Two films, District 9 and Avatar, are responsible for all nine nominations. The films, and Kiwi nominees, are up against each other in three categories- those of best picture, editing and visual effects.
For Avatar, the Weta Digital team of Joe Letteri, Stephen Rosenbaum Richard Baneham and Andrew R Jones are collectively nominated for best visual effects.
While Weta colleague Matt Aitken represents the internationally shared effects work on District 9, a film started by Peter Jackson and partner Fran Walsh after production on a planned film of hit videogame Halo fell apart due to Hollywood studio politics.
Other New Zealanders to feature in Avatar's haul of Oscar nods include sound recordist Tony Johnson and set decorator Kim Sinclair who feature in the team nominations for best sound mixing and best art direction respectively.
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