Spotted on Campus: Oscar Nominees

Earlier this week, the nominations for the 2012 Academy Awards were announced. This year’s  incredibly talented nominees come from all different walks of life … and have a variety of educational backgrounds.

Here are just some of the nominees and the schools they attended before making it big in Hollywood.

Best Picture: Hugo, directed by Martin Scorcese
Hugo is the 2011 3-D film that received the most Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director. Martin Scorcese earned his bachelor of arts in English from New York University (NYU) in 1964. He then worked towards – and received – his masters of fine arts in film in 1966 before going on to become one of the most respected film directors of all time.

Best Actor: Brad Pitt, Moneyball
Moneyball is the biographical film about the 2002 season of the Oakland Athletics, and their general manager’s unique statistical approach to building a winning baseball team. The film is nominated for six awards, including Brad Pitt for Best Actor. Pitt, who played GM Billy Beane, attended the University of Missouri – where majored in journalism with a focus on advertising – before deciding just two weeks from earning his degree to move to Los Angeles to pursue acting instead.

Best Actress: Rooney Mara, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
Rooney Mara took on the incredibly edgy role of Lisbeth Salander in the American version of the best selling Swedish novel. The performance earned her a Best Actress nomination. Mara – whose family founded both the New York Giants and the Pittsburgh Steelers – attended George Washington University for a year before transferring to and graduating from NYU, where she studied nonprofits, psychology and international social policy.

Best Supporting Actor: Jonah Hill, Moneyball
Up until this year, Jonah Hill was best known as the funny sidekick from raunchy comedies like Superbad and Get Him to the Greek. Thanks to his co-starring role in the critically-acclaimed Moneyball, he can add Oscar nominee to his resume. Hill attended high school in Southern California before heading to New York City to study acting at The New School.

Best Supporting Actress: Octavia Spencer, The Help
Octavia Spencer had guest appearances in a number of films and television shows for many years before she got her big break. Her performance as Minny Jackson in The Help earned her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Before pursuing acting, she attended and graduated from Auburn University with a bachelors degree in liberal arts.

Best Director/Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, The Descendants 
Alexander Payne has become well-known for his critically-acclaimed satirical films, like Election and Sideways. This year, he is nominated for directing and adapting the screenplay for the dramedy The Descendants – starring Best Actor nominee George Clooney – which is also up for Best Picture. Payne double-majored in Spanish and history at Stanford University, and then went on to earn his MFA in 1990 from the UCLA Film School.

The 84th Academy Awards will be held on Sunday, February 26, 2012.

What was your favorite film of 2011? Who do you think will win? Will any of these nominees take home Oscar this year?