The Artist and Hugo are two of the year's best films. At least, that's according to the latest film association to announce its nominations during early awards season.

On Tuesday morning, the Broadcast Film Critics Association announced its 2011 nominations for the Critics' Choice Awards, to be handed out in January.

The Artist, the black-and-white silent picture from France, and Hugo, Martin Scorsese's first 3-D flick, lead the way with 11 nominations each, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography and Best Art Direction.

Close behind are The Help and Drive, which picked up 8 nominations each, including a Best Actress nod for Viola Davis and a Best Actor nod for Ryan Gosling.

Gosling will be up against his Ides of March co-star George Clooney, who is nominated for Best Actor for his role in The Descendants. Leonardo DiCaprio (J. Edgar), Jean Dujardin (The Artist), Michael Fassbender (Shame) and Brad Pitt (Moneyball) round out the category.

Joining Davis in the Best Actress category are Elisabeth Olsen (Martha Marcy May Marlene), Meryl Streep (The Iron Lady), Tilda Swinton (We Need to Talk About Kevin), Charlize Theron (Young Adult) and Michelle Williams (My Week With Marilyn).

The Broadcast Film Critics Association is one of the first major organizations to recognize Andy Serkis for his motion-capture work in The Rise of the Planet of the Apes. Serkis, perhaps best known for playing Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, is nominated in the Best Supporting Actor category for his role as Caesar, the much beloved lead ape in the summer blockbuster.

Kenneth Branagh (My Week With Marilyn), Albert Brooks (Drive), Nick Nolte (Warrior), Patton Oswalt (Young Adult) and Christopher Plummer (Beginners) are also nominated for Best Supporting Actor.

The Best Supporting Actress category is a good mix of young and old, dramatic and humorous. Berenice Bejo (The Artist), Jessica Chastain (The Help), Melissa McCarthy (Bridesmaids), Carey Mulligan (Shame), Octavia Spencer (The Help) and Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) will all compete for the prize.

Now in its 17th year, the Critics' Choice Awards are given by the largest film critics organization in the country, made up of members from TV, radio and Web platforms. Over the years, winners at the Critics' Choice Awards have gone on to win prizes at the Golden Globe Awards and the Academy Awards weeks later.

In the 2010 film year, all four winners in the major acting categories (Best Actor - Colin Firth, Best Actress - Natalie Portman, Best Supporting Actor - Christian Bale, Best Supporting Actress - Melissa Leo) who won at the Critics' Choice Awards won in the same category at the Oscars.

The 17th annual Critics' Choice Awards will be handed out on Jan. 12 at the Hollywood Palladium.

Scroll down for the complete list of nominations.

What do you think of the Critics' Choice nominations? Were some of your favorites missing? Share your thoughts below.

Also Read: AFI Awards 2011: Bridesmaids, The Good Wife among Best in Film and TV

BEST PICTURE
The Artist
The Descendants
Drive
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
The Help
Hugo
Midnight in Paris
Moneyball
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ACTOR
George Clooney - The Descendants
Leonardo DiCaprio - J. Edgar
Jean Dujardin - The Artist
Michael Fassbender - Shame
Ryan Gosling - Drive
Brad Pitt - Moneyball

BEST ACTRESS
Viola Davis - The Help
Elizabeth Olsen - Martha Marcy May Marlene
Meryl Streep - The Iron Lady
Tilda Swinton - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Charlize Theron - Young Adult
Michelle Williams - My Week With Marilyn

BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR
Kenneth Branagh - My Week With Marilyn
Albert Brooks - Drive
Nick Nolte - Warrior
Patton Oswalt - Young Adult
Christopher Plummer - Beginners
Andrew Serkis - Rise of the Planet of the Apes

BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS
Berenice Bejo - The Artist
Jessica Chastain - The Help
Melissa McCarthy - Bridesmaids
Carey Mulligan - Shame
Octavia Spencer - The Help
Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

