‘Avatar’ and ‘Hurt Locker’ Lead the Oscar Field - Carpetbagger Blog - NYTimes.com

‘Avatar’ and ‘Hurt Locker’ Lead the Oscar Field

By MICHAEL CIEPLY

WETA/20th Century Fox Sam Worthington plays Jake in James Cameron’s “Avatar.”

Update | 9:41 a.m. “Avatar” and “The Hurt Locker” narrowly led the Oscar nominees, with nine nominations each, including best picture and best director, as the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences scattered its honors among an unusually wide field of contenders on Tuesday.