What the heck happened at the Oscars?

[Northernlurker]

Cock up or conspiracy?

Emma Stone says she was holding her card so if it was in the envelope it was a duplicate, why would you do that?????

My favourite meme is the one that blames Putin.....

Too many bloody old people are allowed too much responsibility in American public life. They should be playing golf & gardening.

Because young people never make mistakes Pushing.

As for the involvement of older people in American public life, let me just point you in the direction of the House of Lords.

No pushing but they do need to recognise that stars from a bygone time may not be cut out for the cut and thrust of 21st century global media coverage of the Oscars where the ability to cover up a cock up is greatly reduced.

They looked out of their depth.

The people who saved the day, the LLL producers wereproducers were quick to get things back on track. They knew how to handle the situation and think on their feet..

I think the problem was the writing on the card was too small for two people who will be needing reading glasses. If you look at the way the cards are typed the movie and name are in bold but the size is quite small.

I also think FD was the one who screwed up. WB looked at it and clocked it wasn't right. He was putting the care back in the envelope and she pulled it out and said the movie because that is what she saw. She didn't think.

I watched the footage as we have DVR and live in the US, so DH was watching, and it was the male partner who screwed up. I am actually really happy it was him and not the female partner. The male partner is really really high up at PwC, with a seat on the board of PwC Global. He won't lose his job over this. The female partner probably would have been asked to dissolve her partnership (ie sacked).

Oh and yes I work for big 4. They love to talk equality but this just goes to show how far they need to go. It is still the case that too many men make partner who are one of the bro's. This guy is clearly 'one of the bro's', who are often the partners I avoid working for. You are working at the oscars and he was taking pictures of Emma Stone which is why he screwed up. You expect that sort of error from an intern or 1st year associate. Not from a partner.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/arts-and-entertainment/wp/2017/02/27/la-la-land-producer-jordan-horowitz-is-the-truth-teller-we-need-right-now/?postshare=4711488180595430&tid=sstw&utmm_term=.d539ad612b8e

Wannabee, you've just expressed the thought that crossed my mind this afternoon:, reading about this fiasco. Whatever WB or FD did or didn't do, the cock-up came down to a very senior guy not doing his job - a job he no doubt saw as a pice of cake and something he could do with his eyes shut. Evidently not.
And I think the stars' relative ages are an easy target. Yes it was a producer who brought the situation around, not an actor. Had a younger actor been reading the card tne result is likely to have been the same. They're paid to read out loud, not question what's on the auto-prompt or the script.

NRWT, but what Dolly said near the beginning. Before the Oscars, there was a piece (Times?) including an interview with one of the two PwC partners. For security they manually count all the votes themselves, and write out two sets of envelopes, identical, and one is stationed each side of the stage. The two of them have done the last 6 or 7 Oscars, so it is a familiar routine. Before the envelopes are opened, they are the only people who really know who won what.

I didn't see the Oscars, but what seems to have happened is that one of the two handed over the wrong envelope (for Best Actress) and the folks on stage seem to have been puzzled by the envelope when they opened it, but instead of some stage whispering querying, read out the film name rather than (as that envelope contained) the actress's name.

It has the sound of an old fashioned boo-boo, but given the insatiable desire for publicity, and that the Oscars have become a bit flat without some brouhaha (remember wardrobe malfunction?) I wouldn't be surprised if it wasn't a stunt.

If the same PwC folks aren't doing it next year, that suggests a genuine cock-up ...

Have just seen on BBC News that both PWC peeps have been fired! WTF!

I understood that it was the guy who'd given out the wrong envelope (and had tweeted a pic a few seconds before, which isn't allowed) - so why the hell has the woman been blamed as well- if she was on the other side of the stage?? I just don't get it

Sorry, my mistake. They haven't been fired by PWC but Oscars CEO has said they won't work at the Oscars again and they are assessing ongoing relationship with PWC.

So I also don't see why she should be in trouble. She did absolutely nothing wrong. It was him who was too busy taking pictures of Emma stone.

