OscarMania '16!

[Michael Davidson]

Hey all,

It's time to make your picks for my annual Academy Awards Pool! I know I'm sending out the ballot a little later than in years past, but most people don't make their picks until the last week anyway, so you all should have plenty of time.

For those who haven't played in the past, there's no money involved (since none of us are particularly good at this), so there's no reason NOT to play. For those who have played before, you can skip down to the "Here's how to play" section for the ballot and tie-breaker rules (including NEW bonus EXPERIMENTAL tie-breaker!).

Here's how it works:

At the bottom of this e-mail is a link to a ballot with the names of all of the nominees for all of the categories (see? you don't even have to do any research!). All you'll need to do is fill out the ballot with who you think will win each category (or with wild-ass guesses, if that's more your style). The ballot also has a page for a tie-breaker (see below for details), and a page for an experimental tie-breaker.

We've divided up the categories into two chunks: The Top Half (which includes Best Picture and Director, both Screenplay awards, all four Acting awards, and Animated Feature), and The Bottom Half (which includes everything else).

When all the awards have been handed out, I will tabulate the scores and announce the top 5 pickers/guessers for The Top Half, The Bottom Half, Overall, and the Tie-Breaker.

Here's why you shouldn't be scared of playing:

If you're thinking "I'm going to totally suck at this! The only movie I saw this year was Fifty Shades of Gray!", then, miraculously enough, you have seen an Oscar Nominee (for Best Song). My other answer is: we're all kind of bad at this. Our overall performance is mediocre at best. Last year, our group average didn't crack 40% in any category. If you do horribly, you'll be in good company. Also, as long as you aren't one of the six people in the country who haven't seen Star Wars, you've seen at least one nominee in five of the categories.

Here's how to play:

Just click this link:

http://goo.gl/forms/7ZYyhaqnLv

And fill out the ballot, if you want in. The ballot must be submitted by 6 PM ET on Sunday, February 28!

I use Google Drive to tabulate scores, and while I will send a summary of the results (e.g. Top Fives and some random stats) out over e-mail, if you want a look at the full results, you'll need a Google/Gmail account. The last couple years, I have been posting scores in real time on Oscar Night and it worked out pretty well. I'm not sure I'll be able to stay awake till the end this year, but we might be doing that again. If so, you'll need a Google/Gmail account to get live score updates.

We are going to stick with the tie-breaker system we've used for the last few years, which worked pretty well:

How many people will be named in this year's In Memorium montage (you know, the series of clips where they show all the people who have died in the past year)? I will be counting names, not faces, so if they show somebody but don't give their name, they won't be included.

However, I'm also beta-testing a new, less morbid tie-breaker for possible use in future years. It's not going to "count" for anything this year (as if any of this does), but if people like it, maybe we'll try it for next year. Here's the experimental tie-breaker:

At the time the Best Picture Oscar is awarded, what will the outdoor temperature in degrees Fahrenheit (°F) be? To determine the "correct" answer, we will use the National Weather Service station closest to the theater, and the observation closest in time to the time the winner was announced. Whoever answers closest to the "correct" answer is the winner!

NOTE (because it's frequently asked): For the tie-breakers, we DO NOT use "Price is Right" rules. Whoever guesses closest (over or under) is the winner.

If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions about any of this,
let me know.

Good luck!

- Mike

P.S. If there's anyone I'm missing that should be in on this, let me know. And I'm sorry if you've received this twice. And if you want me to stop sending you these e-mails every year, because you are not interested in participating ever, let me know that, too. I promise I won't be offended.

[Michael Davidson]

Hey folks,

Unfortunately, do to a Google Forms glitch (possibly of my own making), the Oscar ballots you all submitted were recorded without names or e-mail addresses. As a result, I have 24 ballots, but no way to attach them to a particular person. I know when each ballot was submitted, but not who submitted it.

I will still score the results as planned (e-mail with score link to come), and will add a field to the spreadsheet for you to "claim" your ballot, if you want. Please only claim the ballot if you are sure that the ballot is yours. There will also be a place to put your e-mail address if you want to be apprised of results.

Not the most shining moment in the history of OscarMania, I admit. Kind of the Rob Lowe/Snow White of my little game.

Sorry folks. Hopefully we'll have better luck next year.

Best,

Mike

[Michael Davidson]

Hey again,

Here's the link to the score sheet.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1bkORukXa6oa7H0HbmfdvQ2jKJKjs4hBSW9QpxKHZ3z8/edit?usp=sharing

If you still want to play, go ahead and claim your ballot on the Ballots worksheet (just put your name in the name column), and put your e-mail down on the E-mails worksheet, so I can get back in touch with you.

I'll be updating in real time up to at least the In Memorium montage, at which point I may go to sleep.  If you want to look at the scores as they're updated, keep your eye on the Scores worksheet.

If you have any trouble with getting in, shoot me an e-mail. If you want to chat with others who are watching the scoring, click on the little speech bubble in the upper-right corner, next to the Comments button.

Good luck!

Mike

[David Diamondstone]

Shenanigans. I demand a recount!