“You know it’s a strange night when the word ‘envelope’ is trending on Twitter,” said Jimmy Kimmel, the host for the uneventful night of the 89th Academy Awards. And it was strange indeed for someone to mess up in the manner that they did at an event as huge as Oscars 2017. The PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) accountant, who is being held responsible for the Best Picture blunder has fallen under the spotlight.
The accountant, Brian Cullinan, who was responsible for handing over the envelopes to the presenters and tweeting out the results, is the man who made the dull affair go viral. Reportedly, Cullinan gave Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the presenters for Best Picture, the envelope for Best Actress instead of Best Picture. Not only was it an incorrect announcement, it was one for the most reputed award at the Oscars. Moreover, both Moonlight and La La Land had nearly equal masses of people rooting for their victory.
Mahershala Ali (Moonlight) and Emma Stone (La La Land) flaunt their respective Oscar statuettes. (Courtesy: Reuters)
The Academy’s position on Best Picture between these two films was also a racial subject as people (starting with April Reign) have alleged that the Oscars are oh, “so white”. With racial sensitivity in the equation, these two nominees had the potential to result in a storm so turbulent that it could wash down the Academy with it.
La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz declares Moonlight the clear winner. (Courtesy: Reuters)
The crowd at the Dolby Theatre roared with applause with the entire cast and crew of La La Land on stage only to be interrupted by the film’s producer Jordan Horowitz. “Guys, guys, I’m sorry. No. There’s a mistake,” Horowitz said. “Moonlight, you guys won best picture. This is not a joke.”
Watching the #Oscars producers slowly tell the #LaLaLand team they didn't win Best Picture is WILD. Keep your eyes on the background pic.twitter.com/3TRUWZAMjH
— Jarett Wieselman (@JarettSays) February 27, 2017
“Cullinan mistakenly handed the backup envelope for Actress in a Leading Role instead of the envelope for Best Picture,” PwC said. “Once the error occurred, protocols for correcting it were not followed through quickly enough by Mr Cullinan or his partner.”
PricewaterhouseCoopers, who have been overseeing for the Oscars ballot for 83 years, took full responsibility of the gaffe. “We sincerely apologise to Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, (host) Jimmy Kimmel, (broadcaster) ABC, and the Academy, none of whom was at fault for last night’s errors,” it said in its statement. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) also apologised for the blunder which was as controversial as it was sad (for La La Land, at least).
As the presenters read from the envelope, which unmistakably read “actress in a leading role”, they presumed that the Academy had meant to name La La Land. “This is not advanced math. PwC had to get the right name in the right envelope and get it to the right person,” said Tim Calkins, who is a marketing professor at Northwestern University. Calkins says that the blunder was a “bit of a branding tragedy.”
Moonlight director Barry Jenkins and Jordan Horowitz hugging after the Oscars gaffe. (Courtesy: Reuters)
As per protocol, two accountants are placed near the stage and are accountable for handing over the sealed envelopes, each of whom carries one. They also have to have the names of the winners in all 24 categories memorised. On the off-chance that they make a mistake, as they did on February 26, the organisers were left with no option than to interrupt the crew of La La Land, who were already reading their acceptance speeches.
Regardless of how it happened, it all ended well. La La Land went home with 6 awards and Moonlight director Barry Jenkins stated that “the folks from La La Land were so gracious.”
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