The 2013 Oscars are this Sunday. And you haven’t seen all of the movies and performances nominated. That’s okay. You can still pretend you did. This cheat sheet has all the info you’ll need! If you’re watching with friends or strangers, just spew some of these fun facts, behind-the-scenes info, and random trivia. You’ll seem like you know what you’re talking about. I did the research so you can seem like a movie savant. You’re welcome. Enjoy the show.

Best Picture

Amour – “Did any of you actually see that? It was the lowest-grossing of this year’s nominee in the box office. Not that you can predict by the box office. Last year The Artist won even though it didn’t make as much money as most of its competitors.”

Argo- “It totally sucks that Affleck wasn’t nominated for Best Director, so it’d make sense if voters gave him this award. Producers accept for Best Picture, so if Argo wins we get to see Affleck AND Geroge Clooney on stage to accept.”

Beasts of the Southern Wild– “You know how directors usually review their footage on set or after they wrap for the day? Apparently Benh Zeitlin didn’t look at any footage until after he’d shot the entire thing! But the cinematography is awesome.”

Django Unchained– “How did they manage to find a clip for the nominees montage that didn’t use the N-word? Django uses it over 110 times.”

Les Miserables- “The last musical to win an Oscar was Chicago back in 2002. But then again, how many musicals have there been in the last ten years?”

Life of Pi- “Originally, M. Night Shyamalan was supposed to direct that movie before Ang Lee got the job. And it kind of makes sense, given the huge plot twist at the end of it.”

Lincoln- “Talk about a passion project. Spielberg was first approached about directing a Lincoln biopic back in 1999. The delay went through multiple writers and Lincolns before finally being shot, but this movie had Spieberg at the center all the way.”

Silver Linings Playbook- “Just imagine, David O. Russell originally wanted Vince Vaughn and Zooey Deschanel in this movie. Can you believe that? No way would it be an Oscar nominee with that cast.”

Zero Dark Thirty- “Did you read that article in Esquire about the guy who actually shot Bin Laden? The way he describes the scene is different than in the movie. I wonder if they’d have done it differently if they had seen his account before writing it.”

 

Actor in a Leading Role

Bradley Cooper, Silver Linings Playbook– “That article in The Onion was so mean. The headline was, ‘Bradley Cooper racks up staggering one Academy Award nomination.’ Poor guy. But seriously, he’s the dude from The Hangover.”

Daniel Day-Lewis, Lincoln– “You know he’s the second guy to be nominated in this category for playing Lincoln? The last one was in 1940.”

Hugh Jackman, Les Miserables– “Hugh went for days without eating or drinking water to lose weight for his role. And still his voice was that good!”

Joaquin Phoenix, The Master– “It’s pretty surprising that Phoenix was even nominated, given that he called the Oscars ‘bulls***’ back in October.”

Denzel Washington, Flight- “When Denzel was a little kid, he actually wasn’t even allowed to go to the movies. Pretty cool that he’s now one of the best movie actors around.”

 

Actor in a Supporting Role

(“Cool fact: all of the nominees in this category have won Oscars already!”)

Alan Arkin, Argo- “Even though most of the characters in Argo were based on real people, Arkin says his was an amalgomation of 3 or 4 characters; dunno if that would make it easier or harder to portray the role.”

Robert De Niro, Silver Linings Playbook- “Remember two years ago, when De Niro won a Golden Globe, and he made a joke about the HFPA and Javier Barden getting deported? God, I hope he tops that if he wins.”

Philip Seymour Hoffman, The Master- “Remember when PSH was in Moneyball? Apparently that guy he played, Art Howe, now totally hates him. Wonder how Lord Xenu feels about The Master.”

Tommy Lee Jones, Lincoln- “Tommy Lee Jones and Al Gore were roommates together at Harvard, and they were supposedly very competitive even then. Gore even has an Oscar!”

Christoph Waltz, Django Unchained- “Holy crap have you seen that parody on SNL where he’s Jesus in ‘Djesus Uncrossed?’”

 

Actress in a Leading Role

Jessica Chaistain, Zero Dark Thirty- “Can’t believe she followed up that movie with Mama. And she also says that her dream role is to be a Bond girl. Has there ever been a ginger Bond girl?”

Jennifer Lawrence, Silver Linings Playbook- “One of Jennifer’s first roles was playing a cougar mascot on Monk, and her head was under a mask most of the time.”

Emmanuelle Riva, Amour- “Even though she’s the oldest woman ever to be nominated for LEAD actress (she’s 84), the old lady from Titanic was actually the oldest nominee at 87 in the supporting category.”

Quvenzhane Wallis, Beasts of the Southern Wild- “That little girl is so cute. She’s rumored to be in the running for the lead in Jay-Z’s remake of Annie, since Will Smith’s daughter Willow dropped out.”

Naomi Watts, The Impossible- “That scene with her almost drowning was intense. You know Naomi almost drowned in Bali once when she was 14!”

 

Actress in a Supporting Role

Amy Adams, The Master– “How awesome is Amy going to be as Lois Lane in the new Superman movie? So much better than the version they made like 7 years ago.”

Sally Field, Lincoln- “Everyone talks about how intense Daniel Day-Lewis was on set, but Sally Field says she and Daniel would text each other while filming, but still in character.”

Anne Hathaway, Les Miserables- “So, Les Miz is coming back to Broadway, and some people are already talking about how much they want Anne to play her character on stage. Would she have to keep her hair that short the whole time?”

Helen Hunt, The Sessions- “Helen turns 50 years old this year. And she’s fully naked in that movie. Holy crap, not bad looking for an old lady! Not looking at you, Kathy Bates in About Schmidt.”

Jacki Weaver, Silver Linings Playbook- “Jacki said that in that one scene, when Bradley Cooper lashes out, she got some bruises and was seriously banged up, but told him to keep going.”