ABC/Eddy Chen(LOS ANGELES) — It’s no surprise that the final moments of this year’s Oscars — when Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway accidentally announced La La Land as the Best Picture winner — also became the most talked-about moment of the Academy Awards backstage.
A favorite moment both on-and-backstage was seeing Kevin O’Connell win his first Oscar for Sound Mixing — after 21 nominations. O’Connell, a veteran of films like Top Gun and Spider-Man, finally took home the gold for Hacksaw Ridge. “As much as I thought I was gonna know what it would feel like, I didn’t…I must tell you, it was the greatest feeling in my entire life,” he said.
Actress Viola Davis was riveting onstage with her moving acceptance speech for Best Supporting Actress. Backstage, she called the win “the miracle of God, of dreaming big, and just hoping that it sticks and it lands, and it did!,” adding she’s “overwhelmed.”
Her male counterpart, Casey Affleck, was in great spirits after his Best Actor win for Manchester by the Sea. Backstage, he told ABC Radio’s Lynda Lopez that he saw his brother Ben crying as Casey made his speech. “I saw those tears and I thought maybe, maybe I’m just not making a good speech, and he’s really disappointed,” he laughed, adding, “I think he was probably touched.” Ben’s younger bro noted, “[N]ot to brag or anything — but I think we are the only two brothers to win Academy Awards.”
La La Land Best Actress Oscar winner Emma Stone called her win “incredibly surreal,” adding although some thought Warren Beatty had gotten hold of her envelope, leading to the Moonlight flub, she insisted “I…was holding my ‘Best Actress in a Leading Role’ card that entire time. So whatever story, I don’t mean to start stuff, but whatever story that was, I had that card.”
Backstage, Moonlight‘s Best Supporting actor winner Mahershala Ali addressed the screw-up, noting it was awkward for him. “I didn’t want to go up there an take anything from anybody,” adding, “It’s very hard to feel joy in a moment like that.” However, he summed up, “I feel very fortunate for all of us to have walked away with the Best Picture award. It’s pretty remarkable.”
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