Hollywood's biggest night is on the horizon, so you might be detecting a little extra stardust in the air. The 2017 Oscars air Sunday, Feb. 26 at 8:30 p.m. ET, though the festivities leading up to it will kick off much earlier. If you're like me, you'll be watching coverage all day long — even those E! shows where the hosts try to somehow guess what the most glamorous nominees will be wearing. But the actual ceremony won't begin until a half an hour into primetime. Why do the 2017 Oscars start so late? The timeline isn't new for this year.
It may seem strange for an awards show not to begin on the hour, but the Oscars have been operating this way for the past several years. The Academy Awards will take over ABC as of 7:00 p.m. ET for a solid hour and a half of red carpet coverage. Then at 8:30 p.m., host Jimmy Kimmel will take the stage to perform his hosting duties. (When the ceremony ends is really anyone's guess.) The network isn't deviating from the 2016 Oscars timeline; so ABC must be happy with having that extra half hour of gowns, arrivals, and small talk.
A longer red carpet means more opportunity for candid celebrity encounters. Will anything from the 2017 Oscars red carpet match these recent memorable moments?
Angelina Jolie's Power Stance
What's candid about a dramatic pose like the one Angelina Jolie worked at the 2012 Academy Awards? I'll tell you. It's so endearingly obvious that Jolie practiced this position in the mirror to make sure she could best show off her the va-va-voom slit in her basic black gown. See? She's only like, 60% goddess. The rest is human.
Jacob Tremblay Kills Everyone With Cuteness
Pint-sized Room actor Tremblay has more charm in his little finger than most full-grown adults do in their entire bodies. At last year's Oscars red, the kid had the best time possible, palling around with co-star Brie Larson and meeting Star Wars idol Oscar Isaac. "What's it like at the Oscars from your perspective?" Ryan Secrest asked Tremblay on the carpet. "Um, I see a lot of legs," Tremblay answered. Out of the mouths of babes.
Dakota Johnson & Melanie Griffith Have A Very Public Tiff
My mom always says it's her "job" to embarrass me, and I suppose that mother/daughter dynamic doesn't change just because you're both world-famous actors. At the 2015 Oscars, Griffith said in front of daughter Johnson that she wouldn't be buying a ticket to see her character's sexual awakening in Fifty Shades Of Grey. Johnson made no attempt to hide that she wasn't pleased to hear that, and everyone felt awkward.
Benedict Cumberbatch Photobombs Like A Pro
The Internet's Boyfriend showed little of that famous English restraint at his first Oscars in 2014. But come on: if you had the opportunity to photobomb U2, wouldn't you?
The Academy Awards are a marathon, even for fans who live and breathe awards season. But with a late start to the actual awards, there's more time for celebs to mix it up on the carpet, hopefully resulting in some more classic candid moments to add to the canon.
