WAR Horse, the Steven Spielberg movie filmed in part on Dartmoor and based on a Devon author's book, has been nominated for the Best Picture Oscar.

The nominations were announced this afternoon.

The nominations for the 84th Academy Awards were announced in Beverly Hills by actress Jennifer Lawrence and Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences president Tom Sherak.

Black and white silent film The Artist has 10 nominations, including best film, best actor for French star Jean Dujardin and supporting actress for Berenice Bejo.

But Martin Scorsese’s family film Hugo leads with 11 nominations.

War Horse, based on the National Theatre play inspired by Michael Morpurgo’s novel, is up for six gongs, and is also among the movies vying for best film.

As well as The Artist, War Horse is up against The Descendants, Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close, The Help, Hugo, Midnight In Paris, Moneyball, and The Tree Of Life.

At the recent premiere of War Horse, Steve Spielberg said the Dartmoor backdrop to some of the film's most memorable sequences had been the true star of the piece.