On Sunday Feb. 24, Hollywood’s most talented and elite will be gathering for the award ceremony of all awards ceremonies – The 85th Academy Awards.

Though most award shows have become more about red carpet fashions, the Oscars has still managed to focus on actual talent, respect, and prestige. That said, many still anticipate the red carpet and drool over the designs our stars and starlets decide to don. This year’s Oscars have been creating quite the buzz. For the first time in remembrance, most of the pictures nominated have been both loved by audiences and seen by real people, not just the stuffy Academy who has jurisdiction over what is a good movie. The Best Picture Category seems to have something for everybody. From the big production features such as “Life of Pi,” “Lincoln” and “Django Unchained,” to the little movies such as “Beasts of the Southern Wild,” this year’s nominees seem to cover all the bases.

The highly publicized “Les Miserable” is nominated for best picture; the last musical to do so was Chicago in 2002. “Silver Linings Playbook” has received nominations in all four acting categories. The last time such a feat was accomplished was for “Reds” in 1981.

There has been talk about all the nominees except, perhaps, for “Amour.” Unfortunately, foreign films tend to get overlook by American moviegoers. The only attention it really has received is for the nomination of Emmanuelle Riva for Best Actress.

Aside from the good buzz, there is a bit of controversy surrounding this year’s Oscars. This year there have been some brushoffs that were hard to ignore. People were shocked when directors Quentin Tarantino, Ben Affleck, and Kathryn Bigelow were left out of the Directing category. All three films, “Django Unchained,” “Argo” and “Zero Dark Thirty,” were nominated. All three are world-renowned directors. It certainly begs to question why they left out.

For years Quentin Tarantino has been seen as a sort of underdog. His only win came with 1994’s “Pulp Fiction,” for which he won for Best Original Screenplay. Tarantino has not won anything since, with his last nomination in 2009 for his film “Inglorious Bastards.”

Kathryn Bigelow made history in 2009, when her picture “The Hurt Locker” won for Best Picture and Best Director, along with a variety of other accolades. This made Bigelow the first woman to ever win the Best Director Oscar; Bigelow was only the fourth woman to ever be nominated for the category. After such a historical feat, it is odd that Bigelow wasn’t nominated for “Zero Dark Thirty.”

Then there’s Ben Affleck, whose snub has seemed to create the biggest stir with both fans and Hollywood. His movie “Argo” received rave reviews from audiences and critics alike. “Argo” is only the third film he has directed.

Who knows what the Academy was thinking. Perhaps they were looking for something very specific this year. Let’s face it, there are some fantastic directors out there, and those nominated made incredible films. It’s not fair to take the focus off the directors who are being nominated.

The Golden Globes usually outlines how the Oscars will go down, and drawing from this its a good idea to start placing bets. Though they may not be personal favorites, here are the potential winners in the main categories: Best Picture—”Argo,” Best Director —Steven Spielberg, Best Actor (leading)—Daniel Day Lewis, Best Actress (leading) —Jennifer Lawrence, Best Actor (supporting)—Tommy Lee Jones, Best Actress (supporting)—Anne Hathaway, Writing (Adapted)—”Argo,” Writing (Original)—”Django Unchained.”