I always love when a comedic performance gets some recognition and while the film was excluded from the list of NINE Best Picture nominees, Kristen Wiig scored a nod for her brilliant screenplay with Annie Mumolo. Meanwhile, if that trash Diablo Cody can win for Juno, Wiig might want to ready her acceptance speech.

Hugo leads the pack with 11 nominations, including Best Director for Martin Scorsese – his seventh career Best Director nom and ninth overall — and Best Picture. It will compete against The Artist – a close second with 10 nominations — and out of seemingly nowhere, Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close, which has garnered mixed reviews and has been pretty much absent during awards season. But, c’mon, it’s a 9/11 movie, who’s really surprised?

Other Best Picture contenders include Steven Spielberg’s critically-mixed War Horse, Terrence Malick‘s The Tree of Life — which won the Palme d’Or at Cannes a while back –, The Help, Moneyball, The Descendants and Woody Allen‘s Midnight in Paris.

Allen, it should be noted, snatched his 22nd and 23rd Oscar nods. Take notes, kids.

Also racking up an ungodly amount of Oscar gold this year is (unsurprisingly) Meryl Streep, who scored her 17th Academy Award nomination for her role in The Iron Lady. She will face off against Michelle Williams, Viola Davis, frequent nemesis Glenn Close and surprise nominee Rooney Mara for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Tilda Swinton was once again robbed of a nomination — this time for We Need to Talk About Kevin.

The Best Actor category has BFFs George Clooney and Brad Pitt going head-to-head, while relative unknown Demián Bichir snuck in for the little-seen indie film, A Better Life. The Artist‘s Jean Dujardin, fresh off his Golden Globe win, is also nominated and after decades of generally shutting shit down, Gary Oldman scored his first Oscar nomination for the British film, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.

Check out the full list of nominees below:

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

LEAD ACTOR
Demián Bichir – A Better Life
George Clooney – The Descendants
Jean Dujardin – The Artist
Gary Oldman – Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Brad Pitt – Moneyball

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

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

SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh – My Week with Marilyn
Jonah Hill – Moneyball
Nick Nolte – Warrior
Christopher Plummer –  Beginners
Max von Sydow – Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close

SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Bérénice Bejo – The Artist
Jessica Chastain – The Help
Melissa McCarthy – Bridesmaids
Janet McTeer – Albert Nobbs
Octavia Spencer – The Help

WRITING (ADAPTED SCREENPLAY)
The Descendants – Alexander Payne & Nat Faxon and Jim Rash
Hugo – John Logan
The Ides of March - George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon
Moneyball – Steven Zaillian & Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy –  Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

WRITING (ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY)
The Artist – Michel Hazanavicius
Bridesmaids – Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig
Margin Call – J.C. Chandor
Midnight in Paris – Woody Allen
A Separation – Asghar Farhadi

ANIMATED FEATURE FILM
A Cat in Paris
Chico & Rita
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
Bullhead, Belgium
Footnote, Israel
In Darkness, Poland
Monsieur Lazhar, Canada
A Separation, Iran

DOCUMENTARY (FEATURE)
Hell and Back Again
If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front
Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Pina
Undefeated

DOCUMENTARY (SHORT SUBJECT)
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

SHORT FILM (ANIMATED)
Dimanche/Sunday
The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore
La Luna
A Morning Stroll
Wild Life

SHORT FILM (LIVE ACTION)
Pentecost
Raju
The Shore
Time Freak
Tuba Atlantic

ART DIRECTION
The Artist
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
War Horse

CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
The Tree of Life
War Horse

COSTUME DESIGN
Anonymous
The Artist
Hugo
Jane Eyre
W.E.

