FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP/Getty Images History, more history and the end of a long dry spell for James Bond.
Here are some things to watch for at tonight's 85th Annual Academy Awards—sorry, the Oscars:
1. Jessica Tandy Was a Baby! Amour's Emmanuelle Riva could become the oldest Best Actress winner, by nearly six years.
2. Happy Birthday, Indeed: Win or lose, Riva turns 86 on Sunday.
3. It Seems Like Only a Half-Century or So Ago… If Skyfall wins in any of the five categories in which it's nominated, it'll become the first Oscar-winning James Bond film since Ms. Riva was a thirtysomething, when Thunderball won for visual effects.
4. Who's Feeling Old Now, Marlee Matlin? Beasts of the Southern Wild's Quvenzhané Wallis could become the youngest Best Actress winner, by some 12 years.
5. Jennifer Lawrence Is Kinda Historical Herself: The 22-year-old Silver Linings Playbook favorite could become the second-youngest Best Actress winner, after Matlin.
6. Again With the Jessica Tandy Trivia! Argo could become the first film since 1989's Driving Miss Daisy to win Best Picture without a corresponding Best Director nomination.
7. The Mel Gibson Maneuver: Lincoln (or Life of Pi, or Silver Linings Playbook, or any of the other Best Picture nominees except Argo) could become the first film since 1995's Braveheart to take Best Picture after losing the Director Guild, Producers Guild and Screen Actors Guild awards.
8. Um, Maybe the Academy Is Trying to Tell Them Something? If Argo wins Best Picture, Ben Affleck and George Clooney will be honored as producers. They own four career Academy Awards between them, only one of which is for acting.
9. It's a Wonderful Life: If Lincoln's Steven Spielberg takes Best Director, he'll tie Frank Capra and William Wyler for second-most career wins in the category, with three.
10. It Seems Like Only a Jennifer Lawrence Lifetime Ago… If composer John Williams wins for Lincoln's Original Score, it'll be the first win for Oscar's most-nominated living person since 1994's Schindler's List.
11. If You Want to Make the Oscar Gods Laugh, Show Them Your Oscar Ballot: Affleck hasn't been shy about how he modeled his much-admired political thriller, in part, on All The President's Men, itself a much-admired political thriller that was expected to win Best Picture—right up until it lost to Rocky.
The lesson here is that the most important thing to watch for on Oscar night is the thing you hadn't even thought to watch for.