As expected, there wasn't a lot of love for genre projects for the Oscars -- even when it came to "The Dark Knight" -- but the late Heath Ledger will indeed compete for a Best Supporting Actor trophy.

Ledger, who played The Joker in the "Batman Begins" sequel, has some tough competition in the supporting actor category including Josh Brolin from "Milk," Robert Downey Jr. from "Tropic Thunder," perennial winner Philip Seymour Hoffman for "Doubt" and Michael Shannon for "Revolutionary Road."

The nominations were announced early Thursday morning in Los Angeles with "The Curious Case of Benjamin Button" leading the way with 13 nominations, just one fewer than past record holders.

There wasn't much additional love for the Batman film, despite some talk about it competing for Best Picture. It was, however, nominated in a number of technical categories including art direction, cinematography, film editing, makeup, sound editing, sound mixing and visual effects for a total of eight nods.

"Iron Man" also picked up a few technical nods including visual effects and sound editing.

Winners will be announced Feb. 22.

Ledger died last year following an accidental drug overdose ahead of the premiere of "The Dark Knight." He received critical acclaim for the role opposite Christian Bale. He previously received a Best Actor nomination in 2005 for "Brokeback Mountain."

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