This week people all across the country will be placing bets on which movies will win big at Sunday night’s Academy Awards. But what’s the fun in simply picking the nominees year after year? Here are suggestions for a few different bets you and your Oscar-watching buddies could make to shake things up a bit this year, on both the ceremony and the red carpet coverage:

Red Carpet Bets:

Which Wrestler star will wear the more atrocious outfit: Mickey Rourke or Marisa Tomei?

Which “entertainment journalist” will be the first to offend an A-list celebrity: Ryan Seacrest or a member of the Lisa Rinna/Joey Fatone team?

Of the aforementioned “entertainment journalists” who will be the first to let it slip that they haven’t seen the nominated films?

Will Brad and Angelina repeat their Seacrest snub from the Golden Globes?

Which question will Freida Pinto and Dev Patel have to answer the most: A.) If you were a contestant on Who Wants to Be A Millionaire, who would you use as your phone-a-friend? B.) Will you teach me the dance?

Awards Ceremony Bets:

Will the telecast run over or under three hours? (To make things interesting, add a dollar for each minute in either direction.)

How many minutes will it take host Hugh Jackman to break into song and/or dance?

How many winners will get political in their acceptance speeches? (Here’s a tip: Sean Penn is considered the frontrunner for the Best Actor prize!)

Will this be a year for stage crashers? (Bonus for pinpointing the award presentation they will crash.)

How many people will Kate Winslet be able to thank before she starts crying?

Will brand-new mom M.I.A. show up to perform her nominated song from Slumdog Millionaire? (She did make it to the Grammys on her due date…)

How many winners will need to have a portion of their acceptance speeches bleeped out?

Which underdog will pull off the big upset of the night: Richard Jenkins, Melissa Leo, Michael Shannon or Taraji P. Henson?

How many winners will finish their speeches without being played off by the orchestra?

Who will be most likely to show their disappointment when they don’t win: Brad or Angelina?

Happy betting!

Tags: brad pitt oscars, oscar acceptance speeches, oscar winners