PRICEWATERHOUSE BLOOPER!
OSCARS chiefs have launched an inquiry into how the wrong best picture winner was announced at the ceremony.
Accountancy giant PricewaterhouseCoopers, which counts votes and guards the secrets of who won what, pledged to investigate after La La Land was declared the victor instead of Moonlight.
The blunder came when veteran stars Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, who took to the stage to reveal the winner, were mistakenly handed the card for the best actress gong that had been given to La La Land star Emma Stone.
Beatty, 79, hesitated after opening the envelope — suspecting a mistake — but Dunaway, 76, saw the name of the movie and declared it had scooped the most coveted prize of the night.
The La La Land team were deep into their acceptance speeches at Hollywood’s Dolby Theatre when bosses told them of the mix-up.
The film’s producer Jordan Horowitz then had to swallow his disappointment and pass on to the audience that Moonlight was the true winner. PwC apologised, saying: ‘We are investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred.’
Before the ceremony, the firm’s counters Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz had insisted such an error was near impossible. Ms Ruiz said: ‘It’s him checking me and me checking him. We do it multiple times to make sure that when we are handing the envelopes to someone, we’re very confident the contents are accurate.’
Asked if anything could go wrong, Mr Cullinan added: ‘We would make sure the correct person was known very quickly. Again, it’s so unlikely.’
Ryan Gosling, who was on stage for La La Land’s ‘win’ when the speeches were halted, struggled to contain his giggles.
Oscars host Jimmy Kimmel defended Bonnie and Clyde star Beatty, saying: ‘Warren Beatty has had so much sex he can’t think.’
Author: Andrei Harmsworth
