Dear Gossips,

“White people with clipboards” is a real thing. Especially in LA. Especially at any event where celebrities are involved. Especially at the Oscars. But we don’t want to blow our loads too early. Tiffany Haddish and Maya Rudolph will have their moment on the blog today. As you know, however, the way we roll out our awards coverage, the best – and often worst – comes near the end. 

Just to go local for a moment though, if you don’t mind, can we talk about Toronto? Toronto represented last night at the Oscars. The Shape Of Water team mentioned Toronto several times and its win for Best Picture was also a win for Toronto’s film production community. Just this weekend, it was announced that Cinespace Film Studios has signed a multi-year lease to occupy and develop Marine Terminal 51 and the Cruise Ship Terminals in Toronto into an expanded film and television production facility. You know what was shot at Cinespace? The Shape Of Water and The Handmaid’s Tale. One was just named Best Picture at the Oscars. The other won the Emmy for Outstanding Drama Series and the Golden Globe for Best Television Series, Drama in its first season. Things are happening in Toronto. 

If you live outside of Toronto though, you probably don’t care. What you care about is the drama, the dresses, the gossip of the Oscars. And we’ll get there – Duana, Kathleen, and I are writing all night and through the morning but before we start, a shout-out to Annabella Sciorra, Ashley Judd, and Salma Hayek, who did not say his name, but who were there to make sure that his name would never be mentioned again at the Oscars, before introducing a package dedicated to trailblazers, highlighting the importance of representation, inclusion, diversity, and intersectionality. We were watching with our entire team in the hotel. And the entire room was moved by that edit. But then… Kobe Bryant won an Oscar. 

Was there a big sigh at your house at that moment? We’re still sighing about it, the three of us, as we’re scrambling to get out our posts. It’s not perfect. It’s FAR from perfect. At the same time, when I watch back the clip of Annabella Sciorra last night and I hear her say, “It’s been a while”, it HAS been a while, and she wasn’t at the Oscars last year because he was. And this year she was the one on stage and he’s the one who’s in hiding, watching wistfully from afar an event where he was known to be a kingmaker and behaved like a king himself. The question then, for Hollywood and beyond, is how to build on that. 

Let’s begin then. As always, our Oscars coverage is heavy and will take up several pages. So if you’re joining us late, please keep scrolling back so you can get caught up. Duana, Kathleen, and I have been fighting all night about our favourites, about who gets to write what, about whether or not we should be writing about who. So, please, fight with us. Yell at us. Agree with us. No, actually, agree with ME. Do not agree with Duana or Kathleen. I would appreciate it. 

THANK YOU for joining us today. We love this night. We don’t sleep. We have so much to say. We love that you have so much to say. Here we go!

Yours in gossip,

Lainey