Annette Bening and Julianne Moore both to be campaigned as Best Actress

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Move over, Thelma and Louise: Now there’s Nic and Jules. From Focus Features comes official word that the distributor will be campaigning both of its stars of The Kids Are All Right—Annette Bening and Julianne Moore—as Best Actress. When I mentioned this as a possibility last month it was met with disbelief from several of you, who thought Focus would go the Dreamgirls or Chicago route and demote one of them (likely Moore) to the supporting category. But I think this is the right decision. Both actresses have juicy roles and complete character arcs that merit inclusion in the lead category. Sure, Moore would have a better shot at her first Oscar win in supporting, but it would seem disingenuous to campaign her as such. As for Bening, despite her tough competition this year (notably Black Swan‘s Natalie Portman and Blue Valentine‘s Michelle Williams), I’d say she has a decent shot at a victory this time around.

For the record, should Bening and Moore both score nods, it would be the sixth time a movie featured two Best Actress nominees. Here are the others:

Thelma and Louise (1991): Geena Davis and Susan Sarandon

Terms of Endearment (1983): Shirley Maclaine (winner) and Debra Winger

The Turning Point (1977): Anne Bancroft and Shirley Maclaine

Suddenly, Last Summer (1959): Katharine Hepburn and Elizabeth Taylor

All About Eve (1950): Anne Baxter and Bette Davis

Not bad company to be in, right? Don’t forget to follow me on Twitter (@davekarger) for more Oscar updates.