For Oscar junkies filling out their ballots with friendly bets or bragging rights on the line, there is no shortage of places to go and “expert” opinions to read if you’re looking for a little help.
It’s a tradition among Hollywood trade papers, along with entertainment websites like this one, to collect insider and insider-adjacent opinions and project winners with an accuracy rate around 70 to 80 percent.
Nowadays, just about everybody gets into the act. Almost every media outlet – TV networks, magazines and newspapers – produce in-house ballots for their consumers’ benefit. For all the naysaying and controversies surrounding the Oscar show, they know interest is always high.
But who would have thought you can get an opinion from Amazon’s voice assistant Alexa.
Ask her who’s going to win Best Picture and she’ll tell you who she hopes will win, who she predicts will win and she’ll throw in a bad pun to boot: “I wish I could say ‘Wakonda forever,’ but I think ‘Roma’ is going to take the Oscar homa.”
SEE 2019 Oscars predictions by experts: All 8 Best Picture nominees will win at 91st Academy Awards
For Best Actress, she says “It’s going to be close. Glenn Close, that is, for her portrayal of Joan Castleman in ‘The Wife.’”
She says the academy will say “Yas Queen” for Rami Malek as Best Actor for “Bohemian Rhapsody,” Mahershala Ali “will turn his ‘Green Book’ performance into Oscar gold” for supporting actor, and Regina King is set to be “crowned Best Supporting Actress for ‘If Beale Street Could Talk.’”
And for Best Director, she even works in a movie reference: “For his work on ‘Roma,’ Alfonso Cuaron has theg ravity to attract the Oscar.” Cuaron won the directing Oscar for the 2013 space drama “Gravity.”
Alexa has no predictions beyond the top six and she isn’t sticking her digital neck out on any of them. Her picks are big favorites on Gold Derby and most other informed ballots.
But at least she’s playing. So far, Siri and Cortana are mum.
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Be sure to check out how our experts rank this year’s Oscar contenders. Then take a look at the most up-to-date combined odds before you make your own 2019 Oscar predictions. Don’t be afraid to jump in now since you can keep changing your predictions until just before winners are announced on February 24
