Dunaway and Beatty incorrectly announced the musical "La La Land" as the Best Picture winner in 2017 when it was actually the drama "Moonlight." But it wasn't their fault. An employee with PricewaterhouseCoopers, the firm that delivers the sealed Oscar winners, was distracted backstage and handed Dunaway and Beatty the wrong envelope.
Oscars: Faye Dunaway, Warren Beatty Expected to Return to Present Best Picture After Flub https://t.co/Ts6RvRXi4G pic.twitter.com/gSN8t3d1eL
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After the "La La Land" cast showed up on stage to collect their Oscar, the presenters reannounced the winner as "Moonlight," stunning the cast members and the audience, alike.
PricewaterhouseCoopers created a new policy to make sure that kind of confusion doesn’t happen again, including prohibiting the use of smartphones and social media backstage during the Oscars show.
The company also now requires a stage manager and the presenters to verify the winner envelope is the right one before the presenters head onstage.
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