FILM EDITING
The Artist
The Descendants
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball

MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SCORE)
The Adventures of Tintin
The Artist
Hugo
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
War Horse

MUSIC (ORIGINAL SONG)
“Man or Muppet” from The Muppets
“Real in Rio” from Rio

SOUND EDITING
Drive
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

SOUND MIXING
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Hugo
Moneyball
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
War Horse

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

Link Love: LA Times – The Envelope

The bride doll above wears a replica of Grace’s iconic wedding dress worn when she married Prince Rainier III. Available now is the To Catch a Thief doll, who is wearing a blue chiffon gown reminiscent of a dress worn in Alfred Hitchcock‘s 1955 film. And coming in October is the Romance doll, wearing a floral, full-skirted black dress, replicating what the Princess first wore upon meeting her future husband Prince Rainier III at Cannes Film Festival in 1955.

You can shop and see the collection on barbiecollector.com. A portion of the proceeds will go towards the Princess Grace Foundation, which helps raise money for emerging dancers, actors and actresses through apprenticeships, scholarships and fellowships.

LINK LOVE: Vogue UK

Maintaining a zen-like calm amidst a flurry of phone calls, text messages and BBMs, I was lucky enough to sit down with Unik and he was lucky enough to find time to eat. Turning 40 this Sunday, Unik revealed to me that among the things he’s learned is that with getting older, there’s no need to stress. “It doesn’t help anything.”

How he maintains that calm is a wonder, however. A highly in-demand promoter, Unik has worked for brands like Nike, Diesel, La Perla, Valentino, and Microsoft, while organizing events for the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals as well as New York Fashion Week. But the subject closest to his heart is his home country of Haiti.

Born and raised in Port-au-Prince, Unik settled in America permanently in 1990 and immediately got to work. He parlayed his love of partying into a successful career and uses his high-profile contacts to help out his native land. For his 35th birthday, instead of gifts, he asked his friends to donate to any foundation that helped the children of his country. After raising $15,000, he decided to keep the tradition growing and the following year Edeyo was born.

Tonight, Unik once again gathers his celebrity pals to raise money for the children of Haiti and bring light to their cause. Naomi Campbell and her boyfriend Vladimir Doronin donated their custom Lotus for the event’s auction, which also includes two trips to the Caribbean. But when I asked Unik what the night’s  biggest surprise would be, he responded in his Unik Ernest manner: “Raising $100,000.”

Here’s hoping he gets his birthday wish.

Uma’s white lace Dolce & Gabbana dress demonstrates just why white is a go-to look for this summer – it’s fun, refreshing and easy to dress down or class-up with a good pair of shoes. White was a trend in Thurman’s picks for the red carpet throughout Cannes, and included this white Chanel she wore to the Pirates of the Caribbean premiere.

For the opening ceremony and the screening of Woody Allen’s Midnight in Paris, Uma wore a knockout white, feathered Versace gown that had jaws dropping left and right. She knew it too, because she offered up some absolutely charming quotables to the The Daily Mail UK , saying, “I feel so good wearing the dress, I hope I get a chance to dance… It’s a dress that moves well when you dance. I was doing a quiet little dance all by myself on the carpet just now.” We are right there with you!

We love how Uma works with her height to pair adorable flats with long dresses, which is a more comfortable alternative to tall heels and is very on-trend for summer. Uma commented on her height and dressing for Cannes, mentioning, “I had to have it made because you know how it is for us tall girls. It’s impossible to find anything in a store.”

Another notable fashionista that left us dancing for joy was Kirsten Dunst, who emerged from recent acting (and everything else of note) obscurity to not only take home the award for Best Actress for her role in the movie Melancholia, but also secure herself a spot on more than a few Cannes best dressed lists.

Link Love:

www.celebrity-gossip.net

http://www.cbsnews.com/

As these are only previews, I’ll reserve my total and complete judgement for later. Though I have to say I’m not impressed. I mean, we’re talking three superstars here and a photobooth has been done by everyone and their mother.

I could, however, end up loving that shot of Freja with her back to the camera in that lace number, probably because it has Carine written all over it.

