How the biggest mistake in Oscars history really happened

IT was the biggest stuff-up in Oscars history — and now, photos and interviews with the key players reveal exactly what went down.

“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 will haunt PricewaterhouseCoopers accountant Brian Cullinan for the rest of his life, 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.

One year on and just days away from the 90th Academy Awards, we revisit the biggest blunder in Oscars history.

WHAT HAPPENED

Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty presented Best Picture.

Hollywood veterans Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty reunited 50 years after they starred in Bonnie and Clyde together to present the night’s biggest award, for Best Picture.

When time came to read out the winner, Beatty hesitated, faltered — then passed the envelope to Dunaway. She didn’t hesitate: “La La Land.”

Cheers rang out, and the La La Land team took to the stage, key players from the film taking turns to deliver their speech.

Those who stood closest to the microphone were ecstatic, but further back in the thong, there was a growing disquiet. Harried stage managers could be seen moving through the group, demanding to look at the envelopes. The expressions of those on stage turned from elation to confusion and for some, crushing disappointment.

Interviewed for The Hollywood Reporter this week, some of the key players on stage recalled the fracas.

Front of stage: An elated winner. Behind him: Absolute chaos. Picture: Getty

“I thought there was a police action or something, maybe a terrorist attack happening,” said awards consultant Lisa Taback.

“I felt like someone had been hurt. I thought there was some kind of medical situation,” said La La Land star Ryan Gosling.

For exactly two minutes and 23 seconds, La La Land was the winner of the Best Picture Oscar. As the disquiet behind him grow from a murmur to all-out chaos, it was left to La La Land producer Fred Berger, third to speak, to finish his speech with a half-hearted: “We lost, by the way, but, y’know.”

The audience didn’t know what to think. Fellow producer Jordan Horowitz returned to the microphone and explained the situation more forcefully:

“There’s a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture. This is not a joke, Moonlight has won Best Picture.”

It seemed the audience still didn’t believe him so grabbed the correct envelope and held it aloft: “MOONLIGHT. BEST PICTURE.”

There it is.

Cameras captured the shocked reactions from the A-listers present as the cast and crew of Moonlight took to the stage:

Celebrities including Meryl Streep, The Rock, Matt Damon and Salma Hayek are seen stunned at the unfolding situation. Picture: Al Seib / Los Angeles Times / Polaris /australscope

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— nαdjα (@leiasjedi) February 26, 2018

Nicole Kidman can't contain her shock as the cast and crew of Moonlight take to the stage.

HOW IT HAPPENED

At first, public blame fell to Beatty and or Dunaway: The presenters had one job! How could they get it so wrong?

But in fact, they had been handed the wrong envelope before going on stage.

Partner for accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers, Brian Cullinan, and colleague Martha Ruiz were the pair in charge of counting votes for the awards, both standing side of stage and giving sealed envelopes to presenters through the night right before they took to the stage.

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.

Ruiz and Brian Cullinan carry their bags full of winners’ envelopes into the awards. Picture: Getty

In fact, Mr Cullinan had tweeted a photo of Best Actress winner Emma Stone backstage after her win, in the few moments before Beatty and Dunaway took to the stage:

The hastily-deleted tweet from Brian Cullinan, sent three minutes before the Best Picture gaffe at the Oscars. Source: Twitter

Another photo taken backstage shows Cullinan, who handed the envelope to Beatty and Dunaway, with his stack of envelopes under his arm while using his mobile phone:

Distracted? Cullinan backstage. Picture: AP

Cullinan and Ruiz stood at opposite sides of the stage, each with a full set of winners’ envelopes.

“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,” Cullinan had said in an interview in the lead-up to the ceremony.

“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.”

PriceWaterhouseCooper representatives Martha L. Ruiz and Brian Cullinan on the red carpet at the start of the ceremony. Picture: AFP

And that’s exactly what happened. Cullinan, perhaps distracted by his phone or his close encounter with Emma Stone, handed over the wrong envelope — the spare envelope for the previous award, announcing Stone as Best Actress winner for her role in La La Land.

That’s why Warren Beatty hesitated, faced with a “Best Picture” winner’s envelope that read “Emma Stone for La La Land.” It also explains how Dunaway would’ve seen that film’s name and instantly announced it as the winner.

WHY IT (PROBABLY) WON’T HAPPEN AGAIN

Despite the controversy, the Academy chose to retain their long-running contract with PwC, who will again handle the voting and envelope distribution process.

However, Cullinan and Ruiz will not return to the Oscars — ever. And you’d have to assume that the PwC representatives replacing them this year won’t be busy tweeting between awards.

Although don’t tell that to Kimmel, who hosted last year and will take the reins again for Monday’s ceremony.

“I like when things go wrong, I’m OK with it,” he told US Magazine this week.

“I’m still not clear on how the wrong envelope got into Warren Beatty’s hands. Colour coding might be a nice thing to think of this time around but I’ll be honest, it would be funny if it happened again.”

Originally published as How the biggest mistake in Oscars history really happened