Oscar weekend is upon us, so it's only fitting we review the list of Best Picture nominees... in GIF form! Check out these key sequences from all nine nominated films and let us know which one is your favorite.

"Zero Dark Thirty"

Photo courtesy Tyler Shields

Abigail Breslin, who is just shy of her 17th birthday, has transformed from the cute kid in glasses, cowboy boots, and the prosthetic belly she wore in "Little Miss Sunshine" (although she still owns those boots from the film). For a recent shoot for "Final Girl" with Tyler Shields, her style -- and the bottle-blond hair and red lipstick -- was more reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe's. The photos received a fair amount of attention, with online writers reporting that she is "leaving her sweet and innocent image behind for a sexy and sophisticated vibe."

"I was excited to do that movie, and it is different from anything I've done. It was fun to go a little bit glam. My family didn't actually recognize me, but they all thought it was pretty cool," she told Yahoo!.

The actress is still fairly new to full makeup and even high heels. "I didn't actually get my first eyeliner until I was 13, so that was a big deal," she said. "I was allowed only a little bit of lip gloss, and I wasn't allowed to

Dustin Hoffman (Photo: Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images); Jack Nicholson (Photo: Jason Merritt/Getty Images)

Good news for those who are quaking at the idea of a musical-themed Oscar ceremony this Sunday: the show's producers hit at least one right note with the announcement that Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman will appear as presenters. Both of these Academy Award veterans have won Best Actor gold twice. And they might very will be handing a trophy to Daniel Day-Lewis, who might very well win for a history-making third time.

In a statement released this morning to Entertainment Weekly, the ceremony's producers, Craig Zadan and Neil Maron, said, "Between the two of them Jack Nicholson and Dustin Hoffman have created more iconic characters than any other pair of actors in the world. Their participation in this year's Oscars completes a list of presenters and performers that truly represents that great breadth and depth of acting talent in film today."

Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway (WireImage/Getty Images)

Big-name designers spend millions on ad campaigns — but it turns out they can pay an additional price to make sure their styles are seen on A-list celebrities for events like the Oscars and Grammys. The fees for actresses like Jennifer Lawrence and Anne Hathaway to wear a fabulous gown or diamond jewelry can be as high as $750,000. Some call it the industry's "dirty little secret" because it's "really aggressive" and "there are hundreds of thousands of dollars spent." But other top stylists say there is nothing wrong with the practice.

[ Photos: 2013 Golden Globes red carpet report card ]

"Of course it happens. I'm an advocate for it," says stylist Jessica Paster, who has worked with award show favorites including Cate Blanchett and Dakota Fanning, and says it is similar to advertising for a company. "If a celebrity wants to endorse a certain line, why shouldn't they? If they love the line, why not?"

Paster says the "dream" celebrities that fashion and jewelry houses pursue (and pay)

Yahoo News is bringing in the experts for one final preview of Sunday night's big awards. Join Yahoo Entertainment's features editor Matt Whitfield and BuzzFeed's Adam Vary as we run through all things Oscars. Bring your predictions and your questions.

Join us Sunday, February 24, for full coverage of the Oscars ceremony and the best movies of 2012. Escorting you through the evening will be Yahoo! editors Vera H-C Chan, Jason Sickles and Virginia Heffernan. And that's not all:

Oscars 2013 at a glance

• Yahoo! Oscars live preshow: 6-8 p.m. ET/3-5 p.m. PT
• Yahoo! Oscars live blog: 8-11:30 p.m. ET/5:30-8 p.m. PT
• The 85th annual Academy Awards: 8:30-11:30 p.m. ET/5:30-8:30 p.m. PT (ABC, no live stream)
• Yahoo! Oscars postshow: 11:30 p.m. ET/8:30 p.m. PT (or just as soon as the show ends)

We'll be announcing winners as they are revealed on Yahoo.com, and updating constantly through the night with fashion photo galleries and timely analysis. Complete coverage can always be found on our Oscars home page.

'Argo' photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Who’s got the time to watch every Oscar contender? Heck, who’s got the time to read full reviews about every Oscar contender? Since we live in a time-crunch society, and since 140 characters seems to be a highly digestible serving size of information, we present this year’s Best Picture contenders, continuing with Ben Affleck's taut and timely thriller "Argo," summed up in three short and sweet Tweets.

Photo: Thelma Adams

Guests will be drinking Red Carpet cocktails with a mini shiny statuette encased in a ball of ice. They will be snacking on tiger shrimp samosas inspired by the Oscar nominee "Life of Pi." And they won't be making any pesky acceptance speeches. In its efforts to expand beyond Hollywood, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has a relatively recent awards tradition: the New York dinner and viewing party. Chef Daniel Boulud of Restaurant Daniel will be hosting this year's night of all nights 3,000 miles to the east of the Dolby Theatre.