7 Things to Look Forward to on the Oscars

Feb. 24, 2013 — -- intro: The ballots have been counted, the outfits chosen, the speeches (perhaps) written. All that remains is tonight's live telecast of the Oscars.

It's the live nature of the broadcast that makes it so unpredictable and, well, fun. Who can forget Adrian Brody's spontaneous make-out session with Halle Berry? Or Jack Palance's one-armed pushups on stage? Or Roberto Benigni's wild march to the stage on the backs of seats?

Full Oscar 2013 Coverage

Those unscripted moments, usually as the awards are being handed out, often become the most-talked-about and memorable parts of the show. Along with the scripted numbers that may or may not go according to plan, there is plenty to look forward to.

Click through to see what we'll be watching for tonight.

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quicklist: title: Seth MacFarlane's Monologuetext: He's known for his no-holds-barred humor and he's a relative outsider to Hollywood, which makes Seth MacFarlane a big unknown as Oscar host.

Will he be more like his favorite Oscar host, Johnny Carson -- or more like the Ricky Gervais of the 2011 Golden Globes who ruffled some feathers?

MacFarlane revealed on "Good Morning America" Thursday that nothing -- and no one -- will be off-limits to him as possible targets for jokes.

"If it's too soft I'm going to disappoint a lot of my fan base; if is too hard I'm going to lose that room," MacFarlane told ABC News' Barbara Walters in December about the balance he'll try to strike tonight.

Learn 7 Things About Tonight's Hostmedia: 18539605

quicklist:title: Anne Hathaway's Speechtext: If there's anyone who has a lock on the acting categories, it's Anne Hathaway for best supporting actress.

That means get ready for another one of her zany speeches. The 30-year-old actress has racked up a lot of awards -- and made a lot of speeches -- this season for her portrayal of Fantine in "Les Miserables."

But her ad-libs have proved more awkward than funny and her thank yous to cast and crew have bordered on ridiculous. At the BAFTA awards in London, she reserved her "very special thanks" for "Les Miserables" author Victor Hugo and declared, "Thank you so much honey, I love you."

That led to snarky comments from viewers, including, "Did Anne Hathaway just call Victor Hugo 'honey?' That's the real story of this award season."

Read More About Anne Hathaway's Perplexing Speechmedia: 18569775

quicklist:title: Jennifer Lawrence Awkward Moment Alerttext: Fortunately, Hathaway is not alone in the awkward department.

Jennifer Lawrence, who is up for a best actress Oscar for "Silver Linings Playbook," has had plenty of moments this awards' season that have us going, "Huh?"

Accepting a trophy at last month's Golden Globes, Lawrence looked at it and quipped, "What does it say? 'I beat Meryl.'"

That got the Twittersphere all aflutter, with speculation of a feud. But Lawrence later explained to David Letterman that she was quoting from the 1996 film "The First Wives Club."

"It's never a good idea for me to wing it," the 22-year-old actress admitted.

Weeks later, she was left explaining what appeared to be a wardrobe malfunction at the SAG awards when her layered Dior gown's tier dropped to reveal a sheer lining as she made her way to the stage to accept her award.

See Why Best Actress Category Too Close to Callmedia: 18569681

quicklist:title: A Musical Oscarstext: With the producers of musical films such as "Hairspray" and "Chicago" helming tonight's Oscar, it's no surprise that this year's show will be more musical than past ones.

In fact, producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are planning an all-star tribute to movie musicals with Academy Award-winning actors Jennifer Hudson, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Russell Crowe. Crowe will be joined by his "Les Miserables" cast mates, nominees Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, as well as Amanda Seyfried, Eddie Redmayne, Aaron Tveit, Samantha Barksand and Helena Bonham Carter.

In addition to performances by Adele and Norah Jones for the best theme song nominations, the show will end this year with a musical number. After the Best Picture award is handed out, host MacFarlane, who also has serious music chops and is up for best theme song, will close out the evening performing a special musical number with Broadway's Kristin Chenoweth.

The news drew some gripes on Twitter, including, "I mean, who really cares about movies ... when you can have a Broadway superstar and a voiceover guy close the show with a song?!?!?"

Read More About Oscar's Musical Tributesmedia: 18569467

quicklist:title: The Return of Barbra Streisandtext: Speaking of music, if there's one musical performer just about everyone is looking forward to seeing it's Barbra Streisand.

Amazingly, it's been 36 years since the singer, who famously suffers from stage fright, last performed on the Oscar stage.

In 1977, Streisand sang "Evergreen," the theme from "A Star Is Born," on the telecast. The tune, which Streisand co-wrote, won the Academy Award for Best Original Song that year. Streisand also starred in the film.

"In an evening that celebrates the artistry of movies and music, how could the telecast be complete without Barbra Streisand?" the producers asked in announcement.

We couldn't agree more.media: 18569506

quicklist:title: The Bond Mentext: Tonight's other diva, Adele, will be performing her hit song "Skyfall" as part of the Academy's tribute to 50 years of James Bond films.

Besides looking forward to Adele's first live performance since the birth of her son, we can't wait to see some of the Bond franchise's best known actors -- Roger Moore, Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig -- take the stage together for the first time.media: 18569518

quicklist:title: Helena Bonham Carter's Dresstext: Finally, if you can't have Cher at the Oscars, then you can at least count on Helena Bonham Carter to turn up in something that will have us all talking.

Carter is a staple on the worst-dressed lists and, hopefully, she won't disappoint tonight!

Photos: Worst Oscar Looks of All Timemedia: 18569898