BEST YOUNG ACTOR/ACTRESS
Asa Butterfield - Hugo
Elle Fanning - Super 8
Thomas Horn - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Ezra Miller - We Need to Talk About Kevin
Saoirse Ronan - Hanna
Shailene Woodley - The Descendants

BEST ACTING ENSEMBLE
The Artist
Bridesmaids
The Descendants
The Help
The Ides of March

BEST DIRECTOR
Stephen Daldry - Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close
Michel Hazanavicius - The Artist
Alexander Payne - The Descendants
Nicolas Winding Refn - Drive
Martin Scorsese - Hugo
Steven Spielberg - War Horse

BEST ORIGINAL SCREENPLAY
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius
50/50 - Will Reiser
Midnight in Paris - Woody Allen
Win Win - Screenplay by Tom McCarthy, Story by Tom McCarthy & Joe Tiboni
Young Adult - Diablo Cody

BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY
The Descendants - Alexander Payne and Nat Faxon & Jim Rash
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close - Eric Roth
The Help - Tate Taylor
Hugo - John Logan
Moneyball - Steven Zaillian and Aaron Sorkin, Story by Stan Chervin

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
The Artist - Guillaume Schiffman
Drive - Newton Thomas Sigel
Hugo - Robert Richardson
The Tree of Life - Emmanuel Lubezki
War Horse - Janusz Kaminski

BEST ART DIRECTION
The Artist - Production Designer: Laurence Bennett, Art Director: Gregory S. Hooper
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 - Production Designer: Stuart Craig, Set Decorator: Stephenie McMillan
Hugo - Production Designer: Dante Ferretti, Set Decorator: Francesca Lo Schiavo
The Tree of Life - Production Designer: Jack Fisk, Art Director: David Crank
War Horse - Production Designer: Rick Carter, Set Decorator: Lee Sandales

BEST EDITING
The Artist - Michel Hazanavicius and Anne-Sophie Bion
Drive - Matthew Newman
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Kirk Baxter and Angus Wall
Hugo - Thelma Schoonmaker
War Horse - Michael Kahn

BEST COSTUME DESIGN
The Artist - Mark Bridges
The Help - Sharen Davis
Hugo - Sandy Powell
Jane Eyre - Michael O'Connor
My Week With Marilyn - Jill Taylor

BEST MAKEUP
Albert Nobbs
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
The Iron Lady
J. Edgar
My Week With Marilyn

BEST VISUAL EFFECTS
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8
The Tree of Life

BEST SOUND
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2
Hugo
Super 8
The Tree of Life
War Horse

BEST ANIMATED FEATURE
The Adventures of Tintin
Arthur Christmas
Kung Fu Panda 2
Puss in Boots
Rango

BEST ACTION MOVIE
Drive
Fast Five
Hanna
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Super 8

BEST COMEDY
Bridesmaids
Crazy, Stupid, Love
Horrible Bosses
Midnight in Paris
The Muppets

BEST FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILM
In Darkness
Le Havre
A Separation
The Skin I Live In
Where Do We Go Now

BEST DOCUMENTARY FEATURE
Buck
Cave of Forgotten Dreams
George Harrison: Living in the Material World
Page One: Inside the New York Times
Project Nim
Undefeated

BEST SONG
Hello Hello - performed by Elton John and Lady Gaga/written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin - Gnomeo & Juliet
Life's a Happy Song - performed by Jason Segel, Amy Adams and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie - The Muppets
The Living Proof - performed by Mary J. Blige/written by Mary J. Blige, Thomas Newman and Harvey Mason, Jr. - The Help
Man or Muppet - performed by Jason Segel and Walter/written by Bret McKenzie - The Muppets
Pictures in My Head - performed by Kermit and the Muppets/written by Jeannie Lurie, Aris Archontis and Chen Neeman - The Muppets

BEST SCORE
The Artist - Ludovic Bource
Drive - Cliff Martinez
The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo - Trent Reznor & Atticus Ross
Hugo - Howard Shore
War Horse - John Williams

The New York Times Brad Pitt Hollywood New York