Oscars class photo: Seven things we spotted

This year's Oscars "class photo" has been released - and as usual there are several quirks and questionable outfits.

The picture sees 163 of this year's nominees gathered together and smiling away, but zoom in and there is a whole lot more going on.

Here are just seven of the things we spotted in this year's photo.

1. Pharrell Williams didn't exactly dress for the occasion

All of this year's male nominees are dressed smartly in tuxes and suits. Well, almost all.

The "dress code" memo must have gone into Pharrell's junk email inbox, because he turned up wearing a green baseball cap and grey sweater.

To be fair - the sweater does have the Nasa logo on it, a reference to best picture nominee Hidden Figures.

Pharrell wrote several songs for the soundtrack to the film, which tells the story of three African-American women who worked behind the scenes at the space agency in the 1960s.

2. Michelle Williams is upstaged by Casey Affleck's facial hair

Casey Affleck's facial hair is fast becoming the eighth wonder of the world. It gets longer with every awards ceremony he appears at this season.

It's now on the verge of totally eclipsing poor Michelle Williams, Affleck's co-star in Manchester by the Sea, who has to peep out from behind his mane.

She must be getting used to Affleck stealing her limelight.

The actor appears in nearly every scene in the 137-minute movie, while Williams's screen time clocks in at 11 minutes.

3. The writer of Moonlight wants you to know how many nominations it has

Tarell Alvin McCraney brightens up the back row of the photograph with his winning smile.

He's the man behind the stage play In Moonlight Black Boys Look Blue - which went on to become Moonlight, one of this year's most hotly-tipped Oscars contenders.

McCraney is so pleased with the film's success he wants to let you know just how many Oscar nominations the film has received, and he is seen here holding up eight fingers.

(There is, of course, another explanation. He could be making the "305" hand gesture - which is the area code for Miami-Dade county, his home and the place where Moonlight is set.)

Also - hats off to Shawn Levy (who's standing next to Tarell), who wins the award for the most delightfully bright smile of the whole photo. He is the producer of Arrival, which is nominated for best picture.

4. Justin Timberlake needs to sack his tailor

"What's your inside leg measurement, Justin?"

"I don't know, maybe 32 inches?"

"Hmmm, I don't have enough material for that. Have a 28-inch pair of trousers instead."

"Great, that'll do, thanks Derek."

5. The front row is so where we wanna be

Emma Stone, Matt Damon, Natalie Portman, Octavia Spencer are all sitting together in the front row.

Can someone please organise for us to join this BFF group, that'd be great, thanks.

Extra respect for Octavia Spencer for wearing a pair of white trousers while so many of the other female nominees are in a dress or skirt, and for Natalie Portman, who looks like she's wearing high heels even while pregnant with twins.

(She is actually wearing her flat shoes and tipping her heels up. Crafty.)

Also - Manchester by the Sea producer Kimberly Steward (far right) is that sweet kid in your class who was accidentally never looking at the camera in the school photo every single year.

6. Ryan Gosling needs to cheer up

You're the lead actor in the jointly most-nominated film of all time, pal. Uncross your arms for goodness sake.

Slightly happier to be there is the lovely Dev Patel, in the row in front, looking every inch the Hollywood star.

He's come a long way from how he looked at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009 when he was starring in Slumdog Millionaire.

He told the BBC: "I first came to Toronto in my school shoes and I had a blazer and I was with Frida [Pinto, his co-star] and they said 'You can't put this guy next to her because he looks so terrible'. I think I got a free penguin suit that didn't quite fit me and they gave me shoes."

This year, he's nominated for best supporting actor and is seen wearing a burgundy Valentino suit. Nice.

7. Is this gap for Meryl Streep?

Missing nominees from the photo include Michael Shannon (nominated for best supporting actor for Nocturnal Animals) and Andrew Garfield (best actor, Hacksaw Ridge).

But of course, the most notable absentee is Her Royal Acting Highness, Meryl Streep - who is up for best actress this year for her role in Florence Foster Jenkins.

Maybe this gap in the back row behind Denzel Washington was intended for her, and she got held up in traffic.

Alternatively, perhaps she's been to so many of these things she's just had enough. Either way, we're pretty sure she'll be at the ceremony.

This year's Oscars, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, will take place in Hollywood, Los Angeles on 26 February.