Provocative, sexy, but still chic: The Carine Rotifeld Story.  [Fashionologie]

Brooke will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 3

Appropriateness: 4

Trendiness: 3

Styling: 3

Shoes: 4

Hair: 5

Makeup: 3

Pose: 2

Confidence: 3

Brooke just does not do it for me, and this look is not on her side. The bottom is too tight, and the dress as a whole is too young for her. She looks stiff and completely confused, like she doesn’t know where the hell she is. Brooke needs to get her act together before people completely forget she was ever a model at all.

Kirsten will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 4

Appropriateness: 5

Trendiness: 5

Styling: 4

Hair: 3

Makeup: 4

Pose: 4

Confidence: 4

A lot of people were saying this Rodarte dress was to busy for Cannes, but I actually think it’s perfect for the occasion. Kirsten looks lovely in this look, as this style would be very unflattering to a lot of body types. I wish the hair was different and she didn’t look so stiff because everything else is truly lovely.

Bar will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 4

Appropriateness: 5

Trendiness: 4

Styling: 5

Hair: 4

Makeup: 5

Pose: 5

Confidence: 5

Bar is such a gorgeous girl, and this Cavalli dress is perfect on her. The color and cut are divine against her skin tone. It seems a little long in the front, but it’s a small detail compared to how beautiful the look is as a whole.

Angelina will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 5

Trendiness: 4

Styling: 4

Shoes: 4

Hair: 4

Makeup: 5

Pose: 4

Confidence: 5

Okay, don’t panic, Angelina gets an A for the way she looks in this dress, 100 percent. But, I am a little thrown off by the shoes and hair. I think a lighter shoe would have worked better, and I am really wishing for bigger, more dramatic hair. Absolutely not opposed to her wearing it down with this dress, but it could have a little more volume to balance out her skirt.

Mia will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 4

Trendiness: 2

Styling: 3

Hair: 5

Makeup: 2

Pose: 2

Confidence: 4

I am not feeling Mia’s look at all. Everything is too neutral for it to work, as the dress matches her skin, matches her makeup matches her hair. Plus, this Valentino dress looks like it belonged to someone’s nana in the 1860s. Mia needs to put some color in her life and act her age while she can.

Sonam will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 4

Trendiness: 5

Styling: 4

Hair: 5

Makeup: 3

Pose: 5

Confidence: 5

This Gaultier couture gown is absolutely stunning, and I’m so glad Sonam did it justice. She wears it well and looks extremely confident on the red carpet. Her eye makeup is way too heavy and a bit juvenile, but that didn’t stop her from acing the look.

Tilda will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 5

Trendiness: 5

Styling: 5

Shoes: 4

Hair: 4

Makeup: 3

Pose: 5

Confidence: 5

Tilda has been looking great during this year’s Cannes Festival, and this Haider Ackermann number tops it off. I love that she’s working the pocket on this super chic, two-piece look. Tilda always dresses super modern and just doesn’t give a shit, which comes off scary to some. But I love that she stays true to herself, and this look is one of her best yet.

Bianca will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 4

Trendiness: 3

Styling: 4

Hair: 4

Makeup: 4

Pose: 5

Confidence: 5

Bianca is stunning in this Alberta Ferretti gown, even though I think she looks more wedding ready than red carpet. The emerald jewelry is to die for, but I would have put her in two pieces rather than three. Women should definitely take a few notes from Bianca when wanting to dress elegant – she is a vision of poise and beauty.

Rachel will be rated on the below categories, five being the highest and 1 being the lowest.

Fit: 5

Appropriateness: 5

Trendiness: 5

Styling: 3

Shoes: 4

Hair: 3

Makeup: 5

Pose: 4

Confidence: 5

I am thrilled that Rachel chose this Marchesa dress from the fall 2011 line – it was one of my favorites from the collection. She looks gorgeous, but I really wish her hair would have been up. I think that is such a huge factor in letting the statement factor of this dress shine through.

