89th Academy Awards Review

What started as a triumphant ceremony ended in a debacle for the history books. The 89th Academy Awards took place last night with comedian Jimmy Kimmel on duty as the host for the evening, and just as it seemed the show would come to a close with no controversy, the final award of the night, the award for Best Film, was given to the wrong film.

Warren Beatty was handed the wrong envelope, and he walked onstage with his Bonnie & Clyde (1967) co-star Faye Dunaway as they announced the winner of the award to be La La Land.

La La Land producer Fred Berger was in the middle of his acceptance speech when an Oscars producer ran out onto the stage, handed executive producer Justin Horowitz the correct envelope, and quickly ran off.

Horowitz humbly and graciously revealed the real winner for Best Film.

Moonlight.

Horowitz shared a hug with Moonlight writer/director Barry Jenkins before handing over the award. Moonlight also was awarded with Best Adapted Screenplay, and actor Mahershala Ali earned Best Supporting Actor for his role in the film.

The Moonlight crew began their acceptance speeches, expressing their appreciation to the La La Land team for handing over the awards, all while the Oscars crew behind them along with Jimmy Kimmel and Warren Beatty tried to figure out how the mistake occurred.

In the 89 years since the inaugural Academy Awards, this is the first time in history that the wrong winner was announced on stage. The accounting firm responsible for the voting process, PricewaterhouseCoopers, had this to say following the incident:

"We sincerely apologise 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”

According to The Guardian, Some of the focus has shifted to PWC supervisors Brian Cullinan and Martha Ruiz, who oversee the counting procedures and are the only two people who know the winners list before the ceremony.

In Other Oscars News

La La Land won 6 of its 14 awards it was nominated for, including Best Song, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography, Best Director (Damien Chazelle), and Best Lead Actress (Emma Stone).

Manchester By The Sea was the recipient of two major awards, Best Original Screenplay for the story written by its Director Kenneth Lonergan, and Best Actor for the performance of Casey Affleck. Casey is now one of 17 sibling pairs with an Academy Award, as he is the younger brother of two-time winner Ben Affleck (Good Will Hunting, Argo).

Viola Davis took home Best Supporting Actress for her moving performance in Fences alongside Denzel Washington. She is the first African American actor to have earned an Oscar, a Tony, and an Emmy.

The mercurial Suicide Squad took home an Oscar for Best Hair and Makeup, likely for the character designs of Harley Quinn, El Diablo, and the Joker, and the surprise Disney blockbuster The Jungle Book was awarded with Best Visual Effects.

ESPN's OJ: Made in America was the winner of Best Feature Documentary, which was dedicated by creator Ezra Edelman to the lives and families of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman.