While much of the prognosticating before the Oscars, understandably, is focused on who is going to take home those gold statuettes, there is a whole lot to look forward to that is not at all about awards themselves. Let’s examine some of the most pressing, intriguing questions about celebrity, fashion, and the weather as we count down the days until this year’s ceremony.
1. Will Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield interact at all? The former couple is nominated, respectively, in the best actress and best actor categories. By all accounts, they are still on very good terms; their hug at a pre-BAFTAs event received almost more attention than the BAFTAs themselves. Will we get an Oscars photo op of the duo? And if Stone wins, will she thank Garfield?!? (She did not refer to him in her Globes or SAG speeches.) Whether they interact or not, the staff of Us Weekly no doubt has a whole series of posts ready to go either way.
2. Will Ryan Gosling bring Eva Mendes as a date? Gosling’s “lady,” as he likes to call her, has not yet attended an event with Gosling this awards season. The La La Land star spoke about her at length (though without actually ever saying her name) during his acceptance speech at the Golden Globes. Mendes showing up now, for the Oscars, would cause quite the commotion, and would certainly be the most headline-grabbing “tabloid” moment of the ceremony.
3. Whose dress will be a knockout? We have high hopes for something as bold as Gwyneth Paltrow’s white-cape Tom Ford style-dress to surprise us this year. Oftentimes these sorts of iconic, stand-out looks come from those who aren’t nominated, as they’re perhaps freed from the pressure of that particular spotlight. Maybe this year’s could come from presenter Charlize Theron? Last year’s best-supporting-actress winner Alicia Vikander? Expected attendee Chrissy Teigen?!?
4. How will Matt Damon play into the proceedings? You just know Damon, a nominated producer of Manchester by the Sea, is going to be employed for a bit with host Jimmy Kimmel. How and when is anyone’s guess, but we think it’s a safe bet Ben Affleck (whose brother Casey is nominated) will find a way to get himself involved, too.
5. Will Hillary Clinton make an appearance? We saw this floated as a hypothetical on Twitter, and in all likelihood it will not happen, but who knows! There will surely be a very political charge to the night’s proceedings, and an appearance by Clinton (or the Obamas) does not seem entirely out of the question.
6. How many times will Giuliana Rancic mention the rain? Right now, the forecast in Los Angeles calls for rain on Sunday, which—if it does happen—means you can be sure Rancic will mention the inclement weather at least 50 times, if not more.
7. How many cutaways to Gosling will there be during Justin Timberlake and John Legend’s best original song performances? Legend seemed to make a (friendly) jab at Gosling and Stone, when he said on the Grammys red carpet that he would be performing their nominated La La Land songs at the Oscars (“For some reason, Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone don’t want to sing, and they told me to sing for them”). Meanwhile, Timberlake and Gosling are former Mickey Mouse club cast mates (and, in our mind, have always been frenemies, as well). This is all to say, we’d be surprised if there weren’t multiple cutaways to Gosling during these two numbers.
8. Will Meryl Streep make another political statement? Streep’s Golden Globes speech was of course the most memorable moment of that entire evening (and it got her the attention of President Donald Trump). Nominated for best actress but not expected to win, Streep will likely find her way to the stage regardless. Will she once again address current events?
9. Who will take the Jacob Tremblay slot? Tremblay, who attended last year for Room, will not be back this time around—and the Stranger Things kids will not be attendance, either (as best we know), which means there is an open spot in the Adorable Kid Who Will Take a Billion Selfies With Celebrities lane. Lion’s Sunny Pawar? Maybe Natalie Portman will surprise us all and bring her son, Aleph, and have him sit with her in the audience Blue Ivy Carter-style? We shall see.
