Rules, How to Enter, Tie-Breaker

The Rules

1. The Big Six categories (Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, Supporting Actor, Supporting Actress) are worth three points. All other categories are worth one point.

2. I must receive your ballot via e-mail by 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time (two hours before the show) on Sunday, March 26. It doesn't take that long to fill it out, so don't wait until the last minute and tempt the fate of the e-mail processing gods. Make sure you answer the tie-break question, which is how long the show will last, in hours and minutes.

3. Please only enter once. Don't try to fake me out by entering five times under different e-mail addresses. I'll know. (Okay, I won't really. But karma would prevent you from winning anyway.)

4. I will send you a confirmation notice as soon as possible after I receive your entry, and I'll include your full answers in my reply. Make sure they're right, because they're what I'll be using to tally your score. I don't want anyone writing to me afterwards with "But I did too say Deuce Bigalow would win Best Picture."

5. After the Oscars, I'll e-mail to the winner with instructions on how to redeem the gift certificate. Please don't write to me asking if you've won; either you'll have an e-mail from me by Monday morning or you won't. I'll post the results on my page Monday evening so you can see how close you came.

6. With that in mind, please make sure you put in your entry e-mail how you want to be referred to in the "Final Standings" list (full name, first name only, nickname, whatever). If you don't answer, you're at my mercy. If you have a webpage, fill in the URL and I'll link you up, if you want.

How to Enter

Click to go to the Nominations page. The categories are numbered, and each nominee has a letter. (To make things easy, you might want to print out the page.) Make your picks, and e-mail your answers to the supercool Oscar address: oscars2000@usa.net. (Don't worry, you won't be disqualified if you accidentally send it to the regular one. It's just to help me stay organized.) Your e-mail should look something like this:

Dear Elizabeth,
Here are my Oscar Picks.
1. A
2. B
3. C
4. D
(etc.)
Tie-Break Question: How long will the show last?: 17 hours, 6 minutes
Here is how I want you to refer to me in the "Final Standings": Oscar God(dess)
Here is my URL: www.oscargod(dess).com
Thanks,
Your Name

(I made a form that you can copy and paste into your e-mail program, if you want. It's here.)

As soon as I receive your entry, I will send you a reply that will look something like this:

Dear You,
Here are your Oscar Picks.
1. Best Picture - Toy Story 2
2. Best Director - John Lassiter
3. Best Actor - Buzz Lightyear
4. Best Actress - Mrs. Potato Head
(etc.)
Tiebreak Answer: 14 hours, 37 minutes
Your "Final Standings" name: Oscar God(dess)
Your URL: www.oscargod(dess).com
Thanks for playing,
Elizabeth

Please check your answers carefully, because it is my reply that I will be printing out and using on Oscar night to tally your score. Let me know as soon as possible if I've screwed up any of your answers.

If your spouse or significant other or roommate or boss wants to enter, great! But please do it via separate e-mails. It'll help me when I'm tabulating scores to have them all on separate pages.

The Tie-Breaker

If two or more people tie, I will look first at the Big Six categories, and whoever got the most right out of those six will win. If there is still a tie, I'll go to the show length answers. Whoever is closest (either over or under) will win. (If by some freaky coincidence there's still a tie, I'll be picking a name out of a hat. There's only so much I can do.)

Click here for the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' official Oscar website. To enter, just follow the links below! Thank you and good luck!