Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are getting a do-over at tonight’s Academy Awards. This time the Oscar goes to Moonlight as the pair makes the first award of the night to the Best Picture winner of 2017. The presentation was overshadowed last year by an infamous mix-up that saw the Bonnie and Clyde couple almost send the gold statuette home with La La Land.
It’s the Academy’s bid to give the cast of Moonlight a moment to truly bask in the glory of their win, according to US Weekly.
A stunned audience of Hollywood A-listers saw La La Land producer Jordan Horowitz interrupt his acceptance speech to explain, “There’s a mistake. Moonlight, you guys won Best Picture.”
The unscripted drama unfolded when Beatty was given the envelope and then hesitated for a long moment before handing it with an air of confusion to Dunaway. Dunaway announced La La Land as the winner. Later, the actress told NBC Nightly News, “I was very guilty, I could have done something surely. Why didn’t I see Emma Stone’s name on the top of the card?”
Beatty told the Academy Awards audience at the time: “I opened the envelope and it said Emma Stone, La La Land. That’s why I took such a long look at Faye and at you. I wasn’t trying to be funny.” Stone had just won Best Actress in the category before Best Picture.
Moonlight director Barry Jenkins and the movie’s cast and producers accepted the award after La La Land director Damien Chazelle left the stage.
Two PricewaterhouseCoopers partners who were responsible for handing the winners’ envelopes to the presenters failed to give the correct envelope to Beatty and Dunaway. The PwC pair won’t be returning to tonight’s show.
If you can’t wait until the Academy Awards show airs on ABC Sunday, March 4, at 8 p.m. ET, check out the promo here that host Jimmy Kimmel has made. He’s hosting the Oscars again this year, and he’s frank and funny about his fears of a repeat.
PHOTO CREDIT: CHRIS PIZZELLO/INVISION/AP
