BEVERLY HILLS, Feb 12: Epic fantasy “The Lord of the Rings” led this year’s Oscar nominations on Tuesday by winning 13 nods, including best picture, the seventh film in the history of the awards to do so.

The other frontrunners for the nominations, psychological drama “A Beautiful Mind” and Paris-based song and dance extravaganza “Moulin Rouge” came in next with eight nominations each, including best films and best actors.

Also showing heavily in the race for Hollywood’s most coveted awards, to be bestowed here on March 24, were satirical 1930s murder mystery “Gosford Park” which came in with seven nods and family drama “In the Bedroom” with five.

The pre-dawn ceremony went off here without a hitch, endings weeks of behind the scenes manoeuvring, studio lobbying and nail biting as Tinseltown’s frenzied awards season moved into its final straight.

Australians Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman were nominated in the best actor and actress categories for their respective performances as a schizophrenic maths genius in “Mind” and as a Paris courtesan in “Moulin Rouge”.

The nomination was Crowe’s third consecutive Oscar nod and puts him in the running for the rare honor of winning two back-to-back Oscars in March.

Also in the best actor category were former Hollywood bad boy Sean Penn for “I am Sam” and Will Smith in the role of Mohammad Ali in “Ali”, Tom Wilkinson for in “In the Bedroom”, Denzel Washington for his role as a crooked cop in “Training Day”.

Running for best actress against Kidman were Sissy Spacek for her portrayal of a distraught housewife in “In the Bedroom”, Halle Berry for the southern US drama “Monster’s Ball,” Judi Dench for her role as novelist Iris Murdoch in “Iris” and US actress Renee Zellweger for “Bridget Jones’ Diary.”

Former child star Ron Howard won his first Oscar nomination as best director for “A Beautiful Mind,” along with Ridley Scott for “Black Hawk Down,” Robert Altman for “Gosford Park”, Peter Jackson for “Lord of the Rings” and David Lynch for his twisted drama “Mulholland Drive.”

Among the best foreign language film nominees, France’s subtle comedy “Amelie,” did particularly well, winning a total of five nominations.

Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, it picked up best sound, art direction, cinematography, and original screenplay.

Also vying for best foreign language picture were India’s tale of the trials of locals under British colonial rule “Lagaan”, Bosnia’s dark war comedy “No Man’s Land”, Norway’s “Elling” and Argentina’s “Son of The Bride.

But is was “Lord of the Rings,” “A Beautiful Mind,” old-style musical revival “Moulin Rouge” and “In the Bedroom” that had been the favorites in the race for the sacred Academy Award nominations, and they did not disappoint.

“Rings,” the first of Jackson’s 270 million-dollar trilogy of films, won nominations for best director, best supporting actor for McKellen’s characterization of the wizard Gandalf and best cinematography.

It also got nods for best costume design, best director, best film editing, best make-up, best original score, original song, sound, visual effects and adapted screenplay.

Only seven films have won as many Oscar nominations in the awards 74-year history while only two have managed 14, including 1997’s blockbuster “Titanic” and 1950’s “All about Eve.”

“Mind” also won nods for Jennifer Connelly as best supporting actress for her role as mathematician John Nash’s wife, best director, original score, adapted screenplay, make-up and film editing.

“Moulin Rouge” picked up nominations for best art direction, cinematography, costume design, editing, make-up as well as best picture, actress and sound.

But, surprisingly, it missed out on a best director nod for Australian Baz Luhrmann who won a Golden Globe last month.

“Gosford Park,” which had a mixed reception from critics and audiences was the dark horse in the race for the nominations but performed extremely well, winning nods for best picture, director, two best supporting actress nods for Britons Maggie Smith and Helen Mirren, best screenplay, costume and art direction.

Somali-based combat flick “Black Hawk Down” was an outside runner, picking up four nominations including Scott’s best director nod, best sound, cinematography and film editing. —AFP