The Artist becomes just the fifth predominately or entirely silent film to score a best picture nomination and the first in 90 years, following in the footsteps of Wings (1927/1928, won), The Racket (1927/1928), Seventh Heaven (1927/1928) and The Patriot (1928/1929).
The Artist becomes just the seventh predominately or entirely black-and-white film since 1970 to score a best picture nomination, following The Last Picture Show (1971), Lenny (1974), The Elephant Man (1980), Raging Bull (1980), Schindler’s List (1993, won) and Good Night, and Good Luck (2005).
Michel Hazanavicius (who directed The Artist) becomes just the eighth native of France to score a best director nomination, following Jean Renoir for The Southerner (1945), Claud Lelouch for A Man and a Woman (1966), Roman Polanski for Chinatown (1974), Tess (1980) and The Pianist (2002, won), Francois Truffaut for Day for Night (1974), Edouard Molinaro for La Cage aux Folles (1979), Louis Malle for Atlantic City (1981) and Barbet Schroeder for Reversal of Fortune (1990).