Before we settle in for the Oscars recap and all of the fashion, let’s figure out what the hell happened with the Best Picture screwup, because good God that was crazy. As I covered last night, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunway presented the Best Picture Oscar… to La La Land. Warren looked noticeably confused when he opened the envelope, which he passed to Faye and then Faye said “La La Land.” But people have been analyzing this like the Zapruder film, and apparently Beatty always had the wrong card – he had a second Best Actress card:
"Actress in a Leading Role."
Don't blame #WarrenBeatty #Oscars #BestPicture— Ryan Lavender (@RealLavender) February 27, 2017
Here’s the video of Beatty looking confused:
WATCH: The moment Warren Beatty gave what appeared to be a second look while opening the Best Picture envelope. #Oscars
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 27, 2017
Beatty told reporters after the Oscars: “I don’t know anything … I don’t think anyone knows. I’ve asked and I haven’t got an answer. I read the card that was in the envelope. I read it but I didn’t say La La Land. I thought, ‘This is very strange because it says Best Actress on the card.’ And I felt that maybe there was some sort of misprint. As planned, I gave it to Faye. And that’s all I want to say on the subject.” Meanwhile, the accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has taken the blame and issued a statement:
“We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture. The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC, and Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation.”
People Magazine has some background on what was happening in the chaos. When the La La Land people came on stage and were making their speeches, someone in the back shouted, “Oh my God, it’s not La La Land, it’s Moonlight!” Maybe someone backstage? Warren Beatty wandered off-stage and one person said, “Warren Beatty won’t give up the envelope! Security is coming.” Apparently, there are a few different cards printed for each winner, and it’s not like Emma Stone put down her Best Actress envelope and Beatty picked up the wrong one – Emma told reporters that she had her envelope and card on her since she won, so Beatty was clearly given the wrong card.
Naomie Harris reportedly thought the whole thing was a prank, but director Barry Jenkins was pretty Zen about the whole thing. He told reporters backstage:
“No explanation. Things just happen… I think all the movies that were nominated were worthy, so I accepted the results, I applauded like everyone else. I noticed the commotion that was happening, and I thought something strange had occurred. I’m sure everybody saw my face, but I was speechless with the result. I had always watched the Academy Awards and I had never seen that happen before. It made a very special feeling even more special, but not in a way I expected. I will say, the folks from La La Land were so gracious. I can’t imagine being in their position and having to do that. We spent a lot of time together over the last six months, and I can’t imagine being in their position. It’s why I was speechless — I wasn’t speechless because I won, I was so speechless that they had to do that.”
It really was extraordinary that in the moment, in that chaos, La La producer Jordan Horowitz had the presence and grace to go to the microphone and call up Moonlight and say it would be his honor to give them the Oscar. And now Jenkins has a weird story about Warren Beatty too – go here to read more.
WATCH: Moment where crew/cast of 'La La Land' realizes a mistake had been made and 'Moonlight' actually won Best Picture. #Oscars
— Good Morning America (@GMA) February 27, 2017
Photos courtesy of Getty.
