Today's the Day: Bring On the Oscars!
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One chief concern: That the Southern California weather will hold up (it might be more of a cloudy rather than Little Miss Sunshine kind of day).
Yet given the early indicators from the Screen Actors Guild Awards, Britain's BAFTA awards, the Directors Guild of America Awards and the Golden Globes, there appear to be solid locks on the leading Oscar categories – with Helen Mirren all but guaranteed to pick up the Best Actress trophy for The Queen; Forest Whitaker, Best Actor for The Last King of Scotland; Jennifer Hudson and Eddie Murphy, Best Supporting Actress and Actor, respectively, for Dreamgirls; and Martin Scorsese, Best Director, for The Departed.
Even Hudson's gown, when she accepts her anticipated prize, won't be a surprise. She'll pick up her Oscar in an Oscar – de la Renta that is.
(For a list of major nominees, click here, and be sure to check back at PEOPLE.com tonight for everything you couldn't see on TV!)
Not that the evening will be completely devoid of bolts out of the blue. The Best Picture competition is still considered a toss-up, and there's also likely to be the surprise of seeing the ceremony's popular host, Ellen Degeneres, sporting a formal outfit.
"Everybody's sending me stuff," the usually pant-suited daytime TV personality told W magazine.
As for how she'll spend the day after the Oscars, Degeneres tells PEOPLE, "I'm going to do my live show and then I'm going to go lay down on an island someplace with an IV in my arm."
Many of the stars – including Reese Witherspoon, Halle Berry, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kate Winslet and Meryl Streep – didn't wait to do their relaxing, having already taken advantage of the luxurious spa suites established for nominees and presenters in the Hollywood-Beverly Hills environs.
Then there's the requisite partying. When else but Oscar week could Peter O'Toole be seen playing with Ben Affleck's ears – as Helen Mirren looked on?
Not that everyone can partake of the non-stop revelry. "I can't go to the Oscars because I'm going to have a knee operation," Notes on a Scandal Best Actress nominee Judi Dench said.
Another setback: Forest Whitaker lost his grandmother earlier this week, and had to fly home to Texas, though he is expected to be back in California in time for the awards, a source tells PEOPLE.
After the evening ceremony, it's on to a and a Wolfgang Puck-cooked dinner at the Governor's Ball, traditionally – given its proximity to the Kodak Theatre – the first stop on the long run of parties that will rock on past dawn Monday.
Don't forget! After the Oscars visit People.com for photos of the best dressed, the biggest parties and all the backstage action you couldn't see on TV!
