MovieChat Forums > General Discussion > Wow, Academy Awards mess up

Wow, Academy Awards mess up


La La Land won best picture, then they said Moonlight actually won. How does that happen?

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Warren did try to explain it, but didn't make much sense to me.

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Somehow the envelope they gave to Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway was the card announcing Emma Stone's win for La La Land. So instead of saying, "Hey, I think this is the wrong card" they announced La La Land as the winner. Stupid.

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they took the card away from warren and held it up and it said "Moonlight"

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Snatched it very rudely I thought

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I saw that and thought the same thing, that guy is a jerk, I think they are all full of what makes the grass grow green

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Right? I was so glad they didn't won after that. The guy was there - he saw how nervous Warren Beatty look when he realized they had given him the wrong envelope (he kept staring at the audience, maybe looking for someone in charge to handle things in a more sensible way - obviously, it backfired), and it was actually Faye Dunaway who announced the wrong winner, mistaking Beatty's attempt to clue her in what was happening.

What a douche.

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I'm not as smart as the people at price watershed (or whatever) but maybe if they put what the award was for on the outside of the sealed envelope, like, "Best Picture" "Best Actor" "Best Song" etc, in big letters so they don't need their glasses, that screw up could never happen.

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It might be a bit dark backstage (?)

I mean, as far as Mr. Beatty verifying what's written on a dark red envelope...
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Did they? It wasn't clear as I watched it, and rewatched it where that envelope came from there was so much commotion on the stage.

Apparently, the representative from Price Waterhouse who was only 1 of 2 people who knew the winner heard Dunaway say "La La Land" and immediately thought "They took the wrong envelope!"

Meanwhile, Emma Stone says she was standing back stage and had the envelope for her best performance by a leading lady in her hand the whole time.

So, there were two envelopes for her award?? Maybe they make two in case the original gets lost in the commotion and they can give it to the winner as a keepsake.

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There are two sets of envelopes, one on each side of the stage, since apparently it isn't known beforehand which side of the stage the presenter is entering on.

In my opinion that's where the possibility for errors lies, and if that's the case it's surprising to me this hasn't happened before. There has to be a way to know beforehand which side the presenters enter on - just find out what it is and make sure there's only ONE set of envelopes and they're properly placed. Should be easy to do.

Not to mention, there is usually a LONG time between presentations, so I don't see why they can't just have all the envelopes at a central location (NOT in the wings) and just have one person responsible for giving the envelope to the presenter backstage. Then the presenter can go stand at whichever side they need to and there's no need for two sets of envelopes.

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My Google fú it's failing me right now, but It actually happened at least one time before with the Best Actor Award, if I am not mistaken.

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Oh, that's interesting. So, there is a person sitting at each envelope location and they hand out the appropriate one to the presentors. That person screwed up.

I'm surprised it doesn't happen more often, actually.

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Ultimately, the MovieChat Board of Founding Members will decide who is to blame. But in the mean time...

I hope this doesn't create a backlash against senior citizens like Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway being presenters!! (Should Faye have worn her glasses??)
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HAHAHAHAHA......yes, ONLY on MovieChat ! ! !

(We will probably all be interviewed by news programs tomorrow!!!)

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2018 in Memoriam: Faye Dunaway who died of embarrassment on Feb. 26, 2017! But no one's fault. Warren has had so much sex he can't think about things like that anymore!

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In 1984 Laurence Olivier accidentally read the winner of Best Picture (Amadeus) without reading the nominees. The producer of Amadeus attempted to correct the mistake by mentioning all of the other best picture nominees in his acceptance speech.

The presenter for Best Picture is usually a veteran of film, and since this was in no way his fault, or Dunaway's, I don't think they'll do anything drastic like stop that practice. I'm sure they'll be extra careful with the envelopes next year, though.

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Bette Davis was also a bit of an embarrassment around 1980 (?) She made some abrupt jump in the announcement, then Goldie Hawn and Chevy Chase both looked stricken, and started giggling. I'll try to find the clip.

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Here it is....she can't keep up and just stops reading the nominees names as the clips play. (Or maybe they cut her mic!)

http://youtu.be/kIrqJU0pjPs

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Warren and Fay were given the wrong envelope, when he opened he looked puzzled, and before he said anything he looked at Fay and show her the content... I think she just thought he creating suspence but he was like "?!?" .
Whoever handle him the envelope should be blamed!

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Dunaway and Beatty had a fight at the rehearsal about who was going to actually announce the winner (they're both controlling divas) and she was afraid he was going to say it....which is why she swooped in and said it so quickly when he gave her an opening.

Had she taken more time, she might have noticed it said "EMMA STONE - La La Land"

It's kind of everyone's fault....the Price Waterhouse person for envelope, Beatty for not speaking up and saying "There's apparently a problem," and Dunaway for chomping at the bit, afraid her costar was going to steal her thunder.

(I think everyone in Hollywood basically detests Faye Dunaway, anyway, and were rubbing their hands in glee....but still, that was pretty mortifying.)
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I didn’t watch it live (since it was on in the middle of the night here), but I did catch it on the news. I felt second hand embarrassment for Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. And I felt bad for the people from La La Land, to be called on stage and not be the winners. But it’s a honest mistake, it could happen to anyone.

First Elizabeth Taylor and now Beatty and Dunaway, old folks can’t catch a break in these award shows. :D

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Madonna falling down the steps is THE classic, and I would say she is an oldie nowadays.

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This is so hilarious. There's no way in the world I'll ever take the Oscars seriously now, it's one big joke.

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Could it be that La La Land was supposed to be the rigged winner, while Moonlight was the actual winner?

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Yeah! I agree1 its previous 2 posts. What a scam! Anthony Edwards was on the after show promoting conspiracy. it was great!

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I was thinking, "How could a reputable public accounting firm like Price Waterhouse allow this screw up to happen!"

Then I remembered...

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Then you remembered what?

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They allowed companies they were supposed to be auditing get away with things that caused the financial collapse (and earlier, Enron, Tycho...) because they didn't want to lose out on big fees from their consulting businesses.

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Real Shame that it was not Hacksaw Ridge they announced instead of Lala. Just imagine Mel Gibson being interrupted half way through a grand "Redemption" speech and them taking the Oscar out of his hand....Ahhh well.

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True, he probably would have blamed it on the Jews.

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That would have been utterly PRICELESS!!

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Haha, ya know it.

Fake Dunaway and Warren Cheatty.

:)

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