The Oscar’s

The paparazzi, the gowns, the almost-sincere acceptance speeches. Yes, the Oscars are back, and Joan Rivers along with them. The 84th Academy Awards promises to be the star-studded event it always is, with both George Clooney and Brad Pitt in attendance. Nominees fresh off the Golden Globes will fight for the hardware they didn’t take home then and smile politely when it goes to Meryl Streep, again. Make your predictions, and tune in to see how well you know the Academy.

The Oscars will air on ABC at 6 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 26.

Oscar Nominations:

Best Picture

 “The Artist” 

“The Descendants” 

“Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close” 

“The Help” 

“Hugo” 

“Midnight in Paris” 

“Moneyball” 

“The Tree of Life” 

“War Horse”

Actor in a leading role 

Demián Bichir in “A Better Life” 

George Clooney in “The Descendants” 

Jean Dujardin in “The Artist” 

Gary Oldman in “Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” 

Brad Pitt in “Moneyball”

Actress in a leading role  

Glenn Close in “Albert Nobbs” 

Viola Davis in “The Help” 

Rooney Mara in “The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo” 

Meryl Streep in “The Iron Lady” 

Michelle Williams in “My Week with Marilyn”

Directing 

“The Artist” Michel Hazanavicius 

“The Descendants” Alexander Payne 

“Hugo” Martin Scorsese 

“Midnight in Paris” Woody Allen 

“The Tree of Life” Terrence Malick

Writing:

Original Screenplay 

“The Artist” Written by Michel Hazanavicius 

“Bridesmaids” Written by Annie Mumolo & Kristen Wiig 

“Margin Call” Written by J.C. Chandor 

“Midnight in Paris” Written by Woody Allen 

“A Separation” Written by Asghar Farhadi

Adapted Screenplay

“The Descendants” Screenplay by Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash 

“Hugo” Screenplay by John Logan 

“The Ides of March” Screenplay by George Clooney & Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon 

“Moneyball” Screenplay by Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin. Story by Stan Chervin 

“Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy” Screenplay by Bridget O’Connor & Peter Straughan

The Grammy’s

The nominees for the 54th annual Grammys have been announced, and though Justin Bieber managed to scrape up one nomination the list of hopefuls still comes with some pleasant surprises. While awards-magnets Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars again hauled in multiple noms, Adele, Bon Iver and Skrillex seemed to be this year’s darlings, getting six, four and five nods, respectively. The Grammy Foundation also cemented electronic music’s status as mainstream by filling the “Best Dance Recording” category with, not Rihanna and Goldfrapp, but Deadmau5 and David Guetta/Avicii. Both Taylor Swift and Kanye West were nominated, and Lady Gaga will be in the same building as Nicki Minaj: This is one night of television you don’t want to miss.

The Grammy Awards for 2012 will air Feb. 12 on CBS at 7 p.m. Follow @TheGRAMMYs for more updates, as well as an exclusive Live Blog with The Badger Herald the night of the awards.

Grammy Nominations:

Record of the year

“Rolling in the Deep,” Adele 

“Holocene,” Bon Iver 

“Grenade,” Bruno Mars 

“The Cave,” Mumford & Sons 

“Firework,” Katy Perry

Album of the year 

21, Adele 

Wasting Light, Foo Fighters 

Born This Way, Lady Gaga 

Doo-Wops & Hooligans, Bruno Mars 

Loud, Rihanna

Song of the year 

“All of the Lights” (performed by Kanye West, Rihanna,Kid Cudi and Fergie) 

“The Cave” (performed by Mumford & Sons) 

“Grenade” (performed by Bruno Mars) 

“Holocene” (performed by Bon Iver) 

“Rolling in the Deep” (performed by Adele)

Best new artist 

The Band Perry 

Bon Iver 

J. Cole 

Nicki Minaj 

Skrillex

Producer (non-classical) 

Danger Mouse 

Paul Epworth 

The Smeezingtons 

Ryan Tedder 

Butch Vig