It's Almost Time to Hear: "And the Oscar Goes To..."

The Oscars, the red carpet, the stars, the gowns, the speeches, the celebrities, the laughter -- it all takes place on Sunday, Feb. 24 at the Dolby Theatre at the Hollywood and Highland Center in California.

Luckily for those of us in Connecticut, the 85th Annual Academy Awards will be televised live on ABC. If you are living abroad or in one of 225 foreign countries that receives the broadcast, you can watch it from your sofa or easy chair with the rest of the world.

As for this year's awards, director Steven Spielberg's historical drama Lincoln earned a leading 12 nominations, followed by Ang Lee's Life of Pi with 11, while the musical, Les Miserables, directed by Tom Hooper, and David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook tied with 8 nods each.

Two of this year's nominees (if they win) could set the record for the oldest and youngest winners.

French actress Emanuelle Riva, 85, received a nomination for best actress for her role in Amour, nominated for both best picture and best foreign film.

And 9-year-old Quvenzhane Wallis is nominated for best actress for her portrayal of Hushpuppy in Beasts of the Southern Wild.  Both Riva and Wallis are first-time nominees.

The youngest acting nominee in all categories is still Justin Henry, who was just eight when he was nominated for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and the oldest remains Gloria Stuart, 87 when she received a supporting nomination for Titanic.

Silver Linings Playbook is the first film to take nominations for best picture, directing, writing and all four acting categories since Reds (1981). Reds did well at the 1982 Oscars winning in three categories: Best Director for Warren Beatty; Best Supporting Actress for Maureen Stapleton, and Best Cinematography.

The first-ever Academy Awards ceremony took place on May 16, 1929. The Best Picture winner was Wings.

Here are the 2013 nominees:

Best Picture: "Amour," "Argo," "Beasts of the Southern Wild," "Django Unchained," "Les Miserables," "Life of Pi," "Lincoln," "Silver Linings Playbook," "Zero Dark Thirty."

Best Actor: Bradley Cooper, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Daniel Day-Lewis, "Lincoln"; Hugh Jackman, "Les Miserables"; Joaquin Phoenix, "The Master"; Denzel Washington, "Flight."

Best Actress: Jessica Chastain, "Zero Dark Thirty"; Jennifer Lawrence, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Emmanuelle Riva, "Amour"; Quvenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Naomi Watts, "The Impossible."

Best Supporting Actor: Alan Arkin, "Argo"; Robert De Niro, "Silver Linings Playbook"; Philip Seymour Hoffman, "The Master"; Tommy Lee Jones, "Lincoln"; Christoph Waltz, "Django Unchained."

Best Supporting Actress: Amy Adams, "The Master"; Sally Field, "Lincoln"; Anne Hathaway, "Les Miserables"; Helen Hunt, "The Sessions"; Jacki Weaver, "Silver Linings Playbook."

Best Director: Michael Haneke, "Amour"; Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"; Ang Lee, "Life of Pi"; Steven Spielberg, "Lincoln"; David O. Russell, "Silver Linings Playbook."

Best Foreign Language Film: "Amour," Austria; "Kon-Tiki," Norway; "No," Chile; "A Royal Affair," Denmark; "War Witch," Canada.