‘It doesn’t sound very complicated’: The words that will come back to haunt Brian Cullinan

THESE two people were in charge of handing out the right envelopes at the Oscars. They didn’t think it could go so wrong.

“IT doesn’t sound very complicated, but you have to make sure you’re giving the presenter the right envelope.”

Those are the words that are surely going to haunt Brian Cullinan following the monumental stuff up at the 2017 Academy Awards that saw La La Land briefly called out as the winner of Best Picture before it was actually given to the real winner, Moonlight.

The lead partner for accountancy firm Pricewaterhouse Coopers made the comments in the lead up to the Oscars in which he said so far, there has “never been a problem” at the famous ceremony.

“The producers decide what the order of the awards will be. We each have a full set. I have all 24 envelopes in my briefcase; Martha has all 24 in hers. We stand on opposite sides of the stage, right off-screen, for the entire evening, and we each hand the respective envelope to the presenter. It doesn’t sound very complicated, but you have to make sure you’re giving the presenter the right envelope,” he said.

Ruiz and Cullinan pictured onstage during the worst Oscars mistake in history. Picture: Kevin Winter/Getty Images/AFP

We’ve all had bad days at work, but spare a thought for these guys, Martha L. Ruiz and Brian Cullinan in charge of handing out the Oscars envelopes. Picture: Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP.

Mr Cullinan and his partner Martha Ruiz were the pair in charge of counting votes for the awards and the only two people to have known the result before the ceremony.

Their position has been described as the “coolest job an accountant can have” and it’s no easy gig to get. Mr Cullinan has 30 years experience and has been leading the ballot team since 2014 while Ms Ruiz joined the team as co-leader in 2015 after 10 years behind the scenes.

Both of them had been excitedly tweeting behind the scenes news in the lead up to the event and conducting interviews with international television stations.

It was all smiles earlier during the ceremony. Picture: Christopher Polk/Getty Images/AFP

Ms Ruiz has previously described handing out the envelopes as surreal and intense, saying

“I distinctly remember, after the last envelope was handed to the presenter, it was like a flashback — “Wow that was great, that was exciting.” — but as each minute was passing during the day of the show, I was laser-focused.”

It’s not known which of the two presenters handed the wrong envelope out, but PwC is investigating what happened.

After the gaffe, the company issued a statement saying they “deeply regret” what occurred and apologised to the producers, presenters, viewers and actors involved.

Catch up on all the latest from the Oscars ceremony here.

Brie Larson, left, being handed the best actor envelope by accountant Brian Cullinan backstage at the Oscars. Picture: Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP.

Originally published as ‘It doesn’t sound very complicated’: The words that will come back to haunt Brian Cullinan