A #Moonlit Night
March 3, 2017
The Academy Awards. The Super Bowl of the film industry, the big leagues. But with such a big night, there’s certain to be a few mistakes. This year had arguably the biggest flub of the 89 years. Best picture, the most prestigious award, was accidentally handed to the wrong film, due to an envelope mix up. The La La Land crew was wrongly presented the award, but graciously handed it over to the Moonlight crew. “We sincerely apologize to Moonlight, La La Land, Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway and Oscar viewers for the error that was made during the award announcement for Best Picture,” said PricewaterhouseCoopers , the company formerly responsible for the Oscar envelopes. “The presenters had mistakenly been given the wrong category envelope and when discovered, was immediately corrected. We are currently investigating how this could have happened, and deeply regret that this occurred. We appreciate the grace with which the nominees, the Academy, ABC and [host] Jimmy Kimmel handled the situation.” The Academywill no longer work with the company.
But the night shouldn’t be defined by it’s flaws. History was made. Moonlight became the first LGBTQ+ related film, and the first film with an all black cast, to win Best Picture. Moonlight’s Marhershala Ali became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, and the films producer became the first woman to win twice for producing. Due to it’s win, Moonlight is now in wide theatrical release, coming to a theater near you.