The Oscars are never complete without some sort of mishap or blunder on stage, and this year was no exception.
The highly anticipated event was marred by a mistake that was impossible to miss, as legendary actor Al Pacino prematurely announced the winner for Best Picture, in what some are calling the biggest blunder since the infamous mix-up between La La Land and Moonlight in 2016.
When Pacino was called upon to present the award, he skipped over the nominees entirely, a major error considering that Best Picture is considered the most prestigious award of the night.
For those familiar with awards season in the film industry, the process of presenting awards is well-known. The presenter, usually a prominent figure in the industry, takes the stage and first reads out the nominees for the category. This serves not only as a reminder of who is in the running, but also to give each nominee their deserved recognition.
However, at the 96th Academy Awards, Pacino deviated from this standard procedure and opened the envelope, announcing Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer as the winner for Best Picture.
In addition to Best Picture, Oppenheimer also took home six other awards, including Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.
Pacino’s mistake was a major talking point of the night, with social media users unable to resist commenting on it. Most saw the blunder in a humorous light.
One person wrote, “Al Pacino creating a Moonlight/La La Land moment while still reading the right name. Master class.”
Another added, “Whatever just happened with the Best Picture presentation wasn’t a Moonlight/La La Land screw-up, but Pacino just blurting out ‘I see Oppenheimer here!’ was definitely not how it was supposed to go.”
A third joked, “If Al Pacino said the winner was La La Land, that would have been the best moment of the night.”
The references to La La Land hark back to the 2016 Oscars, when the award for Best Picture was mistakenly announced as going to La La Land instead of Moonlight. To make matters worse, the mistake was only realized in the middle of acceptance speeches.
According to reports, the announcer had been given the envelope for Best Actress (which was won by Emma Stone for La La Land) instead of the one for Best Picture.
Did you tune in to this year’s Academy Awards? If so, what was your favorite moment?