Oscar nominees get kisses, hugs and whoops

OMISSIONS

And while Ang Lee already has an Oscar for "Brokeback Mountain," the "Life of Pi" director said he was overwhelmed by the wealth of nominations accorded his acclaimed shipwreck fable.

"I am deeply honored, and frankly a little overwhelmed, by all of the nominations that 'Life of Pi' has received this morning," he said in a statement shortly after the film received 11 Oscar nods, including one for best picture.

In the high-profile director's category, there were reactions to omissions as well, with "Silver Linings Playbook" nominated director David O. Russell telling Reuters, "I was especially surprised not to see Ben (Affleck) and Kathryn (Bigelow)," who respectively helmed top nominees "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty".

Eric Fellner, of Working Title Films, which was behind best picture contender "Les Miserables," called the Academy's choices "weird" after they failed to include director Tom Hooper.

"On a film like 'Les Mis' nothing happens without a director being engaged in every aspect of the film ... so I see it as Tom getting eight nominations" personally, he told Reuters TV.

Producer Harvey Weinstein, known for his aggressively effective but sometimes controversial Oscar campaigns, scored eight nominations for the all-star "Silver Linings Playbook" and another four for the more controversial "Django Unchained".

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Scenes from films nominated for Oscars