ABC/Eddy Chen(HOLLYWOOD)– It’s not the kind of talked-about moment Oscar producers wanted, and they’re taking steps to make certain it doesn’t happen again.
We’re talking of course about how La La Land was erroneously announced as the Best Picture winner at the Academy Awards last month, when Moonlight was the actual winner. An envelope mix-up by PriceWaterhouseCoopers was to blame.
The accounting firm can breathe a sigh of relief — the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences is keeping them, but there will now be three PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountants on hand who know the winners: two backstage, and one in the control room who can immediately alert the broadcast’s director if there’s an issue.
Also, all electronic devices will be banned from backstage. It’s thought the PriceWaterhouseCoopers accountant who screwed up was distracted because he was tweeting pictures of winners, including Emma Stone, minutes before the screw up.
The Academy also announced there will be “improvements to onstage envelope category verification” as well as “ongoing evaluation of backstage protocols and procedures.”
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