The groundswell of goodwill propelling Leonardo DiCaprio towards his first Oscar win appeared to have made a crucial breakthrough when CNN broadcast footage apparently confirming his Best Actor success - three weeks ahead of the ceremony.
During a report of the Academy Awards luncheon ahead of next month's ceremony, a screen grab showing a plaque with 'Academy Award to Leonardo DiCaprio' was posted online where it was quickly seized upon as evidence that, after four previous unsuccessful nominations, the star of Wolf of Wall Street had finally bagged a statuette.
But, at the risk of quelling fans' excitement, voting for the Academy Awards only begins on Friday, and nameplates are made for every nominee in advance of the ceremony.
Gold plates are added to winners' trophies at the post-Oscars Governors Ball and redundant plaques are recycled.
In 2010, industry insider The Hollywood Reporter, wrote that "RS Owens, the company that manufactures the Oscar statuettes, will create 197 nameplates - to factor in all the potential winners - in advance. Each engraving will include name, category, film title and year."
