The nominations for the 2013 Academy Awards were announced in Hollywood today, with Steven Spielberg's biopic Lincoln leading the field with 12 nominations.

Lincoln is nominated for best picture, along with eight others, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Zero Dark Thirty, Amour, Life of Pi Argo, Les Miserables, Silver Linings Playbook and Django Unchained.

Daniel Day-Lewis, who plays the 16th president of the United States Abraham Lincoln in the movie, is also both nominated and the clear front-runner for best actor, competing against Bradley Cooper for Silver Linings Playbook, Hugh Jackman for Les Mis, Joaquin Phoenix for The Master and Denzel Washington for Flight.

Jessica Chastain and Jennifer Lawrence are set to battle it out in the best actress category for Zero Dark Thirty and Silver Linings Playbook respectively, with Naomi Watts also nominated for The Impossible. The other two to receive a nod are Emmanuelle Riva for Amour and Quvenzhané Wallis for Beasts of the Southern Wild, who make history as the oldest and youngest ever nominees for the award.

Lincoln's chances of winning on the night are boosted by Steven Spielberg's nod for best director. He's joined by Ang Lee for Life of Pi, Michael Haneke for Amour, David O Russell for Silver Linings Playbook and Benh Zeitlin for Beasts of the Southern Wild.

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane will host Oscar ceremony at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angele on 24 February.

Written and presented by Alfred Joyner