It wouldn’t be the Oscars without some sort of on-stage slip-up or gaffe, right?
This year’s mishap, noticed by absolutely everyone, featured the iconic actor Al Pacino prematurely announcing the Academy Award for Best Picture, earning comparisons to the infamous La La Land/Moonlight mix-up of 2016.
When tasked with presenting the award for Best Picture, Al Pacino skipped over the nominees entirely – a notable blunder given the significance of the Best Picture category.
Now, unless you’re entirely new to awards season in the film industry, you’re probably familiar with the standard operating procedure for presenting awards.
Typically, the presenter – often a prominent figure in the industry – takes the stage and first announces the nominations for the category in question. This not only reminds viewers of the contenders but also ensures that each nominee receives their deserved recognition.
However, at the 96th Academy Awards last night, actor Al Pacino deviated from this crucial process, bypassing the nomination announcement and instead opening the envelope to declare Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” as the winner of the Best Picture category.
In addition to Best Picture, “Oppenheimer” took home six additional awards last night, including Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actor.
Pacino’s premature announcement became a major talking point, with internet users unable to resist commenting, largely viewing the mistake with humor.
“Al Pacino creating a Moonlight/La La Land moment while still reading the right name. Master class,” one person wrote.
Another added: “Whatever just happened with the Best Picture presentation wasn’t a La La Land/Moonlight screwup, 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 recall the 2016 incident when the Best Picture award was mistakenly announced as going to La La Land instead of Moonlight, causing confusion mid-acceptance speeches.
Reportedly, on that occasion, the announcer had been handed the envelope for Best Actress (won by Emma Stone in La La Land) instead of Best Picture.
Did you catch this year’s Academy Awards? If so, what was your favorite moment?
