HispanicBusiness

"Lincoln," director Steven Spielberg's drama about the last months of the 16th American president's life, leads the field with 12 Oscar nominations.

Writer-actor-director Seth MacFarlane and actress Emma Stone read the names of the nominees in Beverly Hills, Calif., Thursday morning.

Ang Lee's screen adaptation of the Indian fable "Life of Pi" earned 11 Oscar nods.

Competing with "Lincoln" and "Life of Pi" for the Best Picture title are "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Les Miserables," "Amour," "Django Unchained" and "Argo."

In the running for Best Actor are Daniel Day-Lewis for "Lincoln," Hugh Jackman for "Les Miserables," Denzel Washington for "Flight," Bradley Cooper for "Silver Linings Playbook" and Joaquin Phoenix for "The Master."

Shortlisted for Best Actress are Naomi Watts for "The Impossible," Jessica Chastain for "Zero Dark Thirty," Jennifer Lawrence for "Silver Linings Playbook," Emmanuelle Riva for "Amour" and Quvenzhane Wallis for "Beasts of the Southern Wild." Riva at 85 is the oldest Oscar nominee and Wallis at 9 is the youngest.

Competing in the Best Supporting Actor race are Christoph Waltz from "Django Unchained," Philip Seymour Hoffman from "The Master," Robert De Niro from "Silver Linings Playbook," Alan Arkin from "Argo" and Tommy Lee Jones from "Lincoln." All five actors in this category are previous Oscar winners.

The nominees for Best Supporting Actress are Sally Field for "Lincoln," Anne Hathaway for "Les Miserables," Jacki Weaver for "Silver Linings Playbook," Helen Hunt for "The Sessions" and

Amy Adams for "The Master."

Nominated for the Best Director prize are David O. Russell for "Silver Linings Playbook," Ang Lee for "Life of Pi," Steven Spielberg for "Lincoln," Michael Haneke for "Amour" and Benh Zeitlin for "Beasts of the Southern Wild."

Mentioned for Best Animated Film are "Frankenweenie," "Wreck-it Ralph," "Pirates! Band of Misfits," "ParaNorman" and "Brave."

Nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture are "Amour," "No," "War Witch," "A Royal Affair" and "Kontiki."

MacFarlane will serve as host when the Oscars are handed out a ceremony Feb. 24.