And the nominees for the 82nd Academy Awards are...

In a true battle of the exes, James Cameron and Kathryn Bigelow will square off on the biggest night in Hollywood as Avatar and The Hurt Locker lead the way at the 82nd Academy Awards. The former spouses are up against Quentin Tarantino (Inglourious Basterds), Jason Reitman (Up in the Air) and Lee Daniels (Precious) for Best Director and their films lead the way with nine nominations each.

Avatar and The Hurt Locker will also compete with eight others for the coveted Best Picture Oscar - The Blind Side, District 9, An Education, Inglourious Basterds, Precious, A Serious Man, Up (which also looks to extend Pixar's dominance in the Animated Feature category), and Up in the Air.

Further nominations as follows...

Actor in a Leading Role
Jeff Bridges (Crazy Heart)
George Clooney (Up in the Air)
Colin Firth (A Single Man)
Morgan Freeman (Invictus)
Jeremy Renner (The Hurt Locker)

Actress in a Leading Role
Sandra Bullock (The Blind Side)
Helen Mirren (The Last Station)
Carey Mulligan (An Education)
Gabourey Sidibe (Precious)
Meryl Streep (Julie & Julia)

Actor in a Supporting Role
Matt Damon (Invictus)
Woody Harrelson (The Messenger)
Christopher Plummer (The Last Station)
Stanley Tucci (The Lovely Bones)
Christoph Waltz (Inglourious Basterds)

Actress in a Supporting Role
Penélope Cruz (Nine)
Vera Farmiga (Up in the Air)
Maggie Gyllenhaal (Crazy Heart)
Anna Kendrick (Up in the Air)
Mo’Nique (Precious)

Animated Feature Film
Coraline
Fantastic Mr. Fox
The Princess and the Frog
The Secret of Kells
Up

Foreign Language Film
Ajami (Israel)
El Secreto de Sus Ojos (Argentina)
The Milk of Sorrow (Peru)
A Prophet (France)
The White Ribbon (Germany)

Adapted Screenplay
District 9
An Education
In the Loop
Precious
Up in the Air

Original Screenplay
The Hurt Locker
Inglourious Basterds
The Messenger
A Serious Man
Up

The winners will be announced with much fanfare on Sunday 7th March 2010 at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre. View the full list of nominations here.

Be sure to check out Trevor Hogg's in depth profiles on Best Picture nominees James Cameron, Kathryn Bigelow and Jason Reitman, in addition to Up creators Pixar Animation Studios.