The problem PWC has is that you don't get more senior a partner than him. He sits on the global board. If it was a more junior partner they throw them under the bus but there isn't a big enough bus for this guy.

The only thing this has taught me is that Hollywood people are so far out of touch it's not funny. Yes it's bad that this mistake was made but it's not the worst mistake.

The whole envelope thing is also way way too complicated. Why not write the award on the outside of the envelope?

Seems like PWC cocked up twice. Once in handing Warren and Faye the wrong envelope and twice in not rectifying it immediately.

People seem to be shooting the messengers which is unfair. Warren thought it was odd, and then Faye, under pressure, saw La La Land on the card and read that out.

You know the expression, "you had one job". Well PWC had one job and they cocked it up royally!

Yy both the PWC staff are being held responsible for not rectifying the mistake quickly enough. It's all starting to feel a bit ott.
It was the Oscars. It was a wrong envelope. It's hardly a catastrophe and it's probably made it the most talked-about Oscars ever.

The male PWC partner seems to have been to blame - too busy taking and tweeting a photo of Emma Stone. He should resign. He is pretty much retirement age for a PWC partner anyway.

I suppose one element in the slowness of response is that these weren't TV people, they were accountants. Their instinct is bo doubt to check and check when a mistake has been made cover it up, whereas a producer/director/even an sm would just immediately want the trainwreck going on onstage and going out on air to be sorted out and smoothed over.
Telling that it was the 'winning' producer who called it to a halt.

I feel really sorry for the PWC people. Yes it was a screw-up but really, it's just an awards show, not a general election.

Out of interest (because this didn't seem worth a thread of its own!)

1. why was there a running joke taking the piss out of Matt Damon?!

2. who decides who sits in the front row- I get Casey Affleck, Meryl Streep- but Busy Phillips was there and I don't think she was in an Oscar movie this year?

Matt and Jimmy have an ongoing jokey feud going on for years. They say Kimmel books him every night for his show and doesn't let him come on. It's just a gag, you will find lots of clips on youtube.

Busy Phillips was the plus one of her BFF Michelle Williams.
Want 2B I think the award was written on the outside of the envelope!

ThomasRichard - th PWC people had one job to do. Get the right envelopes into the right hands at the right time. They failed. They are paid a heck of a lot of money to do so. A senior partner too busy taking photos of celebs and posting them on social media rather than concentrate on handing out the last and most important envelope of the whole award show was being completely unprofessional.

It might not be as important as an election but they are paid a lot of money to do their jobs. If he doesn't resign he should be sacked.

This article explains why both of them have been banned:

www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-39140441

A1 I thought I saw that! I think this has to be one of the easiest engagements out there. It is so easy they gave it to a tax partner when it is an assurance job. I am in assurance.... We NEVER give anything to the tax department that involves audit.

Pressed send too soon... Hobbling That is really bad that she didn't jump on stage. I totally understand why they are mightily pissed off. I would be too.

Thanks for that link Helen
Both clearly cannot do the Oscars again, that is, if PWC get to even keep the gig. It just makes no sense, 48 hours before, huffington post had an interview with them going over the protocols.
Maybe she did not want to jump in as it wasn't 'her' mistake or was intimidated as Brian was her senior, but Martha should have jumped on that....they had said they tested each other for memorising the winners. No way would you not know the very top prize, especially as it was a surprise winner. Why Martha needed to open her envelope is beyond me, unless Brian had already got rid of his.
Neither deserve to be fired from their day jobs but both being barred from Oscar duties is fair. Maybe Ernst and Young (they do the Emmys) will take over.
Poor Warren refused point blank to give up the two envelopes he ended up with. Told the accountants and producers to stick it as he intended showing them to Barry Jenkins directly. Cannot blame him, people said paranoia but he did not want the evidence to disappear.

Thanks guys! You rock

I think they just need to give the engagement to an assurance senior manager. We all know it is the managers who make things happen at any of the big4. The partners job isn't to do the work but to manage the client and bring in the money.