Oscars 2012: When and Where to Watch, Minnesota Connections and More

This Sunday evening is Oscars 2012 night, when the 84th Annual Academy Awards will bring this year's Hollywood awards season to a close.

The event, hosted this year by Billy Crystal (for the ninth time!), will begin at 7:30 p.m. CST and will air on ABC live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, CA.

But you can get into the Oscars mood even earlier; locally, ABC will start airing red carpet coverage at 6 p.m. CST, and the E! network began its Oscars coverage at 12:30 p.m. Sunday.

Look this year for at least two Minnesota connections to the nine Best Picture Award nominees, according to a WCCO report. Jim Burke is a Minnesota native and University of Minnesota graduate who is a co-producer of The Descendants, which stars George Clooney, while Bill Pohlad—son of Carl Pohlad, the former Minnesota Twins owner—is a co-producer of The Tree of Life, starring Brad Pitt.

Tell us and other readers in the comments section: Which of the nominated films have you seen? Which nominees do you think will earn one of the coveted gold statuettes?

And weigh in on our poll below—happy watching!