Oscars: Hollywood awaits 85th Academy Award nominations

Hollywood is gearing up for the announcement of the 2013 Academy Award nominations ahead of the Oscars ceremony next month.

Films expected to make the best picture shortlist include Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty and Steven Spielberg's presidential drama, Lincoln.

Ben Affleck drama Argo and Quentin Tarantino's western Django Unchained could also be in the running.

Seth MacFarlane and Emma Stone will announce the nominations on Thursday.

The announcement will take place at 0530 Los Angeles time (1330 GMT) at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills.

Tom Hooper's musical Les Miserables, David O Russell's Silver Linings Playbook and Ang Lee's Life of Pi could also make the cut for best picture.

In the acting categories, Daniel Day Lewis is hotly tipped for his portrayal of the 16th US president of the United States in Lincoln, while Jessica Chastain is expected to be recognised for her role as a CIA agent hunting down Osama Bin Laden in Zero Dark Thirty.

A total of 24 categories will be announced, including the best acting performances of the year and technical awards in areas such as editing, design and music.

Nominations for this year's awards are being announced two weeks earlier than usual.