In an epic flub that drew gasps of horror — and joy — at the Dolby Theater here, Faye Dunaway mistakenly named La La Land the best picture at the 89th Academy Awards on Sunday night, but in reality Moonlight won the top prize.
The producers of La La Land were still thanking their families and fellow artists when the interjection came that Moonlight had in fact won, as everyone wondered if it was a joke. But it wasn’t, and the La La Land people quickly exited the stage as producers and stars of Moonlight , just as stunned as everyone else, walked on.
Warren Beatty and Dunaway had presented the best picture award. When Beatty opened the envelope, he took an extended pause before showing the card to Dunaway, who then announced La La Land as the winner. “I want to tell you what happened,” Beatty said in the chaotic moments after Moonlight was announced as the winner. “I opened the envelope, and it said “Emma Stone, La La Land .” That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny. This is Moonlight , the best picture.”
Moonlight , the story of a young, gay, black man, won three statuettes in total, including the best adapted screenplay and the best supporting actor.
“Very clearly, even in my dreams this could not be true,” said Barry Jenkins, director of Moonlight . “But to hell with dreams, I’m done with it, because this is true. Oh my goodness.”
Held up as an escapist, believe-in-yourself antidote for the times, the neo-musical La La Land won six Oscars, including statuettes for Damien Chazelle’s directing and Stone’s acting, during a jaunty ceremony that swung between self-celebration and political acrimony — before its wild ending.
It was not immediately clear how the mistake was made, though ABC News tweeted out a photo that showed that the envelope in Beatty’s hand read “Actress in a Leading Role.” - New York Times
Academy issues apology
PTI adds:
Academy has issued a statement from PricewaterhouseCoopers, the ballot tabulators, for the embarrassing mix-up during the Best Picture announcement.
They cleared that it was not Warren Beatty or Faye Dunaway’s fault as they had been “mistakenly” given the wrong category envelope, adding the matter is being investigated.
“We sincerely apologize to Moonlight,La La Land , Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, and the 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,” the statement, issued by the Academy read.
