Dear Gossips,

Four more sleeps until the Oscars. Oscar voting closed yesterday. How’s your ballot looking? Don’t forget there’s a bag and a phone on the line – please click here if you’ve not yet entered our Annual Red Carpet Contest! And if you haven’t submitted your entry yet, some things to consider:

The Hollywood Reporter has published its first Brutally Honest Oscar Ballot and it is hilariously on schedule and at times offensive, just like its predecessors. Does it matter though? I wrote about these anonymous voter profiles a couple of weeks ago and how they can not only uphold the status quo but also f-ck with your picks at your viewing parties. So, in considering your own ballot, you might want to take a look at what some of the experts are predicting. 

The Shape Of Water and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri are the presumed frontrunners. But Variety, for example, is warning of a possible Dunkirk upset, and Vanity Fair is predicting that Get Out will win Best Picture. Vulture notes that the Academy’s new push for diversity in membership could result in some surprising wins. And according to Deadline, the Best Picture race, right now, is wide open, because of that preferential ballot. Which means that films like Lady Bird or Get Out could come through in the end because of their consistently high rankings, so long as they show up in the top 3 on most ballots. What’s interesting about that though is that Deadline’s article was posted before Oscar voting closed at 5pm PT. And, this year, many Oscar voters were waiting until the last minute to submit their ballots. Think about that traditional Academy voter, the one who still represents the old guard, the old white man over 70. He hears that Get Out has a chance. What do you think his reaction is? Does he vote strategically so make sure that Get Out wins… or loses? 

We may actually have a race. And some suspense. Once again, click here to enter our Annual Red Carpet Contest. I want to send you the prize. You’ll love the bag, you’ll love the phone. Vote wisely!

Yours in gossip,

Lainey