Stage photo of "The Aviator"

U.S. director Martin Scorsese (Photo: Tom)

The Howard Hughes bio-pic "The Aviator" led the 77th Oscar nominations with 11 nods, including best picture, best actor and best director, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced Tuesday.

Leonardo DiCaprio was nominated for best actor Oscar for starring in "Aviator," Cate Blanchett got a nod for best supporting actress and Martin Scorsese was named best director contender for directing "Aviator."

Competing against Golden Globes winner "The Aviator" for the best picture Oscar are "Finding Neverland," "Million Dollar Baby,""Ray" and "Sideways."

Two hit movies in 2004 -- Michael Moore's anti-war documentary "Fahrenheit 9/11" and Mel Gibson-directed drama about Christ's last hours "The Passion of the Christ" -- were bypassed as best picture nominees.

While "Fahrenheit 9/11" did not receive any nominations, "The Passion of the Christ" received three nominations for cinematography, makeup and original score.

Both "Finding Neverland" and "Million Dollar Baby" got seven nominations.

Besides DiCaprio, other nominees for best actor Oscar included Don Cheadle of "Hotel Rwanda," Johnny Depp in "Finding Neverland," Clint Eastwood in "Million Dollar Baby," and Jamie Foxx in "Ray."

Fox, who also received a best supporting actor nomination for his role in "Collateral," was regarded as a top contender in this category. He already won the Golden Globe trophy for best actor inthe musical/comedy series.

The nominees for best actress are Hilary Swank in "Million Dollar Baby," Annette Bening in "Being Julia," Catalina Sandino Moreno in "Maria Full of Grace," Imelda Staunton in "Vera Drake," and Kate Winslet in "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind."

This created a rematch of the 1999 showdown, when underdog Swank won the Oscar for "Boys Don't Cry" over Bening, who was front-runner for "American Beauty."

Both have won Golden Globes for the roles, Swank for best dramatic actress, Bening for actress in a musical or comedy.

Along with Eastwood and Scorsese, other directing nominees are Taylor Hackford for "Ray", Mike Leigh for "Vera Drake" and Alexander Payne for "Sideways."

Along with Foxx, other nominees for supporting actor Oscar include Alan Alda in "The Aviator," Morgan Freeman in "Million Dollar Baby." Thomas Haden Church in "Sideways" and Clive Owen in "Closer." Oven already won the Golden Globe in this category.

Along with Blanchett, other supporting actress nominees are Laura Linney in "Kinsey," Virginia Madsen in "Sideways," Sophie Okonedo in "Hotel Rwanda" and Natalie Portman in "Closer." Portmanwas the winner of this year's best supporting actress Golden Globe.

The best foreign language picture nominees are "As It is in Heaven,""The Chorus" (France), "Downfall" (Germany), "The Sea Inside"(Spain) and "Yesterday" (South Africa).

The nominees for best animated film are "Shrek 2," "The Incredibles"and "Shark Tale."

In the original screenplay category, the nominees are "The Aviator,""Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind," "Hotel Rwanda," "The Incredibles" and "Vera Drake."

The adapted screenplay nominees are "Before Sunset," "Finding Neverland," "Million Dollar Baby," "The Motorcycle Diaries" and"Sideways."

The 77th Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2004 will be presented on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.The ceremony will be televised live by ABC.