First Time Nominees at the 83rd Academy Awards

With the 83rd Academy Awards, there are quite a few first time nominees who are strong contenders for Oscar. 2011 finds a variety of award categories with first time nominations including, Best Film Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Director, Best Original Score, Best Screenplay, Best Supporting Actor and Actress, as well as Best Actor and Actress.

Best Film Editing
In the Award for Best Film Editing, the prolific Andrew Weisblum is nominated for his work on "Black Swan." This is Weisblum's first nomination, but he is no stranger to award winning films. He was a visual effects editor for "Chicago," which took Best Picture and was editor for "The Wrestler", which garnered Oscar nominations in the acting categories. Weisblum was also the Supervising Editor on Wes Anderson's "Fantastic Mr. Fox," which was nominated for Best Animated Feature.

Pamela Martin is another first time nominee for editing in "The Fighter," but worked on the Oscar nominated film "Little Miss Sunshine." Martin and Weisblum are also up against first time nominee Jon Harris for his work on Danny Boyle's "127 Hours." Harris has been an editor to watch since "Snatch" and then his acclaimed work for Neil Marshall's "The Descent." He also collaborated with Oscar winning editor Pietro Scalia on "Kick-Ass."

Best Cinematography
Film Editors sculpt the raw footage of a movie, but cinematographers (DP) initially bring a film to life. Matthew Libatique is one of the most visionary cinematographers working today and is finally nominated for his work on "Black Swan." Libatique frequently collaborates with Darren Aronofsky, but also Spike Lee and Joel Schumacher.

Cinematographer Wally Pfister was DP for all of Christopher Nolan's films and received his first Oscar nomination with "Inception." Pfister won the American Society of Cinematographers award this year, which can easily set the odds for taking Oscar. Another strong contender for Best Cinematographer in 2011 is first time nominee Jeff Cronenweth for "The Social Network." His father, Jordan Cronenweth, was DP for the legendary film "Blade Runner" and Jeff followed in his footsteps with Fincher's modern classic "Fight Club."

Libatique, Pfister and Cronenweth all have distinct styles, but an expressive style reaping much acclaim came from nominee Danny Cohen for "The King's Speech." Cohen isn't a newbie by any means, churning out consistent work on British Television and HBO, but this is his first Oscar nomination.

Best Original Score
The Oscar for Best Original Score has long been dominated by nominees like John Williams, John Barry, Hans Zimmer, Jerry Goldsmith and Alan Menken. 2011 welcomes fresh sounds from Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross who composed "The Social Network" score. John Powell has composed over 50 scores since 1990, but his first Oscar nomination comes with "How to Train Your Dragon."

Best Screenplay
Screenwriter Aaron Sorkin has won multiple awards, but hasn't been directly nominated for an Oscar. His film's "A Few Good Men," "The American President," and "Charlie Wilson's War" have all received nominations, but not for writing. Sorkin is nominated for Best Adapted Screenplay with "The Social Network." Writer/Director Debra Granik has also won multiple awards, but received her first Oscar nomination in Best Adapted Screenplay with "Winter's Bone."

There are 3 first time Oscar nominees For Best Original Screenplay: Scott Silver for "The Fighter," David Seidler for "The King's Speech" and Lisa Cholodenko for "The Kids Are All Right."

Best Actor
A number of actors received their first Oscar nomination for both the supporting and lead categories. The young Hailee Steinfeld in "True Grit" and Jacki Weaver in "Animal Kingdom" for Best Supporting Actress. Christian Bale in "The Fighter," John Hawkes in "Winter's Bone" and Mark Ruffalo in "The Kids Are All Right" for Best Supporting Actor.

Jennifer Lawrence is the only first time nominee for Best Actress in "Winter's Bone." First time nominees for Best Actor include Jesse Eisenberg for "The Social Network" and James Franco for "127 Hours."

Best Director
There is some stiff competition for Best Director with first time nominees Tom Hooper for "The King's Speech" and David O. Russell for "The Fighter." While 2 of Darren Aronofsky's films have received Oscar nominations for acting, he received his first directing nomination this year with "Black Swan."