They're playing it again, Sam, in Hollywood, but, boy, has the landscape changed since "Casablanca" took the top prize in March 1944 at Grauman's Chinese Theater. That was the last time the Academy Awards had 10 best picture nominees, as they do this year.

The movies scoring the most Oscar nominations -- nine each -- were directed by former spouses, "The Hurt Locker" helmer Kathryn Bigelow and "Avatar" visionary James Cameron. (She was wife No. 3 of five.)

Ms. Bigelow is just the fourth female director to be nominated, after Sofia Coppola, Jane Campion and Lina Wertmuller, and the first to have a real shot at winning for her gutsy boots-on-the-ground view of life in 2004 Baghdad.

As with the other pioneers, Ms. Bigelow is no romcom specialist, with movies such as the submarine thriller "K-19: The Widowmaker" and action picture "Point Break" to her credit.

Hot on the heels of the one-time couple is Quentin Tarantino, whose World War II revenge fantasy "Inglourious Basterds" took eight nominations, while "Precious" and "Up in the Air" tied with six each.

Lee Daniels, who made "Precious," became only the second black filmmaker nominated for best director, after John Singleton for 1991's "Boyz N the Hood." (To save you the search, Spike Lee's nominations were for documentary and writing.)

"After 82 years, it's the first film nominated for best picture directed by an African-American," Mr. Daniels told the Associated Press. "Isn't that great? It's so exciting."

In June, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced it was doubling the number of best picture nominees. That would make room for indie films and critics' favorites along with popcorn movies and blockbusters that power the box office.

It paid off with these 10 picks: "Avatar," "The Blind Side," "District 9, "An Education," "The Hurt Locker," "Inglourious Basterds," "Precious," "A Serious Man," "Up," and "Up in the Air."

The inclusion of Pixar's "Up" and "The Blind Side," an inspirational word-of-mouth hit driven by Sandra Bullock's powerhouse performance, means TV viewers may have a horse (or two) in this year's race. Had the rules been changed last year, it's likely "The Dark Knight" would have been nominated.

If you're playing cinematic catch up: "District 9" is an inventive sci-fi thriller; "An Education" a coming-of-age tale set in 1960s England; "Precious" the story of an overweight, illiterate, pregnant girl who finds hope where there seems to be none; "A Serious Man" a darkly humorous Coen brothers film about a physics professor under siege; and "Up in the Air" a smart look at traveling unfettered and finding ballast in life.

Although anything can happen with 10 nominees, "Avatar" and "The Hurt Locker" are the front-runners along with Jeff Bridges as a broken-down country singer in "Crazy Heart," Mo'Nique as a poisonous mother in "Precious" and Christoph Waltz as an energetically ruthless Nazi in "Inglourious Basterds."

It's a two-woman race for lead actress, with Ms. Bullock looking for her first statuette and Meryl Streep her third and first since "Sophie's Choice" and "Kramer vs. Kramer."

Actors Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin will host the 82nd Academy Awards from Hollywood's Kodak Theatre on March 7, slightly later than usual because of the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. The telecast will air on ABC.

Just as Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow, Oscar saw his in the glare of pre-dawn TV lights, guaranteeing five more weeks of campaigning. Some snapshots of the race for the gold:

Meryl mania: Ms. Streep, nominated for channeling Julia Child in "Julie & Julia," extended her own record with 16 nominations, four more than Katharine Hepburn and Jack Nicholson, tied with a dozen each.

Up, up and away: "Up," the Pixar delight about an airborne house, talking dogs and the true meaning of adventure, became the second fully animated feature nominated for best picture. "Beauty and the Beast," the first, lost to "The Silence of the Lambs."

Ben Johnson, Robert De Niro, F. Murray Abraham and Benicio Del Toro: Those are the actors who won Oscars when Mr. Bridges was nominated for, respectively, "The Last Picture Show," "Thunderbolt and Lightfoot," "Starman" and "The Contender." This should be his year for "Crazy Heart."

Singing her song: When Scott Cooper, director of "Crazy Heart," was in town last week, he lamented the lack of awards attention for Maggie Gyllenhaal. No worries now, because she was nominated for supporting actress, perhaps nudging aside Julianne Moore of "A Single Man."

Newbies: This may be old hat to Ms. Streep, but 12 of the acting nominees are first-timers. Gabourey Sidibe, who plays the title role in "Precious," is a newcomer who nearly skipped a casting call to attend college class.

Ms. Streep and Penelope Cruz, a winner last year for "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" and here a supporting actress nominee for "Nine," are the only nominees from the 81st Academy Awards to return.

Pittsburgh ties: Viggo Mortensen and young Kodi Smit-McPhee gave performances worthy of Oscar nominations in "The Road" but were left out in the post-apocalyptic cold.

In another year, former Pittsburgher Rob Marshall and "Nine" also might have been nominated. The musical, about a director in midlife and creative crisis, earned four nominations, for Cruz, art direction, costume design and original song, "Take It All."

Composer Marvin Hamlisch, who set the tone for "The Informant!" with his bouncy score, inexplicably was snubbed, too.

That leaves "The Hurt Locker" star Brian Geraghty, who lived in Pittsburgh from roughly age 3 to 7 and attended North Allegheny's Espe Elementary School, to carry the flag. His father was a vice president of marketing for Heinz at the time.

Also missing from the party: Emily Blunt from "The Young Victoria," Abbie Cornish from "Bright Star," Michael Stuhlbarg from "A Serious Man," Tobey Maguire from "Brothers" and Matt Damon from "The Informant!" although he won a supporting nod for "Invictus."

What, no Clint? Oscar favorite Clint Eastwood is absent from the directing and best picture races, but his "Invictus" has two more acting nominations -- for Damon and lead Morgan Freeman -- than "Avatar." I'm just saying.

Early birds need not apply: Of the best picture nominees, "Up" was the first to be released, on May 29, while "Avatar" slid in on Dec. 18.

Foreign films: If you want to gauge the nominated foreign films, "Ajami" will screen March 20 at 9 p.m. at the SouthSide Works Cinema as part of the Pittsburgh Jewish Israeli Film Festival. (Tickets on sale Feb. 11.)

Pittsburgh Filmmakers will open "The White Ribbon" Feb. 26 at the Regent Square Theater and tentatively has "Un Prophete" slotted for March 26, also at the Regent Square Theater.

"The White Ribbon" is the ninth predominantly black-and-white film to be nominated for cinematography since 1967, when a separate category for black-and-white cinematography was eliminated.

MIA: "The Last Station," starring Helen Mirren and Christopher Plummer. No word on when and where it will play in Pittsburgh.

First-timer Bullock: "Who would have thought after all these years that I would be experiencing this moment now?" she said in a statement released by Warner Bros. "I certainly didn't.

"But I am honored beyond words to experience this journey with John Lee Hancock and Gil Netter, and to continue this astounding ride with the extraordinary women I share this category with. My time with them these past few months has meant more than anything to me." Mr. Hancock is the movie's director-writer while Mr. Netter is a producer.

Lots of pain and gain: In an interview with the Post-Gazette during the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival (yes, it took that long for the movie to arrive here and join the awards circuit), "Hurt Locker" actor Jeremy Renner talked about scenes shot over a week in the scorching Jordanian desert:

"That was a tough one, physically. There was no shade for 18 hours. That was no makeup, that was all real. Real flies, real sweat, real sand, real pain."

Been there, done that: Television viewers won't be treated to the awarding of Honorary Oscars and the Irving J. Thalberg Memorial Award. They were handed out in mid-November at a black-tie dinner at the Hollywood & Highland Center, also home of the Kodak Theatre where the Oscars will be handed out.

What a week: The nominations came as "Avatar" is poised to set a domestic box-office record. The sci-fi fantasy has made more than $2 billion -- yes, "b" as in the blue aliens who factor into the story -- around the world and soon will pass "Titanic" on the all-time domestic list.

"Avatar" made 3-D a must-see and lured newcomers into IMAX auditoriums, all the while picking up more money for the film frills.

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