Oscars 2014 Predictions: Did CNN Spoil Leonardo DiCaprio's Best Actor Win? Not Likely

Leonardo DiCaprio's first Best Actor win is far from a given - so why is rumor spreading that his win has been leaked already? An image has been making the internet rounds showing a plaque bearing the inscription "Academy Award to Leonardo DiCaprio Best Performance By An Actor In A Leading Role 'Wolf of Wall Street' 2013," with an Oscar statuette sitting in the background. The photo appeared on CNN and has since ignited claims that DiCaprio has won prematurely.

However, the photo doesn't actually reveal anything we didn't already know. Leonardo DiCaprio is indeed one of the hot contenders for the award, however, the votes have not even been tallied. From the Academy website, "Final ballots are mailed to voting members in late-January and are due back to PricewaterhouseCoopers the Tuesday prior to Oscar Sunday for final tabulation." This means that the votes won't actually begin to be counted until Tuesday February 25th.

Moreover, since 2010, the Academy has been making name plates for all the nominees. That year, 197 plaques were made, and the eventual winners had their personalized plaques attached to the statuettes at the Governor's Ball following the big night. Name-plates left over from non-winners are recycled. So while Leo fans may be disappointed to know that the Wolf of Wall Street hasn't got his Oscar yet, DiCaprio is still a contender for the top prize.