Moviefone Editorial

Tag: pricewaterhousecoopers

  • Oscars 2018: Academy Reveals New Rules to Avoid Another Best Picture Mix-Up

    It will be years before anyone forgets the epic snafu that ended last year’s Oscars telecast, in which “La La Land” was accidentally declared the Best Picture winner over true victor “Moonlight,” before producers realized that the presenters had been given the wrong envelope. The Academy certainly hasn’t forgotten, and has introduced a detailed new set of rules about how those envelopes are handled, in an effort to stave off any future mix-ups.

    In an interview with The Associated Press, PwC chairman and senior partner Tim Ryan revealed the safeguards that the accounting firm and the Academy will now follow at this year’s ceremony. It all comes down to having more checks and balances in place, Ryan explained.

    The changes include having a third person from PwC — who has an extra set of envelopes, and has also memorized the winners — sitting in the show’s production control room, so they can monitor the proceedings and immediately notify someone if something is amiss. Two other PwC employees will remain on either side of the stage (though not the same ones from last year, obviously), and each will have a set of envelopes, as well as memorize the winners.

    To prevent last year’s exact mix-up (a PwC employee, allegedly distracted by Twitter, gave presenters Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty the Best Actress envelope instead of the Best Picture envelope), the PwC rep will now check with the presenter and a stage manager to make sure the presenter has the correct envelope before stepping out on stage. All three PwC reps will attend rehearsals for the ceremony, and practice protocol for what to do if an error occurs (something that definitely wasn’t done before, based on last year’s chaos). And they are banned from using their phones or social media during the telecast.

    “Our singular focus will be on the show and delivering the correct envelopes,” Ryan told the AP.

    Academy president Dawn Hudson said that she was satisfied with the new rules, and confident that this year’s ceremony would run smoothly.

    “Let me tell you, I don’t think this error will ever happen again or would happen again,” Hudson told the AP. “We put in a lot of protocols to make sure it won’t, but I don’t think it will anyway. I think everyone will be very focused on getting that right.”

    We’ll keep our fingers crossed that she’s correct. (Though honestly, we wouldn’t be totally disappointed if she’s wrong. We’re already anticipating the memes.)

    [via: The Associated Press]

  • Oscars 2017: Twitter May Be to Blame for PWC Envelope Mix-Up

    89th Annual Academy Awards - ArrivalsThe representative from accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers responsible for handing off the wrong envelope at the Oscars, leading to the biggest snafu in Academy Awards history, may have been distracted by his Twitter feed at the time, according to reports.

    Brian Cullinan, one of two reps from PwC stationed backstage at the ceremony, was identified as the person who gave presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway an extra copy of the Best Actress envelope, rather than the Best Picture envelope, leading to the erroneous announcement that “La La Land” had won the night’s top prize, instead of the true honoree, “Moonlight.” According to Variety, Cullinan was tweeting just minutes before the mix-up went down, and allegedly not keeping close enough track of the envelopes in his charge.

    The trade reports:

    Cullinan had been congratulating winners throughout the evening. After the wrong Best Picture winner was announced, he deleted the tweets from his Twitter account. Screengrabs reveal that Cullinan tweeted four times during the broadcast. … Three minutes before the fateful hand-off, Cullinan took a photo of Emma Stone clasping the gold statue she picked up for “La La Land.”

    In an interview with Variety, PwC chairman and senior partner Tim Ryan, who was in the audience during Sunday’s show, explained Cullinan’s error.

    [Cullinan] had a pile of envelopes for people entering from one side of the stage, while Martha Ruiz, another PwC partner, oversaw a separate pile for people entering from [her] side of the stage. Ryan said Cullinan simply pulled from wrong pile.

    Ryan said he had spoken to Cullinan about the episode at length. “He feels very, very terrible and horrible. He is very upset about this mistake. And it is also my mistake, our mistake, and we all feel very bad,” Ryan said.

    PwC, which had already issued a statement apologizing for its role in the error, released a second statement on social media on Monday night, further explaining Cullinan’s mistake. The accounting firm also admitted that Cullinan and Ruiz did not act quickly enough to correct the error, which ultimately led to three different “La La Land” producers delivering acceptance speeches before the mistake was announced and righted.

    According to Variety, PwC had no comment on Cullinan’s alleged tweets. While it remains to be seen whether the accountant will lose his job over this, he should probably lay off of social media for a while.

    [via: Variety]

  • Oscars 2017: The Academy Apologizes for Best Picture Snafu, Vows to Investigate

    89th Annual Academy Awards - ShowThe Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences has finally Oscars, apologizing for the mix-up that accidentally awarded the Best Picture prize to “La La Land” instead of the actual winner, “Moonlight.”

    In the statement, the Academy said that accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers had taken full responsibility for the error, in which one of the two PwC representatives stationed backstage at the ceremony handed presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway the wrong envelope. The Academy pledged to launch an investigation into the snafu, and also apologized to the filmmakers from both features, as well as Beatty and Dunaway and viewers at home.

    Here’s the full statement:

    “We deeply regret the mistakes that were made during the presentation of the Best Picture category during last night’s Oscar ceremony. We apologize to the entire cast and crew of La La Land and Moonlight whose experience was profoundly altered by this error. We salute the tremendous grace they displayed under the circumstances. To all involved — including our presenters Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway, the filmmakers, and our fans watching worldwide — we apologize.

    For the last 83 years, the Academy has entrusted PwC to handle the critical tabulation process, including the accurate delivery of results. PwC has taken full responsibility for the breaches of established protocols that took place during the ceremony. We have spent last night and today investigating the circumstances, and will determine what actions are appropriate going forward. We are unwaveringly committed to upholding the integrity of the Oscars and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.”

    No word yet on whether the Academy will drop PwC following this major mess-up. Stay tuned.

    [via: Variety]