I’d always thought that Resort collections were sort of the bastard stepchildren of design houses, taking backseat to Spring and Fall’s Ready-To-Wear shows, but Cruise is actually Chanel’s biggest and most important delivery of the year.

Last year’s Saint-Tropez line was practically sold out by January while the resort season is growing strongly by double digits. So jetting off to the South of France is really just a smart and very necessary business move and not at all an excuse to sun on the French Riviera.

Ah, a girl’s work is never done, am I right, Karl? [WWD]

- Joining La Jolie on the Do-Good Express is great-caped crusader André Leon Talley who describes his efforts thusly: “I do make trips to the Dumpster. And I am proud of that because it’s far from my house. But I make a special effort to go to the Dumpster and put the cardboard with the cardboard, and plastic with the plastics.” Mother Teresa who? [The Cut]

- Supermodels just can’t keep it in their pants these days. And by it I mean their nuptials. Anja Rubik will be the next catwalker to jump the broom and, in typical model fashion, will wear Pucci when she marries longtime boyfriend Sasha Knezevic in July. [Fashionologie]

- The Black Eyed Peas have finally realized what I’ve been saying for years: “My Humps” is a god awful song. [The Boombox]

- Libyan president and noted fashion plate Muammar Gadaffi apparently wants his own exhibit at the Met’s Costume Institute. Muammar Gaddafi: Savage Beauty? [Styleite]

- Dior will debut a few dresses from its upcoming couture and/or Spring 2012 collections at the Cannes Film Festival when French actress Melanie Laurent wears the iconic label to the fest’s opening and closing ceremonies. [Elle]

Cate Blanchett was named Best Dressed for her vintage Christian Lacroix from the SK-II’s “Clear for Life” event; followed by Zoe Saldana in her controversial Givenchy Haute Couture gown from this year’s Oscars; and relative unknown Fan Bing Bing in Dragon Robe by Laurence Hsu that she wore at the Robin Hood Cannes Film Festival premiere rounds out the top 3.

Sarah Jessica Parker got especial kudos for her tireless efforts promoting that giant, turbaned flop Sex and the City 2: The Menopause Strikes Back and earned the ungainly title of “Promotional Tour Star” of the year.

And my future BFF, Leighton Meester was honored for apparently getting her shit together with the “Stella’s Got Her Groove Back”…award, I guess. The RCFA also named Peter Dundas for Emilio Pucci as the “Designer of the Year” and Gucci Première as “Couturier of the Year.”

Overall, interesting choices, but this is the red carpet after all where it’s not just about the clothes, but the celebrity who’s wearing them, and where high fashion isn’t always translated to great effect. As matter of course, there are only a handful of actresses who can truly pull off haute couture, and Cate Blanchett is at the forefront.

Other notables include the always stunning Tilda Swinton, the statuesque Nicole Kidman and former model Charlize Theron. SJP is also up there because she’s got the balls to pull off anything.

Even a bird on her head.

LINK LOVE: Red Carpet Fashion Awards

The second dress that has hit the red carpet from Gucci‘s hush hush Premiere collection has been bestowed upon Naomi Watts. The Aussie looks amazing in this gown and we’re holding our breathe to see what else premiere’s from Premiere since seeing the amazing dress Salma Hayek rocked a few days ago.

(Photo by Tony Barson/WireImage)

Lily Cole already has two films in the pipeline, Phantasmagoria: The Visions of Lewis Carroll, directed by Marilyn Manson, and The Imaginarium Of Dr Parnassus, directed by Terry Gilliam (pictured, above). The flick also features the late Heath Ledger, Johnny Depp, Jude Law and Colin Firth, and is due to première at Cannes Film Festival later this year.

LINKAGE: catwalk queen

Natalie Portman goes glam wearing Givenchy in Cannes. Gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous! Only wish that she, out of all people, would wear a really great indie designer dress, being an indie designer herself!