MAIN Arts & Culture Movies 2012 Oscar Awards

Mark your calendars for Sunday, February 26, 2012 when the 84th Academy Awards airs live from Hollywood beginning at 8:30PM ET on ABC.

This year, the full official roster of Oscar nominees was announced in the early morning hours of Tuesday, January 24, 2012.

Your host for the 2012 Oscars? Up until November, it was to be funny man, actor and comedian Eddie Murphy, who hopefully would have brought his trademark laugh to the proceedings.

However, following a heated controversy over the exit of his good friend and "Tower Heist" director Brett Ratner as producer of the show, Murphy announced that he, too, would be dropping out as host.

This left Oscar host contention up in the air until another name was announced. Alec Baldwin? Jimmy Fallon? Ellen? No. It's actor and comedian, Billy Crystal, who returns after nine times as Oscar host. At age 63, he will be the oldest solo host of the show since Bob Hope in 1978.

2011 Mashup: The Year in Movies

Oscar 2012 Fun Facts

Every year, the Oscars adds its share of movie trivia to the annals of film history. In 2012, Oscar fun facts include:

• Meryl Streep adds to her record of most Academy Award acting nominations. This is her 14th for Best actress and 17th nomination overall.

• With a win, "The Help" star Viola Davis will be only the second African-American woman to take home an award for Best actress. Halle Berry was the first in 2002 for "Monster's Ball."

• This is the first time ever that only TWO songs have managed to make the cut for Best Song. Why? The Academy's music division simply felt that no other songs warranted a nod this year.

• With a nomination for original screenplay (for "Bridesmaids"), Kristen Wiig is the only cast member of Saturday Night Live ever to receive an Oscar nod while still on the show.

• Journalists continue to puzzle over "The Artist", and the pronunication of the names of its major nominees. The most mysterious remains director Michel Hazanavicius (mee-shell ah-zahn-a-veece-ee-us) and more

2012 Oscar buzz

Heading into the fall and winter, most of the attention was focused on the holiday movie season and its bumper crop of possible contenders for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Actress.

Possible nominees generating buzz throughout the entire awards season included:

The Iron Lady - Who wins Best Actress? It's a probable shoe-in (again) for Meryl Streep with yet another uncanny portrayal, this time as former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

The Artist - The silent movie that has taken the 21st century by storm wasn't on very many Oscar prediction lists early on. However, it's emergence as a top contender at the Golden Globes and the Baftas (the British Oscars) has given it a major boost with Academy members.

The Descendants - The movie that asks the question: will George Clooney FINALLY get his Oscar?

Hugo - Martin Scorsese's homage to early film-making may earn him Best Director accolades.

The Help - Although panned by the critics for romanticizing its racial themes, powerful performances by actresses Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer has certainly not hurt.

A Separation - Cleaning up at the Critics Choice Awards and the Golden Globes, this Iranian made film - about a family torn between two generations - is a sure bet for Best Foreign Film winner.

More in Oscars:

2012 Oscar Pool Sheet | Oscar Party Ideas

More about the Oscars around the Web:

Below check out the complete list of 2012 nominees along with links to red carpet pictures, video clips, forum postings and discussions, along with related expert commentary on the movie industry's most coveted prize ...

Oscar.com - The official site - featuring the glitz, the glamour, and the movies, actors and actresses of the past, as well as Academy Award history and video clips, this year's Oscar fashion trends, with more news & features as Oscar night draws near.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences - A serious look behind the scenes at the Oscar's official governing body, with a searchable database of the award's history, the upcoming ceremony, the official poster available for purchase and the official press kit.

Awards Show Central - Updates and the latest news and press releases on the Oscars, Golden Globes and Screen Actors Guild awards along with a database of past winners plus current movie reviews with video clips, box office stats and lots more from RopeofSilicon.com.

The Oscar Guy - The self-appointed film critic extraordinaire with nominees, presenters, and predictions about this year's winners, plus a cache of both recent and archived reviews, Oscar history, discussion board.

LittleGoldenGuy.com - Get a college education in Academy trivia at this site, laid out with precision and chock full of interesting tidbits on Hollywood's top prize searchable by a criteria-driven database, or browseable by categories including actresses, actors, picture, director, and related resources.

2012 Oscar Nominees

also see -> BAFTA Awards | Razzie Awards | Sundance Film Festival

Tribeca Film Festival | Golden Globes | Critics Choice | SAG Awards