blind Side, which is also up for Best Picture. And the entire leading cast of Up in the Air ó George Clooney, Vera Farmiga and Anna Kendrick were also nominated.
Jeff Bridges garnered his fifth Oscar nod ó he has yet to win ó this time for playing a broken-down country singer in Crazy Heart.
Hurt Locker director Bigelow ó only the fourth woman to be nominated for a Best Director Oscar ó could make history if she takes home the golden statuette.
The expanded Best Picture list ó now 10 from the usual five ó left room for a few surprises among the expected nominations for James Cameronís Avatar, The Hurt Locker, Precious, Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire and Inglorious Basterds. Pixarís animation Up was nominated, along with alien drama District 9, The Blind Side and the Coen Brothersí A Serious Man.