Sunday is Oscar night, and the major awards seem pretty predictable.
Of course, that’s what the backers of “Brokeback Mountain” thought going into the ceremony two years ago, when their expectations were crushed by “Crash” in a major upset.
Eddie Murphy, a supposed sure bet to be named best supporting actor for “Dreamgirls” last year, suffered an equally stunning loss. Alan Arkin won for “Little Miss Sunshine.”
If the prohibitive favorite, “No Country for Old Men,” doesn’t win the best-picture statue, as well as a slew of other awards, it will be just as much of a shock. The same can be said of Daniel Day-Lewis (“There Will Be Blood”) for best actor, Julie Christie (“Away From Her”) for best actress and Javier Bardem (“No Country for Old Men”) for best supporting actor.
As you’re watching the awards show for the glitz, glamour, expected coronations and potential upsets, consider these numbers.
3: The number of acting nominations snagged by “Michael Clayton,” the most of any film in this year’s field.
1: Number of nominations for “Norbit” (makeup).
1: Number of nominations each for “Into the Wild,” “The Kite Runner” and “Charlie Wilson’s War.”
2: Nominations for Cate Blanchett, for best actress in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” and best supporting actress in “I’m Not There.” They are her fourth and fifth career nominations. She won for best supporting actress in “The Aviator.”
4: The number of best-picture nominees to snag corresponding best-director nominations. “Atonement” was the only best-picture nominee not to join the club. Julian Schnabel was nominated for “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” over “Atonement” director Joe Wright.
0: The number of American-made films nominated for best short live-action film or animated film.
4: The number of languages heard in best-animated-film nominee “Persepolis” — French, English, Persian and German.
12: Number of days, including Sunday, that writers and producers will have had to put together the broadcast following the end of the writers’ strike.
49: Number of letters in the longest title for a nominated movie this year: “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford.”
83: Age of the oldest acting nominee this year, Ruby Dee (“American Gangster”). The supporting-actress nominee is four months older than runner-up Hal Holbrook (“Into the Wild”), who’s up for best supporting actor.
80: Age of oldest performers to win acting Oscars: George Burns for 1975’s “The Sunshine Boys” and Jessica Tandy for 1989’s “Driving Miss Daisy.” For the record, she was 80 years, 292 days old, and he was a mere 80 years and 69 days old.
13: Age of supporting-actress nominee Saoirse Ronan, a New York City native whose role in “Atonement” was the crux of the film.
10: Age of Tatum O’Neal when she won best supporting actress for 1973’s “Paper Moon.”
1: The number of directing nominations for Jason Reitman (“Juno”).
0: The number of directing nominations for Hollywood veteran Ivan Reitman, Jason’s dad.
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