'Return of the King' leads Oscar race with 11 nominations

BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King," the final chapter in Peter Jackson's majestic fantasy trilogy, led the Academy Awards race Tuesday with 11 nominations, including best picture and director.

The Napoleonic era naval adventure "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World" was right behind with 10 nominations, among them best picture and director.

Bill Murray, Diane Keaton, Sean Penn and Charlize Theron — all Golden Globe winners Sunday — were among the leading acting nominees. The most notable snub came for the Civil War saga "Cold Mountain," which failed to get nominations for best picture, director Anthony Minghella or lead actress Nicole Kidman.

Other best-picture nominees for the 76th annual Oscars included "Lost in Translation," about two lonely Americans in Tokyo; the brooding murder thriller "Mystic River"; and the horse-racing drama "Seabiscuit."

Along with best picture and director, the nominations for "Return of the King" included original score and song, visual effects, film editing and adapted screenplay for the script based on J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy classic.

"Return of the King" led last weekend's Golden Globes with four wins, including best dramatic picture and director, and its broad critical and fan support give the film the inside track at the Oscars.

Nominees for lead actress included a surprise pick, Keisha Castle-Hughes as a New Zealand girl who bucks tradition to become leader of her Maori tribe in "Whale Rider." At 13, she's the youngest person ever to be nominated for lead actress, the Academy said. The film's distributor had been pushing her in the supporting category.

The youngest nominee ever was 8-year-old Justin Henry as supporting actor for 1979's "Kramer vs. Kramer." At 10, supporting-actress winner Tatum O'Neal was the youngest Oscar recipient.

Besides Jackson and "Master and Commander" director Peter Weir, the directing nominees included Sofia Coppola for "Lost in Translation," only the third woman ever nominated for best director. The previous nominees were Lina Wertmuller for 1976's "Seven Beauties" and Jane Campion for 1993's "The Piano." Both lost.

Coppola, the daughter of Francis Ford Coppola, also earned an original-screenplay nomination for "Lost in Translation."

The other directing nominees: Clint Eastwood for "Mystic River" and a surprise choice, Fernando Meirelles for the Brazilian film "City of God."