Oscars 2011 Preview: The 83rd Academy Awards, which take place tonight in Hollywood’s Kodak Theater, are expected to generate hundreds of millions of live audience from around the world. And with new co-hosts in Anne Hathaway and James Franco, the ceremony might just look and sound a little different: youthful, yet elegant.

Hathaway is the youngest host ever, and when asked on Good Morning America why she thought she was chosen, the 28-year-old actress said: “Young and hip seemed to be the buzzwords that keep getting thrown around.”

I don’t know if the expansion of the Best Picture category to 10 nominees was good or bad for the industry. But what’s really intriguing is the nature of the two-horse race between “The Social Network” and “The King’s Speech”. Both have almost identical box-office earnings and high ratings at Rottentomatoes.com. The film about King George VI’s efforts to overcome his stammer is expected to reign. But if “Social Network” wins Best Picture, we hope the producers acknowledge Facebook’s millions of active users, without whose inspiration the movie could not have been made.

Who will take home the Oscars? Click here for a full list of 2011 Oscar nominations.

Oscars 2011 Live Stream: You don’t have to be in Tinseltown to get the most out of the evening. The 83rd Academy Awards will be televised on ABC at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 p.m. Pacific and the network is expected to generate more than 80 million dollars from selling ads.

Oscar.com will be live streaming some clips from the ceremony, but if you want full access to multiple live camera feeds on the red carpet and in the Kodak Theater during the show, shelling out $4.99 will do the trick. Viewers can look in any direction with the control of a mouse or trackpad because half a dozen 360-degree cameras have been set up.

If you’re more about what A-list celebrities are wearing than what the best movies were this year, the Associated Press is teaming up with Livestream.com to give you red carpet moments as well as backstage scoop live online. CNN will also offer live coverage of the red carpet arrivals, interviews and fashion hits and misses. You can also download the free Live From the Red Carpet App for the iPad, iPhone and Android devices at the iTunes store and Android Market.

Here’s another video:

Follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates and reaction from Tinseltown as it happens.

Oscars 2011 Predictions:

Best Picture
The King’s Speech

Director
David Fincher, The Social Network

Actor in a Leading Role
Colin Firth, The King’s Speech

Actor in a Supporting Role
Christian Bale, The Fighter

Actress in a Leading Role
Natalie Portman, Black Swan

Actress in a Supporting Role
Helena Bonham Carter, The King’s Speech

Animated Feature
Toy Story 3

Cinematography
Roger Deakins, True Grit

Adapted Screenplay
The Social Network

Original Screenplay
The King’s Speech

Visual Effects
Inception

Film Editing
The Social Network

Sound Editing
Inception

Sound Mixing
Inception

Original Score
The Social Network

Original Song
I See the Light from Tangled

Art Direction
Alice in Wonderland

Makeup
Wolfman

Foreign Language Film
Biutiful

UPDATE: “The King’s Speech” took home four awards including Best Picture. You can check out the full list of winners HERE.